CX Practice w/ Robert for Willoughby Cross Race

Yesterday’s practice with Robert was in preparation for the 4th race in the 2009 Bike Authority Lake Effect Cyclocross Series in Willoughby, OH this Sunday, October 17th. Johnny Proppe joined us for the workout. He is a new addition to Team Lake Effect and Rudy reports that he is doing very well this season in cross and XC mountain bike racing.

The usual practice consists of working on starts, some cornering and dismounts and mounts. These starts led us to the first goal of the night. Getting the back wheel to stop when the brakes aren’t catching 100%. Cross is usually raced in conditions less than optimal for perfect bike operation. It’s important to get the most out of your bike no matter the situation. A lot of energy can be wasted with frustration.

In the previous race of the series all that speed he has built up and a little bit of a down hill almost put him on the wrong side of the tape in the first turn. So tonight we did some “fixie skids”, for lack of a better term and some input from Robert. This drill is getting up some speed applying the brakes and then lifting the back wheel, when it hits it should lock up. The unweighted wheel should stop spinning when it is force is relieved by letting up on the pressure. The impact will slow you dramatically. Robert informed me that fixed gear riders us this technique to get the cranks and wheel stopped allowing them to lock the rear wheel and skid.

Robert had two concerns for the upcoming race. The first was having to shoulder the bike up a pretty significant climb. The next drill was 5 x a paw to dirt, steep climb with the bike shouldered, remount at the top and ride around a more manageable section for the descent. Much steeper than the one he will be racing and we actually came up with another tactic for the race.

The second concern Robert had was an off-camber, left handed, 180 degree turn remount. So we practiced that a few times just to get the feel of such awkward conditions.