Cyclocross 2011

As always, I'm pretty stoked for the cyclocross season to start. Between 'cross and my new ice climbing(obsession?) I've never had a summer before that I really didn't care much about until now. It's taken everything I have not to post about cyclocross before now, and for most people this is still a little early. I even got my first tilted head "what kind of bike is that?" question of the year while I was refilling my water bottles mid-ride last weekend. I have to go through my pile of tires and decide what I want to use this year, especially the tubulars, and make sure they hold air, especially the tubulars. I don't have a decent set of mud tires and it seems dumb to buy a set of tires for one the one muddy race that we get each year, but it sure would have been helpful at the Ft. Buenaventura race last Dec. Soft pedaling through every corner is not a good way to move up in the race.

I just washed my Clammy Chamois 'cross jersey. Yep, it's been sitting stinky and dirty in the bottom of my race bag since last year. You'd think it would air out a bit after 8 or 9 months, but it was just as stinky as the day I threw it in their. Someone the stank came out and I'll be able to wear it proudly when I line up this year.

I totally slacked on the training last year but even so, I was in better shape than the previous two years and still managed to continually place lower and lower in the sandbagger filled C-class. To remedy this, I'll be moving(not sure if it's to a harder class or not) 35+ B class. It will be sad to leave some of my friends behind, but it's time to move on and challenge myself and some other racers.

The jury is still out on the TRP CX-9 v-brakes. It seems that if I can get my rim true enough to get the pads close enough then they work great. But getting everything adjusted just so is kind of a pain. I need to also consider what will happen if a big wobble happens mid-race, do I want to deal with the brake pad slowing the wheel on each revolution.

Have I mentioned that I freaking love cyclocross. Except for youth church basketball it's the only sport in which I've ever really competed. Mind you I'm not a steely eyed competitor, able to draw speed and stamina from the well when things get really hard. But, I do enjoy mixing it up with the handful of riders around me during the race. If this means I sprint it out with some other guy for 24th place so be it. I have fun and that's all I care about. I started racing simply as motivation to stay in shape. The fun of strategizing and using my strengths, as minimal as they may be, is what makes me keep racing. That, and a delicious bratwurst after the race. Josh, we need to pick this back up. I'll bring the Colosimo's brats to the first race if you bring the grill.

It seems I may be getting my hands on a GoPro camera soon so expect to see some pictures and some video added to the blog this year. Then we can relish in my glory, and the more likely, defeats, with actual visual proof.

If you care about the local races continue reading, otherwise it's going to get even more boring than the first half of this post.

UTCX just posted the schedule for this year. Nice to only have one race at the Weber Fairgrounds this year. It's a long drive and not my favorite venue, though to be honest it has grown on me. I'll be racing at Wheeler Farm 4 times this year. It's always a fun venue with lots of variety, probably one of the best 'cross courses we have in UT. Ft. Bueneventura gets two races this year, wooohoo. I think this is everyone's favorite course. It has almost the same amount of variety that Wheeler does, but the hills have been replaced with a lot of corners through the trees. Mt. Ogden Golf course is back with one race. Hopefully I don't have another mechanical and illness to keep me down this year. This is probably the closest we have to a World Cup type course. Almost all of the course is wide with lots of room for passing. Some tricky downhill off camber corners that can get mighty slick when the grass is wet and a nice lung searing hill in the first 1/2 mile of the course. The season kicks off at the Utah State Fairpark. This was the one venue that I didn't race at last year. Pictures and reports proved it to be a roadie course. Hopefully all of my time on the road this year and the extra fitness will help me not suck too badly. Heber County Fairgrounds gets one race. My least favorite of all the courses, though that may have to do with a DNF from two years ago. One surprising omission is the lack of any races in Draper. I'm not too dissapointed. I'm not sure of the reason for dropping it but maybe others had the same problem I had - way too much single-track, nowhere to pass.  It has some features that made it fun, and if you could keep your heart from blowing up you could make up lost time on the long paved climb. This is the same climb that has induced puking twice in past.

Now for a little cyclocross stoke:

UTCX# 8 - I Am Not a State Champion

This year's Utah State Championship race was held on the Mount Ogden Golf course. Most of us were expecting a pretty easy affair mellow climbs over small grassy hills. This is not what we got. I don't normally whine (at least I think I don't and if you think I do please keep your comments to yourself I don't want to hear them and I won't believe them anyway), but I'm going to do some whining to start off today's blog; deal with it.

To start things off, somewhere during my warm-up half of my pedal broke off. I was still able to clip in, but things were pretty loose and I didn't know how long the rest would stay together. I pointed this out to Josh as we were getting to the start line. He happened to have an extra pair of pedals so we rushed to his truck, threw them and on and got back to the line with a minute to spare. Thanks Josh! I've been fighting a cold all week and read a couple of weeks ago that medical science has proven that a cold doesn't affect athletic performance, that is crap. I haven't felt this tired, sluggish and lacking in strength since my first 'cross race 2 years ago. I warmed up on the trainer and felt ok. Then I hit the course and, climbing the enormous hill with extreme difficulty. I didn't realize how big and long it was until later when I was taking pictures and realized what seemed pretty flat in the race and warm-up was not flat at all. It starts with some single-track that's not too bad. Then a semi-tricky steep muddy 3 foot section up to the paved cart path. The path then climbed, and climbed, then climbed some more, up to a 120 degree turn up a fairly steep grassy hill. It was during this first climb of the first lap that I honestly wondered if I could finish the race. I had absolutely nothing in the tank, my legs hurt and had no strength. I literally used my easiest gear on every hill, no matter how small or easy, and still struggled at an unbelievably slow pace.

