How not to ride Cyclocross

AGAIN, the days of this weekly ride has been changed to Tuesdays. Meet at 6pm and ride at 6:30pm.

here's a map depicting the new parking spot

On Saturday at noon I'm meeting the promoter of the Adams Avenue CX race at the velodrome. I'm bringing the rigid Luigi Fontana MTB and we are going to pre-ride the course. If anyone else is interested, I'll probably be at the track by 10 am or so.

To add to my earlier comment, I have registered for the cyclocross race north of Oceanside this weekend. It a part of the So Cal Cross Prestige Series (#8). Looks like fun.
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Flyer for the race.

Last Saturday I pre-rode the GSAAB Cyclocross course with Mike Jenkins. As Chief Referee I approved the course. There have been some changes for this year that will make the course safer and more conducive to classic CX bikes, whereas previous years' courses have favored wide tire MTBs. We will have a wide, straight start at the back gate of the Velodrome instead of starting on the track. The start section will lead out to the service road south of the Velodrome and go out toward the decommissioned Arizona St. landfill, then out toward Pershing on the fastest section. Slightly downhill with a prevailing tail wind, I expect speeds in the Pro/1/2 field to be around 40 kph here with opportunities for drafting. Reaching Pershing, the course swings around to the right and heads back along the east rim of Florida Canyon. This right turn is going to be fast and technical, slightly off-camber. I expect some folks are going to overcook it and end up losing traction. The course then narrows as it turns right again and heads back to the left turn down the hill to the rocky dip under the eucalyptus trees and back up to the start. The course then passes the back gate of the Velodrome and turns right, going past the lone eucalyptus tree west of the back stretch of the track. The course continues to turn right, then heads up the hill past turn one of the track. The course's one artificial barricade will be halfway up a run up onto the lawn west of the baseball fields, then another right and out to the landfill again. On the final lap, riders will be directed into the Velodrome. They will enter the track and complete one finishing lap above the stayers' line, dropping down into the pole for the finish at the start/finish line. The windy, rocky section south of the Velodrome has been taken out this year for safety reasons: it's too narrow and lined with steel cable. The double sided repair pit will be under the eucalyptus tree between the service road and the rocky dip. Riders should remember that wheel and equipment changes may only be made in the pit and that they must exit the pit on the same side on which they entered (no cutting the course). Mike is planning to meet with the Balboa Park Rangers to see if he will be allowed to include a "death spiral" on the lawn after the run up past the barricade. Early December is often rainy, so we could see some significant mud on course. If Mother Nature fails to deliver, we are considering using the Velodrome hose and flooding part of the course from the men's room spigot.

Next week's Storm the Beach at Las Pulgas is best for wide tire MTB's. The back side of the course on the way out is a slightly downhill fire road with a prevailing tail wind that should see some very high speeds, especially since we have had no significant rainfall for months. The fastest classes will have the benefit of riding the surf line at low tide. The fastest line will be right along the tide line. The run up to the finish is unridable soft sand.

Andrew Lee from GSAAB is planning to lead practice laps on the Velodrome CX course every Sunday morning until December. I believe he is riding from Adams Avenue Bicycles at 8:30. Call him to make sure about the time.

Storm the Beach was a fun race on a beautiful Autumn day. Temperatures reached 80F. There was a refreshing sea breeze coming off the surf. The race is modeled after Belgium's Koksijde CX, which uses a sandy section of tideline, but has mud in addition. I think Belgium is made of mud and cobblestones. Las Pulgas Beach is how SoCal used to look before most other riparian marine habitat was lost to urban sprawl. Thank God for the USMC. Were it not for their commitment to conservation we would have one uninterrupted concrete and asphalt megalopolis from Malibu to TJ.

In the CX 1/2/3 race, Brent Prenzlow broke away early and expanded his lead to more than 30 seconds by the finish to take his 100th career elite victory. He was able to ride sandy sections on a pure CX bike that forced every other rider to dismount.

Some observations that will be helpful for December 6:
- Equipment may only be changed in the pit. Riders may leave spare bikes as well as spare wheels before their race.
- Feeding will be allowed only during races 45 minutes or longer in duration. Feeding is allowed only in the pit.
- Warming up on the course during races is expressly forbidden and will result in disqualification and refusal of start. The first and only warning will be printed in the race flyer. Read it before registering.
- Numbers will be worn on the right side and must be worn according to USA Cycling standards (see rule 1N7 for details). Numbers may not be folded, trimmed, crumpled, or otherwise altered (1N7(b)).
- No rider will be allowed to start wearing a sleeveless jersey (1N5).
- Riders must withdraw from the course immediately after crossing the finish line. Any rider who crosses the finish line a second time may be assigned a finish order based on the second crossing of the line.
- The use of radios or other listening devices is forbidden.
- All riders on course will finish on the same lap as the leader.

well, thats going to be personal preference. i would say go for the Mud 2. for places like UCSD that tire would be best.

