2024 Cyclocross Thread - Gin, Trombones, Freezing Rain, and Chocolate Pudding

[BRad704]

Congrats on the comeback after injury like that. Good luck out there.

Originally Posted by isaacneff

First year in a very long time I am not 100% focused on CX and Nat's.
I tore a tendon in my ankle earlier in the summer and have had a slow return.
That said, our team (Neff Cycle Service) race is tomorrow, a part of the Wisconsin CX Series and I will be toeing the line for the first time. We'll see how it goes. In the coming weeks I will make plans for the rest of the season.

We are lucky, cyclocross is alive and well in this region. Wisconsin had the largest turnout at races ever last year and so far this season things to be on trend for another awesome fall.
We also have incredibly high quality fields in Wisconsin which is super fun.

[mickey.d]

Originally Posted by redir

I'm more of a spectator now. It's been a couple years since I've held a license. A couple weekends ago we Spectated one of the first UCI races in Roanoke VA. It was dry and dusty! A climbers course for sure.

With the $75 per day entry fee for the 4/5 classes at that race and no multi-race discount, i doubt anyone local to that race will ever bother trying cyclocross, or start racing again.

“New” cx scenes… ones that aren’t 20+ years old, didn’t survive the Gravel Pandemic, with very few exceptions (go Wisconsin!).

Death to Gravel!

[alexihnen]

The CX scene here in Cincinnati is pretty good. The old-timers will tell you it was 2x 20 years ago. My 13 & 10-year-olds race and I toe the line, at practice. I did the TT series this year, nice and informal. Have yet to decide whether to spend the ~$400 to do 1/2 doz races. Keeping the kid's bikes going isn't cheap and I tend to break things when I race. Anyway, between Indy, Cincinnati, and Columbus there's racing every weekend from mid-August to mid-December.

[redir]

Originally Posted by mickey.d

With the $75 per day entry fee for the 4/5 classes at that race and no multi-race discount, i doubt anyone local to that race will ever bother trying cyclocross, or start racing again.

“New” cx scenes… ones that aren’t 20+ years old, didn’t survive the Gravel Pandemic, with very few exceptions (go Wisconsin!).

Death to Gravel!

That's part of the reason I didn't race it honestly. It didn't used to be like that either. In every CX race I've done probably in the last 15 years I'd pay full entry to race the p/1/2 and then like either $5 or $10 bucks for the Masters race. The high entry fee is bad for CX especially for juniors. It was fun to sit there with a beer and watch though.

[BRad704]

I just check the next CycloX race in Louisville, CO and first rego is $45, second race is $20, plus fees and it's $71 total. Being able to drive on race day and NOT need a hotel makes this feel super cheap compared to driving 3+ hours for a weekend trip just to race a few times.

I'm just happy to live somewhere with more than 1 race in the region.

[erik$]

Originally Posted by holliscx

Fantastic looking rig!

My season kicks off tomorrow. Last year I did most of the races on my Kirk, but this year I think I will do more on a Crocket and Crux, mainly due to the very twisty courses we have here. Slightly more ground clearance gives me more confidence in the low speed corners. Pics to come!

[erik$]

Final prep. Rear bottle cage goes off tomorrow, but the front and bottle might stay. 1h race and 20 degrees C.

[BRad704]

Finally actually bought a few race pics.

Harlow Platts CX
19 of 41 in Men's Cat3 Masters
DFL in SS Open

[alexihnen]

Originally Posted by erik$

Final prep. Rear bottle cage goes off tomorrow, but the front and bottle might stay. 1h race and 20 degrees C.

That looks just like my new setup - the silver stem and post look right on the Crockett.

[dmitrik4]

Originally Posted by ldamelio

Good luck. It's immense fun, but you already know that.

Fields in my area (mid-Atlantic) are about half what they were pre-Covid. I think it's rough going for promoters.

I raced every weekend in season from 2003 to 2019. I didn't pick it back up in 2021 when things resumed post-pandemic. As I get older (racing age 65) , I'm just less willing to suffer through the necessary training for a 45 minute event plus the travel, maintenance, etc.

Plus I was never very good . The time away made me realize I was beating my head against a wall to a certain extent. Part of me misses it but at this point I'm good with the memories and JRA.

Yeah, it’s pretty thin around here.

[erik$]

Originally Posted by alexihnen

That looks just like my new setup - the silver stem and post look right on the Crockett.

The post is actually just vinyl wrapped. Not a perfect job, but ties it nicely together.

[majl]

After 15 years of traveling to South America with this bike for mixed terrain riding, it will finally see its first CX race this weekend! Had basically all the parts in my garage from older cross bikes which are now long gone to get it into race mode except for the new Campy 46/36 CX-specific chainrings which I sourced off ebay. First race in 5 years - hoping the Breakaway and my legs will do me proud!

[72gmc]

It makes me happy to see Kerry back in the ‘cross game, and Caroline is just the type of teammate he needs.

https://youtu.be/9xzt1dpnEIs?si=SxvyaY94Pq1yR2aC

[polyhistoric]

Kids and the distance of races from Boston have trimmed down my season. Making maybe 3-4 races only this year (enough to justify the new race bike I bought last year). I just can't drive 1.5 hours to race for 45 mins and can't make the family endure that.

That being said, I love the challenge of racing cross - pushing yourself and technical abilities in a way that a typical ride cannot match. Definitely Type II fun, though... mostly for those of us between the tape.

[gospastic]

Finished up my cross season already for the most part. I'm partial to the early drier races. There is a good weekly series out here. Really fun atmosphere.