Does anyone here do cyclo-cross in the off season. It looks like road bikes with knobby’s and trail running. I imagine it is a blast and would serve well to keep the race bug at bay as well as a nice alternative to the trainer.
Kevin
There’s a few of us on the board who race cross. It’s the funnest thing on two wheels. 60 minutes of maximal anerobic threshold lung searing giggling. Take the bar ends off your mountain bike or get a cheap, used cross bike on ebay. Spend some time in the park working on mounts and dismounts, and sprints from an unclipped in dead start. You’ll have a blast!
I have a hard tail mtn bike, I can use that for cross? My wife will be so happy that I do not need yet another bike for a hobby. Do you clip in? what shoes can you run in? Sorry for all the questions I am gonna take a crack at it in the next few weeks. can you ride over obstacles if you can or must you dismount?
thanks
Kevin
YOu can use the MTB, just can’t use bar-ends. You can bunnyhop obstacles if you have the ability. I just use my usual MTB shoes and clipless pedals. Never had a running issue.
Great training - very intense. Use your mtb or touring bike (or even a road bikeif its mostly dry.). Just go and try one. You will probabaly love it and want a cross bike for the next season. Its a tremendous amount of lung burning fun. David Krahulik
I would only add that there isn’t a lot of running involved. Your technique for getting on and off your bike is more important than your ability to run. Having said that, you can put a lot of pressure on your opponents if you can keep a good pace on run-ups without blowing up.
Perfect. Go for it!
On that note, can anyone recommend some skinny clincher tires for an MTB (1.5"-ish) that would work. Don’t think I need the 2.0s and up based on what little I’ve seen about courses around my area. I’m looking for a thin, light tire w/ decent grip. Oh, and low rolling resistance and inexpensive! 
JB
“Its a tremendous amount of lung burning fun”
It will very likly break the rules of many “expert coaches” off season training plans - those go slow and build the base, blah, blah, blah types. But the bottom line, is that these off-season hard efforts, will make you fitter and faster for next season!
JOB. conti 1.5’s work well. light, fast, lots - o -grip ( maybe too much )pretty pricy, tho. also, you can find some out of fashion slicks, very very light like the maxxis ( or was it kenda . . . ) wormdrives or similar, on sale these days. maybe check the blowouts at cambiabike.com
and i agree it is hard to call 'cross racing “training” in the modern-day sense of the word. it feels very much like connecting yourself to a car battery for 45 minutes. then again, if you subscribe to the " what doesn’t kill me makes me stronger" school everything is A-1.
be sure to wear your HRM and check the average BPM when you are done. who knew it was even POSSIBLE to avg a HR which is OVER your supposed maximum ?? !! 
damn and howdy that shit hurts - we’re havin fun now.
Never had so much fun hurting so badly - everyone should try it once. Watch out, though, it may quickly become the focal part of your season.
I have these JoB, kenda kwick 1.7". They are very skinny and seem to work well.
Thanks - I googled this one and found
http://www.cyclocrossworld.com/
There is a 1.3" Hutchinson (folding), and a 1.5 Conti (folding - out of stock - and wire bead). Thanks all for your help! Apologies to Super Clyde for hijacking this thread (just realized that … oops).
Depending on where you are geographically, you might be able to check out a clinic before racing. Our team puts on three clinics and I know of clinics also in Colorado and East Coast.
check out: http://www.ncnca.org/cyclocross/2004/ for stuff going on in the SF Bay Area.