Cyclocross 2012

**fiatjeepdriver** · 10-01-2012 04:04 PM

I had my first race of the season yesterday and I felt pretty good despite a major setback. I noticed my crank was loose after a couple of practice laps so I tightened it up and decided to ride with the allen wrench just in case. I ended up having to stop at least once per lap to tighten the crank (I carpooled so no backup bike). I haven't seen the results but I should have finished mid pack or maybe a little better.

So now I am in need of a new crank. I am looking at a shimano cx50 or a sram apex. Are there any other cranks in that general price range I should consider?

**withnail** · 10-01-2012 05:32 PM

Had my first race back after a 2 year hiatus yesterday, I got 5th in the Single Speed A's. It wen't pretty well considering I just finished building up my bike the morning of. No crashes, just a couple of slips in corners and a bad start which should be remedied when I get my call-up next weekend.

**simple** · 10-04-2012 01:40 PM

Win 3 of 4 last night. Moved into 2nd in points but guy in 1st has 3 second places and one third. My one 11th place may keep me from winning series

What will i do if i don't win the bigger plastic trophy?

Good times and maybe a snow race this weekend!

**andycooper** · 10-06-2012 07:00 PM

Providence day 1 today. Finished 26th out of 99 finishers, so not completely awful. I was running in a comfortable 18th place right up to the last lap where I made two stupid mistakes and crashed twice (most likely because I was just tired), and wound up losing 8 spots. The first one was worse than the 2nd one, but the 2nd crash was 2 turns away from the start finish straight. Gngngngngn.

Hopefully I'll manage to stop crashing in the near future

**simple** · 10-07-2012 02:16 PM

Good result nonetheless. Crash is my middle name this past week. Been limping since sunday's from a massive hip slam in Moab. Yesterday crashed on the other hip in the cx race. Hopefully done with crashing before usgp races next weekend

**andycooper** · 10-07-2012 10:31 PM

Today's result: 25th out of I think 77 finishers. The conditions were more muddy today than they were yesterday. During the pre-ride I crashed twice so I got the crashing out the way early on and didn't crash during the race. I got a poor start because for some reason I struggled to clip in, so I wound up passing people throughout the race (which feels a whole lot better than a good start and then getting passed all the time). At the end of the race I was 2nd wheel in a group of 4, started my sprint a little early and the 3rd place guy came around me at the end. Considering that I used to suck really badly at sprinting, that's a definite improvement for me.

Overall I'm fairly pleased with the result of today's race - my tires are not great in mud and I struggled a little in the corners, but that's life. So far this season I've gotten through 13 cross races, 2 DNFs due to tire problems, led a race briefly before crashing, and had a couple of good finishes (good for me, at least). Every single race result has been better than my result at the same race last year, so I think I'm on an improving trend.

**GinsterGTI** · 10-08-2012 06:47 AM

Awesome. I bailed on heading out providence, was sick last weekend/early this week and had **** to do around my house.
Great reports Andy. I would be more then happy with those results too.

**benjaminobscene** · 10-09-2012 12:57 PM

We had our first muddy race of the season in PA:

these were the ruts just from pre-riding:

me trying to ride through climbing traffic in the C race:

audi666 took the holeshot and 4th in the B race:

**audi666** · 10-09-2012 02:46 PM

gah 80% of that course was a bog. i cant say i had that much fun racing saturday but it was fun cheering everyone on. i also am not a huge fun of racing in the morning anymore

**BsickPassat** · 10-09-2012 04:11 PM

my Cannondale CAADX Tiagra arrived at the shop....

so hopefully, I should be getting it soon... to start cyclocross this year....

and being off the bike for 3+ weeks from a respiratory infection doesn't help either...

**username** · 10-09-2012 08:30 PM

heard this story on the radio today instead-of-surgery-man-pedals-off-the-pounds

**BsickPassat** · 10-09-2012 09:05 PM

Originally Posted by username

heard this story on the radio today instead-of-surgery-man-pedals-off-the-pounds

I always love reading stories like this

**andycooper** · 10-09-2012 09:54 PM

Originally Posted by username

heard this story on the radio today instead-of-surgery-man-pedals-off-the-pounds

Ernest is a great guy - I raced with him in his first race, and he did both days at Providence this past weekend. He DNF'd the 1st one because he tweaked his back during the race. I'm not sure what happened in the 2nd race - I didn't get a chance to talk to him afterwards.

I'm really impressed with his determination to stick things out. I can only imagine the courage he's had to exhibit to overcome his personal demons. I'm equally impressed with the guys who first befriended him and instead of ignoring him, welcomed him with open arms and have spent so much time with him, encouraging him, helping him and just being all around stand up guys.

