"I Got A Fever, And The Only Prescription..."

Yup, yup (I mean...hup, hup):  It's cyclocross season.  Bust out your cowbells and shake the dust off the fleece-lined skinsuit.  Got the Jake out for a technique practice on Wednesday...with brand new pedals.  If there's one thing you learn from the blog today - DON'T DO THAT.  Coming hot into a series of barriers, whip the right leg off the bike...left foot doesn't come out of the pedal when I go to step off.  Slapdown of biblical proportions.  Just glad I didn't land on the barrier itself.

TRP's advertisement says, "What's Stopping You?"  Now, for me, it's their EuroX Magnesium brakes.  Yes, magnesium.  Mg.  #12.  Pulled darn near half a pound from my bike just by changing the brakes.  I'm sure that'll get me five...err, no.  Maybe thr...no.  Well, I'm sure that's good for at least a place or two each race.

Kinda funny when you think about it...if you're hitting your brakes in a cyclocross race, you're going backwards.  Good thing I upgraded the brakes.  Oh well, you gotta stop when you cross the line, right?

So the 'cross setup is thus:

• 62cm Jake the Snake (fluorescent green - siiiiick)
• Ritchey Carbon WCS fork
• Ritchey Pro stem, handlebar and seatpost
• Specialized Rival SL saddle
• FSA Gossamer crankset/BB (46/39 double setup)
• Shimano Ultegra FD and cassette (12-27)
• Shimano 105 Shifter/Levers, RD and chain
• TRP EuroX Magnesium brakes
• Crank Bros Candy SL pedals
• (2) Mavic Aksium wheelsets with Hutchinson Pirahna CX (dry/hardpack) tires and Panaracer CrossBlaster (loose/mud)...usually run 40psi
  

She's all tatted up with the Team DRV badge, chain Squirt Lubed up and ready to roll.  Hup Hup!

But, before we get ahead of ourselves, last stop of the Mountain States Cup is this weekend in Breckenridge, CO.  To make things interesting, the organizers decided to create a "stage race", where the participants will be competing in a circuit race and hill climb on Saturday, followed with backcountry XC on Sunday.
Pros:  great courses, fun idea, brings the best/most consistent riders to the forefront.
Cons:  You have to pay for THREE races.  This means the weekend costs better than $100 for entry fees alone.
The unfortunate reality of it is that as of close of pre-registration, I was the only person signed up in my division (Cat 2 19-29).  So, I'm either going to try and race with the Cat 1 group, or cross my fingers and hope others decide at the last minute.  Doubt it, as a three-race series isn't exactly a "last minute" decision, IMO.  One of two things is causing this lack of participation:  either other competitors know they can't win the overall (I've got that one locked up...) and aren't willing to race for pride, OR, the organizers are absolutely mental in thinking that a large number of people would be willing to drop a Benjamin to spend an entire weekend fighting for a medal.  I'm going to go with the latter.  A hundred bucks, combined with super short notice of what was actually happening (the hill climb/time trial wasn't even confirmed until Tuesday around lunch...people have to make plans, you know!) probably led to the poor pre-registration turnout.  I know the people at Bigfoot Productions / MSC try hard and get it right most of the time, but the pre-planning and scheduling of events MUST be done better next year if they expect to have consistent, quality participation.  On a positive note, the fam' is going to be in town this weekend, so they'll be able to watch their first mountain bike race, cheering on their favorite son.