Up to this point I kept feeling like my rear wheel was a bit wonky. It seemed to hit my brake pads now and then and feel a bit wobbly here and there. I hadn't noticed anything when I put the wheel on or glued the tire on earlier that week. It was at the top of this first grassy hill that I finally stopped to see what, if anything, was the problem. I grabbed the wheel and quickly realized that the bearings in my hubs were loose. Just as I realized the problem, and with the other half of the pack now passing me, some guy said "looks like your cones are loose dude." Yeah, no kidding. I loosened the quick release and hand tightened the hub as much as I could then cranked down the quick release to see if that would hold. Amazingly it did the trick. I have the honest that for a moment this seemed like a problem that was heaven sent, here is the mechanical I needed to honorably bow out of the race. But I had too much pride now so I got back on it and started pedaling. It had now been a couple of minutes, enough time for me to be the absolute last person in the pack. In fact, the pack was nowhere to be seen. I started pedaling by myself still wondering if I made the right choice to keep racing. After a couple of minutes I caught up to Wes riding his mountain bike. Wes had told me earlier that he wasn't racing two races today, he was riding one and racing one. So I decided to just follow along with Wes and just ride for a while instead of race, besides it was nice to have a friendly face to ride with for a while.

I had heard the announcers telling the riders coming through that they had 3 laps to go. When Wes and I rode through they told us 2 laps. Either they made a mistake, or as Wes said, "They're probably just accounting for us getting lapped soon." After a while I found a little more energy and left Wes behind and started cruising a bit. I was starting to feel a little better, maybe catching my 2nd wind. I came down a hill with a turn near the bottom. This particular corner was kind of tricky. It had a couple of smaller hills, forcing you to either take your chances with a tight, and probably slick inside route, the more obvious middle line placed you on the steep side of a small hill in the middle of the corner, or you could take it really wide and avoid most of the problems. I was running a pretty low tire pressure, really low actually since we were riding on bumpy grass it seemed the best choice, so I was feeling pretty confident in my traction and took the corner a little faster than before. My rear wheel slid right out from under me sending me and the bike sliding down the hill, much to the delight of the spectators watching there. My bike and I were no worse for wear so I got back on and started riding. The rest of the lap went fairly well, mostly downhill from here so I was able to get some speed and recover a bit.

I forgot to mention(here's another excuse) that my rear derailleur wasn't working correctly. It seemed to work just fine in the warm-up but as soon as the race started and we hit the first hill I nearly dropped my chain into my spokes, I caught in time and pedaled backwards to get it back on the cassette. From there on out, every time I shifted into my larges(easiest) cog in the back I either dropped the chain into the spokes or I felt it start to go that direction and quickly shifted. As I mentioned before, I used that gear a lot, every hill. So, every time a slight incline appeared I had to gingerly shift to that gear and look to make sure everything was secure and inline. Not being able to confidently shift really takes its toll. You can't just shift and climb up a hill. I had to look to see where I was on the cassette, pedal softly while shifting, making sure everything went where it was supposed to then I could put some pressure on the pedals; what a pain.

Just as I was about to finish lap 3 I hear the announcers say the leaders were coming through for their final (4th) lap. I could either let up and get passed, thus ending the torture or keep pedaling and do a final lap for no other reason than personal honor. I chose the latter and kept riding. I ended up passing a couple more riders, one of which had his bike upside-down fixing his wheel. I managed a 36th out of 42 riders. The worst showing I've had since my first race 2 1/2 years ago. So much for improving. Quite frankly the only reason I care is because the physical exhaustion hurt so much, I really couldn't care less about what place I finished.

This Saturday is Clammy Cross www.clammycross.blogspot.com I won't be attending, but you should.

DNF - Gettin' It Out Of The Way Early

I headed up to Heber with my buddy Andrew for the 2nd installment of the Euclid Wed. pre-season cyclocross series. I pre-rode the course and found the lower pressure in my front tire was helping me stick the corners really well; I dropped the psi to around 30 in the front and 32 in the rear. During my pre-ride I was behind a guy on the new Stevens Carbon Cross bike and he had an Ipod with a speaker playing rap or punk(I couldn't hear it really well) in his jersey pocket. I can appreciate a guy that races with is own soundtrack.

Race time came and I lined up next to my friend Kyle, who had downgraded from the A class to the Bs. I made sure to give Kyle a hard time about his downgrade and threatened a severe mocking if he won. The go sign was up and we were off. I hadn't paid attention to where I lined up at the start and realized after we headed out that I was on the far outside so about 6 people got ahead of me by the first turn. Up the run-up down the hill and through the fast first section. This first section has really become my favorite part of the course. You can carry some good speed through the corners and have a lot of fun. There are a few short steep ups and downs to keep things interesting then you're through to the next part.

