Granogue CX

last rider on the left.

My first adventure into cyclocross began with the Granogue race in DE. I registered at the very last minute, so I started at the very back of the Cat 4 field as we were lined up by registration order. Seems fair and I didn't mind starting back for my first race. I set the Selma up with 700x35 Maxis Locust cx tires that I picked up cheap on ebay. I switched the rear cog and ran 33x16. That was it, my cx bike was set.

It started raining on Wednesday night and didn't stop until Sunday. The race was on Saturday morning with temps in the low 40s, it was cold and by lap 2 it was all slop. The tires gripped ok & I felt good about the gearing. I had to trudge up the run ups, but was able to ride for the most part and the SS didn't feel like a disadvantage. Damn, cx is hard, but it is also a hell of a lot of fun & I've already signed on for more. I'm all set for Fairhill and should get to start toward the front. I'll enjoy that view, if only for a few fleeting minutes.

my Chesapeake Cycle & Sport team mate Eric tearing through the mud on his Fuel:

thanks go out to Anthony Skorochod for photo use through cyclingcaptured.com

local night rides

We've been trying to make Wednesday night our regular weekly night ride on the local trails. So far, so good. The weather has been good, the trails dry, and the pace steady. This Wednesday, six of us were able to get in around 2 hours on the trail. I shot a short video of my solo descent down ricksrun - the camera & my DiNotte light both mounted on my bar (no helmet light):

Then I shot video of the other 5 riders descending the switchbacks:

return to white clay

Went back to White Clay just outside Newark DE with Eric, Jess, & Kirby. Shot a short video on the skills trail:

roadtrip: White Clay DE

An hour drive straight up 95, White Clay has been on my list of trails to check out for years. I finally got around to making the trip over the labor day weekend. Conditions were perfect, dry & fast, but not dusty, weather was cool and sunny. Once in Newark, it took us longer to find some gatoraide & snacks for the trail than it did to find the parking lot & trailhead. It turns out that there's a convience store & pizza shop right by the trails, but we didn't know that at the time. The unoffical white clay trail map developed by Ken Cox is the best one I could find & gives details that the Park map does not. With map in hand we found parking in the Middle Run area & the trail head is right there. Even with the map, it's easy to get turned around. Trails run in loops in each of 4 major sections with some connectors & options off of the loops. Fast & flowy, we were able to cover a good distance in little time. Along the way, there are a couple of skinnies & rock piles, but 95% of the trail is a root free, rock free blast at speed with little whoops along the way. I like a technical trail, but it sure was fun to just go. Then there's the skills park with it's man made skinnies, bridges, and small drops. Its well laid out & very well built & fun to play around on. After the skills park we spent a few more hours riding fast trail, exploring the different loops, and finding our way back to the car. I've already been back once since and plan to head up with a group soon.

Salsa Selma SS - first impressions

The Selma is light. And quick. And more agile than my On One Inbred. The Inbred is certainly a stable ride & set-up rigid, a confident & predictable bike even when pointed down hill. The Selma is a bit more twitchy in descents but easily makes up for this in faster cornering and nimble climbing. I'm able to drop a cog in the rear & top off the same climbs that I struggle with on the Inbred. The Reynolds carbon wheelset doesn't hurt either - I ran this set occasionaly on the Inbred and ran a smaller cog vs the stock set without added suffering on the climbs. The Selma has a nice finish that is not easily down-played, so I thought I might as well try to bling it up. I added the Sella San Marco saddle, the hope head set, and the Gamut bash guard in blue to pimp it out a bit. I went with a carbon bar, carbon rigid fork, & carbon seat post to match the seat stays, for the light weight & to soak up some up trail - I'm too old for an aluminum hardtail without these added items. I added the woodman carbon cages because they look so clean, they may be overkill and switched to the roadbike soon, but for now they look good. I'll see if they function on the trail.

All this carbon comes at a price - I won't roll the bigger drops that I will on the Inbred, but that's ok, I built this up to keep up with fast friends and to compensate for the fact that I'm just not all that quick.