It is great race and easy venue for us, fear not Carpenter Cross is on that same day (Sat Sept 20), and Hidden Valley (Sunday Sept 21)

The Kissena Cyclocross Calendar for 2024 is live!

That's right, here is your opportunity to share the races you want to travel to and to find others to go with and share rides and or lodging. Afraid of committing? Let people know you are considering the race and maybe someone will offer you a ride and convince you to go!

I have included all the races that members are likely to go to plus some. Click on race names to get the BikeReg links. Use the drop downs to indicate whether you plan to go and if you need a ride, etc. 

Access the calendar here

David Yang said:

@BlakeFoster If you can make it, I'll have a bike ready for you.. might even have shoes you can borrow.

wow I totally missed this notification! that is kind. 

Grant expressed interest in rescheduling the Cross clinic at Cunningham. I think Eloy is racing the 14th. How does Sunday the 15th look for people? Who is interested and who needs to borrow a bike?

The 15th is Pineapple Cross (one of my personal favorite races of the year), so others may be racing that day as well. But if people can make it, I say go for it

@Matt Budofsky I've never done Pineapple. What makes it one of your favorites?

It's a really well thought out course with a little bit of everything that feels like you use all of your skills and drills (which makes sense since the course is used for a weekly practice race).

The last 2 years (2 years ago it was pouring, and last year was wet but dried out throughout the race) have had 2-3 sections that are pretty untechnical where you need pure power, a few sections with switch backs that go up short kickers, an off camber section into a set of stairs, a long sweeping section that flows along and then goes right into a bunch of tight corners, some steep wood chip climbs and then a back section that turns into a big ole mudpit when its wet.

I am out of town the weekend of the 14&15 (not racing)

Pineapple Cross is awesome, it is on a dedicated course -- The Fifth Street 'Cross Course --
HIGHLY RECOMMEND. 

Posting from another thread:

This isn't an official cross clinic considering I'm about as novice as they get and don't have course tape and stuff, but I can help with the basics. Everyone is welcome to join (but you will need a cross or gravel bike).

Sunday Sept 8th
8AM - Whenever we feel like it

To start: Cunningham Park near Field 6
https://maps.app.goo.gl/J2MHmtDAhdTSpm1U7

Eventually: Cunningham easy trails on the east side
https://maps.app.goo.gl/MT6gjGHZuv4CrA8F9

You will need: A cyclocross or gravel bike with a minimum of 30mm+ tires with at least some tread. We will be removing at least your downtube bottle cages.

What we're going to do: Get comfortable riding off road, learning basic skills (starts, dismount/mounts, hurdles, tight turns). Easy trail riding.

David is downplaying his cross skills. Join him if you are looking to learn skills!

I'll be there 

@BlakeFoster said

There are two video tutorials worth checking...

Jeremy Powers Cross Camp -- which is available to buy (or at least it was years ago when I bought it)

Jeremy did a significant number of tutorial videos for GCN all worth checking.

Adam Myerson's Cyclesmart "Solutions for Cyclocross" available for free in YT. This video is from 2004 & everything about it is dated, except the advice, which is solid -- just please completely ignore the step through dismount no one uses that anymore, and can be a little dangerous

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q44PwlP0JV4

Otherwise, the best way is to practice. 

NYC's Wednesday night cyclocross practice, lead by the "keeper of the cones" -- currently Keith Garrison, is worth attending forever, not to mention the social aspect.

+1 for JPow's GCN videos, especially his video on mounting/dismounting  

@BlakeFoster
@Matt Budofsky
 
Found it:

A low category CX pre race primer

Eloy’s primer is gold

Cross clinic was great, learned a lot from Dave & Eloy! Did some trail riding, hit the deck a few times. I feel rightly ordained now and ready to do some cross training and racing. Working on converting my commuter steel frame, watch this space... 

eloy said:

Adam Myerson's Cyclesmart "Solutions for Cyclocross" available for free in YT. This video is from 2004 & everything about it is dated, except the advice, which is solid -- just please completely ignore the step through dismount no one uses that anymore, and can be a little dangerous

Nonsense.

