Why cyclo-cross racers should ride their bikes on trails

And I don't mean multi-use paths, even though those are nice. I mean roots, rocks, no reggae, mountain bike trails.

I should say before I get started: I am one thing and I am not another. I AM an idiot, who probably pushes his bike a bit too hard. I AM NOT a coach or even that great of a bike rider. My palmares doesn't read too impressively, so you probably shouldn't take my advice.

This is a question I pondered to myself Sunday afternoon while I rode 700x35 tires around "one of the largest public greenspaces inside the city limits of a metropolitan area in the eastern United States," Harbison State Forest. Why the hell do I do this?

I know why I do it. It's therapy, tearing around the woods on my 'cross bike. It breaks up the monotony of riding hours on the asphalt all the time. It's not as hot, there's shade and the forest floor doesn't radiate heat the way tarmac does. And, I don't own a mountain bike.

But why do I think other people should do it? Clearly a mountain bike would be better riding around all of these roots and rocks. This is evidenced by the fact that everytime I pass a guy on one of the wide, smooth, fast sections, he passes me back as I'm bouncing around the terrain. All that suspension and crap must be better for you, right?

Better for mountain biking maybe, but better for you? Probably not.

As far as I'm concerned, I have enough suspension already, I don't need anymore. Let your knees and elbows take care of that for you.

See, riding a 'cross bike in the woods for a few hours teaches a lot more about riding 'cross than I think we realize. It's kind of like taking a calculus class to study for your algebra final. There's so many technical skills out there for the taking that'll make tearing around a 'cross course seem like a piece of cake.

I did countless dismounts, run ups (walk ups maybe, it's still base training) and remounts going out for a nice cruise in the woods. The two 9 mile loops I did meant that not only was I getting in a lot of repetition on dismounts and remounts, but a lot of variation also. Not every run up, barrier, or technical section is going to be the same this fall, so there's no sense in practicing them all the same.

Unless you live near the biggest and best equipped park in the world, I imagine there isn't too much variety in the practice courses you can put together. Outside of barriers, I'm not sure there's a 'cross course component that I didn't ride on Sunday. Sand, dry dusty dirt, slick mud, grass, gravel roads and pavement were all included in my ride to, through and home from the park. A couple more trips out there and I'm pretty sure I'll be ready for any course this season.

The best part, the part I love the most about riding my 'cross bike in the woods, is how smooth I feel on the bike after a couple of rides out there. Remember that knee and elbow suspension thing I mentioned? I don't like feeling every bump in the trail. What's better than dancing on your pedals? Your bike dancing under you, that's what. It's that lightness-on-the-bike feeling that makes all this crap worth it. Being able to guide your bike over that crap that people usually ride with suspension, and not feeling like your teeth are about to rattle out is an amazing feeling, and it's a feeling that translates awesome onto a 'cross course. Riding 2 hours in the woods means that the bumpy sections on a course aren't throwing you out of your saddle, even when you're covered in your own snot and drool 45 minutes into a race this fall.

It's scientifically proven, that same lightness-on-the-bike thing makes you corner better, ride through the slop faster, dismount better and sprint faster. I swear.

Plus, how else can you go out and get completely filthy without looking like a crazy person?

Civil War cannons, biplanes, and NASCAR: Cheraw, SC Crit

I usually take about 15 minutes off of the time Google Maps gives me for trips. I'm not saying I drive fast, just that Google is wrong... always.

Ok, not always.

Saturday, Google Maps and my trusty Magellan GPS weren't in full agreement about the time-frame I was looking at for my drive to the All That Jazz Criterium. So, while I was sitting outside my favorite pre-race gas station punching in the start/finish address, I realized I had left about 30-45 minutes later than I should have.

About an hour into the drive, I had to hop off of the interstate. There's no better way to see your home state than at 55mph on a two lane highway. As previously mentioned, things you encounter when traveling through the small towns of South Carolina include: town centers featuring real-life Civil War cannons (it's cool to celebrate the time when the south rose up to fight those evil pro-abolition northerners, but no one better step out of line against the good ol' USA now-a-days!), crazy biplanes circling around Darlington (I tried to get a picture but driving seemed more important), and the holy land of NASCAR, Darlington International Super Speedway... well kinda, I didn't actually pass the race track, but I wish I did.

