Cyclocross - CX and SSCX races and training

Anybody racing Stanmer Park tomorrow?
I have signed up for both Central and London league. Hope to meet some of you guys out there.

I got proper tyres a couple of days ago. Thought I'd see how they handle in the mud:

Sadly, yes. The V40s are in their own race, with the women and V50s in a slot after. Look on the bright side, we'll be back in the same race in a couple of years. :(

Yep, I'll have green tyres on, probably hard to miss.

Should be fun!

Is that the bit of Epping forest just south of the North Circular? I fell in that bog sometime in February. Must be a leaking pipe under there or something.

Is that massive hole in the foreground your footprint?

Looks deep.

Cool. I'll say hi then. I will be in CC London kit. Looking forward to this. My first race of the season :-)

@tommmmmmm I have been into that bog (or one similar) some time last year. I panicked and ended up completely soaked.

I'll be there taking photos, smile for the camera!

Yeah it's just near the underpass under the Waterworks roundabout.

I dread to think what kind of waterworks pipe might be leaking.

That is indeed my footprint, somehow I managed to only get my feet in it, the woman who walked her dog around the corner in the immediate aftermath was pretty amused by it.

Good luck y'all

I have a pair of Michelin Mud 2s and a pair of Ritchey CX tyres I'm nevert going to use - £25 and £10 a pair anyone? Mud 2s still have all their moulding hairs, bit more use on the Ritcheys.

West Mids League Round 1
2 weeks off the bike with chest infection and then a back spasm wasn't best prep. Still, finished and my back was ok so overall a great days sport
Fast course, dry but soft, loads of off camber grass and 180 riders in the field!

Vive le cross!

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Nothing quite prepares you for that first lap does it 😂

Great race wasn't it! Couldn't believe the size of the field or how unfit/unprepared/over geared I was ha ha. Looking forward to round 2 though and hoping for a bit more running rather than that horrible bottom straight that felt like riding across a ploughed field made of concrete.

BTW, I was the guy on the singlespeed getting lapped and desperately trying not to get in anyone's way! Oh, and where did you find the pics? Is there an album somewhere online?

@nott_mike

That bottom single track hurt, needed a week of rain in the run up to the day! I saw a couple riding SS, was gonna shout encouragement but realised I couldn't actually speak :D
Pics were from a chap from my local road club but there are some more on the following link which I didn't put on the forum as they are copyrighted

http://www.mikeadamsphotography.biz/Cycling/Cyclo-Cross

Not sure I'm doing Round 2 - MonsterCross clashes and I quite fancy giving that a bash

Results are up from Stanmer Park in the London League.

Good course: the hill's a good test of fitness but without the technical skills you could lose lots of time in the woods.

I don't know how you do so well on a singlespeed. I was losing places every lap on the field section after the barriers to the foot of the climb as I span out and then couldn't close the gap on the hill (where I was slightly over geared).

Well done on 4th though, good start to the season.

I was managing to tuck in behind people on the grassy descent and not lose any time. Most were using that as a bit of recovery but if it had come down to it in the last lap I imagine I would have lost it there (as it happens I managed to crash on the last little climb trying to get past Jules, so I didn't find out). I lacked a bit of acceleration coming out of the corners in the woods, other than that it was alright.

Deinitely, just imagine how greasy the woods would have been in the wet though! Thanks for the link, unfortunately none of me on there.

Disappointed to hear there was more than just me on singlespeed! I was hoping to at least be able to claim my place as first in my class. I suppose I can always say I was second and the other was second to last though...

You'll be with the >50 soon all going well so chill.

In other news I was riding into Koksijde on the weekend and when I cheerfully mentioned CX to the man in the Belgium rando jersey he shrugged and said in Flemish what might translate as in the winter.

Thanks Ludwig.

I've two more seasons after this one before I hit the V50s. Which is a shame, I might be competitive in there.

I went to the Hackney GT/Hub Velo cross training at Hackney Marshes yesterday evening and had a great time. It's the first time I've ridden a bike on grass and have to learn to dismount and remount from scratch but I'm getting there. Hopefully going to get in a few cross races this year.

With you and Tommmmmmmmmmmmmm it looks like the makings of a thundercats cross team.

All the races seem to be on a Sunday though. As it stands I'm playing Sunday league football and can't really manage both.

Are there any leagues which have Saturday races?

The ECCA has two (one of which is this week which I can't so) and the London League seems to not have any.

A few of the Central League races happen on a Saturday too. Plenty in close geographic proximity to North London.