9/30-Thursday Skills Practice - Grandview Wyman Woods 6pm

Gang,
I am going to do some skills practice tonight at Wyman Woods at 6 p.m.

This will last about an hour. I can work in small groups or one-x-one with people.
Feel free to show up and let me know what part of cross is giving you issues.

I am planning to do some practice starts and will have one set of barrier's to practice over.

It gets dark now around 7:30 p.m. - so bring lights if you are riding home.

sorry for the last min notice. Link Here for map on how to get to this park.

Farm

Here is the loop we did Tuesday night on the 28th of Sept.
If it seems these are getting longer, well, they are and on purpose. If it seems like they are getting harder, well they are and on purpose.

Race season is here and there is no more messing around with easy practices - it is ON.

The first CapCity Cross race is Sunday, October 3.

On Like Donkey Kong

Tonight's practice is on regardless of the rain. Details: http://goo.gl/fK9c

Come get your cross on before the first big Cap City weekend.

Cross Practice Follow-up - Dismount Technique

Cyclocross Pedal Dismount Technique

3 Variations

1. Right Leg Step around -

Clip out of right pedal, stay clipped in with left foot, coast near dismount point, then click out of left pedal as you swing your right leg around, over your seat, to basically hit your ankle on the back of your left shoe, at same time putting right foot down on ground behind your left leg. This is possibly the best choice when having to pedal all the way up to a barrier or if the approach to barrier is more straight.

2. The Step through -

 Stepping through with the right while clipped in still on the left, then putting inside (right) foot down at the same time you unclip with your left. This is a tough move and requires quite a bit of trust and practice in your pedals, confidence in your heel twist and can possibly put you face/chest first into a barrier in some conditions (mud). If you are getting tired or tired in a race, this might not be the best technique to use. In some cases this is faster, but it requires enough speed and coasting time to provide you with the extra time needed to make this dismount a success.

3. The Left Foot Pre-Unclip -

Clip out of the left pedal first, rest your left foot on top of the left pedal, then click out of your right pedal, swing right leg over and step off left pedal It's much easier to step off the bike if you are not attached to either pedal.This would depend on the approach to the barrier and how long you need to pedal up to the dismount point. This might be the safest or the most dangerous dismount of the three. Your foot can slip off of the pedal prior to getting your other leg swung around. This might not be a good recommendation without flat (bmx) pedals and just depend on the pedal used (& could be really ugly with egg beaters).

NOTE: Don't forget the bit about moving your right-hand from your hood to your top tube prior-to unclipping. (when dismounting to the left of your bike) Keep your elbow between you and the bike and pick it up in the same place every time - which is the balance point of the bike.
 
There are three options here, each one has it's pro's and con's. I would suggest trying them during your weekly skills practice - (you are spending a day a week fine tuning your skills right?) - then apply them in a cross practice situation and see what works.

comments anyone?  Questions?

No informal Skills this week - sorry

Gang,
I am sorry I don't have time this week to hit Wyman Woods for a informal skills clinic. Life is in the way.
If someone has a moment to get over there and teach - let me know, I'll post it up here.
Farm

CROSS Practice Tues September 21, 2010 - Tonight! Worthington Location

http://crossbus.blogspot.com/2010/08/practices-start-tuesday-sept-7th.html

Reminder folks: Tonight's practice in Worthington at the same location as last Tuesday.
DIRECTIONS From bike path: http://goo.gl/pKMz

COME EARLIER than 6 p.m. to get registered assist with Course set up if needed.
STAY LATE - to help with course tear down if you haven't contributed yet!

BRING MONEY!
$2.00 per practice with license; $7.00 per practice with one-day license. The costs cover the insurance for the practices through USA Cycling. No profit is made from these practices. Donations are accepted for the purchase of new course markers and barrier materials.

RE: Cross NEWBIE Clinic
I'll be having a short little clinic again prior to the first races.
Topics this week: No Brakes
                         Looking at your Feet
                         Keep Pedaling
                         Tire Trust

"Informal" Thursday Practice #2 - Wyman Woods - 9/16

Folks,
I am again heading down to Wyman Woods in Grandview tonight around 6p for an HOUR or so.
I would like to mention, I can provide small group instruction if there are some of you out there wishing to get some help, instruction and critique on your form. This is more beneficial to those new to the sport - looking for ways to improve. If you are willing to show up, and take some suggestions I would be happy to help.

I won't be doing a ton of riding around, but we will do some follow-the-leader just to combine some of the things you learned.

The park is full of goodies to ride and some nice terrain, look for me at the picnic tables or near the goodale path.

Farm

Informal Practice Tonight - Thurs Sept 9 at 6:00 PM -Wyman Woods Grandview

9/13/2010 Update:
here's the video highlights from last Thursday. Yes the Date is wrong on the video.
See you tomorrow in Worthington.

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Folks,
this started out as a small group of people just doing some practice skills at this park, but I figured I would throw it out there to the masses, since we did this last year at this park and at Antrim Lake.




The plan tonight is to spend a little time working on some skills: mounts, dismounts, shouldering your bike, barriers, driving your bike around trees, possibly the sand "pit" (if no one is using it). I have two portable PVC barriers I will bring.

Once we've gotten through some of that, we'll move on to a moderate tempo (not race pace) of follow-the-leader. This will help bring all those skills you just learned come together and fine tune any areas of concern. If you have questions after a bit-of-follow the leader, don't hesitate to ask, I'll stop and we can regroup. We'll use some off camber grass hills, lots of trees, and part of the baseball park just east on Goodale. I'll try to throw in a bit of goodies for everyone.




Please remember, this is a PUBLIC City park and there are others using the park, so please be very respectful of the kids football (and parents!) and anyone else using the park - I don't want to get us kicked out or banned.




View Larger Map

Follow up - First Practice

Folks,
Nice work everyone for the first practice.
Special thank you to Ryan, Jon, Mason and Spencer for getting these going and taking time out of their schedules to make this happen for the cycling community.

I was not there, but reported to me, there was between 25 and 30 attendees all of various levels.

Thankfully, the really nasty weather (hail, lightning, 50 mph wind) missed Worthington and was all south of downtown. It left just few sprinkles on the course and racers.

There were many good comments about the course, including that it provided some "challenging spots".

Next week, I'll be available to provide instruction on mounts/dismounts, turning, and general bike handling skills if there is interest.

Yes, the course was fairly twisty for our first practice. Speed on a cross bike is the "easy" part, the skills are what must be mastered and repeated to grow as a good cyclocross racer and rider. Call it driving your bicycle. Part of driving includes, having the engine (power/watts) to drive the bike through obstacles (such as sand pits) making good smooth fast turns, smooth dismounts and re-mounts and the ability to make quick speed changes, all without wasting too much fuel (energy).

Thank you for coming out everyone, we hope to see you next week. Bring a friend and introduce them to the sport.

Mark

First Practice: Tuesday, Sept. 7th

Jon, Mason, and I will be up at UMCH setting up the course at 4pm. You are welcome to come up early and help out. One easy way to help is to pre-ride the course as we are setting it up. With the hard, dry ground, I imagine that the course will be fast, so it will help to have a few of you hitting the turns at speed and adjusting the course as needed.

If you can't make setup, try to arrive early for signup. Don't forget to bring cash and your USCF license. We'll have one-day forms on hand, if you don't have a license.

Also, I can't promise that the back gate will be open for the first practice. So, plan accordingly.

See you tomorrow.