Wielding Jehovah's Cyclocross Battleaxe
- Thread starter Norm
- Start date
ChrisRU
Well-Known Member
Don't forget the gas money 😱
I'm getting sucked in again. I took out the cross bike and rode it around my complex the other night. The drivetrain groans alot, probably from the charm city sand that I left caked on it for the better part of year. I need to put some air in my tubulars and see if they hold.
I like the numbers talk. I could see myself playing the numbers game at some point in the future just to put together a season or two of seeing what my real potential is. I'd need a coach though because I can push harder when I don't have to think on my own.
I'm getting sucked in again. I took out the cross bike and rode it around my complex the other night. The drivetrain groans alot, probably from the charm city sand that I left caked on it for the better part of year. I need to put some air in my tubulars and see if they hold.
I like the numbers talk. I could see myself playing the numbers game at some point in the future just to put together a season or two of seeing what my real potential is. I'd need a coach though because I can push harder when I don't have to think on my own.
ChrisG
Unapologetic Lifer for Rock and Roll
I've had this sort of conversation with a few people, most recently Kirt.
I occasionally envision myself on a 5" 27.5 bike, baggy shorts and Camelbak intact. Just going for cool bike rides and not dealing with all this bike racer bullshit.
But so far, it's not more than just that, something I talk about occasionally.
I have allowed the batteries in my Powertap to go dead, though.
The best laid plans of mice & men, couldn't put Humpty together again? Did I get that saying right?
So the other day when I took J to the doctor, she said that we should wait 24-48 to see how she was. I was impressed that a doctor in this day & age would actually be cautious about giving antibiotics so freely. Well this morning, before I even walked into her room, I heard her moaning as she got up. Long story short, no camp, no ride with Kirt, back to the pharmacy to pick up the AB we were holding serve on. In the end, it really wasn't a big deal and she shook it off after the Advil. But we're going camping tonight and the last thing I need is a kid with an ear infection all weekend.
KT
Robin, enjoy it. I am just captivated by KT right now. I just want to go back. I see the pics on FB and just want to take off Monday and spend the week there. I want to go up every other weekend when we don't have the kids. I want to ride all 110 miles of it. It was just that enjoyable to me.
We brought 4 bikes but in the end did a short road ride. Next time we'd only bring mountain bikes.
Data & Numbers
Utah hit it first: Would Edwin be in the Tour with data? Well, data & drugs? Maybe, though I always dislike that response to something. Maybe I would be faster without data. Maybe I would be slower without data. Who knows.
Edwin has been riding a bike since he was 12. Maurice, same thing. TommyD, rides 200 hours a week. These guys that are Bike Gurus ride a lot, like a shit-ton lot. Are they gifted? Maybe. But they are also bred. Guys like Kirt & I, Utah as well, we got in the game late. We can't get up and ride 20 hours a week like Roger A does. It's easier to go by feel if it's your life.
At least that's what I think. But really, I think that's just a choice. A lifestyle. Sort of.
My opinion is this: It doesn't really matter, so long as you ride your bike a bunch. You know what 1 coach told me? All those goofy things you do on the 3-4 hour rides are there just to get you out on your bike for 3-4 hours. The training effect of "5 efforts of 30s between hour 2-3" is negligible. It's just to keep your mind focused on riding 3-4 hours.
The data is a distraction for us. It's a number that helps us in some way, motivates us to do whatever it is we want to do. Hell, even the "3-4 hours" is a number. For all of the "I don't use GPS" people out there - do any of them, a single one, ride without a) any bike computer and b) a watch? That would be impressive, to get to a point where you have ZERO data at all. Just the sun.
Also, while Edwin does stomp faces sometimes he also sucks big hog other times. Let's not forget the shit when we point out the shinola.
Selling Your House and Moving to Montana
We push so hard because it's better. We push so hard because it's fun. We push so hard because the human condition is one where we realize that the cycle of life is "eat, shit, sleep, repeat a zillion times, and die." We do all these things to make life less meaningless. So we ride bikes. Then we try to be better at it, to make the most of it. We make a religion out of it.
So we can throw out the GPS, not upload to Strava, toss the Cateye, give up riding with groups. And then we can move to Montana, grow a long beard, and send mail bombs to people every once in a while.
Or we can reg for Nittany, get excited, look forward to it, and have a great weekend. I think we have 13 of us going already, not even counting SOs & family in the mix. This is after like 5 hours of reg being open.
Bard Must Relax
Eric has it right: You gotta stop. I mean, a joke is a joke. But my man, you didn't even register for both days of Nittany. You've been talking about cross for 6 months and the big day comes and you only pick 1? Man, you should stand in the corner and spank yourself with a wooden spoon for the rest of the summer for that.
Weekend
Ok I gotta pack this car more. And go buy wine. And chill the beer. The organization involved with a camping trip is almost as much as the time you will spend doing stuff. Thankfully D did most of it.
