Cyclocross British Style

With some good fitness coming off the USA cyclocross season, Deb and I decided to knock out 2 birds with one trip by (1)Visiting Deb's Family and (2)Soaking up some British Cyclocross. Like every other country this side of the pond, the UK national championships are in January, which makes the holidays prime cross season. On any given day between X-mas and New Years, Brits can choose from 3-5 cross races per day! No one has to drive more than an hour to find their region's closest race. Entry fees: 8pounds

Check out the BCF (USA Cycling equivalent):

http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/web/site/BC/bchome/home.asp

We arrived on x-mas morning and have gotten in a couple rides here in Derbyshire (the Peak District) around Deb's mum's house. The landscape around here is pretty typical British countryside. Rolling hills and farms, small villages, etc. With cross bikes we have been able to sample a variety of riding here. There are lots of these single lane farm roads here. They are nice to ride on with very little traffic, although tend to be quite steep.

We've also found several rails-to-trails paths to ride on. The one below (the High Peaks Trail) is one of the nations oldest rail lines, built before there were even steam locomotives. The cars were pulled along by cables driven by stationary steam plants.

Even on the big roads, people seem courteous in passing and don't seem to fuss about waiting for a bicycle. I'm still getting used to the markings on the road, signs, and riding on the left. All a bit strange but fun to learn something different. It's intersections that give me the most trouble, hard to disregard your instincts about where to go.

We also found some paths along the canals here. The canals were once the best way to transport goods around England. They floated things in barges that were pulled with ropes by horses. The paths along the side of the canals where the horses once walked are now public footpaths. The canals go through tunnels and over viaducts. Here I am on a viaduct (a water bridge) where the canal goes over a river below.

The weather so far is typical of the UK in winter. Highs in the mid 40's and a light drizzle most of the time. Its light out at 9am and dark again at 4:15. Never really bright sunshine, it's always a bit grey. The roads never seem to dry off, so every ride is a bit wet with road spray. Still a 3 hour ride today didn't seem too bad today even with a stiff wind. The variety of surfaces were a nice break.

More later...

Holiday Training in Myrtle Beach

It was lonely but productive! Got about six hours of flat-land training in while at the in-laws with my wife in (sunny and warm!) Myrtle Beach Saturday through Monday. Riding for a couple hours on relatively quiet Ocean Blvd. looking at the Atlantic was a welcome change. Managed to get a couple 20-minute tempo intervals done in Carolina Forest... Happy Holidays to all!

Jim Cunningham

CTM Team Members takes on mother nature at Cyclocross National Championships

Myself and David Forkner were at the Cyclocross National Championships in Kansas City this past weekend. Overall, there were some epic conditions, not to mention the races.

Day 1. Arrive to KC, check into hotel and preride the course. Oh, right, the area had been experiencing an ice storm for the previous 3-4 days. 1/2 inch of ice on everything, even on top of an inch of snow. This made the pre-ride a bit comical. Slick but smooth. Strange riding in 20degree weather after a mild fall in NC.



Day 2. My wife Deb was the first race. She experienced a firm course with decent traction. It was starting to thaw a bit as temps rose throughout the day. Here is Deb in 2nd place, on her way to 4th in this race.











Day 3. Deb's Master's race was a different story. Rising temps thawed the course into pure mud. lots of wet slop. Deb finished 10th on the day.











Day 4. My first race, Masters 30-34. Temps plummeted overnight and we got about 3 inches new snow. The ruts from the previous day's mud were frozen in time. I started 110th on the starting grid and made my way up to 43rd for the finish. I had a terrible race. After the race I wasn't sure what happened, I think I was in a bike race, but I wasn't sure.





Day 5. The mens Elite race. I had a much better race on this day. The course thawed a bit, making most of it ridable. I started 144th on the starting grid and made my way up to about 46th on the last lap before I got tangled in the course tape and spent a ton of time getting it untangled from my bike. A bunch of people passed me and I ended up 59th. I felt like I actually raced, which was better than the previous day.


Overall, I'm really happy with my cyclocross season and feel ready to take some of that fitness into the spring road season. I look forward to stomping the pedals with the team in 2008!

doggy dance

i sent out an email to give folks a visual of what steve may have looked like had the actually hit the dog with the brick! let me know what you think.

a 27 year old record broken!

For the first time in my cycling career I was taken out by a dog. By the time Hank turned around I was chasing the damn thing through the yard with a brick...I didn't catch it! It must have been quite the spectacle for any passers by. Happy Holidays to all. I will see everyone on saturdays.

IT's official

OH ya baby we are Bloggin now! C T M in the H O U S E.. Anyone for a gunfight...but all I have is a knife!