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for your amusement - first CX race
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on a snow-covered course in the freezing rain, no less!


got through the parking lot section only before dismounting due to deep snow


i certainly wasn't the only one who found it impossible to ride this section!


panting and grinning halfway through the first lap


cleared the obstacle


the 2nd half of the course was actually rideable - only 3" of snow instead of 10"+


bike all covered in snow and ice, and completely worn out after 2.5 laps.

of course, i finished DFL, but it was way too much fun! :)

the santa hat was from a 5k all-santa race i'd done with friends the day before; figured i wouldn't be fast, so might as well be silly ;) merry crossmas!

cheers!

-mistress k

__________________________________________________________
ill advised racing inc.
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Re: for your amusement - first CX race [mistressk] [ In reply to ]
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And didn't you get a prize for being DFL? Kick-ass!

Great job....you have inspired me! I have a cyclocross bike, but haven't trusted my riding skills to be good enough to actually do a race (especially now I've got to clip in), but I def. want to try a race now!!! :)
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Re: for your amusement - first CX race [Teags] [ In reply to ]
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$15 cash for being DFL, plus a water bottle and a pair of sock guy socks for 3rd (out of 3 ;) in the women's division. cliff from the hub puts on a great race! there was free coffee/tea from the coffee peddler as well, and someone had brought some awesome homemade gingerbread cookies :)

i was actually thinking of you a bit that day - there was a fellow in the same start as mine riding a fluoro-green jake the snake, so beans' brother was there! :D

you should definitely give it a try! i'll be doing the next one clipless (as tanker's bike shoes should be in any day now to go under the christmas tree, and my old pedals are waiting to go on his bike), which i'm sure will add a whole new element of suck on snowy days; it was hard enough trying to run in regular shoes through the slushy snow, let alone in tri shoes! *lol*

there's a race in T.O. on new year's eve: http://www.ontariocycling.org/...dule_info.php?ID=808

cheers!

-mistress k

__________________________________________________________
ill advised racing inc.
Last edited by: mistressk: Dec 16, 09 10:43
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Re: for your amusement - first CX race [mistressk] [ In reply to ]
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AWESOME! I've been wanting to try cx but been too chicken, your post is giving me courage to try!!! ;-)

AP

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"How bad could it be?" - SimpleS
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Re: for your amusement - first CX race [mistressk] [ In reply to ]
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You go girl!

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce
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Re: for your amusement - first CX race [AndyPants] [ In reply to ]
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definitely go for it! the other riders and the organizers were awesome - very accepting and supportive of a complete noob's effort, regardless of how slow and incompetent i may have been! *lol*

i just tried to keep moving forward, stay out of people's way, and keep the rubber side down; nothing fancy, just building some experience!

i did go out to a frozen, snowy schoolyard on monday night to try it out before the race - just riding loops in the field, picking the bike up at one tree and running with it to another tree 100m away. definitely gave me a good impression of what to expect from the handling and let me try different ways of carrying the bike, so good for confidence building, though i'll admit i was still terrified of crashing and hurting myself or anyone else!

i can just about guarantee that if you try it, you won't regret it :)

cheers!

-mistress k

__________________________________________________________
ill advised racing inc.
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Re: for your amusement - first CX race [mistressk] [ In reply to ]
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Yay Beans' brother!

Hmmm....I will have to see if we have time New Year's, plus if I am confident enough in using clipless pedals. I've never actually used them off of the trainer, in real life.

I'm sure Tanker will be thrilled with his new shoes!
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Re: for your amusement - first CX race [Teags] [ In reply to ]
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i just hope they fit him - noone local deals vittoria, but i got a killer deal on a pair of shoes from performancebike.com. so, i'm going by brand-comparative size charts, using judgement based on the fact we both like saucony's last for running shoes, and that i know both of our sizes in saucony :p

for CX purposes, as long as you can clip in & out fairly easily, you should be fine - it's not like coming to a stop at a traffic light, more like mounting & dismounting at the line in a tri. i still haven't attempted a flying mount (would like to do so on some soft grass the first few times i try it - may borrow tanker's bike for that in the spring as we'll both be running look pedals), but i can do the "swing right leg over while still clipped into left pedal" dismount while staying in motion..

watching the racers in the second start (the faster & more experienced riders) was amazing; they made the flying mount look like nothing at all, though one of them did manage some *ahem* "crushage" that it took a minute or two for him to laugh off ;)

cheers!

-mistress k

__________________________________________________________
ill advised racing inc.
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Re: for your amusement - first CX race [mistressk] [ In reply to ]
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I am tempted....I know I will be DFL, and that's okay. Hmmmm.....would have to find my second cyclocross tire, right now it has a slick and a training wheel on the bike.
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Re: for your amusement - first CX race [mistressk] [ In reply to ]
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Great job!

CCX is GREAT! I'm super bummed to not have raced this year. The cross crowd is way cool--cheering everyone on, no matter how fast, slow or uncoordinated you are. If you haven't tried it...do it! You can do it on a mt. bike too. In fact, ask Katy about her first ever ccx race.

clm

clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com
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Re: for your amusement - first CX race [trackie clm] [ In reply to ]
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one of the fastest guys in my start was on a mountain bike - extra grippy tires sure came in handy! i think i spent almost as much time going sideways as forward, trying to run along snowy berms!

cheers!