Edit: looking at the pic, that actually looks like it was the 1st race. Not sure, but it looks like it.

**BsickPassat** · 10-10-2012 11:52 AM

it has arrived

took off the excess weight (reflectors & bell)

dork disk needs to go

BBG bashguard & red chainring bolts needs to be installed

**audi666** · 10-10-2012 03:59 PM

^^ nice! can i get the bell??!

**BsickPassat** · 10-10-2012 04:25 PM

Originally Posted by audi666

^^ nice! can i get the bell??!

No.. it's going on the road bike, for when I need to be legal in NYC... particularly in the big charity rides

**audi666** · 10-11-2012 10:29 AM

i actually really like bells. i broke one of mine or id have one on my cross race bike to ring at people.

**BsickPassat** · 10-11-2012 10:55 AM

Originally Posted by audi666

i actually really like bells. i broke one of mine or id have one on my cross race bike to ring at people.

I don't particularly care for the iirc, Incredibell one that mounts on the STI shifter.... don't really like its location.

**simple** · 10-11-2012 11:24 AM

Another mid week training race yesterday. 3rd.

These races really help. Through the long cross season my limited attention span makes me be an inconsistent racer. The mid-week race helps me focus and think about mistakes I make or how I am feeling.

My last two races I just coasted at the start and let the pack swarm me. I then spent the rest of the race picking off people. While this is "fun" for me and overall low stress I completely miss the real action of the race.

Part of it is that the USGP is the this weekend. The other part is my attention span. Like, "hey who's girlfriend is that? She's cute...aw **** I just got passed".

I really hope I can put it together and dig deep for the USGP. It is stupid hard and the fastest guys are always there. Focus focus focus

**andycooper** · 10-11-2012 12:43 PM

Originally Posted by simple

Another mid week training race yesterday. 3rd.

Part of it is that the USGP is the this weekend. The other part is my attention span. Like, "hey who's girlfriend is that? She's cute...aw **** I just got passed".

I find that sometimes I wind up listening to the race commentator instead of focusing on the race and then I'm like "aw **** I just got passed"

**andycooper** · 10-13-2012 07:16 PM

This weekend was supposed to be a rest weekend for me. However, the spousal unit decided that she wanted to race today and tomorrow. Twice. On both days.

That meant she needed 2 bikes - 1 for the regular race, and 1 for the single speed race. That, of course, meant that I had to drive because her car can only fit 1 bike (Fiat 500), which in turn meant that I thought I may as well race the SS race myself.

She has a real SS bike. I, on the other hand, get to zip tie my levers (SRAM) so that I can't shift (we're a ghetto series out here). Pre-riding the course, I decided to go with a 44x19 gear combination. When the guy who usually wins or comes in 2nd rolled up with a 39x18, I knew I was in trouble. Sure enough, shortly after the start I discovered that my "big gear" combination wasn't enough of an advantage on the flats, and crippled me on the hills - I basically was track-standing all the time because the gear was too big. Naturally that meant that my 4th place at the start rapidly faded backwards, and before long the dreaded possibility loomed - the wife was catching me. Now granted, at that point I'd pretty much said "ah scr*w it, this will just be a tempo training ride", but I wasn't expecting her to be quite so close to me (normally I can take several minutes out of her on a cross course). Then, to add insult to injury, she passed me.

That meant that I had to ride harder again, which wasn't really in my game plan, so that made me cranky, which in turn made me want to beat her. The problem, however, was that my knee had started to misbehave - probably because of the mad torque this 145lb weakling puts out - so I didn't really want to go quite that hard. Anyways, I decided to just sit on her wheel for a couple of laps and then at the start of the last lap I drilled it onto the start/finish straight and then just hammered for a bit, and wound up 7th (so I'm told) which wound up being a mid-pack finish. The wife won the women's race, and I'm now getting insulted by her on twitter. Gotta love being part of a racing "family"

.

Tomorrow: another cat 4 race and for some reason I find that I've been signed up for the single speed race tomorrow as well.

**BsickPassat** · 10-13-2012 10:56 PM

did my first ride at 6 mile run...

primarily white trail to red trail to the concrete bridge and back through the blue trail...

Too bad I can't make the Cross Marty next weekend...
http://martysreliable.com/about/marty-cross-pg900.htm

I really want to see if Marty is wearing a dress or not...

**simple** · 10-15-2012 11:57 AM

Full weekend at USGP Fort Collins. Girlfriend got back to back 5th places in Cat 4 women. Couldn't be prouder as she gave it her all and made few mistakes.

