That's one helluva hole shot... 
http://www.srm.de/news/road-cycling/usa-pro-challenge-2015/

So, with many thanks to Eloy's enthusiasm for CX and Jeff White adding to his bike collection, I have a new (to me!) CX bike in my apt, waiting to get all muddied up.  It's joining two other dear friends, my roadie and my hoopty fixie ... thanks guys and looking forward to the riding!

So much hotness. Sign up for Nittany, both days. It is gonna be awesome.

Sign up!

Oh wow. I feel weak just looking at these...

http://www.cxmagazine.com/technique-tuesday-allen-krughoff-core-strength-cyclocross

eloy said:

So much hotness. Sign up for Nittany, both days. It is gonna be awesome.

I think you should have held judgement until there's more red on that bike. Obvs.

mugwump said:

eloy said:

So much hotness. Sign up for Nittany, both days. It is gonna be awesome.

I think you should have held judgement until there's more red on that bike. Obvs.

You are correct. But wanna make sure @Scott Kuhlke and all kissenas sign up!

Jules, that looks hardcore awesome!!

Last CX season, several Kissena's biggest limiter by far was lower back pain. You need to address it. Regardless of the specific workout. Just like the article states:

Can’t feel like you could mount or dismount from your cyclocross bike without feeling like you were ready to pull out your back? So often, these symptoms are met with a “Welcome back to the cyclocross season” kind of demeanor. Yet rather than just let your body adapt through racing, there are ways of preventing fatigue rather than waiting for the cure.

On top of Tim's CX plan, I've added my own reminders, at least a couple of times a week.

Where do people buy cyclocross tubulars these days? 
Also, Challenge or Clement? Thanks!

eloy said:

Where do people buy cyclocross tubulars these days? 
Also, Challenge or Clement? Thanks!

I just had a back& forth with Illya on the topic, they should be stocking some soon.

Challenge baby.

Scott, and all new crossers. Nittany is a must race. It is an EXCELLENT first cross race. The course is not too challenging, and the weather could be excellent!

^True. And last year it was like 100 degrees, so bring ice.

May be tough; I'm in Syracuse for work until Friday night, was planning on driving back on Saturday morning and do (what I think is) the last crit in the NYC area for the season at Fort Lee that Sunday. If I pass on making it to Bethlehem, what's the next can't miss?

Scott, IMO

Sept 6 Granogue (if not racing on the road, hard to miss this one; you will learn what off camber riding is all about.)

OR if you want to do the most climbing heavy cross racing of the season

Sept 5/6: Ellison Park CX, Rochester, NY 

Sept 19 is Town Hall. I haven't done this one in years (ever?), but it's been popular with the club. Maybe others can chime in here.

Sept 26/27. Gloucester. (sold out)

Oct 3/4. Providence (if not sold out)

OR

Oct 3. Cooper River (Really solid nice race. Shame it conflicts this year with Providence)
Oct 4. Caffeinated Cross (I haven't done this one...chime in team?)

Oct 10/11. Charm City. Baltimore, MD

Oct 17/18. HPCX. The closest (other than our own Supercross) UCI racing all season. Roller coaster ride of a course. Lots of ups, downs and arounds.

Marc Bertucco said:

Scott, IMO

Sept 6 Granogue (if not racing on the road, hard to miss this one; you will learn what off camber riding is all about.)

Oct 3. Cooper River (Really solid nice race. Shame it conflicts this year with Providence)
Oct 4. Caffeinated Cross (I haven't done this one...chime in team?)

Oct 10/11. Charm City. Baltimore, MD

Marc (wait, you're not JP?), appreciate the highlights!

So the above are what my schedule allows through mid-October.  Anyone headed to the above races?  If so, happy to split car rental / or pay your gas to get there.  I live in Crown Heights, BK.

Nittany?  Meh.

The Fort Lee Crit is an excellent course and you don't need a car rental to get to it.

September cx races are a bit silly overall (ATMO!). Enjoy racing/riding the road.  Skip the heatstroke.  Let the impatient burn matches and cash.  

mugwump said:

Nittany?  Meh.

The Fort Lee Crit is an excellent course and you don't need a car rental to get to it.

September cx races are a bit silly overall (ATMO!). Enjoy racing/riding the road.  Skip the heatstroke.  Let the impatient burn matches and cash.  

I'm with JP here. Nittany is kind of a boring* race. It's mostly about power and the only technical aspect of it is a big section of roots, which is the not-fun kind of technical. (Ask Dan Reiners about that.) Some years it has a pretty epic mud pit, but that's kind of it. Fort Lee is a really high-quality crit, and the course is fairly unusual for its elevation changes.

That said, I will be at Nittany solely to hunt for some MAC and Crossresults points. For anyone who intends to race MAC and wants a decent call-up, Nittany is simply compulsory.



*Boring on the CX scale, which by most standards is actually really fucking fun

Nittany is a fun atmosphere, especially when compared the the desolate park races most of us typically associate with park races. 

Cooper River is a super great course – I'm bummed that I have to miss it this year.

