Recently in Cyclocross Category

The second year of what I think is one of the best UK cyclocross events of the year, sponsored by the excellent Knog. As Mark Phillips, who took that awesome photo of me in action, says

"Yep even better than last year's event. Mrs P even enjoyed watching bike racin', so it _must_ have been good"

Biggest, baddest BIG AIR of the night has to be Philip Glowinski.

The tabletop was a new feature, along with a bridge, allowing spectators into the middle of the course. It was the place to be with everyone trying to put in a turn for the crowd. Definitely a great addition to any cross race.

I decided to go fancy dress this year. I think the US Postal Service Kit and blood bag might have been a bit subtle, or badly placed because not many people noticed it.

Then again, it might have been that they were distracted by the pumpkin on my head. Yes, a real carved pumpkin. I have now learned a few things about pumpkins as protective wear:

• Vision is somewhat restricted. I could see (roughly) where I was going, just not where the course tape was or much else.
• It is not a lightweight option. My neck is still sore from the 5kg or so of pumpkin
• Kids like a man in a pumpkinhead. One small girl called out "Is it a real pumpkin?" and plenty said they liked it afterwards.
• They stink and get quite hot after an hour.
• They might not be UCI legal.

Organisation by Rollapaluza was excellent and I thought the way they split out the races with a Go-Race, Vets/Juniors/Women and Seniors really worked and meant everyone got a good race. Perhaps one for other organisers to take note of?

It would have been a great day to race, sadly I didn't make it. Went downstairs to fetch the Ridley and discovered the hubs had seized. PANIC!

After much trying to figure out what was wrong, I just prayed and sprayed with WD40 which seemed to free up the hubs. The front feels like like it's full of gravel , the rear is a bit noisy but the Fulcrum 7 freehub is like a klaxon so it's tough to tell.

The bottom bracket has gone a bit stiff too and might need replacing. But it's rideable at the moment which is a relief.

The cause of the disaster? Jetwashing the bike after the last race and not taking the wheels off first. So I blasted all the lube out of the cartridge bearings and then they dried out and got stiff. I've not actually ridden the bike since then, a fortnight ago. Schoolboy error.

So lesson learned: jetwashing at the local garage is a fool's errand. It might save a bit of time but if I hadn't cut corners then I'd have been riding today.

So instead why don't you read the London League Round 5 report on Team Here Come The Belgians.

Once you've done that you may resume pointing and laughing at me.

Incidentally, how the heck can it be that It would cost me less to buy an entirely new set of Fulcrum 7s than to get replacement bearings for the existing ones and get them fitted?

In future I'll be buying Mavic wheels I reckon seeing as how the bearings seem easier to replace. I've been meaning to replace those Ksyrium Equipes that got trashed about this time last year for ages. Might just get a pair of the Aksiums instead.

(Picture by Cross Crazy)

I only got lapped once. I didn't come last. I beat Rene and TeeCee. But for a mechanical I would have beaten my bearded nemesis.

Andy Waterman reckons Hog Hill is rubbish for cyclocross:

"Hog Hill is just plain unsuitable for cyclocross racing"

He argues that "12min+ laps are too long esp when you have a single pit. Descent loop after pit was unnecessary imo"

Yes, the lap feels long but I disagree about the suitability of the venue.

3.4km does feel like a long lap in a cross race, but I would have preferred to go without some of the top end of the course which criss-crossed pretty dull off-camber grass banks rather than the descent loop.

The hazards/obstacles are what makes Hog Hill an interesting course. The lumps, bumps and berms mean it works for me as it allows me to use good handling skills to hold on to riders who get away from me on less technical circuits. For example, the fast descent after the pit allowed me to put a gap into more timid descenders.

Then there is the mud which rates up there with the off-road circuit at Penshurst for filthiest of the season. Again, I was able to put pressure on riders by being quicker through it and not afraid to ride on the edge of control.

The mud was fine while it was raining but once the sun and wind came out it got dangerously heavy. Result was that I dropped my chain a couple of times and jammed the rear mech which probably cost me a few places in the last couple of laps.

Also tried out the Rapha Embrocation for the first time. Didn't use much on my legs but, to use a phrase, it ain't half hot mum! Great while you are riding and racing, not so great for standing around afterwards before riding back to the station. On the flip side I didn't feel like I needed kneewarmers for the race and didn't feel cold at any point. I'll be reviewing that and their Chamois cream soon.