Joining Matty & family for the weekend, then Kirt & the girls tomorrow, in the woods. Well, you know the kind of woods you can drive up to with a fire pit and a picnic table and pavement and a beach on the lake. And beer. And running water & a sink to clean your stuff in. Roughing it, we are.
Battleaxe can come back out Monday. Nothing today or this weekend.
So the other day when I took J to the doctor, she said that we should wait 24-48 to see how she was. I was impressed that a doctor in this day & age would actually be cautious about giving antibiotics so freely. Well this morning, before I even walked into her room, I heard her moaning as she got up. Long story short, no camp, no ride with Kirt, back to the pharmacy to pick up the AB we were holding serve on. In the end, it really wasn't a big deal and she shook it off after the Advil. But we're going camping tonight and the last thing I need is a kid with an ear infection all weekend.
KT
Robin, enjoy it. I am just captivated by KT right now. I just want to go back. I see the pics on FB and just want to take off Monday and spend the week there. I want to go up every other weekend when we don't have the kids. I want to ride all 110 miles of it. It was just that enjoyable to me.
We brought 4 bikes but in the end did a short road ride. Next time we'd only bring mountain bikes.
Data & Numbers
Utah hit it first: Would Edwin be in the Tour with data? Well, data & drugs? Maybe, though I always dislike that response to something. Maybe I would be faster without data. Maybe I would be slower without data. Who knows.
Edwin has been riding a bike since he was 12. Maurice, same thing. TommyD, rides 200 hours a week. These guys that are Bike Gurus ride a lot, like a shit-ton lot. Are they gifted? Maybe. But they are also bred. Guys like Kirt & I, Utah as well, we got in the game late. We can't get up and ride 20 hours a week like Roger A does. It's easier to go by feel if it's your life.
At least that's what I think. But really, I think that's just a choice. A lifestyle. Sort of.
My opinion is this: It doesn't really matter, so long as you ride your bike a bunch. You know what 1 coach told me? All those goofy things you do on the 3-4 hour rides are there just to get you out on your bike for 3-4 hours. The training effect of "5 efforts of 30s between hour 2-3" is negligible. It's just to keep your mind focused on riding 3-4 hours.
The data is a distraction for us. It's a number that helps us in some way, motivates us to do whatever it is we want to do. Hell, even the "3-4 hours" is a number. For all of the "I don't use GPS" people out there - do any of them, a single one, ride without a) any bike computer and b) a watch? That would be impressive, to get to a point where you have ZERO data at all. Just the sun.
Also, while Edwin does stomp faces sometimes he also sucks big hog other times. Let's not forget the shit when we point out the shinola.
Selling Your House and Moving to Montana
We push so hard because it's better. We push so hard because it's fun. We push so hard because the human condition is one where we realize that the cycle of life is "eat, shit, sleep, repeat a zillion times, and die." We do all these things to make life less meaningless. So we ride bikes. Then we try to be better at it, to make the most of it. We make a religion out of it.
So we can throw out the GPS, not upload to Strava, toss the Cateye, give up riding with groups. And then we can move to Montana, grow a long beard, and send mail bombs to people every once in a while.
Or we can reg for Nittany, get excited, look forward to it, and have a great weekend. I think we have 13 of us going already, not even counting SOs & family in the mix. This is after like 5 hours of reg being open.
Bard Must Relax
Eric has it right: You gotta stop. I mean, a joke is a joke. But my man, you didn't even register for both days of Nittany. You've been talking about cross for 6 months and the big day comes and you only pick 1? Man, you should stand in the corner and spank yourself with a wooden spoon for the rest of the summer for that.
Weekend
Ok I gotta pack this car more. And go buy wine. And chill the beer. The organization involved with a camping trip is almost as much as the time you will spend doing stuff. Thankfully D did most of it.
Joining Matty & family for the weekend, then Kirt & the girls tomorrow, in the woods. Well, you know the kind of woods you can drive up to with a fire pit and a picnic table and pavement and a beach on the lake. And beer. And running water & a sink to clean your stuff in. Roughing it, we are.
Battleaxe can come back out Monday. Nothing today or this weekend.
GratefulRider
Active Member
I believe CX would be more fun for everyone if the dedicated CX racers would quit.
How serious can we take a bike race that involves bacon and beer hand ups, gratuitous mud/sand/ etc, and turns for the sake of turns.CX is a great thing to occupy our time and keep us riding with intensity when the real race seasons wind down. Pound your face for 45 minutes, laugh about it, chill, drink beer and heckle your friends. Repeat each week until x mas. Then start training again.
You guys that build your entire year around CX are missing the point. 🙂
How serious can we take a bike race that involves bacon and beer hand ups, gratuitous mud/sand/ etc, and turns for the sake of turns.CX is a great thing to occupy our time and keep us riding with intensity when the real race seasons wind down. Pound your face for 45 minutes, laugh about it, chill, drink beer and heckle your friends. Repeat each week until x mas. Then start training again.