I did fairly well but not great in my mind. Singlespeed class was stacked with Cat1/Pro folks and I killed myself to keep up. 11th place Sat. and 8th place Sunday. The Sunday race was pretty amazing as I dropped by belt (belt not chain) at the start, fixed it, chased back from DFL and just kept trucking along hammering out 6 laps.

Bright yellow/green POC enduro helmet got lots of comments this weekend. The roadies were not amused.

Having a full blown team pit area was amazing and I am super grateful to be on such a passionate team (Feedback Sports) that supports bicycle racing in such a huge way.

**audi666** · 10-15-2012 12:18 PM

Raced the B race at Cooper River Cross sunday and got to meet synthsis. it was only for a quick second as I had to pee and get ready for my race. Did hear him cheering me on though!

recap/photos/GoPro video:

http://ridethejawn.wordpress.com/201...oss-crcx-2012/

**synthsis** · 10-15-2012 03:15 PM

Had a great time shooting the race yesterday and meeting Eric. I tried to hand him a victory beer as he crossed the line but he was too far out. I'm processing my pics now, gonna get them posted online somewhere soon.

**fiatjeepdriver** · 10-15-2012 04:03 PM

I did the second and final race of a short series a couple of hours away from where I live. I had a decent showing despite getting a flat and having to run the last half lap. I ended up 5th overall for the series and have prepared myself for the local 5 race series that starts this saturday.

**BsickPassat** · 10-15-2012 04:12 PM

Originally Posted by audi666

Raced the B race at Cooper River Cross sunday and got to meet synthsis. it was only for a quick second as I had to pee and get ready for my race. Did hear him cheering me on though!

recap/photos/GoPro video:

http://ridethejawn.wordpress.com/201...oss-crcx-2012/

Great blog post. I can't help to notice you spelled Cherry Hill wrong.

I hope I can schedule in my first cyclocross event this year. Like my first XC MTB race... my goal is to finish.

**audi666** · 10-16-2012 12:04 PM

Hey it was good to meet you for a quick second the other day! Bummed i missed the beer but i was worried i had rolled part of my tubular and didnt want to make too quick of a move on the asphalt

also cant wait for the photos/

haha thanks! im not so great at spelling

Also its tough work getting a post done before monday afternoon but thats what the kids want these days!

**synthsis** · 10-16-2012 12:27 PM

I can't believe there were a couple guys at the event riding single speeds. There was a guy borrowing our pump who was on a belt-drive SS with a Stan's tubeless setup. talk about a funky combo for Cross.

**fiatjeepdriver** · 10-16-2012 01:46 PM

I want a belt drive for cyclocross. Once I get better at fillet brazing I plan on building myself a stainless steel belt drive cx bike with an internal hub and possible disc brakes.

**andycooper** · 10-16-2012 02:26 PM

Originally Posted by synthsis

I can't believe there were a couple guys at the event riding single speeds. There was a guy borrowing our pump who was on a belt-drive SS with a Stan's tubeless setup. talk about a funky combo for Cross.

It seems like this is getting more common - in our SS series in the North East, I'm seeing a few belt drives, and a few tubeless. I can't say I like the tubeless idea based on past experience, but the belt drive is definitely interesting.

**synthsis** · 10-16-2012 04:04 PM

I think guys like to run the tubeless since they can't pinch flat and you can still ride on them even if the air gets out.

I posted a couple pics to my Tumblr:

http://joespictures.tumblr.com/

I'll post some more soon.

**simple** · 10-16-2012 04:17 PM

There was a guy borrowing our pump who was on a belt-drive SS with a Stan's tubeless setup. talk about a funky combo for Cross.

That is what i race. Gates and raleigh both have teams with mega strong riders on the same set up.

I love my belt drive cx bike

**audi666** · 10-16-2012 04:20 PM

Originally Posted by synthsis

I can't believe there were a couple guys at the event riding single speeds. There was a guy borrowing our pump who was on a belt-drive SS with a Stan's tubeless setup. talk about a funky combo for Cross.

That was my buddy Rich. He actually burped air out twice which led to a DNF.

Originally Posted by simple

That is what i race. Gates and raleigh both have teams with mega strong riders on the same set up.

I love my belt drive cx bike

Hes on a local Raleigh/Gates team. I test rode his bike for a quick jaunt... those things are light and very responsive. The big downside from what i can tell is the lack of gear ratio options.

**synthsis** · 10-16-2012 04:22 PM

quick google:

VWVortex

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