Showing posts with label cross. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cross. Show all posts

Monday, August 24, 2009

Ridley The Cyclocross Wonder Dog: The Interview


Coming to the Cincinnati UCI-3 Cyclocross event? Chances are you'll meet Ridley The Cyclocross Wonder Dog. Get aquainted via the exclusive interview on The Best Bike Blog Ever* here.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

The CX Training Killer: Daylight Savings


It’s the end of August, new chains and cables round out both CX bikes. You switch-flopped saddles and cranks between bikes. To top it off, your new carbon tubular wheels bling hard enough to make Kanye West jealous, uh. While the CX races haven’t started yet, the bikes are dialed in and everything seems to be going to your evil plan. Gulp. Now you got to live up to the hype, yo.

Some will say that August is too early for CX, but this is the OVCX series we’re training for and those people are likely road racers. The OVCX ends early December. Unless you plan on racing through December and into January on the World Cup circuit the time to hit it hard is now.

Hopefully you’ve spent at least part of your August practicing technique, have a few bad-ass core workouts to your credit and have 2-3 interval workouts under your belt. I’ve been racing the OVCX for the past five to six years, and if you’re trying to figure out a training plan now, at the end of August, you’re totally F’d. Kidding. But you better get crackin’ homie.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

I Hate My Cyclocross Pit Bike

Let me save you another season of dreading flats, rolled tires, tangled chains, and bent shifters because you can’t bear the thought of jumping on your P-O-S pit bike. First off, your poor pit bike is a decent bike. You just treat it like it’s the nerd of all your bikes. After I got my custom Indy Fab Planet X, my Jamis Nova hit the “D” list in my stable. Last year I moved it up to “B” list status by getting the fit and feel as close to the IF as possible. Better yet, it became an advantage in races, rather than a last resort and didn’t cost a whole lot to do it. Keep in mind, fit and feel is more about how you feel on the bikes, not so much how the bikes handle the terrain. Pay more attention to the areas where your body touches or is affected by the bike. Before September is the time to get crackin’ on your CX rig setup. CX stuff is stacking up in the shops and you’ll most likely get first dibs on your friends old parts if you start asking around now. Rather than upgrading your race rig, it might make more sense to make both bikes as similar as possible.