You'll ride the C category, not the B, in your first race.

And yes, you'll stay on the course the full time. Since it's a looped course, you may do one less lap than the winner, but everyone rides the entire time. Just pace yourself.

Setting up the course is hard work (pounding stakes, doing landscaping, etc.) Having a chance to pre-ride the course is nice though.

>>Does CX favor a person who can run ?<< Not really. You don't run that much. It favors someone who has good cross skills and can get on/off the bike and over the barriers in a quick fashion. Also, different courses play to difference people's strengths. Is the course more mountain-bikey, or a flat, power Euro-style course, or grass, or sand, or......

For the first one, go out, have fun and get the experience.

Here are pictures from last Sunday's women's race:

http://bikeguy.smugmug.com/...cross%20Races/652783

Good luck!

clm

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

Thank you for the reply. Just to clarify, and not come across like I have a huge head, I meant I am a B rider on the ROADS. Lord knows I would hop into a Z category if I could for CX. And now you tell me running won't even help me??! Oh am I ever toast. Well, you never know if you will like something til you try, so here I go :-)

Thx for the pictures...I even see some pavement on there. My computer is really slow to load photos. Can you just tell me which start wave you were in and I will look at that set.

Also if, err...a person were to buy a CX bike, could they swap out the nubby tires for slicks if they wanted to do a road ride? I actually have my son in mind for that one. He is getting to the age he might be interested in some road rides.

thx

Focus on getting thru the race and not making the same mistake two laps in a row.

Setting up a course is a lot of hard work. It's great if you can help out but if it's a strain your family then skip it. It will also leave you kind of tired.

The "running" in 'cross is very short and fast. So unless it's a long slog of a course your background will help a little but not a lot. CLM is right that it favors people with 'cross skills which include, but are not limited to, running.

If I may suggest, get there in time to spend ~30-45 mins riding the course. Not hard, but to familiarize yourself with it. Do two laps just to get the whole course in your mind. Then do another couple of laps focusing on sections you're not sure about. An amazing amount of success in 'cross is about proper prep. Not that you need to be concerned with that in your first race, but it will really help a lot if you have some familiarity with the course.

The only pics I have of my bike are with me in them which just seems like bragging. What were you looking for in those pics?

Thanks for the info. I will try to pre-ride. Good tips about the set-up being tiring. I am recovering from anemia so I get tired a bit easier than the average person and recover *much* slower. So my volunteer time is probably better spent elsewhere, another time.

Re the photos....hmm...I guess I am just looking for a visual, some sort of familiarity. I have a fine arts background so I just always like to see pictures and colors for motivation, it just makes my eyes happy to look at cool stuff. In my LBS they only have one CX bike and it is the only one I have ever seen in real life. In Clm's case, I am not sure, I would have to check past postings, but I semi recall her having a drop dead gorgeous custom painted pink Cervelo (it may have been someone else though), but with that in mind I was just curious what she had up her sleeve for a CX bike . Long answer....Aren't you glad you asked that?

You are correct--I do have a pink Cervelo, but it's a time trial bike.

Here are some pictures of the cross bike:

http://ironclm.typepad.com/.../08/my_new_bike.html

Don't worry about your running or your skills. You'll go redline from the start and be gasping for air and have snot on your face and dirt all over (if you biff, which is normal), but at the end, you'll probably have a huge smile on your face. At least out here, the cross crowd is very chill (though uber-competitive) and helpful and fun and friendly. It's way different than a tri.

And yes, you can ride you cross bike on the road. You can even do a crit or a road race with it with different tires. Just ask Katy.

In the first link of pics, I'm in the 12:30 start. One of the yellow and black Mice (not the one at the front of the pack!)

clm

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

Yeah, sounds like skipping the day before might be best. That said, there's a lot of clean up afterwards. Help there is always appreciated, too.

There are some great pics here:
http://www.cyclocrossworld.com/BOSS.cfm

I have some personal photos but they are all on Facebook. PM if you're interested in those.

Good luck with your race. Let us know how it goes, eh?