I hope to eventually join Sky and the 'cross boys out at UCSD

there's a lady that rides with us so it's a mixed bag of people.

I've always wanted to join, but forget about it every time. Is the ride still on today at 6? Isn't it pretty dark already?

Velo Cult:it's on and it'll be completely dark. you need a very high power off road lighting system for this ride like Niterider lights.

I guess not today then. I should have come a few weeks earlier.

wow, thats a solid ride you had there. im jealous.

http://velonews.com/article/99980/boulder-s-weekly--cross-ride-is-like-a-disease-that-keeps

well this is the biggest and best CX practice ride I know about (my friends in boulder love it!) it only took them 10years to get it this big... so we'll just keep the movement going here in SD :)

sorry I coudln't make it this week but I'll see you all at UCSD tuesday

-Scott

My next big ride, complete with pizza and wine tasting, is planned for Nov 21 (Saturday). It looks like a giant rabbit on the map, complete with long ears. As it looks like it will be close to, if not exceeding, 100 miles, I'll be leaving earlier (7-8am) from North Park. If anyone is interested in joining me, let me know. The basic route is North Park-UCSD-Sorrento Valley-Los Penasquitos Canyon-Poway-Old Coach Rd-Highland Valley Rd-Lake Hodges-Via Rancho Pkwy-San Dieguito River Trail-Highland Valley Rd-Cordiano Winery (for the wine and pizza)-Archie Moore Rd-Hwy 67-Poway Rd-dirt trail-Sycamore Canyon-Hwy 52-Mission Trails trails-Jackson Dr-Lake Murray-various roads back to North Park. I think that covers most of it. Yes, there will be lots of dirt ranging from fire road to singletrack. My stock '08 Fuji Cross Comp with 30c tires makes it just fine. So, If anyone is up for a truly fun ride, with a wide range of paths, come join me. If not, I'm still going and will still have fun. Think of it as cyclocross training, but don't expect a really fast pace. Not a "hammer fest" if that is the term.

burnsadam:from bikesnob. funny as hell.

http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/5684963/

HAHAHAHA! :face-devil-grin:

EPIC!!! hahaha

Rather annoying that Adams Avenue shop. At least some of the people. I rode by there yesterday, asked about the pre-ride of the course. I was told that yes, they are still going and it would be at 9am. Was told to meet by the velodrome. Got there at 9am, waited for about 45 minutes. No one showed. It wasn't until I was most of the way out of the parking lot (on my bicycle), that I saw two people on cross bikes wearing Adams Avenue gear. Barely a hello from them, and was ignored after that. Thank you Adams Avenue for wasting my time this morning.

mike_ballard:Made 100.3 miles out of it.

Mike, it would be fun to join you for (at least sections of!) of your rides, if I may: Not being that fast of a rider myself, I was wondering what kind of average rolling speeds are you able to achieve on these mixed surface rides (or, alternatively, how long does it take you to ride a mixed surface century?).

I seriously doubt that I would be able to break the 10mph average rolling speed by much for a full 100 mile ride - i.e., 100 miles would likely take me 10 hours rolling, FYI: I just wouldn't want to hold you back in case I joined you.

I'll add that I'm open for ideas of routes if others are going along.

Mike - if there's any way you could bikely that route, I'd love to check it out. Mixed terrain stuff is my bread and butter.

Esteban

So, anyone here going to be in any of the races on Sunday? I'll be in the CX 4 race.

This sounds frickin' awesome and if I wasn't going to be running the muddy buddy up in Temecula that day then I'd be there and I'd bring the frites!

I ride with a higher pressure than most I think. I would say it would be 70-80 sometimes. I tend to keep it easier for the road than the dirt.

Mike_Ballard and I will be doing some trail riding next Saturday (12/12) morning: The ride will start in North Park, go up through Rose Canyon to UTC, down to Sorrento Valley on the dirt fire road, and then through Los Penasquitos Canyon, Sycamore Canyon and Mission Trails. The ride will consist of a combination of pavement and dirt trails.

As far as I am concerned, I will likely not ride if it has rained a lot and the trails are muddy - my tires simply aren't up to it.

We will not be blowing through traffic signs or lights. If you have something remotely resembling a Cyclocross bike (arguably, I don't!), please feel free to join us: 50 miles ++.

I may not have enjoyed myself at the race, but oh well. I've had more fun on the rides I've gone on elsewhere. Me not racing wasn't the issue, it was the people at the registration tent. The people at the last race I was at, Storm the Beach, were much more efficient, even with the problems they had with the website for preregistration. But whatever, I'm done with it. Moved on. Moved on to my next fun ride, possibly next weekend.

thats a lot of riders. sounds fun. it was perfect weather for a race.