I still do the step-through.  As do other good crossers.  It's faster on higher speed dismounts.  

All the same, I probably shouldn't say anything because I'm currently able to score a bunch of free seconds on the competition when the barriers come on a flat section.  

Questions for the 'cross crowd...

1. have the wednesday nights at Randalls started?  I don't see mention of it on the NYC cross page.

2. anyone going to the Horsham, PA cross race?  Seems like it's the closest 'cross race pre-Croton.

Yeah Wednesday is on, updates are here: https://www.instagram.com/kingkogsunandaircx/

Wednesday night has been on for about a month now. Much like the step through no one uses Facebook anymore. All on IG:

Maybe foolish maybe not, how does one ride to Randall's Island? 

eloy said:

Wednesday night has been on for about a month now. Much like the step through no one uses Facebook anymore. All on IG:

https://instagram.com/p/C-aewvKuXPb/embed/

As with the step-through, not cross-posting to FB is lazy and demonstrates how people don't bother to tap the potential at their fingertips.

BlakeFoster said:

Maybe foolish maybe not, how does one ride to Randall's Island? 

The same way you ride anywhere else.  Get on your bike and go.

https://substack.com/@marcbertucco 

TBD notes on Pineapple
https://www.tobedetermined.cc/journal/weekend-forecast-pineapple-crush-cx 

TBD notes on Whirly
https://www.tobedetermined.cc/journal/weekend-forecast-whirlybird-cx-2024

I'm sad to miss both this weekend. The rest of you, have fun and go race bikes!

Race report for Pineapple Crush Cross 4/5s: ooooooof, what a way to start.

Showed up early, got 3 preride laps in and identified a bunch of spots that would be good for me, a bunch that needed a second and third look. By the end, I thought I had the course pretty well dialed.

Started the race from the 4th row and there were A LOT of racers (which is good for the race, but not so good from the 4th row). I made up some wheels out of the gun but immediately got caught in a lot of traffic. People went down on the left, people went down on the right, but not in front of me. This is good. I maintained position and made a few more wheels through most of the rest of the lap including the new "woodchip" hill (i.e., it was not woodchips, it was VERRRRRRY soft soil that got very rutted, but more on that later). Then someone went down right in front of me and with nowhere to really go, I also went down. I get back up fast, notice my shifter is turned inward so smack that back into place and we're off. Then I realize my bars are crooked so we're racing crooked now.

The next few laps are steady. I'm getting off the bike and handling the barriers and stairs really well, but clipping back in once I'm on the bike is a mess (I replaced my cleats not too long ago and something isn't 100% how I want so need to adjust those). Cornering is okay- better at the beginning, worse as I fatigued. Woodchip hill was okay some laps and then others not so much. I unfortunately found a rut that would stop your front wheel and almost launch you over the bars. I end up hitting this like 3 or 4 times. As I scramble to cover the mistakes and slip ups, I try to just fitness my way back and this works until it doesn't and I end up blowing up on the 2nd to last lap. Even with all of this, I'm still somehow running in the top 1/3 of the field. NICE! Then on the last lap when I just need to finish relatively cleanly, my derailler decides to throw my chain into my spokes. I get this fixed but it costs me a ton of places and by this point I just want to be done. I roll in who knows where thinking the season can only go up from here.

Matt - hopefully you used up your personal allowance of bad luck in this one race. You should only have good luck for the rest of the CX season!

That’s my hope! Get it all out of the way early when it’s at least warm

Is anyone doing croton ?
im thinking of doing Saturday masters 

Mark Taylor said:

Is anyone doing croton ?
im thinking of doing Saturday masters 

My plan is Saturday Masters.  SHould be a good field.