Some thoughts from a cross newbie: Cross is awesome, I just did my third CX race on Sunday and it's definately become my favorite form of bike racing.

Don't sweat it, you'll race the C or Beginner category and there will be many people less experienced and less fit than you. Courses are a loop so you'll ride the whole time and you won't feel any need to bail before it's over. Sure it's hard work but just go as fast as you're comfortable doing and you'll be fine.

Cross is much more laid back than road racing or even triathlon. It's a very supportive group and results (especially in the lower categories) just don't matter. People are having fun, occasionally falling down and just generally having a good time. The great thing about cross is there are so many things to improve upon.

I did my first cross race about 4 weeks ago and I was in horrible shape and finished building my bike the night before so I had zero practice. I was kind of nervous about it but in the end, it was no big deal at all. I'd say just show up early enough that you can ride the course a couple times during warm-up and you'll have the time of your life.

The other posters offered some good advice. I'd say for goals, don't go in with a bunch expectations. Definately, ride a couple laps to warm-up. Then try to improve each lap of the race. Lots of opportunities to get better by mounting or dismounting more cleanly or taking a better line through a rough section, etc. If there's something that makes you nervous or you're not sure you can ride through, just jump off and carry your bike as you can probably run it faster anyway.

Finally, if you fall down, laugh it off, get back on your bike and keep going, you won't be the only one.

The only thing I don't like about cross racing is the hour I spend cleaning my bike after each race :-)

Hour? I spend less than half an hour washing two bikes. 15 mins, tops, not including setup.

I admit I'm pretty anal about bike cleaning ;-).

Depending on course and weather, you can pick up a lot of mud, grass, sand, etc. in the course of a single CX race. My last race you had to go through a mud bog that was probably 50 yards and ranged from 6-15" deep (deep soupy sticky mud that coated everything). You also had to go over two big mulch/sawdust piles, down grassy paths, on gravel, dirt and even some pavement. I probably spent 10 minutes just hosing my bike, another 10 picking grass & crap out of the brakes & derailuers; then comes the detailed cleaning, re-lubing everything and prepping it for the next ride. Of course, as I mentioned, I'm pretty anal about bike cleaning.

I'm pretty familiar with mud :)

Yeah sorry, when I replied to you I thought you were the original poster that hadn't done a cross race. I can see that you're well versed on mud and gunk :-)

No worries.

Still, with a powerwasher (car wash) that was ~15 mins over 5 bikes. I need to do some touch up work on my bikes, probably at the car wash again since it's not supposed to break freezing before the weekend here.

To un-hijack this thread:
http://www.cyclocrossworld.com/...6&ShowDisabled=0

http://cycle-smart.com/...s/find.php?search=34

I have a Dirt Worker. Plugs into my car outlet.



That way the mud doesn't ahve a chance to dry and get caked on.

I'm not nearly as OCD as my boyfriend is about bike cleaning. He has a detailed process he goes through before EVERY ride. You could eat off of any one of his bikes (although he'd beat you senseless if you tried).

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

You mean you're supposed to clean them? Mine still has mud from the 11/2/08 race.

clm

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

Haha, I ride my mtb year round so I've dealt with my share of mud too. For Mother's Day my guys cleaned my bike.

Cute pic Mayhem, are you a guy? I dont think I am going to be able to haul my FS mtb on my shoulder like that but I am prepared to give up some time in that aspect.

So, if you get lapped they don't kick you off the course? I thought, as soon as you get lapped , you're done. I was figuring since that is somewhat inevitable, I should try to set an interim goal of how long I try to hold 'em off before getting lapped.

CLM , I totally remember that bike, it is soooo stunning. That whole thread (from early on in this forum) was phenomenal, I loved looking at some of those beautiful bikes. I think I remember a gorgeous orange mtb but I can't remember who belongs to it.

How does CX stack up to mtb-ing? I am not entirely clueless about bike handling, have done XTerra, and have a decent sense of humor, so I figure I can do this without total catastrophe. I think....CX has not really hit it big in my area so I have nobody local to ask.

