September 19, 2023“Embrace the suck”[^1]
As a cx rider this ethos means a lot. In cross you’re often racing in bad weather, cold weather, slippery weather. The courses are designed to make it hard for you to go quickly, not like a road bike race. All the twists and turns and lack of traction can make it so the fast people don’t get to use their speed, and craftiness, technique comes to the fore.
September 17, 2023
- Tech Guide
- Location: Capilano Park Edmonton
- Course: stravalink
Like the previous day’s Jim Horner Grand Prix ERTC’s School of Cross (p/b Blindman Brewing) 2023 race happened in Capilano Park. The air quality was a bit better on the day so only one race was cancelled (Open Women).
Earned promotion up to Open Men, with his second win (in a row, following JHGP) in Expert. ↩︎
September 16, 2023
- Tech Guide
- Location: Capilano Park Edmonton
- Course: stravalink
I was so happy this race wasn’t taking place in Argyll Park this year. I hated the downhill that someone broke a collarbone on last year and lost so much time on it. Capilano Park was near my house and I could practice on it. But I didn’t practice hard enough on wet enough grass, because hoo boy did I not do well on that terrain.
September 10, 2023
- Tech Guide
- Location: Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary - Cochrane
- Course: stravalink
“The Real Diehl” Cyclocross
Peloton’s first CX race they’ve put on. Swag included a UCI tire checker.
On checking his results it appears Hallett is a really good CX racer. The day before at Deadgoat SuperCross, Larix was racing in Sport Men, which he won. In 2022 he was an Under-17 rider where he won 2 Novice class races and got bumped up to Sport, where he won in his fourth race entered. He hasn’t finished out of the top 5 in an ABA race since 2019. ↩︎
September 9, 2023
- Tech Guide
- Location: Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary - Cochrane
- Course: stravalink1
It looks like this was a hot and windy race.
2021 version. No segment for the 2023 specific race. ↩︎
September 3, 2023
- Tech Guide
- Location: Strathcona Science Park
- Course: stravalink (shared with Tubs on Tubs)
Sidney McGill was going to be racing in the Open Men category and I was really excited to see her, and to race in the Novice Men, but by 7am the AQHI was over 10 and no one wanted to get blacklung for a race (also the Alberta Bicycle Association won’t let you do anything if the index is over 7). It sucked, but there wasn’t anything else to do about it.
September 2, 2023
- Tech Guide
- Location: Strathcona Science Park
- Course: stravalink
Tubs on Tubs Supercalifragilisticexpialidocius Prestige was the race that was going to open up the 2023 ABA CX season. And it did for the Novice Men, Sport Men and Sport Women categories, but sadly, the AQHI hit 11 and the afternoon races had to be cancelled (along with the next day’s entire Velocity CX Race).
But I got my race in, and it was really fun! I was fighting for a good position at the beginning and because I was pushing too hard on the off-camber turns, I wiped out a bit in the long grass. Then coming out of the big downhill I cut the corner a little too close and got caught up in the course tape, which cost me time.
August 31, 2023As part of my season preparations I decided to at least try the midweek cx racing that goes on in Edmonton. It’s a bit weird because it’s so casual and hard to find information about. There are people asking questions in the Alberta CX Facebook group and you get a response with a screenshot from somewhere(?) giving a schedule. It seems that the people who know, know.
And holy crap did a lot of people know about it last night!
August 29, 2023The Alberta Bicycle Association Cyclo-cross Cup begins this weekend with the Tubs on Tubs race and the Velocity CX and I am excited.
These races take place at Strathcona Science Park, which is a five minute ride from my house, so it’s my closest thing to a “home” race and where I do most of my ripping around on grass to practice ‘crossing. The other day I was out there and saw someone else also riding around on the grass and flagged her down. Turned out she was one of the race organizers planning out the course.
August 24, 2023It is August and ‘Cross is Coming1. I’m getting excited because cyclocross2 is for whatever reason my favourite kind of bike racing.
I say “for whatever reason” because it doesn’t seem intuitive to me that this would be my favourite. I’m not a big powerful rider pushing massive watts. I fall over a lot riding around on rough terrain. I don’t like being cold and wet.
But yet, when I did my first cyclocross race I enjoyed it. I came back last year to do more. And even though I’m in the slowest category racing against kids and old guys, I really like it. I feel exhausted at the end of a race but I want to do it again.