After I settled in to 5th place I was maintaining my lead on the 6th and having a great time. My heart rate was pegged and I was panting, but I was maintaining it and feeling ok. I had gotten comfortable with all the loose corners, maintaining speed and letting my rear wheel drift out a bit to scrub off speed as necessary. This helped me keep from losing momentum through each corner.

About 30 minutes into the race I was done; pinch flat! I manage to get a flat and DNF at least once each season. You may be wondering, "but Ryan I thought you had tubulars, how on Earth did you get a pinch flat?" I'll explain this mathematically:

(30 psi x 30 mph) + large rock = pinch flat

I had come down that rocky hill going pretty fast. Hit the rocky flat section at what I now consider a somewhat reckless pace; I wasn't really in control. Then I heard a big PING and almost immediately my front wheel started washing out. I brought the bike to a stop and confirmed that I had in fact flattened the tire. Amazingly my discount tubular wheels came through the abuse with flying colors, no dents, dings, and still totally strait and true.

I took the walk of shame back to the car, racked the bike, and cheered on my friends. A bit of a bummer, but it was still a fun night. Now I get the pleasure of tearing the tire off the rim and gluing a new one on.

Fist Attempt At Gluing Tubular Tires

I knew Jen would be out all day caving with her uncle in Rock Canyon so I decided to go about my virgin entry into the world of gluing tubular tires. You see, years ago (I'd need to check for sure, but my guess is around 100 years ago) the only option for pneumatic tires on a bicycle was a tubular tire. These tires are also called sew-ups, because the tire case and glued on tread are sewn up with the tube inside. No one had come up with the clincher tire and the tire bead, and mating lip on the rim, so gluing tires to the rim was the only option.

The main problem people had with tubular tires were flats. If you got a flat you had to peel off one tire and put on another, much more cumbersome than simply fixing a tube. If you look at old pictures from the Tour De France, and other cycling pictures, you'll see cyclists climbing nasty gravel roads with several tubular tires hung over their shoulders. Today, flats are still a problem, though less so with the advent of sealant.

It just so happens that with modern advances in tire technology tubular tires still offer the best ride, especially in cyclocross where low pressure is king. The pros for tubular tires are lighter tire, less rolling resistance due to the high thread count tire casing that conforms to the ground, and lighter wheels because they don't need the extra material forming the lip for the tire bead. The cons are tire prep and gluing, has to be done a minimum of 24 hours in advance, flats, and cost. Where a quality clincher tire costs ~$50 - $75, a tubular tire costs $100 - $175, or more for ultra premium tires. I managed to stock up on tires when bonktown.com had them on sale for $35.

I started out the day outside, with the kids riding their bikes on the sidewalk, I sat down in a chair with my new tubular wheels, some rags, rubber gloves and mineral spirits. The wheels needed to be cleaned before I could get to gluing. Once the wheels were clean I set up shop in my still unfinished addition where I have our old kitchen table set up. I got my glue, acid brushes (thank you Harbor Freight, 36 for $3.00), and my tires and wheels.

I found the gluing to go along fairly well, though the extremely dry Utah air seemed to suck the moisture out of the glue even before I got it spread out on the cotton tape covering the tire stitches. This resulted in a little thicker coat than I wanted, but it looks like it will be alright. While working on the second coat of glue on the tire I started to have this feeling like I was participating in a rite of passage. That thousands of people had gone before me and done the exact same thing. That the formula of gluing the tires had been refined over the years until it was distilled down to the process in which I was now engaged. I suddenly felt this connection with all of the men(and women) that had gone before me. I was gluing a sew-up tire, something that was both legendary and ordinary all at once.

Later this evening I got to work on the final stages. I had coated my tires with two coats of glue and now had to, somewhat quickly:

put a second coat of glue on the wheel,

put a strip of "Belgian Tape" on the rim over the tacky glue,

put a final coat of glue on the tire,

finally, stretch the tire onto the wheel.

It is on this final step that all romance was lost from the process. Everything went well at first, placing the tire in a basically strait line down the rim, lining up the base tape so it was showing even on both sides of the tire. Then I got to the final third of the tire and it stopped going onto the rim. If you've ever struggled getting a really tight clincher tire onto the rim without tire levers then you've experienced about 25% of the difficulty that I was faced with. Not only did I still have a large amount of the tire still no seated on the rim, but it was also covered in rubber cement that I was supposed to try not to touch or all my work would be for naught. I tried standing on the rim and pulling the tire up and over. I tried holding the tire and wheel against my stomach and pushing the remaining tire up onto the rim, everything I tried failed. I fought with this tire for about 15-20 minutes struggling with all my might. I gave up on trying to save anything, braced the rim on a chair and pushed and pushed, with my now bruised hands, until I had it. I had to quickly get to work straitening the tire out on the rim. With all the pushing, pulling and other ways I man-handled the tire it was really crooked. The glue was setting, or maybe set I'll find out tomorrow, so I got the tire straitened out the best I could and called it good. I used what I had learned to make the second tire go on much quicker. It still wasn't easy but I got it on in 3 minutes instead of 20.

