Cyclocross - CX and SSCX races and training

No Sunday trains, I know the feeling. A most pathetic side of this little island.

The Celtic trains used to run fine, then those Saxon muppets took over.

There were trains. But a train broke down at Sevenoaks which meant we were sat at Knockholt watching the minutes tick by.

that's a pity with the train :-(

PORC was brilliant fun.. felt nicely in control in the slippery stuff.. Until i failed to clip back in on a little drop.. There are some mean bramble there.. Need to up running abilites.. And possb gear down for an uphill/ downhill course (currently 36x18)

Was it you or Jon who said "single speed" as you lapped me? I was in all the bright colours. I was on 39/18 and felt pretty good. Not sure if with a lower gear I'd've stayed on the bike up that climb though - brutal!
Like most people I came a cropper into the brambles and had a cut up left leg. Seems like everyone did the same! Was well hairy! My first muddy race having only done a couple of the summer series. Great fun though.

Thought I recognised that bike! I was running 39x19, gearing was fine, I just didn't have anything on Chris today. He was descending better, then climbing better. Probably doesn't help that I haven't run further than 20 metres since last season, and I forgot my glasses so was riding the rutted up, fast, wet bit almost blind trying to blink crap out of my contact lenses.

Well that was a carnival of ineptitude on my part.

I did a warm up lap and realised clinchers weren't going to be much use. I let some pressure out and did some mini loops of the top section, then promptly got a pinch flat on the rear about 10 minutes before the start. A quick dash back to the car for a tube change got me back to the start just in time to be gridded.

The race started out ok, slipping and sliding down to the bottom where I promptly fell off just before the course starts going up again. I tried to remount and get riding about three times but couldn't get any traction; most of the back end of the field came past in the process. Once I got to the harder surface and remounted I realised there wasn't enough pressure in the rear tyre. Faced with a choice between another pinch flat and no grip I chose the latter and stopped in the pits to pump some air in. Thanks to the kind lady who held my bike.

I restarted in dead last and set my self the goal of just finishing. I got into a bit of a rhythm and started picking my way through the back end of the race over the the next few laps, despite falling off twice on the steep drop at the start of the descent. I made most of my places up on the run and the steady drag to the top, then got reeled in again on the down hill.

At the start of the fifth of sixth lap I had a bit of a sickening moment when I found I'd lost all power in my brakes. I think the mud had worn the pads down. I picked my way down to the bottom with one foot on the ground most of the way and hoped it was the bell lap. It wasn't. As I crossed the line at the top I threw the towel in, as it would have been a bit hazardous to stay in the race.

Despite not finishing, that was probably the best race of the year. Cantis, clinchers and a front derailleur were not my friends though. I'm looking forward to racing there next years on discs, tubs and a single ring. I might even finish.

Im in the womens/ vets race :-)

I would like to race next weekend. There is no London X-league round...

Is there any other races relatively close to London? Are you going (from London)? And do you have room in your car for me?

Rapha kings x is next Saturday

He wants to race cyclocross though.

Well done, much better than I did. You geekhouse is cracking btw.

I flatted on the second lap, tried to run for a bit, gave up after realising I didn't have a spare tube so couldn't fix the pinch puncture and had an early shower. Bit of a blessing in disguise but I would have loved to have raced more than 1.5 laps.

If you're going to the next one I'd love to chip in for a lift from north london if the offer is still there.

Who else is racing the Rapha cx next weekend?

And "incredibly cross" is on Sunday (secret location South london zone 4)
Follow them on Instagram, details released on Friday.
I will be at both the Rapha supercross and that.
@andyp you're welcome to a lift to the london x league races in the future, I drive out from SE23. Save the train dramas.

Thanks, that's very generous of you.

But I'm in the vets so need to be there a good 2 hours before your race.

My 'race' ended before it began, my rear mech decided to implode on the ride over to Penshurst. Happy days!

Nice to see Dan Stevens is back racing

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/british-cyclist-dan-stevens-banned-for-failing-to-provide-anti-doping-sample-192254

Hah madness.

Sounds like my kinda race but alas I was hacking it down a Welsh hillside on a proper bike with a truck to take me back to the top.

Sounds like people were having a tougher time than at Durham National Trophy Races. Well done all.

With the course being used yesterday for the local league, it was already pretty cut up before the day started. Any moisture that may have been pounded out was comfortably restored by overnight rains that continued into the morning. If there was any saving graces, the mud was more soupy than claggy and being on a cricket club ground, the well tended and thin grass wasn't being caught up too much. Of course that didn't offer and guarantees and a handful of rear mechs were sacrificed to the vengeful gods of cross. At least three riders didn't make it off the starting straight (one of the cleanest bits of the course) before having to take up the long, soul destroying run of shame.

A rather meagre 9 starts out of 12 entrants in the Vet Womens race of which Mrs. TSK managed to fight to a creditable 5th place. Racing in with the Junior Men and Elite Women so at least it wasn't a lonely CX TT. I'm hoping this isn't repeated for the standalone Vet Women's National Champs Race in Shrewsbury. Alas there are whispers that the Ipswich round may not be well attended either . i.e. those that didn't drop the Durham round might drop that one. If there are any Vet Women around here then this might be an ideal opportunity to experience racing at the next level up. You aren't guaranteed to come last either. While the top half of the field are certainly some fantastic riders, the lower half are local league riders who are getting to test themselves on a different class of course and race.

In other news, Ripley Castle New Years Day Cross is having rather the opposite problem with entrants. This applies particularly to the Senior Men and Vet 40-49 Men and they're already having so consider what kind of cap they may need to apply to ensure a safe and enjoyable event. If you fall into either of these categories and are interested in entering then you'd be well advised to do so sooner rather than later. They're still holding both a stand alone Women's race with the target of 100 riders on the start line and a singlespeed race within the novice race. I'd like to see both well supported even if it does mean I'm likely to come DFL in the SS.

And on the subject of castles, after a week off this week, I'm off to Wentworth Castle next week in what has now become round 5A of the Yorkshire League. Rumblings abound that it might get used for a Rapha, National Trophy or some other bigger event next year if this goes well. Should be good then.

@bmx_fred thanks! Bad luck on the flat. I think I'm going to be away for the next round, but I'll message you next time I'm driving to a round.

I raced for the first time today. And also got my first DNF. I quickly found out that my budget SSCX really isn't up to much and the tight clearances are not ideal. I was so clogged up with mud and grass I had to stop every lap to clear the BB area as the rear wheel had locked up. I gave up after 3 painfully slow laps. Partly slow because of the bike and partly because I'm just abit slow. I'll hopefully be able to borrow a bike with better clearance for my next attempt and atleast finish

Rapha kings x

Thank you. I might come and have a look at that. Probably not racing that though. I will be keeping an eye on "incredibly cross" and racing that if it is within reach. Thx @George_Sportif

Lots of hidden brickwork and rubble underneath the mud at PORC today, probably responsible for the punctures.

Yes, I think I felt that rubble, time to go tubeless maybe. Would that prevent the pinch punctures?

Would that prevent the pinch punctures?

Sometimes. In extreme cases the sidewall rips. Depends on the robustness of the tyre. Tubeless specific stuff tends to be tougher.

I pinch-killed a tub the other day - I don't think anything is a safe.

Was a great course, so slippery though. Can't remember a race where I fell off so much.

cue andyp digging out the video of the bedlam trench of indignity