I got to Cheraw at about 1:30 for my 2:00 race. Tried to figure out where the hell registration was. Finished changing in the parking lot, got my bike together, tossed my license and money in my pocket, grabbed a bottle, left my keys on my driver's seat, and took off to register. I signed my waiver and filled out a short questionnaire (can't you see I'm late, lady?!), took a single lap around the course, and lined up to start.

Apparently, I was the riders' favorite at the start line. I was told by one rider that I had him beat by about 40lbs. I made sure to back up so everyone could see the guy lined up on my left, my personal favorite to take the glory.

I predicted (read it here: http://twitter.com/JBrstl/status/21753938048) that I would line up with 7 other people at my race. Well, I lined up with 6 other people. I can't change race dates around after they've been organized, but seriously three races within a reasonable driving distance is ridiculous. None of the Greenville guys are coming if there's a race in Greenville and none of the North Carolina guys are coming if there's a race in North Carolina.

Plus, just because there's fewer people to beat on the line, a smaller race is usually a harder one. There was no where to hide and every move that went, could have been the one that made the race.

However, despite it's small turnout (the race after mine, the Womens' Cat 4 had 4 riders in a race that paid 5 deep), the race was well done. Tons of volunteers, a lemonade stand and a sweet, 6 corner 1.3 mile course.

I went into the race with absolutely no expectations. I was in my last week of doing base training and haven't done a touch of intensity training. I was hoping to get used to riding in a group and working on my crit skills.

Right from the gun, the guy on my right on the mountain bike, wearing the Manchester United jersey went all out. I wasn't worried about it and neither was anybody else, we all started our race at our pace and he was brought back in the first corner.

It was the kid from Forest Acres who upped the pace early and went off the front. The group that I wanted to be in (the front group) all went after him. I had to chase, and chase hard. Since I showed up without any warm up, with the exception of a two hour ride that morning, my first few laps were a complete shock. I clawed back on after probably 2.5 laps of digging my guts out. True sisu.

Once I was back with the group, I settled in, took one turn at the front and tried to ride a smart race. The guy in front of me crossed wheels with another rider once and almost went down. Props to him for saving it and staying up.

Coming to the last few laps I knew the pace was going to go up, but I wanted to stay with the leaders (four of us now) until the end of the race. Nothing crazy happened. The kid from Forest Acres tried to go off the front. I put myself in a position to chase, but gladly watched as the Global Bike rider (my pre-race nod for the win) followed him instead.

I lost the race in the second to last corner. I just botched it whenever I went in two wide with the Forest Acres rider. I thought I might be able to bring them back on the short stretch and just ride the longest sprint of my life. Global Bike rider went into turn 6 in the ideal line, the guy behind him dove in deeper, and Forest Acres kid dove in EVEN DEEPER and slid out in the corner. The guy seriously slid from the gutter to the outside barrier, right in front of me. I grabbed a handful of brakes and went to the outside, watched the other two riders ride away from me, while I stepped onto a only-slightly-earned podium position. My dude from Global Bike took the two man sprint and, the best part, the Manchester United mountain bike guy finished fifth. Sweet.




The view on the ride home was pretty awesome.

Get in the Hatchback: 2010 Season Part II

Surprisingly enough, the days here in Columbia actually seem to be getting shorter. School is starting back up, English soccer is on TV again and, a few hours to the north of me, the Cycle-Smart Cyclo-Cross Camp is up and running.

All of this can only mean one thing: it's almost time for fall and the most glorious sport in the world- cyclo-cross, obviously.

Now, while I've got 'Cross Camp envy going for me right now, I'll be seeking fitness in the form of the "All That Jazz Criterium" tomorrow in Cheraw, SC. This race will be my first time pinning on a number since the Dilworth Criterium in Charlotte on May 1st. I took the rest of May off and I've been building a strong base since mid-June. I'm going into Cheraw in my last week of base training (next week is recovery) and without any intensity work whatsoever. No ambitions tomorrow except to get back into the swing of things.

A few more road races in September, plus the Clemson 'Cross training series on Wednesdays will get me fully prepped to kick the cycl0-cross season into high gear on October 2nd in Kingsport, TN.

I keep getting super stoked to race 'cross again, then I have to bring myself back down to Earth and remember that it's more than a month away. However, the Clemson training races do start up in just a week or two, so it's not real racing but I should probably start thinking about freshening up my skills before I head up there.

So for those of you who can't wait for 'cross, here's some media to keep you at bay until October. Whenever I have free time on the computer at work, I go trolling for sweet videos to keep me occupied. These are some of the recent gems:





I don't think a few of those obstacles are UCI legal anymore.