CX practice gaining momentum

We continue to hold CX practice at Humboldt park. We've settled on a Tuesday/Thursday schedule at 6pm for now. We meet at the little hill on the western edge of the park, about half way between Division and North avenues. Tuesday attendance is getting stronger, Thursday attendance is spotty at best for now, though I am sure it will pick up as 'cross season approaches. Come out and join us!

Yesterday, we had a couple of barriers for the first time this year and it was good to start working on dismounts and remounts again. We also were graced with the presence of the current elite french women's CX national champion, who is currently an intern at SRAM in Chicago...

Humboldt Park 'cross practice

Humboldt Park is a great venue for cyclocross. It has it all - hills, dirt, grass, pavement, sand and gravel. For a few years now, Jason Knauff of ChiCrossCup and Burnham Racing fame has organized 'cross practices in Humboldt Park, usually starting in August. This year I've tried to organize a few off-season practices in spring and summer.

Yesterday we had sunny skies and fall-like temperatures, which were reasons enough for a little 'cross practice. First order of business was to find a safe spot for our backpacks:

Seemed like a good idea - at least they were visible from throughout the park!

Next we decided on a short course twisting and turning through the park:

Then we did a few sets of hotlaps, which finished with an uphill sprint:

In September and October, we often have 20+ participants at these practices. So far this year, it's been more like 6 or 8. The next practice is likely to be Tuesday July 19th at 6pm...all are welcome!

Piling on the miles

Oh, yeah - I've been doing HUGE mileage - 165,272 so far this year. Of course, I'm talking about frequent flier miles! Actual ride miles are challenging when your body is molded in to the exact shape of an economy class plane seat. Luckily, almost everywhere I travel there is a bike waiting for me at the other end and I get to ride in some cool spots - last week it was the forests of Bavaria, the week before the Da Keng mountains in central Taiwan.

'Cross is really just around the corner now, with just ten weeks to go until the first Chicago Cyclocross Cup race. It's going to be fun!

Eva Bandman - one year from today

Eva Bandman park in Louisville, Kentucky will be the venue for the 2012 and 2013 master's cyclocross world championships. I haven't seen an official schedule, but I suspect the 2012 event will be one year from today. The park is also the venue for the 2013 elite cyclocross world championships as well as an annual stop for the USGP series. It's cool to see a permanent cyclocross venue in the U.S. In fact, I am only aware of one other permanent public cyclocross venue, near Hamburg Germany. I raced there in 2007, lining up against the legendary Richard Groenendaal among others. For the record, he lapped me in under 30 minutes.

Eva Bandman park has great raw material for a cyclocross course - grass, pavement, a wooded section, a fair amount of silty natural sand as well as a man-made sand pit, and both natural and man-made hills.

I can't wait!

Badger Prairie - one year from today

The date for the U.S. cylocross national championships will move from early December to early January. So 2011 won't actually have a CX nationals - they'll be January 4-8, 2012. Most likely, my masters category race will be one year from today. In fact, I think my race might start exactly one year from now. You get some sense of the substantial elevation change the venue has to offer in this photo from 2009 (photo Djonn McNeil):

While I suspect we're more likely to have snow and ice than mud (at this moment it's 11 degrees in Madison), I'll always remember the October, 2007 event fondly. Mud is my friend. (photo Amy Dykema):

It's official

SRAM Factory was registered with USA Cycling as a club team for 2011. Our club ID is 13398. This club is open to all SRAM employee-athletes. You are sure to see SRAM Factory team members competing in other cycling disciplines over the coming year, but this blog is devoted to our cyclocross exploits. That may include some pre-season racing in other cycling disciplines.

Although newly registered with USA Cycling, the SRAM Factory team has existed since 2005. It was started at SRAM's Schweinfurt, Germany location and focussed almost exclusively on MTB racing. Here's a shot of SRAM's winning team at the 2005 'Schaflos im Sattel' (sleepless in the saddle) dusk to dawn race:

And another after winning the 2007 Kuelsheim 12 hour race:

We did a little cyclocross racing as well. This is the Struhlendorf Deutschland Cup race from 2006:

 We're looking forward to a great 2011.