I can look over and see my two wheels leaning against the wall now and I'm glad that no one had to watch fight the mighty battle in which I had been embroiled. I'm glad I took on this new task. I learned something new. I always enjoy learning a new skill, even if it's not pretty or easy the first time through. I don't know if these new tires and wheels will make me any faster, my time may have been better spent doing intervals on the trainer. I don't have a killer competitor instinct that makes me chase down anyone that dares to pass me. I don't expect I'll ever be one of the really fast guys that others admire. I enjoy the technical things I can work on, better equipment, better technique, or even just better lines chosen on the course.

I was going to submit this post to Cyclocross Magazine, but I let it get a bit maudlin and self indulgent. This ended up being more about me than tubular tires. I hope you enjoyed it, I know Hamish did.

Out on the trails - Big Springs

Yesterday I had the itch to get out on the trails on my 'cross bike, just to make sure I can still handle skinny tires on the single-track. I headed up to Big Springs Park in the South Fork shoot off of Provo Canyon. There is a nice, but short, trail near the park that my family uses all the time. We spend a lot of time in Provo Canyon and at least half of that is spent at Big Springs. It's become the go-to area for us. Jen takes the kids up there hiking all the time, the trail is relatively mellow and follows and crosses various streams. It keeps the kids interested and makes it a nice area to go. It's also a great place to go snowshoeing in the winter.

I opted to start off my ride by heading up the dirt road that goes along the East side of the wilderness area. I was quickly made aware that my legs hadn't recovered from the weight

training I did two days before; but I managed to make it up the hill anyway. The trail/road is only 1.5 miles up, so a up and back nets 3 miles. Not a whole lot, so I ended up doing 3 laps going up the road and down the trail. I think the old couple hiking down the road and the family hiking up the trail were starting to wonder what I was doing after I passed them a couple of times.

After riding up the road for about a mile the trees open up into a meadow, this is where I cut back on to the trail to finish the last 1/2 mile up (you can see the trail just to the right of the road, heading off into the meadow). The trail is pretty mellow as it winds up, especially through

meadow. It's basically gravely, narrow double-track. Then the trail gets steeper and starts to get fairly rocky. I was a bit worried about pinch flatting on the rocks, especially on the way back down when I had some speed. I had my tires down around 40 psi to maximize traction. I was happily surprised to find that I can still finesse my way up and down through the rocks without much trouble, or pinch flats.

The single-track back down winds through aspens and pines, over rivers and streams and is really a lot of fun. Not the most technical or taxing as far as mountain biking goes, but plenty

fast for getting the cornering and breaking skills on a cyclocross bike. At one point I was

carrying quite a bit of speed and feeling pretty confident. I rounded a corner and saw a tree and a stream right in front of me, I was sure I was going in after I dodged the tree. I managed to get the bike slowed down just in time and made it onto the bridge. My second time down I noticed a lot of other tire tracks where the trail runs wide; I guess others had come into that corner a little hot too. While I was stopped taking this picture a mountain biker came by and did a double take as he passed by my cyclocross bike; obviously not a part of the cult of 'cross yet.

The fast ride down managed to give my legs, and lungs, enough of a break that I was able to be recovered for the ride back up. I managed to get my legs a bit muddy from cruising through a couple of the springs that spout up along the trail and almost ran over a snake. All in all it was a great way to spend a few hours on a Saturday.

Geeking out on 'cross bikes.

Cyclocross Magazine asked me if I wanted to attend a bike industry function at Deer Valley a little while ago. The event titled "Dealer Camp" was held this past weekend to showcase new bikes from major manufacturers, giving bike shops and retailers the chance to look over and demo the new bikes. The event was 2 days, but Jen had her Spudman Triathlon on the 2nd day so I was only able to spend one day up there. It was a ton of fun checking out new bikes. I talked with some other people that were very into cyclocross as well including past National Champion Mark McCormack, and a the designer that actually fabricated the new Blue 'cross bikes. I got a lot of pictures and even a few freebies. Check out my write up and pictures here http://www.cxmagazine.com/new-trends-dealer-camp-2010-deer-valley

Springtime Criss-Cross

I generally enjoy the Utah winters, especially now that I have snowshoes to tromp around in the back country. Like most other Utahns I'm rather tired of Winter by the end of January. That makes February a very long and tiresome month; I've long held that February is the worst month of the year. Winter is still here, but its not new, or fun or even pretty anymore. It's old, cold, and the snow is no longer pretty and white, it's gray and brown, filled with mud and sand, the dregs of winter. Along comes March, with it's first hints of Spring. Now, I learned long ago not to succumb to the temptations of March for it's attempts at spring-like weather are more like the song of a siren. You'll be drawn into a sunny 50 degree day only to have a hearty winter storm blow in the next day, covering your springtime plans under slushy snow. Making your dreams and everything else soggy, cold and useless.

