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

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:

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.