Hey @adm0629 I got my costume for Halloween Cross!!
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That costume is Outstanding!! Iâm waiting for one to jump out at me 
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What!?!? They donât have that here in NJ/NY! Awesome
@Jenzar itâs a ton of fun- not everyone dresses up but most do. The hand-ups are, of course, candy!! I am just afraid my cape will cover my race number⌠Iâm going to have to pull it back when I cross the finish line!
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I know you told me last year but can you remind me how to lead up to a weekendâs CX race? I typically always do the Tuesday ride and sometimes even the Thursday ride, especially if itâs a Sunday race. I often take the day before off or the day before that and do a course preview, instead. If I donât do the Thursday ride, would I do a pre-race ride, instead? Thanks!
-Angie
Hi Angie- do the Tue and Thu workouts (Thursdayâs is the most important of the two for cross because itâs VO2), take Friday off, Saturday do light openers. Itâs good to do an opener ride the day before.
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Great! What if itâs a Saturday race, like yesterday? I bobbled the weekâs workoutsâŚ
Thatâs so awesome Angie!! 
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love it!
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congratulations on the win!
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Yes, I would say to have 2 days between a hight intensity workout and the CX race. So if you do a workout Wed, Thu is off, Fri is light openers and Sat is race.
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Glad i found this thread!
Im contemplating joinig the Norwegian Champs in two weeks because its just a 20 min ride from where I live. I have never competed in CX before, but i have a racing CX bike (really light, single chainring drive and spd pedals/mtb pedals) I have competed in MTB XCO lots of times, enduro MTB and marathon MTB so i have a lot of experience with technical terrain and im ok at cornering. Not good at bunny jumps so i guess i need to practice the on/off jumps. Im just doing this for fun, and I have no expectations. I will join the masters class. I dont know the first thing. Is it time not distance thats the thing? You ride a certain amount of time then the judge will call you in when you are done? I need all the advice I can get. It will probably be temperatures around freezing and/or snow⌠
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Go for it! Your MTB skills will stand you in good stead.
Itâll be a timed race, with the last lap determined by those at the front of the race. Youâll either get a 1 lap to go sign, or the chequered flag as you cross the line. You know youâre done when you pass the chequered flag at the finish line.
Good luck!
So glad you are trying cross. It is a lot of fun. I think we mountain bikers have a bit of an advantage due to our handling skills and quick accelerations.
You can make cross as serious or as fun as you want.
The races are set for a certain amount of time. Here they run 40 to 45 minutes. They will ring a bell for the last lap. I go fast the first lap, settle in to next two, and then go fast for last two laps.
It is good to pre-ride the course as they are all different. My last one had a dirt pump track with jumps part way through. There are things you can hop and things you will need to dismount and run over.
Bring clothes to change into after. Most importantly, have fun!
What type of pedals/cleats do you use in you cross bike @Coach_Theia?
Yesterday we went mountain biking and there were sections full of mud/snow. I had to dismount on one of the muddy areas and then spent 10 min getting rid of the mud on the bottom of my shoes to be able to clip in⌠
@covi I use the Shimano XTR (link below). I am able to clip in 99% of the time even when there is tons of mud on the pedals and shoes.
https://www.competitivecyclist.com/shimano-xtr-pd-m9100-pedals
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I use Crank Brothers Candy pedals. They shed mud and snow really well.
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In reading @Coviâs report today from her first MTB race, it reminded me of when I started to race cross back in 2018⌠and then I realized that I never provided an update on my 2019 season (second season ever). Turns out, training pays off! Not only the workouts that we do, but also the technical skills of being out there on the grass and mud practicing starts, dismounts, carry, remount, cornering, etc. So I am confident that @Covi will continue to improve and will start crushing MTB pretty soon!!
So, in 2019 I did 12 CX races and finished in 3rd place in 5 of them, including the State Championship and ended up in 3rd Place in the Overall Chicago CX Cup. Not bad for a second season. I also got upgraded to Cat 3, and discovered that I love muddy races and do better on those than the dry ones.
Here are a few pics:
I like the one below from the start line. You can see I am as cool as a cucumber. Turns out the 3 ladies to my right are now my teammates as I joined their team this year!!
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That looks awesome!! The few races we have here are extremely technical (black bear 50 I think is one). Iâd love to try something like that.
Not sure if they are shaking but I do know 2-3 dropped last night out of the pen. Originally 4-5 signed up on ZP. I know how it feels to watch and chase in these races. But the chase only makes you stronger and each race you try to hold on a bit more. And try to work smarter.
2021 I planned to attempt the Wilderman Off-Road triathlon but it looks like everything will be delayed a year.
The Xterra Triâs interest me but the travel distance is a bit much for such a short race (hence the above one in ND and I would do the âhalfâ distance).
I think Sunday Iâm going to join a group for a social ride along a partially complete rail trail about an hour north of me. ~24 miles RT and it will be varying abilities. Figure itâs a good chance to get the mtb out.
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