Around the end of March, beginning of April, Spring decides to show up and stick around. Of course there is often a snowstorm that sneaks in there but it's usually not too bad. I have a love hate relationship with Spring. I need sunny days, too many cloudy rainy days and my SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) kicks in. Utah is nearly the perfect place for me. Utah is the first or second state in terms of most days with sunshine. That all changes in Spring. I like not having to water my lawn, but the clouds and rain can get a bit much.

The other thing about Spring is that it feels like it should be time for cyclocross. I've had about 4 months off now and it seems like it should be time to get back to it. The weather is perfect for 'cross. Cool weather, rain, mud, all the stuff that makes up a good cyclocross race. It just so happens that some like-minded gent in Colorado has the same idea. Next weekend I will be traveling 6 hours to Eagle CO for the Cult 'Cross race. This annual race has been occurring since 2008, though this will be my first time attending. Though this is a race, it's geared more toward having fun, which saves those of us who didn't hit the trainer nearly as much as we should have over the Winter (oooh how I hated that trainer). This will also be the first race for my new bike, hopefully she can take the beating. It's a bit of a drive just for a "fun" race, but I have an itch that needs to be scratched. Hopefully the mountain bike trails will be clear of snow soon and I can get some good riding in until October when the embrocation will flow and I'll hate myself for 45 minutes of lung searing death on a bike.

Mud and Guts

I didn't race in this week's UTCX race in Heber, I figured my brother's wedding was more important. The other day we received quite a bit of rain and I was thinking about mud and 'cross and those images of cranking up muddy hills and through messy corners came to mind. I realized that in a perfect world of Cyclocross it all comes down to mud and guts. Mud we hope for and guts we work for. I watch the weather report each week to see if the rain gods will bless the Utah Cylocross race with mud that week, so far nothing, but I'm still watching and hoping. Mud just seems to suit the essence of 'cross so well. It's a tough 45-60 minute endurance fest where some of the race you're racing and some of it, at least if you're me, you're trying to make it to the end. Mud just ups the ante. It makes everything that much more difficult, cornering takes more skill, up hills can go from an easy ride to a difficult run. Downhills can go from being a way to get more to speed to just trying to stay upright without going down and taking other riders with you. When you get done your back, face and legs are all covered in mud. Inevitably I have mud spattered teeth, that I only realize when I run my tongue over my gritty teeth to re-moisten my mouth after sucking air for 45 min.

Guts. You have two kinds of guts, one I have the other I do not. I have guts when it comes to taking technical terrain at a high velocity. Either I'm not that scared of crashing or I feel my skills are up to snuff enough that I won't crash. In the heat of the moment I'm not sure which it is, but it doesn't matter. The kind of guts I wish I had are the guts of a champion. The determination to go out and push so hard you're going to puke at any moment because you just have to win. I like to win, I really enjoy winning but when I'm honest with myself, I don't have to win. I mostly enjoy sports because I get to get out and have some fun and competition. This lack of guts plays out mostly in training. In a race I'll give everything I have, that's why I'm there. I'll fight for every last spot I can. Training is a different story. Most of the time if I'm able to convince myself to at least get on the trainer for some intervals I'll get it done. Sometimes that desire is so low that I'll get on the bike, do a half effort, realize it's not in me and I'm done. My wife has the guts of a champion. She will get in a push on every training workout, and she does a lot of workouts. She's like Lance Armstrong if he was a mother of 3 kids and not sponsored by Nike and Trek. I'm working on my guts and I'm hoping for some mud so lets get out there and ride some 'cross. Alright team, Mud and Guts on 3...

Utah Cyclocross Race #2 Done

The heater in my car is on the fritz and with a 1:15 drive ahead of me and a 45f temperature I was less than thrilled. I watched as the temp readout on my dash slowly dropped until it bottomed at 38f...great. I may have been cold but at least I knew the way to the super secret Weber County Fairgrounds race venue this time. I managed to remember my trainer this time too so things were looking ok. I got out, signed my waiver then hopped back in the car to get a little warmer, it was pretty cold and I was signed up for a bike race, sometimes I really question my sanity and this was one of those times.

It was at this point that I realized that I really needed to use the bathroom. I had done a good job of getting hydrated on the drive to Ogden but now I had a VERY full bladder. I hopped on my bike to ride the quarter mile to the nearest bathroom, or at least the only bathroom I knew about. They probably have another bathroom, it's just kept a secret until you happen to stumble upon it. After the short ride to the bathroom my hands and legs were freezing. I was still wearing warm-up pants and my thick gloves, things were not looking good. I got back to my car hopped in to get warm again, decided I just didn't have it in me to get out in the cold on the trainer and opted instead to do some warm-up laps on the course. I started riding and eventually realized that the course was being run in reverse to the week before. No problem, except I still got turned around. Hey UTCX guys, please invest in some more course tape. I manage to get the turns right when I'm with the pack in the beginning of the race when my head is still in the game. By the 4th lap though, my head is as foggy as San Francisco bay, you need to make the course a little more clear. Over the final two laps I managed to lose 5 places from making incorrect turns and doubling back the right way.

