Racing In Moop

If you race Cyclocross long enough, you'll discover tons of things... 

But when you focus your sights, specifically on the Cyclocross courses, you'll notice 2 things in particular 

* No two courses  are exactly the same (even if the venue is the same for both days...)
* Weather conditions are a huge variable to any course

With that said...

Year in and year out, certain races become a tradition... to name a few

Gloucester
Providence
New Gloucester, Me
North Hampton


Some courses are traditionally dry,  some courses are traditionally flat and fast... Some courses are known for their mud, some courses are very technical, and some courses (like the one we raced on last weekend in Maine)... are known for their MOOP!

What the hell is MOOP????

HAH!!!  Funny that you ask!!!  Cause I'm going to enlighten you... with pictures even!!! 


First... we'll start with a cow field...   In Maine.

Actually... that's not accurate... let's add more cows....










That's better....



And then... let's factor in the first thing that cows do...






















As we all know... what goes in at the front end must come out at the business end...
 
This shot wasn't an easy one to get SPORTS FANS!!! 




















This is a single serving size.....


















Now..... when you add in  a bunch of these guys....










a bunch of these  
















Aaaaaannnnd

And a metric crap load of rain the night before the race!

























Hey Peanut... I have a question for you, what's all the rain doing to the cow fields? 





Answer! Turning it into MOOP!
















Translation of Moop is - Equal parts of Mud and Cow Poop!


This is what happens when things don't go well in Moop













This dude hit something buried in moop that broke his frame in 2 places... he was lucky to walk away with no injuries!










 




But this is what you got if you did really well...  Pie for 1st place!!! What a great award!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All in all, racing in moop is like racing on any other course... you and your stuff just smells a little funkier!

 

Only in Cyclocross!!  Gotta love it!

 

With the Cross season well on it's way, I feel the need to send a very special shout out to all the race promoters and course builders and volunteers, for all the time they put in to putting on these great events.  It's certainly not for the money... God knows they break even at best.  It's purely for the love of the sport.  You all do a wonderful job.  Thanks for all of your efforts!

 

Many, many thanks!

 

 

 

Have fun out there

Ride Safe!!

Talk with you soon

The Peanut Gallery

 

MTB & CX What's the Deal!

First of all I want to thank Kathy for asking me to write in the most prestigious of literary publications as a guest writer. It's probably due to it being the heart of her race season and she's busy riding and training.

(Peanut here... Uhhhh... not true!!!  I asked the Ride Bully to write this blog cause he's a damned fine writer and I know you guys get sick of hearing from just me)

Just after Kathy and Karen tore it up at Gloucester I had a short conversation that asked the question. "Why don't more mountain bike guys race cross"? Kathy responded with a perplexed "I don't know, but they should".

So when in doubt, write it out.

First a little background on me. My first passion has been riding mountain bikes, and I've been doing it since 1994. I liked it so much I decided to get a job at a shop in Mass to support my addiction. I've been riding ever since and currently enjoy road, cross, and mountain. Bottom line I'm attracted to the simplicity, complexity, technology, adventure, adrenaline, competition, challenge, and personalities of the sport of cycling. I'm not a mountain biker or roadie, nor am I a cross guy. For all intensive purposes I'm just a cyclist.

So what keeps the masses from crossing over from the dirt to the dirt? Did that make sense? No!

So what's the deal!

The two sports seem almost interchangeable. 

Both sports are primarily done off road in sometimes adverse conditions, both sports require power and technical bike handling ability, and both sports require a bicycle! (OK so that last one was a bit obvious) Seriously though if you're a MTB racer and just need to get your weekend fix of racing then cross may be the perfect fit.

Sure the cyclocross races are shorter but you've got to be on the gas for the full 40 - 45 minutes. If you're not on the gas you're last! Silly you say? Check the popularity numbers, The typical New England race has 80 to 125 participants per racer category, and guess what, they're all racing at once. This would be the equivalent of sending off the full Elite/Expert/SingleSpeed  mountain bike fields all at once every Sunday. The larger races will see upwards of 1000 racers per day.

Like a mountain bike race no two venues are the same. There's power, technical, and hilly type courses. Like mountain bike racing the equipment is insane except lots of folks bring with them a spare set of carbon wheels, or even a spare bike that they leave in the pit just in case of a mishap.



It's spectator friendly! Bring the family along. Most laps are 6-8 minutes in length and there are plenty of great crashes to be witnessed. Many races take place at a park or school. So more often than not there is something for the little ones to keep them occupied.

And just how many mountain bike races do you know of that have a beer tent on location?
So what's the deal? What's not to love? I have lots of bikes in the stable at home and while they may not all be the top of the line full XTR/Red/Record components. They are all fun to ride and race with your buddies and teammates. If you haven't given CX a try then you don't know what you've been missing.
Here's a short list for all you MTB guys of the Top 5 reasons why you should try a CX race.

1. You enjoy massive quantities of pain delivered all at once.

2. You've run out of quality MTB races for the season.

3. With shorter days you're looking to extend your season of fitness.
4. You want to see if you can beat Andy Gould at something  bike racing related.


