Cyclocross- New season approaches..

[palinurus]

What are you going to be up to?

Going to focus on my local league events (central). Just registered for the event at Blenheim palace start of October- following that there's a local-ish race for me every weekend for four weeks. Yow! then a week's break followed by another almost unbroken run of events leading into December.

 

[jpembroke]

First: WOOOHOOOOO!

Second: have put a number of western league races on the calendar: Gloucester, Stroud, Cheltenham, Bristol, and Gloucester again. I'll be pleased if I can do 5 this season. Maybe able to squeeze 1 or 2 more in.

Still hoping for that elusive top 5 place.

 

[palinurus]

I've little chance of a high overall position in any one race but I aim to start often and finish consistently and aim for a high league placing. If the weather if really dismal and hardly anyone turns up I might get a top ten placing (it's happened before..)

Today the first step: spent the morning dismantling the TT bike so I could stuff it into the roofspace. Got the 'cross bike out of the same hole, put it together.

 

[jpembroke]

Good work. I went out yesterday and did 4 laps of Leckhampton Hill in the wind, rain and mud. Looked like a refugee when I got back. Perfect!

 

[palinurus]

Just looking at Leckhampton Hill on Multimap- looks ideal.

I do a lot of my training on various bits of park and woodland close to the town centre. I will try to find a longer, quieter, bridleway loop this year. I've got a fairly handy one that's a mile and a half long but it's too popular with dog walkers- I have a rule: meet a pedestrian means dismount and run past. If there are too many of them it's really hard work. I know that's the point, but imagine a 'cross course with 30 sets of barriers.

I've yet to find a place to train nearby that has grassy bits, muddy bits and some good steep slopes of varying length all in the same place.

 

[jpembroke]

Leckhampton Hill is a very popular MTB venue with some testing manmade downhill stuff and some very steep climbs. Not necessarily ideal for 'cross training but I have a circuit that is entirely rideable (depending on conditions) around the top of the hill. It is, however, a 3 mile circuit (+ 2 miles to get up there) but I can pack everything in that i need to emulate a 'cross race: woodland singletrack, grass, tarmac, steep banks, off camber stuff, tree roots. I tend to do it in bad weather as a) it's more autumn-like, and b) not many dog walkers. Like you, I dismount when I meet walkers on the narrow bits unless they wave me on.

 

[dan_bo]

Got the three peaks on 26th september- managed to speak to the facilities manager of a local 12 storey office block who's letting me use thier staircases to run up and down like a nutter a couple of times a week.

After that, it's the usual mix of NWCCA races petering out in mid-december. When it gets too muddy, to be quite candid.

 

[jpembroke]

Got the three peaks on 26th september

Removes cap and bows in deeply respectful manner

 

[iAmiAdam]

Sorry for my ignorance, but are there any major cyclocross comps that get televised?

Like MTBing it's not for me, but it's alright to watch.

 

[Dave5N]

Terrified.

 

[dan_bo]

Terrified.

Wher've you been miseryarse?

 

[palinurus]

That's five of us, can we have our subforum back now?

 

[Dave5N]

Wher've you been miseryarse?

Nice to hear from you again, too.

Bin busy, innit.

 

[Chrisc]

Got the three peaks on 26th september- managed to speak to the facilities manager of a local 12 storey office block who's letting me use thier staircases to run up and down like a nutter a couple of times a week.

After that, it's the usual mix of NWCCA races petering out in mid-december. When it gets too muddy, to be quite candid.

Mentalist!! I've walked the 3 peaks without ever seeing one of 'em. Rain, howling wind and fog every time...I might not even have been on the right summits for all I know!
Been eyeing up cross bikes meself, hmmm.

 

[trio25]

Got the three peaks on 26th september- managed to speak to the facilities manager of a local 12 storey office block who's letting me use thier staircases to run up and down like a nutter a couple of times a week.

After that, it's the usual mix of NWCCA races petering out in mid-december. When it gets too muddy, to be quite candid.

Nice one Danny! I'm not doing it this year but that does sound good training.

I will also hopefully make some NWCCA races, but working a lot of saturdays and sundays which makes it harder.