I finished my warm up laps and got to the start line. While waiting to start I realized that my front tire had lost a lot of air and was now at around 25 psi. Luckily there are no rocks or roots on this course so there wasn't much chance of getting a pinch flat. The course was even faster than last week with no rain this week and everything being compacted from last weeks races. The extra low air pressure in my front tire really helped hold me in the fast corners, which saved some energy that I didn't have to scrub off with the brakes. People must have realized that it was faster to run between the log barriers because instead of being the only one running this time, about half of the racers carried or pushed their bikes instead of remounting between the barriers. Cold temps and poor course marking aside I'm actually pretty pleased with the race I rode. Normally I'm racing myself the last two laps. Everyone is so strung out around the course that the back half of the pack us just trying to finish the race. This time I managed to chase down four or five people in the last couple laps. I also managed my best finish yet, 25th of 45 finishers. Not much to speak of but I felt pretty good about it and had I managed to ride the course correctly I would have been closer to 20th.

Cyclocross and Interbike

I didn't see and do all things cyclocross at Interbike. I used the opportunity to explore some other cycling disciplines. I rode some time trial bikes, road bikes, cross bikes, mountain bikes, but no unicycles (there were some to sample). Cyclocross Magazine has some great shots and write ups of many of the cyclocross offerings to be had there www.cxmagazine.com. Here are my impressions of the various cyclocross bikes I rode, starting from worst and going to first.

Salsa - Chili Con Crosso: A big disappointment here. I've loved this bike for a year or so and would have bought the frame if I had $900 to spend on a frame and fork. I'm really glad I didn't now. The bike felt really heavy and sluggish. Sadly I don't remember the specs other than I liked the Salsa Bell Lap handlebar. It was wide and the drops were flared which should help when navigating tricky spots while in the drops.

Van Dessel - Gin and Trombones: Not too bad, but nothing really standout on this bike. This is another bike I considered buying at one point. It had good reviews but having the chance at Interbike to ride a lot of bikes back to back really showed the differences. This bike, like all of the others I test rode had TRP Eurox cantilever brakes. I became a big fan of them, but that's not hard considering I hate my Avid Shorty 4 brakes.

Felt- F15X: This was the biggest surprise for me. I've always considered Felt to be a decent brand but nothing to get excited about. This frame was aluminum like the others. This one had been spec'd with SRAM Red. The bike felt light and responsive. It was fun to ride and my only complaint was a fairly severe fork shudder. I'm not sure if this is due to the Easton EC70 carbon fork or if the headset needed to be tightened up a bit. Either way it was distracting and irritating. I would definitely recommend this bike as a good budget buy. Felt has 3 'cross bikes and the frames appear to all be the same, just different builds; wheels, components, etc. Get it with the SRAM Rival build and you'll be looking at about $1500 for a great bike.

Stevens - Carbon Cross: Not sure if this is the actual name of the bike/frame, but most of their literature is in German so it was the best I could come up with. I had read a good review of this bike in Cyclocross Magazine a few months ago but since it was carbon and had fairly road bike like geometry I didn't think it would be a bike I'd like to ride or could afford anyway. I immediately loved this bike. First off I found I liked the new Shimano Ultegra 6700 better than my 6600, who knew a year could make that much difference. I believe the bike had Fulcrum 5 wheels, a decent choice. The TRP Eurox magnesium brakes were great. The Michelin Mud 2 tires did great in the loose stuff. The bike just felt great both on and off road. It struck me as a bike I could easily throw slicks on and use for longer road rides. This bike was so great it converted my triathlon buddy and now he wants to do some 'cross races.

Aside from the fun of getting ride a bunch of different bikes at Interbike was the chance to try out all of the component groups. I was able to use: SRAM Red, Force, and Rival, Shimano Ultegra 6700, Dura-Ace, Dura-ace Di2 (Electronic shifting) on a time trial bike, and Campagnolo Super Record. The Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 shifting was beyond incredible. I would have never thought I could get that much pleasure from shifting. It would even shift up to the big ring while putting some decent power to the pedals, no hesitation, no chain lock up, just quick, precise shifting. SRAM Red was my next favorite, though I suspect I'll go with Force on my next bike. The shifting is just as precise, it's just not quite as light as Red. Plus, the group looks great!

Some non cyclocross tidbits: I rode a Moots titanium 29er hardtail and loved it. It handled corners great and mellowed out a lot of the trail chatter bumps and rocks. I was able to ride a Ellsworth Moment for about 1/2 mile before my companion got a flat and we hiked back out to catch the shuttle truck. It was a great bike, the 6" felt like much more as it swallowed up BIG rocks and bumps. I also rode the Look 985 road bike. I was the first to ride the 58 cm size so they cut the integrated seat mast to fit me. I was cool seeing an expensive road bike made to fit me, even if I was only going to ride it for 30 min. I also rode the Argon E-114 time trial bike with Shimano Di2 push button shifting. I'm still not sure if I loved the bike because of the bike or the component group, either way it was fun. It's amazing how much faster you can go on a TT bike compared to a road bike. It's not as comfortable to ride but it sure is fast.

