The first day of fall is just two weeks away and you know what the means - IT'S CYCLOCROSS SEASON!
Last year, I did two CX races with close to NO practice, skills, or knowledge of what the sport entails. Well, okay ... I knew what the sport entailed but had no idea that it required so much coordination and grace! I was born a klutz, so mixing me and CX is like mixing oil and water. But I had SO MUCH FUN that I'm going to try it again this year - die trying or try dying. They're basically the same thing.
Let's get one thing straight - I am NOT taking racing this sport seriously. I'm on a break for crying out loud! I have a prescription to have fun for the next two months and that is exactly what I plan to do. Sure, I want to do well and sure, I will TRY but, look ... I'm borrowing a very nice bike (THANK YOU TERI!!!) and shoes (THANKS BOYFRIEND!) and some old wheels I just had laying around the house. I did break down and buy some tires (walked right into the store and said, "I need some CX tires, please") and tubes. That's all you need for a bike, right?
Just like in any sport, you can get totally geeked out on gear. So I (later) learned that there all kinds of types of tires for all types of terrain - who knew? There are tires specifically for dry conditions, tires for sticky conditions, and a couple of different tires for different types of muddy conditions?? This triathlete is used to using one type tire all year, so I bought one set of CX tires. Hope they work.
I did drop a couple hundy on a couple of cold weather kit pieces - fleece lined bib knickers (SO nice!) and a long sleeve jersey. That's it. Very simple. I thought about buying a jacket, and a vest ... but that added up to over $400!!! Forget the skinsuit!!! Whew!
So that gets me thinking ... back to when I started in the sport of triathlon. I bought a road bike for $500 and some clip-on aero bars. I may have even done my first race with toe-clips (I can't remember.) What I'm trying to say is, when starting a new sport that requires a lot of gear, I feel like less is more. Add/upgrade later. (I'm saving my money for Zipp race wheels for the TT bike.) Besides, I don't want to be the jerk that has all this cool gear but hasn't got a clue how to use it!!
Which brings me to handleing skills. Thank goodness for the KCOI BLVD clinics!!! Without them, I would be lost. This week we went over mounting and dismounting. With luck and practice, I will be MUCH better than last year (when I tried to mount with my hand ON the saddle!!) I am still weary of the barriers - so I just rode around them during practice. :) God, I'm such a girl!
Okay, time to HTFU - but laugh off the small stuff too! There are no goals other than to finish (and not finish last, if I can help it) drink a beer or three and have a LOT OF FUN!!!
In other sports, I'm only swimming once a week (that will probably come back to bite me in the lats come November) and training for a half-marry in October, just because. Also picking up trail running and having a blast with that!
November? When's that? WHO CARES! :)
