Cyclocross - CX and SSCX races and training

@Tenderloin Nice of you - I have donated. Woo

Location hasn't been announced yet, will be in London, last one was in south east in zone 3. The location should be posted a day or two before.

You've heard the moans from parents about this short bodice haven't to?

Bodices. I mean notice.

I suspect that if you're going to run an unlicensed, uninsured and ostensibly illegal race without the permission of the landowner then advertising where it's going to be isn't in your best interests.

Landowners gonna land own.

Yeah but I think @The_Seldom_Killer might be onto something there.

Ooh
Is illegal.

Ffs
Where is the race?

It feels like an illicit rave, in Lycra.

Shame I've binned the spandex onesie.

They should make it a white gloves only event.

I'm not sure how it was for you southerners but up here in Yorkshire it was bordering on tropical. I was sweating just casually trundling kit the short distance to the pits and I think I have a touch of sunburn. It's November for goodness sake, this isn't cross weather.

I did a big fell race on Wednesday so was feeling a bit crap coming into the weekend. A spinny ride yesterday got most of the ache out of my legs but I was still a bit trepidatious about today. With a lot of rain recently I was expecting it to be pretty sloppy but yesterday and this morning really seemed to have dried the course out.

The start was a big sprint across a flat field and then straight into some hairpin bends. I decided I was no longer going to just sit at the back and work my way through as I have from the start of the season and fought for a line right from the whistle. Quite crowded and stuttered at the hairpins but polo skills helped me hold place and as we headed off to the bankings I was surprised to see I was doing pretty well for me. There were three slopes I had to run up but, fortunately, most of the people I was racing ran them too. Had to stop mid third lap to pull a lump of mud out of my eye which meant I lost all of the hard work I had been doing in the first two but seemed to be able to pull almost all of it back in the next lap. Ditched the knot of riders I had been battling but by the time I caught up with the next guy it was the last lap and he woke up enough to hold me at bay.

Annoyed with a few niggles such as the mud in eye, a couple of shoddy dismounts and putting up the pressure on the tyres too high. Still feeling like I'm progressing from the start of the season and seem to beating more people. I might get good at this one day.

I might get good at this one day.

Isn't this what keeps most of us going?

Sounds like you had a good race today.

I raced the London League event at Ardingly. The course was, I thought, an excellent mix of fast sections, one or two tricky technical sections and some slow corner sections. I couldn't be arsed to carry my tub wheels with me and regretted that decision immediately I started riding the course. Lots of claggy mud that would have the Terras would have dealt with better than my Michelin Muds. I dropped the pressure and got on with it though.

Had a good race, spent most of it in a race long duel with a group of 6 0r 7 that ended with the three most experienced of us getting away to contest the sprint, in which I got baulked as one of my rivals had to move line to avoid a slowing lapped rider and I ran out of road as he eased into my path. I would have had him too. Maybe.

Well done to @Jon. who won the Seniors race for the second week running.

Well done to @Jon. who won the Seniors race for the second week running.

#standard

Ardlingly was a nice, good to see the mud returning although this meant my bike jammed up almost immediately.

Thermal skinsuit was also a terrible terrible choice, it must have weighed twice it's original weight by the end.

Enjoyed weaving through those slow corners.

Thermal skinsuit

WTF? I raced in a short sleeve jersey and shorts.

Thanks! Definitely one for tubs and low pressures today. I made a move to the front on the first lap as I'd rather take my own lines in those slick corners and avoid trouble, no one seemed to follow so I carried on going and had a decent gap by the end. Looking forward to PORC next week, which is completely different to anything I've ridden thus far this season.

Was pretty cold in the car park! I'm just too eager for the practical racewear. I was -dripping-

Edit: Can you feel the heat?!?!

Eurrrgh.

Euuurrghhh

Cheers for the reply, I've gone for 40x18 to keep my rear wheel as far back in the dropouts as possible, and will be going straight into the seniors.

Rain forecast all week so gonna be a muddy one I think. Hopefully not too muddy as my Gazelle doesn't have the biggest clearance.

@Jon. are you going geared or singlespeed at PORC?

Single speed, might gear down for the climb. The descent is technical enough that I reckon I'll get away with it. Might be a bit of running if it's wet though, I seem to remember the bottom of it can be quite slick.

Is there a hose at PORC?

Yes. There'll be a long queue though.

You'll also have to navigate the car park, which is the muddiest place there, after cleaning.

Sounds almost as much fun as the racing! Might invest in a pump action fence sprayer thingy.

@George_Sportif I bought a 20 quid one from Amazon. It's fairly effective.