I'd add Hippo Cross(ing) (Sept. 26) to the list as well. Pretty close to the city, so easy day trip, and looks like they'll have a good amount of fun there as well, including a beer tent, though it's their first year, so who knows what to expect.

https://www.bikereg.com/hippocrossing

I'm already reg'd. This is sponsored by a shop I occasionally stop into down there, and they're good guys who are looking to put on an event, not just cx race. Nice local option if you missed reg/can't do Gloucester. 

eloy said:

Where do people buy cyclocross tubulars these days? 
Also, Challenge or Clement? Thanks!

I always get my CX tires at World Class Cycles. It's a mom-and-pop outfit up in Maine. The service is truly excellent, the prices fair, and you can get Dugasts and FMBs! I rolled on Dugasts two years ago, but was not overly impressed by their durability. Trying out FMBs this year. If they're good enough for JPow ..

Jeffrey White said:

eloy said:

Where do people buy cyclocross tubulars these days? 
Also, Challenge or Clement? Thanks!

I always get my CX tires at World Class Cycles. It's a mom-and-pop outfit up in Maine. The service is truly excellent, the prices fair, and you can get Dugasts and FMBs! I rolled on Dugasts two years ago, but was not overly impressed by their durability. Trying out FMBs this year. If they're good enough for JPow ..

I'm with Jeff, their website is mom & pop but the service is beyond awesome 

JP, have you ever raced Nittany? It seems that as far back as 2006 you haven't.

Not that I want to become the great Nittany "defender" here, but it is worth reminding everyone that one person's "boring" course can be another's "interesting."

As far as other "interesting" features at Nittany, there is day 2's ride/run up to a log jump. Also the transition from the start line, up/down a fast hill into the aforementioned sometimes mud pit, has wreaked havoc on riders from outright beginners to super pro studs like Laura Van Gilder who misjudged it to lose one of her races last year. Also there are a tight series of turns that lead onto a rising/descending (sat/sun) off-camber section that forces you into turning on/off a gravel stretch.

Sure, there are definitely folks that feel the way Jeff do and are only racing Nittany for points. But there are at least 300 unique individuals racing one or both days of Nittany. Are they all racing exclusively because of points?

I like Nittany. I do 20+ cross races a year, and I'm proficient enough that I can handle technically, more technical courses and enjoy them too. And Nittany it's a "Can't Miss" for me.

Throughout the season, a variety of courses offer up a variety of challenges. It's the beauty of bike racing, no?

And as far as the subject of "burn out?" Well, that's always going to be a very individual thing. Some KCC racers start their season in mid-to late October and finish in mid-to-late November. A month, 4 or 5 weekend days of cross racing is enough for them. Not me. And really more relevant to the issue of burnout, is not so much the calendar dates, but the quality/caliber and placement of the races you choose to go to.

So calling September cross racing "silly" is as preposterous as saying you shouldn't do a high quality crit like Grant's Tomb in early March because that's "silly" too.

Marc

its all silly! Cross is boss, but don't take it all to seriously or else you'll ruin it.

I'm pretty sure I posted a video of my race here if people want to check it out. 

As if we're not pumped enough for CX season, here's BTBtv's coverage of the 2014 C1 at Ellison Park. If I wasn't racing GMSR, I'd definitely be in Rochester this coming weekend!

http://www.behindthebarriers.tv/btb-tv-presents/btb-tv-presents-ellison-park-cyclocross-festival-1-presented-by-shimano/

JP, I know you think September cross races are "silly," but it appears that there are a few spots open in Vegas, just in case you come to your senses.

http://www.cxhairs.com/2015/09/01/newsflash-15-spots-open-for-crossvegas-wheelers-delaers-pb-road-bike-action-race/

You should do it because you're going to need a lot of practice to beat me in the club championships this year. #buhbam

I hear the Canadian team has an extra spot too...



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too soon?
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Marc,
      You can't find my cx results dating back to 1987?  Maybe it has something to do with the limitations of the internets.  (boom.  the experience bomb.  Oh yes I did).  And I won't bother bringing up the six cx nationals I've raced (eight if you count the two years I did both masters and elite).

      I've raced CrossVegas.  The UCI race.  Twice.  Even got in the results as a finisher.  Neither time I trained for it, other than racing Sunday, flying to Vegas Monday, riding monday and tuesday in the desert on 20+ bikes and walking for eight hours Wednesday. Both times on borrowed bikes, one of which I got a half-hour before the start.  Wheelers and Dealers is too small for me (and it conflicts with work.  the benefit of the UCI race was I could get to the course at 7:30pm and still have the potential of a warmup).  If USAC calls about doing the World Cup, I'll do it.  

      And after CrossVegas, I came home and raced the road.    

      The reason people show for Nittany is simple. Most are going for the atmosphere.  The points bring the core and sponsors, and those beget everyone else.  At a certain point, people are going because others are going.  What do you mean you're not going, everyone else is?  (FWIW, I think the Marty Cross course has similarities to Granogue, but much better, and it doesn't draw a crowd, and the Newton CT course is a great course for those who don't want super-technical and like turns, but it, too, was barely attended) 

    And racing is so small that people should support good local races.  This is a bit off-topic, but when people are complaining that there aren't any good local races or the only racing worth getting excited about is out of town, they should recognize that it's because they're helping kill local races with their absence.  So, yes to GT, yes to Fort Lee, yes to local cross.