Tag Archive for cyclocross

Bikey Bikey Bikey, Plus One Other Thing

July 7, 2009 Bike, Life No comments

New training wheels should be finished tonight, and I’m pleased about that. I’ve got them all laced-up, but would rather pay Andy a case of beer to do the tensioning/rounding/truing, as he’s much better at that stuff than I am. I’ll be giving them a hard ride tomorrow, rain or shine, just to see how they play out. Will post the resulting data here, just to show you how out-of-shape I truly am.

Got the Birchwood Cyclocross Clinic on Saturday. Yeah, I’ve already raced ‘cross a few times, and yeah, I love me the crap out of it. It’ll be good to get out there, though, and sharpen my skills. I could be a lot faster on my dismounts than I currently am, and I’m sure that there’s a LOT that I don’t know that I need to learn before the season kicks off in September. This means I should tune-up the Salsa Las Cruces this week.

Related to ‘cross: I need to start running again. Hills and sprints, mostly, but I want to do some endurance stuff to get the legs used to it again. Also, I need to find some better MTB shoes. Every time I run in my cheap Nikes, I injure my foot. Sidi Dominator 5s, maybe? We’ll see.

Unrelated to bikes: the new struts for the WRX should be here today, thank Christ. Hoping to get that work done on Saturday morning.

Product Reviews

June 13, 2008 Bike No comments

So it’s only installed on the back brake right now, but last night I installed the combination of Nokon housing and TRP CR950 carbon cantilever arms on the cyclocross rig. This is an upgrade from Avid Shorty 6 arms with just cheap/generic Bontrager cable housing.

The change is amazing. I barely even have to brush the cross-top lever to get the rear brakes to engage, and they do so in a smooth, predictable way, and deliver enough power to stop the bike quickly.

I’m really going to have to remain cognizant of the fact that my Las Cruces is moto-wired (ie.: the brake levers are wired opposite of usual — left hand now controls the rear brake), or I’m going to eat dirt/pavement.

Looking Back

February 22, 2008 Bike No comments

So last year, I made my comeback to racing on July 4th, at the Northfield Criterium. I DNF’ed (did not finish), as I was way out of shape and in no condition to race. In another of my blogs, three days later, I wrote a piece about the experience and why, at the age of 34, I was coming back to racing after a long lay-off. Here it is:

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Grumpy’s/NSC Cyclocross

November 5, 2007 Bike No comments


The author, getting his ass kicked at the Grumpy’s/NSC Cyclocross.
Another race, another DNF.

I just wasn’t feelin’ it yesterday. Crashed a couple of times, and the course was a ♬biiiitch♬. Lots of riding in and out of drainage ditches, which were a soup of water, mud, and shredded grass. Slow course, not a lot of running, but a lot of off-camber riding, and some >90-degree corners waylaid progress along the way.

Not sure if it’s going to happen again next year. And if it does, I’m not sure I am going to race it.

Off-Season, Gearing Up…

October 25, 2007 Bike No comments

So the off-season looms about 3-4 weeks away. Some of you will point out that, “Bailey! It’s November! In Minnesota! Are you nuts?”

The short answer is: yes.

The long answer is that it’s still cyclocross season, and state championships for that are on November 17th. I’ll be racing every weekend until then.

So the off-season plan? Well, I’m going to keep riding outdoors through the end of December, I suspect. This winter is going to see me in the gym a lot — weights, running, and spinning. I’m probably going to sign up for a Bikram yoga class somewhere away from the gym, and I really should learn to swim in a non-comical manner, as well.

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