You guys that build your entire year around CX are missing the point. 🙂
Ride bikes, drink beer, repeat.
I really think it's that simple. but I'm older and wiser. Too much time is spent on analyzing numbers. My god if I took every paragraph from just this new thread, that talked about x and o and high and lo max, I could fill my hard drive. Maybe it's because I'm to stressed from work but when I ride I don't want to do math or timed sprints and recovery. Sure I like to push hard at times but when I'm tired I slow down and when I feel better I go faster. I'm not hating that you do numbers it's just that its not for me. I still use a Camelbak on the road so what do I know. Don't know if this makes sense but it does for me. Enjoy life, ride bikes.
Norm, Have fun camping, to me thats as much fun as riding.
I really think it's that simple. but I'm older and wiser. Too much time is spent on analyzing numbers. My god if I took every paragraph from just this new thread, that talked about x and o and high and lo max, I could fill my hard drive. Maybe it's because I'm to stressed from work but when I ride I don't want to do math or timed sprints and recovery. Sure I like to push hard at times but when I'm tired I slow down and when I feel better I go faster. I'm not hating that you do numbers it's just that its not for me. I still use a Camelbak on the road so what do I know. Don't know if this makes sense but it does for me. Enjoy life, ride bikes.
Norm, Have fun camping, to me thats as much fun as riding.
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Phew - Just got all caught-up beginning from page 1...This thread eluded my radar some how.
-LOL
-Do Numbers
-Dat Axe
-KT is the shit
-What Mandi Said
-EO, here's another good read
- It's Friday..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
-LOL
-Do Numbers
-Dat Axe
-KT is the shit
-What Mandi Said
-EO, here's another good read
- It's Friday..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
I think you just nailed it.
The Heckler
You bring new meaning to the term SUCK
I think all bike racing would be much more fun if the serious racers quit.
But then it's not racing, it's a charity ride, and there is nothing fun about heckling a charity ride. (last sentence is debatable) 😀
SpartaBard
Well-Known Member
My nephews bar mitzvah is on Saturday in Maryland. I am happy that I was able to get one day in at least.
I am not really that crazy...
I am not really that crazy...
I agree to some extent. The fact that to really be serious about cross requires more time, bike work, money, gluing tubulars, pit bikes, 4 sets of wheels, bringing trainers to bike races, barricades in your yard, JOGGING, practice shouldering a bike....it can really get nuts. Im glad I have edited out most of this bullshit, and just don what I feel is the bare minimum. NO JOGGING EVER! I dont even own a pit bike and I spend more time every year fixing my cross bike and related stuff than I do fixing my mountain bike. All of this to ride around in the grass for 45-60min. I do enjoy it, especially the social aspect of it...I just wish it less complicated. And of course I could just show up with my mountain bike and ride it around and get a workout, but like the rest of the sheep, I want to go as fast as I possibly can 🙂
GratefulRider
Active Member
Mountain Bike Mike
Well-Known Member
I am trying Cross this year because it looks fun. I will race but not seriously.. I plan on getting a really crazy looking bib mandex setup (my wife wants to design it to make me look rediculous) and wearing some crazy looking motocross goggles that I wear when I ride MX.
Mountain Bike Mike
Well-Known Member
What is a CX pit bike?
a total waste of f'n money.
Mountain Bike Mike
Well-Known Member
is it like a kids bmx bike like a 12" or 16"? If so, I am fully stocked with those... I'll cruise around the pits on one and may even keep training wheels on it.
No its a backup bike in case of a mechanical during a race. It's also what iggy said.
That depends
like 25% of racers: nothing. flat tire = race over
Then there are the people like me: spare front/rear wheel in the pit...I go 1 step further and have a spare tubular wheelset
Then there are the pit bike people and its an ascending scale.
Your other bike, in my case it would be my mountain bike.
Then you move into entire spare cross bikes...usually less expensive then the main cross bike. Like the old one you got off craigslist when you started doing cross.
Then you move into having a pit bike that is still pretty fancy, but not quite the main race bike...maybe its an alloy frame rather than carbon
Then you get to the top...the pinacle. And that would be Norm:
Spare tubular wheelset and a spare carbon copy of his carbon Van dessel FTB in the pits. So you buy the most ridiculous cross bike you can find, then select qty 2 so they are matchy matchy
Then it goes even further...and you have a pit monkey. Thus if cross bike #1 gets slightly heavier from mud, you pull in and your pit monkey has your back bike there, ready for you to hop on it. There is a "technique" for this too like everything else in cross. While you are out riding, he cleans/repairs the #1 bike and get its ready again.
Yes, this is cross...it really embodies "anything worth doing is worth overdoing"