This ain't 'cross weather

Yet another week of hot, hot, hot weather, riding through dust clouds and dry, yellow grasses, not the cold, grey, and mud that cyclocross is supposed to be done in.

Maybe against my better judgement I went back to do the Wednesday night cross ride over in Louisville at the old River Road Country Club. The course is far more twisty and curvy than I like, I prefer a more open course, but still if I am going to try and get back into racing this fall, the more I can ride with the fast guys the better.

Last week was the first organized cross ride that I had done in nearly 2 years, and boy did it show. I could not stay up with the group that I used to beat on a regular basis a few years ago. In the great scheme of things it mattered not at all, but it was frustrating to my competitive side.

This week was a lot better, I was still not leading the B group (but I don't really care that much about that, if I did, I would not have made my cross bike a 2 speed), but I was at least about to stay with the group and get a good workout, though I think that I have to play around with the gearing for my bike a little more to get it where I want it. It is a balancing act between having too easy a gear in the small front chainring and too hard a gear in the big chain ring. Last week I ran a 15t in the back, and this week a 17t, I think I will try a 16t next week and see how it goes.

We did 6 hard laps split into 2 groups of 3 with one medium lap in between, and by the end, my legs were covered in dust and sweat. After the ride I took my socks off, and it was like black and white between my ankles and rest of my legs.

It is nice cause one of the big racing teams over in Louisville is buying water and gatorade for the rides, so it is great to have something nice and cool to drink at the end of the ride.