for an exquisite training experience

This wasn't quite the scene in crossjunkie towers last night, but I did do my first ever turbo interval session, albiet without the sexist 80s styled model lounging in the foreground (I asked mrs crossjunkie but got a short and painful reply.....).

Actually it was suprisingly good fun. A hectic day of delivering work related workshops, domestic chores, homework help and ferrying J to and from his athletic session meant I did not stop until 9pm. No matter, armed with a Simon Burney interval session, a high def DVD of the World Cup cross race from Tabor last year and my shiny new CycleOps, I ventured into the murky world of pain and sweat for the next 40 mins or so.

And sweaty it was too, but strangely satisfying. Perhaps it was the notion of a training session stolen from the jaws of apathy, or the thought that I might become some kind of uber-cross hero with unlimited power (unlikely), but I enjoyed it a little too much.

There was even some kind of bizarre connection thing going on with the DVD too - everytime Nys or Wellens layed down a blazing attack in the race, I could feel their pain. Well, actually my pain which was reasonably acute. It's not right though, sitting in a room, sweating like you're going to get heat stroke and hammering yourself into semi-consciousness. I am told it is effective by those in the know. They better had know, because if I get any slower having gone through all that I am going to come looking for them and stick a Rhino where the sun don't shine...........

rapha cross kit!!!

Much excitement in the crossjunkie household last week. Well, for me at least. Purveyors of stylish cycling apparel, Rapha have announced their autumn range, including cross-specific jerseys and 3/4 bibs. Previous readers will alread know my views about Rapha - see http://crossjunkie.blogspot.com/2008/08/ive-been-rapha-d.html

As the news sunk in, the excitement waned a little. Rapha, cross, mud, grit - not an ideal combination given a jersey and 3/4s would set you back over £250! Could buy 5 FMBs or Dugasts for that and they would probably last and look better for longer.

Then I realised as I looked at the marketing pictures - this was cross kit for the West Coast US of A type of crosser. Kit for where it doesn't rain too much at all and races and training are conducted in dry dust bowls for most of the year. No soggy woods, and boggy playing fields for them. No, one can go training resplendent in one's new Rapha kit and come back looking just as immcaulate instead of looking like a new recruit who's just staggered round an Army assault course in full flood.

Nice idea then, just wrong climate over here?

Pics respectfully lifted from http://www.rapha.cc/

spanish inquisition - nw race 2

They say time trials are the race of truth - I would argue that it follows that cross is more like the Spanish Inquisition, using any means at its diposal to get to the heart of the matter. The 'heart of the matter' being whether or not you have got it in the tank. Or not, in my case.

Leverhulme Park was balmy. Correction, hot - 22 degrees in fact. Any prospect of real mud had evaporated over the course of Friday, Saturday and then on race day. There was still some residual softness in the ground, that resulted in slowing down the speed of the course a little rather than any mud that stuck to tires or bike. There may have been some softness, but the course was still brutally fast - big ring all the way which is unusual for pack fodder like me in a North West race.

With a Trophy race in Wales, there were fewer big hitters present. It was a good field of stalwart North West regulars on the start line as well as a fair few irregulars and newcomers. A fast start leading into single track was always going to cause a bottleneck at some point, and a botched pedal hook up left me well down. I've been practicing that recently to the point of nailing it every time, except when it counts obviously!

The crash came later than expected and it was 2 riders in front of me. Sorry Mick S, about the Rhino tire tread on your backside, inflicted as I squeezed past on foot! It didn't hold me up too much but left enough of a gap to the next group to need some chasing. This went well and after a couple of laps I was on the back of a reasonable size group with most of the other leading vets in sight. A few slower starters came past after being held up in the crash, including Mick who went on to produce his usual Chris Young type effort and rode through the field with aplomb.

It was then, at about 25 mins in that the Investigators came to call. I was found guilty as charged - of having dwindling power, strength and general smoothness. Cross is all about momentum, and on a fast, largely untechnical course, smoothness through individual sections and bends is paramount. My technical abilities are suspect at the best of times, but as the feebleness set in, I was losing a couple of seconds here and there on riders in front through every turn. The loss of strength was compounded by an almost complete inability to get out of breath toward the end and make any kind of hard effort.

The net result was a tragic descent through the field from 15th to an eventual 27th. Excuses? I have a barrel full, but the only one that counts was that I was simply not prepared for the intensity that a cross race imposes on your system. A crashing sore throat and cold came on later in the day and overnight, and this may not have helped the earlier race effort, but I was cruelly exposed on the day in the way that only cross can. Some work to be done then............

