Cyclocross

Cyclocross is brutal. Awhile ago, I wrote about having a terrible itch for cyclocross this year. I'm not sure why, but maybe it's because I haven't done a lot of biking in the last five years, and I've really dived right back into it this year. In any case, I did get a bike: A Blue Norcross EX. It's fantastic. I haven't raced it yet, and by the way things are going, I don't know if I will this year. But, I started a 'cross night with some friends at Pierce Park in Appleton, and it's going well. It's Monday nights at 5:30, and I'm getting decent turnouts and some quality 'crossing.

But as I said, it's brutal. My back, which is a near-chronic problem for me, hasn't given me too much trouble all year. But cross? Cross brings the pain. I love it, though, and I've gotten to the point via stretching and various strength exercises where the pain is somewhat short-lived. So that's a good thing. 

This weekend is out for racing, but maybe next weekend will work. I haven't been doing much "training" other than Monday nights; the kids are keeping Rose and I busy. So if I do race, I know I'll get worked, but I'm just doing this for fun, so it doesn't really matter. In fact, it's all for fun. All the riding is for fun. When you get caught up in winning, you become a wanker. Most of the time. But I digress. 

This is the bike:

Blue Norcross EX

Of course, I swapped out those crummy American Classics with real wheels: Mavic Ksyrium SL's. And as I am wont to do on every bike I own, I swapped the stem and seat post out for Thomson stuff. Also, out of frustration at not being able to find chainrings in the size I wanted (38/46) to fit the 110 BCD on that Apex compact crank, I upgraded to a Sram S900 crank with a standard 130 BCD.

This is a fantastic bike.