5. You love to race bikes, hang with your buddies, and have frosty libations at a most festive environment surrounded by many like minded  bike folk.

For those of you hot shot mountain bike racers reading this saying "but I don't have a CX bike" you're in luck cause you can race your MTN bike! So come on out and let's see what all you fat tire folks can do!

 




















Hey do you see what this thing does to my fur!?...   Someone buy me a Cross Bike!


Sincerely,
The Ride Bully

My sincere thanks to the Ride Bully, for taking the time as a guest  writer to our Blog... nice job.!!!

The Peanut Gallery 

MUD, BLOOD AND COW BELLS

OK... I have a small confession to make.

Before I went to bed last Friday night... after I made a few apologies and said a extra few Hail Marys for excessive swearing...  I asked God for a huge favor.

I asked for rain in Gloucester...  Now, I didn't ask for "rain in general"... I specifically wanted it to rain during "MY" races... And let me tell you,  I GOT WHAT I ASKED FOR..

 























 Ummm... where's my bike????  The last time I was on it, was in the off camber section....


It freaking poured.... ALLLLLLLLLLL WEEEEEEEEKEEEEEEEEEND!

Now... despite popular opinion... I'm not a crazy person.

I don't particularly like the rain... you know, those soggy conditions that turn a comfortable pair of bib shorts into a wet diaper that doubles as a sling shot, that will catapult you over the handle bars and into outer space, if you mistakenly hook your shorts on the saddle (like I did in the 2nd lap), during your flying remount.... 

Wanna watch me fly???  Just wait until I do my flying bicycle remount in my soggy shorts!



For the record... I don't feel any particular attachment to the shoe sucking mud either.  It's two faced...  as soon as you get comfortable it will quickly rip you off your bike the second you think "you've got this corner".  Now that I'm thinking about it... I'm not "attracted", to the sponge like... wheel grabbing grass fields that seem to have magnets straight from hell, much either..






















This is my evil devil cat... we are going to grab your wheels and suck you into hell with us!!!


It's like the Klingons and their damned tractor beam... Draining every ounce of energy from your aching legs. 

Hey... turn the tractor beam up... Their race hasn't hit the appropriate "SUCK  FACTOR" yet.

Ahhh... Yes, now the "SUCK factor" is at the appropriate levels...  "Cho oy plvlob"



Nope... I don't particularly care for any of it...



BUT... here's the deal!

I KNOW MOST OF MY COMPETITORS WOKE UP TO THE PITTER PATTER OF RAIN DROPS, THEY WERE TOTALLY HATING THE CONDITIONS ... even more important... I know they're afraid of what the rain is doing to the course!!!

So.... A long time ago I made a decision.  I decided to take the totally opposite perspective on things... I have turned the foul weather into my absolute best friend.  It is something I hope, pray and yes, even dream for... because it is my greatest ally.

If you want to get good... Really good at the sport of Cyclocross, you better make the weather your friend, not your enemy.  

Anyone can race well in dry conditions.... but dry conditions are never a guarantee and guess what, being a winter sport, dry conditions are only temporary.

YOU DON'T want the weather to be the variable that leaves you flopping around on the side of a muddy off camber corner, like a fish that just fell out of its' bowl. 

  














Crap!!!  How do I get back in the bowl!!!

So... what do you do??

Welp... 4 things immediately come to mind

1.  Start doubling up when you pack (at least 2 sets of everything).  If it rains, you'll want to get out of the wet stuff after your pre-ride, to race in a dry kit.   Starting a race in a dry kit, is good both physically and mentally.

2.  Next time it rains or snows... grab your cross bike and go play in it!
 
If you don't train in it... you can't expect to race well in it.

If you don't practice in it, how can you ever expect to ride well in it, never mind race well in it... right????

  
3.  "As a general rule"... when the weather goes south...  if you race on tubulars... your tire pressure should go south as well.  The slicker the conditions the softer the tire pressure for better traction.  But always pre-ride the tire pressure you adjust to, and make sure you're good with any change you've made.


4.  If you complain about the weather when it's nasty...  Odds are, I've already beaten you... and we haven't even raced yet.

I realize I have an attitude problem... but you would too with mud up your your nose!!

What goes on in your head has a huge impact on how it translates into "performance on the bike".  Don't kill your race before you even roll to the line.



Since you're going to race in it anyway... learn to love it.  If not love it... then at least, make a deal to make friends with it vs. making an enemy out of it.



So...  

As you roll to the line in the pouring rain, snow... whatever mother nature is tossing your way....  Embrace it!!!   

Once the whistle blows, you will forget the weather... all you will hear are the shouts from friends and family, and the ringing of cowbells.

And afterwards... as you're hosing mud and yes, even a little blood off your legs... you might surprise yourself.  You might find that you are silently  wishing for rain next weekend...

  

This is what happens when you make mud, blood and cowbells your friend!


Our next Blog will be a week early, because we have a guest writer, the Ride Bully who I am proud to say, is also my Blue Steel Teammate... so be sure to continue to  check in, for what I know will be a good read. See you next Friday....

Have fun out there

Ride Safe!!

Talk with you soon

The Peanut Gallery