Is that a shag carpet they put down on the ramp? Awesome pics btw. Definitely racing this next year.

Phillip Maronilla said:

Is that a shag carpet they put down on the ramp? Awesome pics btw. Definitely racing this next year.

Thanks Phil; I think it's the stuff they use for indoor ski slopes.

So a buddy of mine who watched the replay says, "no way Providence is a World Cup course with all those 180 degree turns." He's an increasingly grumpy old man though. I'd love to know what pros who have raced world cups think of the new Providence.

It was a world cup course.

eloy said:

-- they should take away the jumpy feature, gimmicks and tricks are for monkeys. Otherwise:

It was a world cup course.

& it was awesome.

I agree; especially those two flyovers - you need to remount instantaneously or you're f-d... very World Cup.

Marc Bertucco said:

So a buddy of mine who watched the replay says, "no way Providence is a World Cup course with all those 180 degree turns." He's an increasingly grumpy old man though. I'd love to know what pros who have raced world cups think of the new Providence.

I don't have the patience to go looking, but I feel like I've watched Svennes youtube vids with tons of 90-degree turns. Especially in the downhill off-camber slaloms they like to do. Puzzled by this comment.

Oh, and if you don't want to bother scrolling ahead - I've immortalized my near death (see what I did there?) experience with... wait for it... a GIF. But I do want the record to show that I was back on it doing 500 watts out of that corner because #racebrain I don't think I'd fully processed what a totally dumb thing that was to have done.

The course map... wow. Glad to see its as confusing as it appeared while spectating

Brendan Rigby said:

The course map... wow. Glad to see its as confusing as it appeared while spectating

It wasn't until Sunday, when the course didn't change (unusual, it usually changes a bit), that I felt 100% comfortable in always knowing what turns were coming up. Granted I didn't get in all the hotlaps on Saturday I wanted for warm-up, but the combination of the complicated course, and long lap times, made me run out of time for my usual pre-race routine on Saturday.

Jules said:

Oh, and if you don't want to bother scrolling ahead - I've immortalized my near death (see what I did there?) experience with... wait for it... a GIF. But I do want the record to show that I was back on it doing 500 watts out of that corner because #racebrain I don't think I'd fully processed what a totally dumb thing that was to have done.

It must be a sign you are doing something right. I watched the video and the gif. it seems pretty normal to me. Those type of holly shit I almost lost my wheel things happen so frequently I barely notice it. It's a by product of going fast. 

BOOM!

Annie get your registration on!

Best weekend of racing you're likely to have this calendar year (or tied with Gloucester) plus (and don't forget this one) they have the WIDE OPEN MADISON CX race Friday night.

More fun than should be legal - you switch as often as you'd like so you get to pit every 1/2 lap if you want - the in-pit banter (and trash talk) is second to none.

If you missed out on Gloucester, you DEFINITELY have to show up to Providence. There are actually a lot of good, practical reasons this weekend is better than Gloucester.

More lodging options.
More parking.
More fun family stuff (a whole family zone actually).
More nice grass to sit and relax.
More closer to us.

I understand many of you prefer the New Jersey and MAC races, but we have an embarrassment of CX riches here and you owe it to yourself to race against the best in the region. Plus, if you are looking to race the course that one year be a World Cup course (likely next year), then this is your chance.

registered. 35+ both days.

I registered for the 2/3 race. Sorta disappointed there was no 45+. Elias 35+ group should be smokin fast

I couldn't decide which category to register for, so I chose both.

Day 1, Master's 35+, Day 2 Cat 2/3. Both days I'm likely to be buried deep in the field at the start. And last year's hole-shot was pretty terrible. But based on some notes I read about "premium parking" spots, I kind of think we're going to have a whole new start.

I have no business in either field right now but I can't resist.

I'm in for the 4's!

looks like rain all week.

Bring your Wellies!

Jill Sink said:

Bring your Wellies!

bring your cantilever-equipped bikes.

(disc brake owners bring extra sets of pads)

Jill Sink said:

Bring your Wellies!

Good tip. I also bought rain pants a few years ago which stand as one of my best purchases ever.

Also, bring plastic bags for your sopping wet/muddy gear. If it's raining all day/all night, you are going to want to get out of the wet clothes. If you can get those pins out of your jersey before they got into the bag.

Providence has hoses for public use, but not a full on wash station (unless WD40 shows up again to do the full bike wash/lube) like there was at Gloucester with Pedros. I've seen expensive industrial strength bucket brush combo packs for sale and maybe one day I'll get there, but right now I do okay by bringing along a pretty basic scrub style brush with a handle. Packs light and just enough extra oomph to handle caked on mud.

Course, at races with no water, I find a self-serve car wash bay with power washers and man, oh man. That's a whole 'nother level of fun.

ALSO, and I learned this the hard way. PAY ATTENTION TO OVERNIGHT TEMPS. Because you know what happens when you put a freshly washed/wet bike in your trunk and leave it there in the hotel parking lot overnight? You wake up with all kinds of frozen cables. I don't think it'll get that cold this weekend, but soon it will! Got down to the low 40s in Gloucester overnight.

mugwump said:

Jill Sink said:

Bring your Wellies!

bring your cantilever-equipped bikes.

(disc brake owners bring extra sets of pads)

dammit.  i only have one set of sintered pads.  the other is organic and no way am i using those in the wet.  they will evaporate.

where is everyone staying?

Great advice mark:

Wellies
Bags
Car wash for the bike - frequently on wet courses the wash area turns into a bog
also, if you want to get really clever bring a fan you can set up in front of your wet shoes overnight

my family lives in providence so worst case scenario we can troop to their houses and use their hoses.  they don't have a bike repair stand though.

Looks like they released more spots on bike reg. 7:30 start for 4/5. Ugh. That's too early for beer. Who is doing the hotel motel thing?

Course for Saturday:
http://providencecrossfest.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/2015-VENUE-MAP-V3-SAT.pdf

Course for Sunday:
http://providencecrossfest.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/2015-VENUE-MAP-V3-SUN.pdf

Seems longer than last year, as they added that whole bottom part. And because, why not, a 4th flyover.

--- still, looks like the main character that day will be tropical storm Joaquin.

niallsmart said:

Looks like they released more spots on bike reg. 7:30 start for 4/5. Ugh. That's too early for beer. Who is doing the hotel motel thing?

My family and I are staying in a hotel...LaQuinta, because pet friendly and significantly cheaper than our usual Holiday Inn Express location. But that's not your question, is it?

Rain is sounding pretty dire. Are there odds this gets flooded out?
I'm not super excited right now about taking my family on 10 hours of rainstorm driving right now...