On the way home, after an abortive attempt to get my bike clean in the tub at Hog Hill, I stopped at the garage and, for all of two quid, got the bike almost perfectly clean with the jetwash. Best two quid I spent on Sunday.

Matt at The Inner Ring has recently posted about Why he hates cyclocross as a spectator and Scott over on Velocast has replied with his reasons to love cyclocross as an activity, So I'm adding to the mix with why I love cyclocross as a competitor (I use that term advisedly).

That's me looking "competitive" shortly after being lapped for the umpteenth time. The picture is from Cross Crazy which is an excellent resource for all things cross related.

No matter how rubbish my result - a cursory glance would tell you "rubbish" is unduly kind to my performances - I never fail to enjoy the lung-busting, leg-searing rollercoaster hour that makes up a cross race.

I've been suffering a cold which has kept me off the bike, or at least off serious workouts. It had shifted enough to be bearable by the time I got on the train down to Brighton but still felt a little constricting.

Happy Valley Park is a new course and was largely open parkland with one hurdle and a rooty section of woodland that I couldn't get my head round. That's one of the joys of cyclocross:

• If you make a hash of an obstacle you get several goes at getting it right on subsequent laps

So after the usual bunfight at the start and good-humoured wait for the first bottleneck to clear, it was down to finding my equals in the race. A group of about half a dozen riders who I would spend the next hour measuring my performance against.

• In cross, you can always find a good race, no matter where in the field you are

Fo the first half hour I was able to hold the wheels and stay with a nice little group. Then my back pain flared up and I had to ease off.

About the same time I was lapped for the first time by the race leaders who were going as fast across the grass as I go on tarmac. I finished three laps down in the end which is about my usual distance back, so form is consistent.

After 45 minutes I was digging in, mostly to the bag of Colin the Catepillars in my pocket. TeeCee got hers, Stu and Conrad both missed theirs. See:

• In a cross race, you can have a bit of fun and hand out sweets as you race along with encouragement.

I was, however, very glad when it was over because my lack of training and fitness was starting to tell and I was flagging a bit.

I love cyclocross largely because:

• The racing is competitive
• The racing is positive and not the "sit in until the sprint" of 4th Cat racing
• It's mixed ability and no one minds if you're not Sven Nys
• It's great for handling skills
• It's all about keeping up that intense level of effort that gives you punch on the road in summer
• It's far less boring that turbo-training or "winter miles"
• It's far more social that road racing

Last year's was an absolute scream to ride. This year's promises to be even better. Unfortunately, visitors mean I'm not able to ride it this year.

More information and how to enter

Great video of the race, see if you can spot me. Blink and you'll miss me. In fact it's probably not worth the effort trying not to blink.

Enjoy instead how much fun cyclocross is. Despite suffering like a beaten dog in every race, attacking the furthest depths of the finishing order and generally not being very good, every race has been fun.

My back flared up again this week and I had to take my usual mid-race pause until the pain subsided and my lungs started working again. It cost me a good few places and I must stop putting off seeing a specialist about it.

But I really enjoyed what was one of the toughest courses of the year. It had everything: fast twisty woodland, strength-sapping uphills, nerve-jangling descents and DEEP MUD.

Not quite as insane and testing as Hog Hill was but definitely more tricksy than the brake-abusing Penshurst filthfest.

There were a couple of heavy crashes on the descent which were apparently quite nasty and resulted in the air ambulance being called out. Hope it's a speedy recovery for the injured parties.

The organisers were great in dealing with it all and making sure they got the assistance they needed.

It's been a great season and once again, it's a testament to the efforts of the countless organisers that it happens and so many people take part. Thank you all deeply.

It was epic, it was cold, it was helluvaheckalot of fun. Riding the frozen wastes of the Herne Hill velodrome certainly made for something different from the usual "mud and iron" of the London Cyclocross League.

(Photo: John Mullineaux for Londoncyclesport.com)

I haven't trained for nearly two weeks so was planning on taking it a bit easier than usual at the back. Stay out of the way and stay upright seemed order of the day.

