Cyclocross - CX and SSCX races and training

I guess you have to be a BC affiliated club to actually race in the league representing said club?

So, for example, we couldn't race as LFGSSCX.cc could we? Otherwise known as Team NoVowels. Which kind of sounds Belgian. Hmmm. I'll shut up now.

We could if David got round to setting up LFGSS.cc and affiliated the club to the London cough Kent cough League.

On retrospect my season was shit. Hah.

Club affiliation is, I think, £40. Individual affiliation is £7. So you need more than 5 members wanting to race to make club affiliation viable.

Aren't you a Hackney GT member, Mike? They are affiliated (and almost as ubiquitous as the Crawley Wheelers).

That's not too bad, really.

I'm not a Hackney GT member, I do know a couple of them though. If I was to join a club Islington.cc would be my local bunch, well technically Finsbury Park.cc but they start their rides in Potter's Bar.

I normally ride with the Pretorius Bikes shop guys.

Join Rollapaluza then, it's a small one off fee and for that Andy sorts out all the league stuff each year.

I'll join anyone so long as the kit isn't white, like my current CX jersey. Good choice there by the Iceni Swifts. It's a nice jersey, but not all that practical.

Reckon you could do this on a crosser?

Cape Epic 2014 Route

So much climbing, I reckon you could keep up with the fast boys on their MTBs.

Join Rollapaluza then, it's a small one off fee and for that Andy sorts out all the league stuff each year.

I'm not sure I'll be able to persuade Winston to keep doing it given the number of members who actually rode a London League event this year. By my reckoning, we had four members race this year.

In the absence of LFGSS.cc then I'd sign up for Rollapaluza next year, if numbers matter.

I only ask Winston if I think it's cost effective for the club, so numbers do matter. If we only had 3 active cross racers doing the London League then I'd propose we sign up as individuals.

I think it's partly me and partly the depth of the field in the vets races now, but mid-table mediocrity is mine too.

For some reason, my result from the Herne Hill round in October is not included with the rest of my results so it pushes me down a bit (I scored 70 points that day). Anyway, it's a long drop from the days when I finished in the top ten of the overall vets ranking.

I'm going to sound like a Liverpool fan now, but next season I plan to do better.

Yes, yes, YES!!! In your face Andrew Powers, I done beat you. Mission accomplished.

Either that or your missing result is sat as "Andrew Powers - unattached" in 166th place. I'm rooting for ya.

Have you been at the gin again, Sam?

I know the missing result is there, hence why I said it's not included with the rest of my results, but for some reason my club for the Vicious Velo hosted round at HH was 'unattached' rather than Rollapaluza. It doesn't change much, I didn't ride enough rounds to get a decent amount of points and it'll only affect the first three races next season, where the gridding is done on the previous year's league standings.

You keep rooting away.

Ah, gin....mmmmm.

I am rooting for you now, but come the season start, I'll be gunning for ya. ;-)

My first CX race ever tomorrow. Team champs for the London cross league. Been roped into it by some club mates who wanted to enter a team. Really looking forward to it. I suspect I'll enjoy it but then regret not having entered some events earlier in the season.

Have fun!

Best of luck, and enjoy it. One thing is for sure, it'll be a mud fest!

Yeah I'm expecting to need a wash afterwards :-)

Ha! One did one race (DNFd) and didn't finish last in the league. In your face, world.

Yep it was muddy. I learned a lot:

• Cross is the quickest way to kill bikes and incur heavy repair bills.
  
• Tyres need to be run at significantly less than 40psi.
  
• Mud doesn't taste nice.
  
• I could have done a century in the time I was away from home, but only managed a 20 minute ride (before my rear mech got sucked into the wheel abruptly ending my race).
  
• I can start a little nearer the front next time without embarrassing myself too much.
  
• "Next time", I can't believe there will be a next time, but there probably will.
  
• Watching 2/3rds of the race from the pits I realised that I "need" a second CX bike (and a nice pit crew who clean the one I'm not riding for that fresh bike feeling each lap)*.
  
  

*Obviously I'm not really considering a 2nd CX bike after only 20 mins of racing.

I did find it annoying overhearing a bloke saying that he'd raced cross 18 cross this season and finished all 18 when I'd only managed 2 1/2 laps!

The later half of this season does seem to have been quite ruinous.

I missed most of it.

I saw 3 other people all have the same mechanical (rear mech explode into wheel). And that was stood in one place. I suspect we weren't the only 4.

In my experience...of all of three years... those mech mangling conditions are relatively uncommon. Maybe two - three races in a season. At least in the Central league.

Were you racing in London / Kent clay? That'll do it.

Yeah it was London X League, but down in Crawley so neither London, nor Kent, but definitely sticky mud.

This should probably be in the spotted thread, but spot the forumite in this spread from cxmagazine;

http://www.cxmagazine.com/flashback-london-league-cyclocross-dartford-photo-gallery

Ha!