When you think of training for cyclo-cross – what first comes to mind? For me it is all about skills. Being able to turn faster, mount and dismount more smoothly, to ride through sand and mud with ease, to pick up my bike quickly. Skills. Skills. Skills. Next on my list is my fitness.

I’m of the belief that a strong fitness base is useless if you don’t have the skills. If I have to jam on my brakes for every corner and then re-accelerate to get up to speed, eventually I’ll burn through my bullets. But if I can ride the corner smoothly, set it up, remember the mantra “go slow to go fast”, then I don’t have to waste energy and I can save to for when I really need it in the race.

For my ‘cross training, I spend a lot of time on my ‘cross bike doing drills. And I spend a lot of time on the road bike doing intervals and building my fitness. This means a lot of two-a-days. Some people think that the best way to do this is do the intervals on the ‘cross bike – this way one can work on the skills at the same time as building fitness. I’m torn on this. I can see the pros. But also the cons. For me, the cons outweigh the pros. Essentially, I’m still building and refining my skill set, so if I’m trying to do the drills at top speed and effort – chances are I won’t execute the drills as well as I can to truly benefit from them.

All this being said, I had a great session on the ‘cross bike last night. Bit frosty out but I just dressed for it. I set up three stations and in my 90 minutes I rode them like a mini-course. Trying different speeds and angles. Taking the time to redo a section if I blew it. I did some steep camber turning. Uphill barrier dismount and fast remount. Fast downhill turns. Turning in a grid. Mounts and dismounts. Bunnyhopping. Yes – I did a lot. But by setting up the stations, I kept things interesting. I find this can be a challenge when out alone on the ‘cross bike. Sometimes time drags. But the variety helps keep me going. As does the motivation. I know I have to do this work to get where I want to be. This is really what drives me.

I want to be able to line up on race day knowing I’ve done all I can. If I can say this, I’m totally relaxed and confident. The racing is the easy part. It is the time to get out there and play.

Confidence is my best friend.

Registration is now open for the US Gran Prix of Cyclocross.

Get to the site and get yourself registered. I’m registered for New Jersey. We are debating Kentucky…

The US Gran Prix races are a lot of fun. Great courses. Well organized. Can’t hardly wait.

I came face-to-face with the infamous death ridge on Sunday. I was just rolling along the grass, decided to hop on the sidewalk. I assumed the grass to sidewalk transition was smooth and level. So I didn’t lift my wheel and decided to hit it at an angle.

Nope – it wasn’t smooth. Big death ridge there. That gap that you see a little bit late. One minute I’m on my bike, next I’m sprawled on the sidewalk like a limp leaf. Amazing how fast it happens. I think there was a little man hiding in death ridge – he saw me coming, smiled, and grabbed my bike.

Luckily I didn’t slide off the sidewalk onto the road. And luckily it was very wet out. So I slid nicely. This reduced the road rash. Particularly since I wasn’t wearing any gloves (yes, dumb – I know). Marc came to my rescue and after a quick check of the bike we were on our way again.

I suppose this crash was really just some payback. Early in the ride, Marc and I were cruising in some slick, peanut butter-like mud. I decided to take a sharp turn in the mud (at the end of the cornfield). I neglected to alert Marc. I chopped him pretty hard. Took out his front wheel and he landed in the mud. I wasn’t too popular for a few minutes. Sorry Marc!

So, I’d have to say yesterday’s outing on the ‘cross bikes was not the best. But that’s life. I’m feeling fine today – just a few scrapes and colorful bruises. Could always be worse.

On deck today is a 90 minute ‘cross ride. Think I’ll set up a little mini-course with some different stations – I’ll hit the stations at variable speeds and angles. Oh, and I’ll keep my eyes peeled for death ridge…

Have a good one.

The first races in the FQSC series started yesterday. You can check out the results and the complete schedule here.

Things are starting to hot up now on the ‘cross scene. Funny how the crispness in the air arrived at just the right time for ‘cross. Lets hope it stays a little bit cooler – racing ‘cross in 20 celsius is not fun. I want overcast and rain!

By the sounds of things, the Ottawa ‘cross series is going to be super popular again this year. Remember to help make things easier for everyone, go to the early registration night on Sept. 23 and 24 at The Cyclery.

A few people from Ottawa are heading down to Michigan next weekend to get some racing in. Long drive, but if you’re on a UCI points chase, the drive is worth it. I won’t be there – my little bro is getting married. But, what would be cool is a race report from someone who is going down to race. Any volunteers?

The next big show is Cross Vegas. A very tempting place to go race. I’ll be honest, I had thought about going. But the travel, the expense, etc. – didn’t make it worth it for me. Maybe next year.

I’ll be racing Sept. 27 and Sept. 28 in Vermont. Stoked for this. I’m looking forward to racing and testing myself. Not to mention hanging out with Marc, Steve, and Josee at the races and hooking up with some of our ‘cross racing pals from the New England. Should be a good weekend. Burlington is a good place to hang out as well.

Looks like we’ll be doing the entire Verge series this year (with the exception of Gloucester…). Yep – Gloucester and the Canadian Nationals are on the same weekend. Not cool. I love racing at Gloucester. The courses are awesome. The organization is top notch. The venue is beautiful. It is simply a rip-roaring good time. Ah well, we’ll be in Edmonton, Alberta racing. (Hopefully without any snow!)

Well, I’ll almost finished my tea here so it is time to start getting ready for the first ride of the day. On deck is a little 2.5 hour endurance ride. Later this afternoon, Marc and I will go out on the ‘cross bikes for some skills and drills.

I’m curious to know if you do any specific skills practice? If so, what are your favorite drills? I know some of you are into “secret” ‘cross training where you don’t want to tell anyone what you’re doing – but for those of you who are into sharing – tell us what you like to do.

Perhaps you are looking for a little bit of inspiration and motivation on this rainy Friday.

Well, Barbara Buchan has got this and more.