I rode my first cross race

[AntLockyer]

and had a lot of fun.

This is what I learned.

Riding accross thick grass is by far the hardest thing on the course from a strength point of view.
Doing your practice lap right before the start is bad if you bottom out about 50 times on that lap and need to air up your tubs.
< 30 psi is too little pressure on that course for my weight.
Unclipping you inside foot on sharp loose corners helps (even if it's just a confidence thing).
I've forgotten how to rail a berm.
I'm good at dismounts but bad at remounts.
Getting lapped destroys your flow.
Drinking enough before an race is always a good idea.
The Elite guys are effin' fast.

[AntLockyer]

and...

Not riding your bike is not good prep for this.
A long sleeve skinsuit is not ideal for summer evening races.
I might have my tyres on backwards.

[AntLockyer]

and...

I think I need a longer stem and deeper bars.

and less beer

[jb1883us]

Congrats on your first 'cross race!

You think thick grass is bad? Just wait until it gets muddy...

Regardless, enjoy the ride.

[Too Tall]

Our boy is all grow'd up :)
Drop your bars as far as you can.
More beer not less. My g-d you do live in England right? Am prepared to bail you from jail if the beer police catch wind of your communist rumblings.

[AntLockyer]

you are right I simply meant less cakes.

Bars are as low as I can get them with the cane creek headset and the hanger I'm using (needed a spacer between HS and hanger). Will have a look around and see what I can do there. I guess going to a -10 stem is an option.

[roseyscot]

did you also pin your number upside down? that's probably why you got lapped.

[Chance Legstrong]

did you also pin your number upside down? that's probably why you got lapped.

"lucky" 13?

Look at Ritchey stems. Should be able to source out of the UK fairly easily.
The grass will go dormant and get faster as will you.(faster that is)
Practice races are just that. good on the mental checklists. they're only mistakes if you repeat them. learning until then.
congrats- and DO NOT stop drinking (ale)
AWESOME!

[AntLockyer]

Lucky 13 indeed.

I have a Ritchey seatpost (the only one I could find in 27.0) so the stem would make sense.

[Rico]

and had a lot of fun.

This is what I learned.

Riding accross thick grass is by far the hardest thing on the course from a strength point of view.
Doing your practice lap right before the start is bad if you bottom out about 50 times on that lap and need to air up your tubs.
< 30 psi is too little pressure on that course for my weight.
Unclipping you inside foot on sharp loose corners helps (even if it's just a confidence thing).
I've forgotten how to rail a berm.
I'm good at dismounts but bad at remounts.
Getting lapped destroys your flow.
Drinking enough before an race is always a good idea.
The Elite guys are effin' fast.

Well hopefully next year you'll get a chance to visit NC. Then we'll run you around and get you in shape.

[AntLockyer]

That's in the air at the moment. I might take another job in the UK instead. Still will see you in Paris though.

[davids]

Nice!

I just got a cross bike and have been playing around with it in local parks, teaching myself to dismount and mount (like you, I'm better at the former) and generally experimenting with riding the thing. I'll get to racing eventually - I appreciate your debriefing, since it'll give me a point of comparison when I begin my own struggles with the sport.

[Shinomaster]

Congrats! You had fun though right? What I thought was hardest was going full gas for 45 minutes, but riding across a really bumpy grass field is right up there too. It only gets easier.

[AntLockyer]

I had a blast. Our races are an hour which is just cruel.

[Chance Legstrong]

I had a blast. Our races are an hour which is just cruel.

a metric hour?

[Shinomaster]

I had a blast. Our races are an hour which is just cruel.

Even better! If you keep doing it you will be a changed man. A master of suffering.

[AntLockyer]

a metric hour?

That's 2.4 normal hours isn't it? That's very cruel.

What I thought would hurt would be my legs and lungs, what did hurt was my back and hands.

[Chance Legstrong]

That's 2.4 normal hours isn't it? That's very cruel.

What I thought would hurt would be my legs and lungs, what did hurt was my back and hands.

Lungs? weren't going fast enough. j/k
Back? core workouts! be the ball!
hands? Mary and her five sisters will have you up and running in no time.

[Shinomaster]

what did hurt was my back and hands.

A nice steel bike would help. And more racing of course.

[AntLockyer]

My back was really the gluteus medius, I'm weak around the glutes anyway. The hands was trying to hold onto the Sram hoods. I think my grip was a little tighter than optimum but it saved me a couple of times from being bucked off the thing.

A nice steel bike would be nice but well outside my budget. The one I have is all the bike I'm going to need ever I think. Just more practice, training and racing is what I need.