Transitioning to CX, plus a TNC report

On Tuesday I (literally) dusted off the CX bike and drove down to St. Louis Park after work for the Tuesday Night CX training race.  After a nice summer of mountain biking adventures and doing a lot of races that are new to me, I've been reluctant to make the switch to CX.  It seems many people yearn for CX as summer winds down, but I tend to stay immersed in mountain biking until it is truly over, usually around late September.

Last year I solidified my intentions to focus more energy on CX than mountain bike racing.  My main reason for this was because it's much easier to be in shape for CX.  Simply racing once or twice a week gets you a long way.  The first races might totally suck but the season is 2 solid months long. At the start of my 2009 CX season, I had absolutely no fitness whatsoever in September and was getting nearly last place finishes, but had my best result to that point at Jingle Cross in November.

This year I am reconsidering my intentions.  I like mountain biking, a lot.  CX seems like such a lame joyride around a park when compared to mountain biking.  I will probably be singing a different tune in October, but seriously, paying $25-35 to ride in contorted circles on a grassy, lumpy field is tough to swallow.  I can race a number of local MTB trails for $10, on legitimate, well-built singletrack.  I like CX for its atmosphere and spectators, and it is nice to switch sports after a while.  I really enjoy high-class events like Jingle Cross and the USGPs, but even those are $35 for a 45 minute race.  I just raced in the Black Hills for 5 hours, with heaps of free food at 5 rest stops with super nice volunteers, plus free tacos, beer, and a commemorative T-shirt, all for a $60 entry fee. That's tough to beat.

So, my mindset coming into my first CX race (and ride) of the year was a little on the aloof side.  I had just spent the previous Sunday morning at Cuyuna on my 5" travel trail bike and was now about to ride a rigid, glorified road bike with 34 mm tires and nearly useless brakes on a bumpy-ass field trying not to get lapped by guys like Doug Swanson.

I shouldn't make it sound so bad.  Given this was my third Cat 3 race ever and I was also racing 1's and 2's, I was not in a position to budge my way to the front of the pack at the start. So I started at the back, which will never (ever) work in a CX race.  

Photo by Rich Spielberg.

The worst part about all this is that I felt great.  I could push my legs as hard as I wanted and not make them hurt.  This is a rare feeling I think.  But I couldn't handle the bike at all.  When you spend about 5 months riding hydraulic disc brakes, cantilevers on carbon rims feels like no brakes at all.  I did not trust the bike in corners.  I was yo-yoing around corners the entire race; sprinting out of them but grabbing brake all the way in. Not smooth at all.

The best part of the race (believe it or not) was when the leaders Doug and CJ lapped me.  A little upset at how I was riding, I decided I would glue myself to Doug's wheel and see how long I could hang on.  I wanted to know where these guys were better than me, neglecting the obvious things like talent, experience and practice.  I think they were playing cat and mouse, because for at least half a lap I was able to stay on Doug's wheel.  Because of my terrible cornering I had to sprint harder to catch back up, but it was only moderately harder than when I was riding alone. Finally they discovered I was hanging on and they seemed to speed up through an off camber downhill and left me grabbing fistfulls of brake.  I will be an early adopter when hydraulic discs become available on CX bikes/wheels.

So I am simultaneously discouraged and encouraged about the CX season.  I seem to have a good amount of endurance currently, thanks to many longer mountain bike races; the last two 50 miles each.  I am lacking some intensity but that'll be easy to come by now.  The missing piece as of now is feeling comfortable on the CX bike and learning to handle it again.   

Last season was a good season for me so I have higher expectations now.  I feel as though I've learned how to race and will eventually get to where I want to be.  I feel strong, and that's all I need.