I am, although wouldn't you be embarrassed if I was not? ;) MTB's do not shoulder well at all.

The terrain of 'cross is usually fairly tame. You won't be hopping logs or going down crazy descents. What makes it challenging is doing it at speed. You could navigate an entire 'cross course on an MTB but you'd lose a ton of time to those narrow tires. Once you start running the tires things get a bit more interesting because of the speed and lack of traction.

The other thing is getting over the barriers. Again, that's something that's not hard to do, but is at speed.

I do find the two compliment each other very well and the pro scene is at least half MTBers.

From one of our local Nor Cal races about a month ago:

http://www.hanskellner.com/...yclocross_video.html

Hans gets permission to ride behind the girls wearing a helmet cam for most of the races around here.

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

Another 'cross newbie here. I've been doing tris for about 3 years and watching my husband race 'cross, so this year I thought I'd give it a try. I've raced 3 times and I plan to race one last time next weekend. I went in without any expectations other than to have fun, not crash/get hurt *too* badly, and finish. It has been A LOT of fun! The atmosphere is great as are the people, and I'm glad I went for it and raced.

All the advice given is great. I'll just add that you'll probably do better than you think, especially since it sounds like you've been riding a lot.

If you can, practice mounts/dismounts and hoisting your bike over barriers. I totally suck at it, but i'm getting better.

You asked about being lapped...once you're lapped, you ride to the finish and you're done. You don't exit the course at the spot you're lapped...you finish out your current lap and then exit. At our races the announcers are great about telling you when you're done. They have a light to signal the bell lap, but I never notice...too tired!

Have fun and tell us how it goes!

CinDee

You asked about being lapped...once you're lapped, you ride to the finish and you're done.

Depends on the race. Many races let you continue and finish after the winner, you're just a lap down in the standings.

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

<<The terrain of 'cross is usually fairly tame. You won't be hopping logs or going down crazy descents.<<

Not in NorCal!!

Yesterday we had to go over a downed tree and there were a couple of hard descents--one long one and one short, very steep with a sharp left hand turn (which I had to run down every lap).

A lot of hard packed dirt yesterday as we've had very little rain and that caused a couple of issues involving ambulance rides for two guys (broken leg and concussion/cut up face).

clm

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

Thank you to everyone who replied and so generously supplied the visuals.

I did do it yesterday. It was fun , kind of like a wacky obstacle course. I will not however be putting "cx bike" on my wish list anytime soon. I used my mtb and it was fine. I was dropped by the riders on their cx bikes within a few hundred yards. However, once that was out of the way, I set my mind to holding off getting lapped for at least 25 minutes. (In perusing past results that was the worst gap I could find. Hopefully it will remain so) . It was a small race with just a handful of women, and we rode at the same time as the 40+ guys. The mtb was pretty easy to do all of the maneuvers and the sand pit (I think that part would be tougher on a CX bike). It was definitely tough to lift over the obstacles . In that aspect I didn't exactly blaze thru the dismounts but I had been practicing the running dismount and I used it. OK, jogging dismount. As far as speed there is not much one can do on a FS mtb with super fat tires so I just had fun with it and enjoyed the ride.


My family came and they had fun tossing a football around and cheering intermittently. As a mom it is a huge plus, to not have to ditch my family to do an event. However I much prefer riding my mtb for its intended function. Having seen CX, I am definitely encouraging my kids to try it. It seems like a fun low pressure activity for a kid.

Also, our family's presence saved one guy's race. He had forgotten his helmet. Who has an extra helmet laying around the car? we do! With 4 riders who hate tidying, there is always stray gear in our car. So all in all a good way to spend a chilly (19f) morning that might otherwise be wasted.

respectfully submitted! :-)))

CID

Did you get a CX bike?

For any lurkers/participants reading this, if you are curious about CX, I would totally recommend checking it out on your mtb if you have one. Esp if you are riding a HT.

Cool! Glad you had fun. And yeah, getting the kids involved is great.

The Mini-Katy raced yesterday and I was very proud of her for biffing and getting right back up and finishing strong.

clm

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