Cyclocross - CX and SSCX races and training

I don’t think you’d need lower than the 36 on either of those courses, if you’re going any slower it’s quicker to get off and run.

The main climb at Summerhill is on tarmac so doesn’t need really low gears.

Canada Heights isn’t too bad, they usually use a hard pack gravel road for the main climb.

That is sweet, yes.

I flagged that in the ebay bargains yesterday. It wouldn't be crazy to be asking close to twice that for it

Who else is in for Western league at Netham this Sunday?

That course usually drains fairly well, but I suspect it may time for a little slip n slide.

Will be there for the under 12s but not racing myself.

See you there, most likely with a hangover

Good intel thanks. I’ll start with the 36, fingers crossed I won’t be cursing you ;-)

Sunny Netham Park race today - flat out, hungover, shit legs. 28th out of 53 seniors, knew today was going to be tough. @Ifonlyiwerebelgian was flying as usual.

Enjoyed it today - first race of the year for me. Was getting hungry before the start because of the delay but did alright. Hope the 2 injured V50 riders are ok.

That was brutal. I felt good at the start, thought I may be able to catch the lead group, but was was swiftly shown otherwise.

Thought I was going to have a bloody heart attack half way through and basically got incrementally slower every lap. Enjoyed it though.

Must have been horrendous with a hangover!

So many Vitus Energies at the race today!

Looking froward to the gcn vid. Connor was going pretty quick when he crashed on that slippy right hander

I was really hoping it would stay dry for this weekend and I signed up to Somerhill on Sunday.
But it’s super muddy out and it looks like my mud tyres aren’t arriving until next week.

Has anyone in London got some mud tyres/mixed tyres I can borrow for the weekend?

I’ve got some Schwalbe X-One Allround TLE 33s clincher. No idea how they fair against mud.

What tyres have you currently got?

I may be wrong, but I don't think Somerhill will be a super muddy race. The course can get very muddy, especially on the lower half of the hill, but Southborough CC have evolved the course over the years to stop it being a mudfest (which it was in the first few editions). It's been very dry until this week, and I don't think there's been enough rain to penetrate the soil deep enough to make it properly muddy. It'll more likely be slick on top but firmer underneath so a full mud tyre may be over kill.

As I said though, I could be wrong (there's evidence of my optimism earlier in this thread about a race at Cyclopark where I got it very wrong).

I’ve switched over to 1x and I’ll be running Terreno Wet, is that a mud tyre??

It's meant to be, yes, but I find it's very good in most conditions bar bone dry courses. It struggles with really deep mud too in my experience, but then most tyres do.

Great! Oh and I have bartape that I should be able to grip. Bit bummed my grid position hasn’t improved. Hopefully I’ll have a clearer start this time!!

I got Terreno Drys

I've bottled it for Sunday I've not been able to sort a cx bike yet so still on mtb with summer tyres and not going to spend £100 on some 29er mud tyres for just a couple of races. Hopefully next weekend will be a little better. I'll buy or build a cross bike as a winter project at least 2 sets of tyres and a bike rack so I'm better equipped for next year. I might even train abit for it.

You should come! I’m pretty much racing on slicks unless I can find something tomorrow.
I fell off 4 times at HHV today riding around the off-road track…

Entries are closed now aren't they? I'm going to ring around to see if I can borrow some mud tyres for the mtb for next week if not ride what I've got and hope for the best. What's canada heights like in the wet is it sandy?

I reckon you might be okay with them. They're not ideal but they have good cornering grip, which is what you need at Somerhill. Most of the course is grassy, but the section from the top of the course to the bottom is where you need grip, a fast descent into a sweeping right hand corner, up the steep bank to the top, which is usually rideable if you get the corner right, then the series of banked bends where grip and technique is key.

Parts of it are sandy, but a lot of it is very muddy when it's properly wet. It won't be very wet yet though.

I just remember the 2018 addition, in December, it was my first CX race and claimed my hanger, great fun but one of the muddier course I have done. Surprisingly so different last year (or was it the year before). Interested in how the conditions are this weekend.