Keith Murray won, for the record, with his White Sex file tread Dugast and White Sex gloves. Very stylish.

PS Thanks to everyone who came up and mentioned that they read the blog. Keep in touch!

flexibility

Simon Burney was the inspiration. And I'm not talking about stretching. There is a sentence in his book, Cyclocross Training, that suggests time pressed individuals can fit in 2 or 3 sessions a day if they plan specifically to cram bits of training in here and there. It caught my eye and got me thinking.

It seemed far fetched at the time of reading, and to be fair I haven't the energy or sufficient access to the washing machine to get 3 sessions done. But 2 are doable, and need be no more than a 15 min run before breakfast, followed by a 45 min interval session on or off road during a lunch break. Two good sessions done, and minimal disruption to other responsibilities like kids, partner or even work!

The downside - I never get much distance or base work in, either before the season, let alone during it. However the literature is full of research on junk miles vs sweetspot training and the like. Rule of thumb to be gleaned? Ride/run either dead easy or dead hard. Coast along or blast out some intervals. It is possible that I struggle to hang on in the last 15 mins of a cross race as my base fitness fails to support my overall pace, but I usually get away with it.

This morning was a case in point. Faced with a day of work based training followed by an evening birthday present shopping, the only solution was an 8.30am rendezvous with the local football fieldsnear to work. A 10 min warm up, stretching, dismount/mount drills, 5 practice starts with 45 sec flat out efforts with 2 min rests, and finally more start and dismount drills gave me a 35 min session that incorporated both technical work and inerval efforts. A 15 min run would top it off nicely this evening...........

But this is the beauty of cross - 1 hour of gut wrenching effort that can be trained for in a finite amount of time, requiring lots of rest after races and between hard off road sessions. The ulitmate form of cycle racing for those walking the 3 part teeter totter of family/bike/work and this is why I love it.

mudandcowbells scoop and footwear tip

Fascinating piece for geeks on the development of the new Challenge Fango tubs and clinchers over on http://www.mudandcowbells.blogspot.com/
Fab stuff from this ever reliable blog.

Also from the colourful http://www.mollycameron.com/
A great tip for eliminating fluffs getting into the pedals cleanly everytime. Gluing old tubular or clincher tread to the middle part of the bottom of your often smooth cross shoe soles. Sounds wacky? - take a look.

dura ace electronic wins cross race!

As posted on weight weenies and cyclingnews.com - Neils Albert won the Erpe-Mere race in Belgium last Sunday using electronic shifters (and a normal 7800 chainset). And yes it was dry and sunny and not muddy.

I can feel a chorus of "can't see that catching on up 'ere" coming on from grizzled Northern crossers reeling after Sunday's mudbath. Then again I may be as mistaken as the erstwhile record executive who turned the Beatles down for being commercially unviable.........

Photo courtesy of Photopress.be.

this season i be mostly riding ............

2x Planet X Uncle John frames and carbon forks - size XL as I am lanky as. Cheap, light-ish, strong, with good mud clearance and no frills except bottle cage mounts which are surprisingly useful. Not the raciest of geometries but good enough for me and they make an excellent long/rough sportive bike too as they are really comfortable on the road.

105 shifters and Ultegra mechs - consensus seems to be that new 10 speed 105 is as good as Dura Ace from a few years ago. Good enough for cross then.

Frogglegs brakes - utlitarian, effective enough to slow you down rather than stop you dead. Cross is about keeping momentum so you don't want brakes that are too good!

Mostly Planet X stems and seatposts, light Cinelli bars too. Compact chainsets - 46 and 48/36 with an Ultregra 25 cassette on both. Shimano pedals - long lasting and dont clog too easily.

Wheels and tubs - where I have spent my cash and treated myself:

2x aluminium - 1 set GP4 with 32mm FMB Orange SP and 1 set Race X Lite with specially made FMB Green SP with Dugast Rhino tread 34mm.

2x carbon with Dugast Rhino 32mm on front and 34mm on rear - better grip due to larger footprint.

I have a couple of old green Michelin muds on FMB and Dugast carcasses too for occasions as yet unspecified or for when I can find even more wheel sets!

Those wheel choices cover all the bases - mud, grass, rough track, fast and slow courses. Francois at FMB makes the most incredible tubs - top quality, true every time and with high performing tread and longevity. Dugast are great too but perhaps not as robust as FMB though the Rhino tread is hard to beat in North West conditions.

There are tons of items out there that are lighter, flashier and more bling-tastic. However, the stuff I use works time and time again, doesn't let me down in races, requires minimal maintenance and doesn't break the bank.