After one lap, the advice from Rene was "there are too many people behind you". This was probably down to me running some of the worst affected sections which seemed to be quicker than tottering along in the inevitable traffic jam of nervous riders.

Soon solved that by going too hard in the wrong places - running up steep hills, corners, that sort of thing.

Once I'd worked through the rush of blood and settled down, it was a case of seeing how far back I could finish. The results have me down one from the back of those who actually finished. Plenty of DNFs tells you how tough it was.

I probably went easier than I needed to and took fewer risks than I could have, but better to finish in one piece than not in two.

I still haven't cleaned the bike due to the freezing conditions and sheer laziness on my part. Still it's nearly Christmas, so these things can be forgiven.

With London struggling under the weight of a bit of light snow, the place has ground to a halt. It's pretty embarrassing that it took me an hour to complete a ten minute journey on the bus in one of the world's major cities.

Lots of people will probably be leaving their bikes at home or at work tonight - I left mine at the office - as all but the main routes haven't been treated so are essentially nothing more than sheet ice. It's not just that the roads are impassable, it's that other traffic is entirely unpredictable.

So, here's a big hat tip to Andy Waterman for flagging the amazing conditions and riding at the Cyclocross World Cup race in Kalmthout

We both rode the London League race, he finished third, I finished about third from last. But it was a lot of fun, if really tough on the concentration and bike handling. to be honest my mind's still a bit fried from it.

Last week was Penshurst and one muddy hell that usually isn't surpassed in the season. Hog Hill is new this season and now goes down as the muddiest fixture in the calendar.

As London Cyclesport puts it "The first cyclo cross race at this venue was held in some truly atrocious weather that brought heavy downpours in each race through the day."

I was pretty darned rubbish this week, despite a newly-trued rear wheel and fresh brake pads. either my handling is getting worse or I need to believe in it a bit more.

Quick recommendation here for my LBS, Woolsey of Acton who did the wheel in a couple of hours for 15 quid at short notice (I walked in and asked).

Actually what did the damage was the heavy, heavy mud and how many bits needed to be run, including getting back up the Somme-like section about halfway round. I'll admit to sitting down at least twice on a opportunely positioned stile to catch my breath. Matt Seaton was most bemused and James Wilson has suggested next time I should bring a briar pipe and some loose shag to make a proper job of it.

A few times I got into a good groove and was OK, but others it was red line/white line/blurred vision panic.

Of note is that the lap was much longer (or felt like it) than most of the ones we are used to. I wasn't so sure beforehand but now I'm convinced it's a good thing. It's more distance for riders to spread over, fewer pinch points for lapped rider/leader conflicts and generally a bit less repetitive.

The next London League race isn't for a few weeks so I'm switching back to road a bit for the Imperial Winter Series at Hillingdon. I'm going to be putting to the test Ridley's marketing claim about the Crossbow: "Call it an entry-level cross bike if you want. We call it the ultimate backup racer here in Flanders, where a broken bike is never an excuse to drop out."

I'm assuming they mean you can race on it in road races rather than as a backup cyclocross race bike. If I've misunderstood, Saturday will be "interesting".

This is always my favourite race of the London League season. The course is challenging, muddy and interesting which is always better than grassy parkland.

It's a proper offroad riding where handling matters and mine was really lacking through lack of practice cornering on loose mud. Still the results suggest that I might have lapped at least two riders which counts as a good result for me. Lovely shot of me suffering by John of Londoncyclesport

There were a few lots of times when I pushed way too hard and hit my limit. But I kept chugging on as the brake pads wore to nothing (which made the ride back to Tonbridge "interesting") and I got increasingly muddy.

The good news this year was the presence of a hose and spray attachment to clean down bikes after the race, an essential need well served.

My big problem was getting the bike to go where I wanted. Not sure if I was fighting the conditions too much or not enough.

Still I wasn't alone in finding it hard work. Ben Spurrier admits to getting " got progressively down-hearted, cold, bored and fed up! " and I gave him a motivational push. If he'd stopped on that lap I was fully prepared to stop as well as much out of frustration as anything.

As ever my mild gripe is how much of a day going to London League races consume. I left the house at around 10:30 and didn't get back until 18:30 or so. If you've got commitments of any sort or just want to relax at weekends, that's a lot of time to be spending for a one hour race.