I heart Interbike

I got a surprise invite to Interbike, the national bike show in Las Vegas, earlier this week. I'll talk about it more a bit later but suffice it to say, I'm suffering from a serious case of bike lust. I managed to get the triathlete that I went with to ride quite a few 'cross bikes and I think I converted him. All I have to say is get your hands on the Stevens carbon 'cross bike. It's awesome! I rode about 4 different 'cross bikes and the Stevens was the only one I really liked. The Felt F15X was pretty good but the Easton EC70X fork had a lot of chatter. All of the bikes I rode had TRP brakes in one form or another on the bikes, the Stevens spec'd the magnesium for some extra bling.

I wish I had taken the time to demo the new Ellsworth Roots cyclocross bike. I found out just a little too late that Andrew Yee, the editor of Cyclocross Magazine, was included on the design of the new bike. He was in good form riding the new bike during the wheelers and dealers race at 'Cross Vegas. Andrew also let me know that the article that I wrote for the magazine on having a successful first race will be in the new issue. So, if you are a subscriber take a look. If you don't subscribe, repent, get a subscription and immerse yourself in cyclocross goodness.

Cyclocross Bikes - Making Me Feel Like a Kid Again

I love riding my cyclocross bike! It sees a lot of road riding with road tires but once I have the 'cross tires on and I'm riding around, whether it's on a trail, in the park or just bombing around the neighborhood I can't seem to wipe the goofy smile from my face. I'm not exactly sure what it is. I ride my bikes a lot and I get close with mountain biking, but I usually push the speed envelope enough that I'm almost as scared as I am having fun. I like the thrill of going fast through the mountains but I know, and have the scars to prove it, that the thrill of speed can end up as the pain of defeat really fast. My wife has just shakes her head now when I show her the bloody wound as the answer to her question of how my ride went.

I think what makes me so happy when I ride my 'cross bike is I feel like a kid again. I grew up in a small farming town and had a choice between fishing for carp and catfish in the slow moving Bear River or riding my freestyle BMX bike around. I saved up my paper route money and bought a blue GT Vertigo freestyle bike. It was the nicest bike in the town and I loved it. All summer my friends and I would roll around town. We'd do sessions at the small dirt jump park we'd built near the river or ride over to the church to use the parking lot for flatland type tricks. We just had a lot of fun goofing off or working on mastering the latest trick. Riding a 'cross bike makes those feelings come back. Just the freedom to ride wherever I want. It's not a heavy or cumbersome bike so I'm not limited to trail riding like my full suspension mountain bike. The larger somewhat knobby tires are much more durable than the road tires I have around so I can hop curbs, ride through parks, do some trail riding, and just go do whatever I want.

I think we've all felt this way about bikes. It's the first real taste of freedom that we got as children. Until then we could walk or run but you couldn't get too far that way and it wasn't fast or very much fun, at least on 5 year old legs. Once you learn to ride that bike, the world opens up, or at least as much as your mom will allow. I still remember finally getting to ride around the block with my friends; I could go fast and jump off of the curbs on my yellow Huffy. This is exactly what bikes were meant for. I still feel that enthusiasm whenever I'm on my cyclocross bike. I feel like I'm not tied down by anything. I'll admit to not following proper cycling protocol. I dart around the road, hop off curbs, blast past the ladies walking in the park, and get odd looks from the mountain bikers when I ride past them on the trails.

Cyclocross is a somewhat old cycling sport, around 100 years old. There is a healthy ongoing discussion about whether or not to allow some modernization. Some of the charm of cyclocross is the antiquated technology used; drop bars, cantilever brakes, narrow tires. The honest truth is that even if some changes were made to allow flat bars, disc brakes and wider tires, 'cross races probably would keep using what they've been using. The historical equipment used has not only been refined but it's lighter and one thing I know cyclocross races don't want is an extra pound of bike to throw up on their shoulder for a steep run-up. When I first started learning about cyclocross I considered these restrictions sort of backward, every other cycling discipline take advantage of new technology. I've since changed my mind. I like that there is, to some degree, a limitation placed on 'cross bikes. Sort of like the various classes of auto racing. There are racing classes that require a car to remain mostly stock. This keeps everyone on the same page and you just accept the challenge to work within the limitations and even have fun with them.

In the local Utah Cyclocross Series you can ride whatever you want, standard 'cross bike, a unicycle, a full suspension mountain bike, whatever. Although there are no limitations I still see most people riding 'cross bikes with standard equipment. Again, I don't know if that's based on a 'cross bike with narrow tires actually being faster than a mountain bike on our single-track heavy courses, or if it's tied to what 'cross should be, but that's what most people seem to like about the sport. You'll see a lot of mountain bikes in the C-class division, a few in the B's but none in the A class. So either they're fully committed to 'cross culture or they know what is indeed the fastest bike to ride. Either way I'm going to stick with my 'cross bike the way it is, even if it does squeal like a school girl every time I tug the brakes.

Cyclocross huh?

“…cyclocross huh, Utah has enough things to do, you don't have to make things up.” This is what my brother-in-law said when I told him about cyclocross. You see, my wife and I are pretty active people and can be pretty random in what we do and say. My wife had been a bobsled pilot for America Samoa at one point and we tend to choose interesting paths to walk, so it may appear to some people that we’re somewhat strange in the careers and activities we choose to do.