-mistress k

__________________________________________________________
ill advised racing inc.
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Re: for your amusement - first CX race [mistressk] [ In reply to ]
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You should definitely give 'cross a try. Any clinic I've ever done has had several women who have never raced (some times just 'cross, some times at all). It's by far the most beginner friendly discipline of cycling.
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Re: for your amusement - first CX race [mistressk] [ In reply to ]
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no report about pre race smoke?
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Re: for your amusement - first CX race [mistressk] [ In reply to ]
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Good job, welcome to the most fun you can have on 2 wheels. I can't imagine racing cross on flat pedals, but good on ya. I spent last week up at the CX Natz in Bend. It was a brisk 8* for my race. Lots of snowy, icy, muddy fun.



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Awww, Katy's not all THAT evil. Only slightly evil. In a good way. - JasoninHalifax

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Re: for your amusement - first CX race [Katy] [ In reply to ]
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awesome! :D

yeah, platform pedals weren't exactly ideal, but i didn't want to have to change out pedals a bunch of times (if tanker wants to ride his bike again before christmas). also didn't think my bike shoes would give me much grip trying to run - not that my old runners did, either! but at least the clipless pedals wouldn't have chewed my legs up like the serrated edges of tanker's current pedals...my calves are still a little sore and scraped!

cheers!

-mistress k

__________________________________________________________
ill advised racing inc.
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Re: for your amusement - first CX race [mistressk] [ In reply to ]
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You definitely want mnt bike shoes for cross. You might break your neck using road shoes.

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Awww, Katy's not all THAT evil. Only slightly evil. In a good way. - JasoninHalifax

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Re: for your amusement - first CX race [Katy] [ In reply to ]
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i stand a pretty good chance of breaking my neck regardless *lol*

might have to see if i can find some look-compatible MTB shoes for next year..

cheers!

-mistress k

__________________________________________________________
ill advised racing inc.
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Re: for your amusement - first CX race [mistressk] [ In reply to ]
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In Reply To:
might have to see if i can find some look-compatible MTB shoes for next year..

You won't (assuming you're thinking of using Look road pedals with a mtn shoe). All mtn clipless shoes are SPD compatible (that is, the shoes use a 2-bolt cleat mount, vs the 3-bolt on roadie shoes). The three main mtn pedal
systems are Shimano SPD, Time ATAC, and Crank Bros Eggbeaters. There are some other options, but the three listed are the most common (at least in the mid-Atlantic). Look does make a mtn pedal, but it uses the same mtn shoes as the other mtn systems.
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Re: for your amusement - first CX race [mistressk] [ In reply to ]
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What Alistair said. Also, I don't think Look pedals are a good choice for cx. When it gets muddy you'll have difficulty getting in and out of your pedals quickly.

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Awww, Katy's not all THAT evil. Only slightly evil. In a good way. - JasoninHalifax

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Re: for your amusement - first CX race [Katy] [ In reply to ]
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tanker and i both want to keep look pedals on his bike so that we can both run the same cleats (meaning we can trade bikes while out on a ride if we want) - specifically had them replace the crank bros eggbeaters that came stock on the bike with platform pedals so he could ride right away, and i got new keo 2 max pedals so he could have my keo classics.

i suppose i could find a cheap pair of shimano or crank bros pedals & cleats on ebay, and just put them on if i'm doing a race. i have a good torque wrench, so it's not like it'd cost me anything but time, but it's kind of a pain in the ass. will see how it goes..

thanks for the info, anyway - good to know! i had wondered if i'd have any luck finding look-compatible mtn shoes, as i'd searched for some for tanker (figuring they'd be easier for him to walk in), but hadn't turned up anything.

cheers!

-mistress k

__________________________________________________________
ill advised racing inc.
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Re: for your amusement - first CX race [mistressk] [ In reply to ]
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I'd seriously spend the 2 minutes to swap pedals. I don't see how you could race cx on looks and road shoes.

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Awww, Katy's not all THAT evil. Only slightly evil. In a good way. - JasoninHalifax

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Re: for your amusement - first CX race [Katy] [ In reply to ]
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In Reply To:
I'd seriously spend the 2 minutes to swap pedals. I don't see how you could race cx on looks and road shoes.

Ditto.

I ride Look on the road, tri and track bikes. I ride SPD on the mt and cross bikes (plus you can use then on spin bikes at the gym). You can get an inexpensive pair of mt. shoes.

clm

clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com
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Re: for your amusement - first CX race [trackie clm] [ In reply to ]
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no gym for me, but i suppose if i ever wanted to do one of the spin classes at the rec centre where i swim i'd probably need SPD cleats.

will look into it for next year...by that time, i may end up having to buy 2 pair of mtn shoes and cleats, because after spectating/sherpaing on sunday tanker is thinking about giving it a try :)

any opinions on the wellgo pedals that use the SPD cleats? they definitely seem to be cheap and plentiful on ebay..

cheers!

-mistress l

__________________________________________________________
ill advised racing inc.
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Re: for your amusement - first CX race [mistressk] [ In reply to ]
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Your local shop probably has a few pairs of inexpensive Shimano SPDs that were OEM on new bikes. You may be able to score a pair cheap! My LBS usually sells a set for $20.
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Re: for your amusement - first CX race [mistressk] [ In reply to ]
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<<because after spectating/sherpaing on sunday tanker is thinking about giving it a try :) >>

Oh yes, that's how it happens.....one bike and then the next thing you know, you have 5. ;-)

clm

clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com
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