After I had convinced my brother-in-law that I had not created some new, overly-difficult, sport, but had actually joined up with a sport that had a 100 year history, he seemed somewhat interested. He’s not really one to question someone’s choices as he spent a few years of his life following the Grateful Dead and Phish around the country. I get odd looks in the Fall and Winter whenever someone asks me what I’m doing that weekend and I tell them I’m riding in a bike race. I get an even stranger look when I have to explain to them exactly what cyclocross is.

I’m not exactly sure what made me want to start racing cyclocross or even how I first learned about it. I’m a curious person by nature, Google and I are best friends because anything I think of or hear about I check on Google and catalogue in my brain. I’ve been mountain biking for a number of years and a few years ago I realized I kept reading references to cyclocross and I always assumed it was some type of mountain bike race, probably because I read about it on MTB websites or magazines. At some point I realized that I should probably find out what this “cyclocross” was since I kept reading references to it and didn’t want to be left in the dark. What I read amazed me. This sounded like the oddest sport in the world. At first I thought it sounded pretty stupid. For one thing it was done on what appeared to be modified road bikes. I’m an admitted adrenaline junky so endurance sports don’t really interest me.

Road cycling just looked tedious and boring. Riding a road bike off road seemed like using the wrong tool for the job, like using a hack saw to cut down a tree, yeah you can do it, but there are much better ways to get the job done. But, being the curious person I was I kept reading and learning. I watched some YouTube videos and

looked at some pictures and before I knew it I was greatly intrigued. There happened to be one more race left in the Utah Cyclocross series that year and so I informed my wife that I’d be driving to Ogden to watch the race that Saturday. Being a triathlete and a cyclist she thought it sounded fun so she sent me on my way. I got to the race course which was covered by 6 inches of fresh snow and proceeded to watch a group of guys gut it out for 45 minutes through snow that quickly turned to thick mud. When they got done they all had a thick coat of mud on their faces. This cyclocross stuff looked really hard but I knew I just had to try it the next year.

Several years later and my wife, I’m sure, gets sick of hearing me talk nonstop about ‘cross. Luckily for me, we have a compromise, of sorts, worked out. She gets most of the rest of the year for her sports. Most of Winter is spent snowshoeing and triathlon base training, Spring is triathlon base training and races, and Summer is Triathlon races. Fall is all mine… at least for now, until she learns how awesome cyclocross is and wants to do it herself.

Embrocation - The Burn, The Love

No one will dispute that cyclocross is a unique sport. It's a cycling sport that has cyclists riding road bikes off road and if that's not enough you've got to periodically get off your bike to jump over barriers and run up hills that are too steep to ride. Outside of Triathlon, it's the only cycling sport that requires some running.

Another aspect of cyclocross that is relatively unique is embrocation. Sure, it gets used by roadies when the weather turns cold but how long into Fall do they ride anyway? Embrocation is almost celebrated in cyclocross. You're standing at the start line and you smell the pungent smell, spicy, aromatic, and you see the shaved legs glistening in the morning sun. It's great to be alive. The sight and smell of embrocation often has a place in a new racers description of their first races.

Embrocation is usually an oil, though sometimes a lotion, that delivers, among other herbs, capsaicin to the skin. Capsaicin is the chemical in hot peppers that makes them spicy. The same feeling you get on your tongue is now on your legs and it feels great. At least it feels great until you get home for your after race shower and forget to clean it off before the hot water amplifies the heat on your legs to a scorching level.

A lot of cyclists, including mountain bikers, roadies, 'crossers, triathletes, etc, like shaving their legs. Along with providing a real, or perceived, increase in speed and performance they also like that it shows off their well toned legs and makes them feel strong. I am not one of those people. I reluctantly shave my legs several days before the first 'cross race and then each Thursday thereafter so that they're ready for embrocation on Saturday.

Trust me you don't want to shave on Friday night or Saturday morning then rub embrocation into unseen nicks and cuts, owwwww! After shaving, my legs feel exposed, cold and weird. I really only do it so that the embrocation doesn't turn into a big goopy mess, clinging to my leg hairs.

There are a couple of embrocation products I use. For mellow fall rides I use a lotion type that doesn't have much capsaicin and just sort of wakes up my legs. But, for 'cross races in the cold and rain nothing beats the Mad Alchemy - Medium, except maybe the Hot, but the Medium gets so hot just driving in the car I'm scared to try the Hot. I go in the bathroom for the manly ritual of rubbing spicy oil onto my shaved legs about half an hour before I leave for the race. It seems to add an exclamation point to the excitement of the day. Sort of like, the chill in the air on a Fall day at a football game...or a cyclocross race.

I'm often a little worried about how hot my legs get in the car and try to aim the heater vents at my body core instead of my legs, but once I'm in the middle of a cold and rainy, or snowy, race I'm quite happy my legs have their protective, warm, oily coating. Rain, mud, snow, would all start to sap energy from my legs and make me cold otherwise but with the embrocation on it all just beads up and slides off, preparing the way for a solid mid-pack, C class finish.