All City Championships 2012

I wish I could make it to this, especially the bandit cross. I think I might know of an underused lot where we could have our own underground cross race...

CX = Commuter Cross

View Commuter Cross in a larger map

When I drove a car to work I got absolutely ill at the thought of taking the same roads everyday as I'm sure many others feel. No one wants to be a part of the "rat race." Aside from people yelling different slurs there isn't much to differentiate 4 years of bicycle commuting the same route. When it starts to feel monotonous I'll ride a different bike or switch up something on a bike, like handlebars or tires. When I switched from street tires to cyclocross tires on my Surly Steamroller it opened up a wider range of options, from variations on my existing route to new routes completely. It made commuting incredibly fun again. The downside to commuting on a single-speed when you're on pavement, gravel, grass, or singletrack is that there isn't a perfect gear ratio. I would either spin out on the pavement or be pushing too tough gears through the grass. This is the reason I got a Surly Cross-Check and built it up with SRAM Rival. Steel frame, tire clearance, 20 speeds. When I so desire (which is a lot) I'm able to choose a route that not only breaks the monotony but also shaves minutes from my commute, giving me a more "as the crow flies" route.

Here are some features on my commute:

View Commuter Cross in a larger map
Gravel road cut-through from Jefferson to Court.


View Commuter Cross in a larger map
Cobblestone breezeway. This and another set of cobblestones makes me feel all Paris-Roubaix in the morning.


View Commuter Cross in a larger map
The medians of East Parkway. If enough people rode/ran these urban greenscapes we could have a really nice long singletrack. You can see something similar along Southern at Audubon Park where years of Cross-Country practice has worn a path into the grass.

And those are just variations on my normal route. I find, though, that there is a huge span in the middle and end of my commute that is mostly or all pavement. It would be really cool if I could be off-road the entire or most of the commute. But not, like, riding in people's yards or anything. I'll see what I can do.

CX Nats 2012

USACycling.org will be streaming live coverage of the 2012 Cyclocross National Championship Elite Womens and Mens races on Sunday, January 8th from Madison, Wisconsin. I tell ya, any city that has vending machines for cyclists KNOWS their bike stuff.


I don't think I've ever shown these on here. If I have I can't remember how I labeled them. The photos were taken in Madison, WI this past summer. You can't really tell from the photos but this was right outside of a bike shop. That's pretty handy, it lets mechanics focus on more involved repairs. Now imagine if these were at "destination" spots, i.e. FedEx Forum, Harbor Town, Shelby Farms, etc... where do you think a good place would be?

Okay, take a break from that thought and watch the Elite Nationals here: http://media.usacycling.org/2012CX-NatsStream.html Womens at 12PM and Mens at 2:15PM CST. Victory is betting on Compton and J-Pow. Compton sure, but is it time to discount 4-time Nats champ Ryan Trebon?

Someone should make a complete stats page for cyclists. People would visit it quite regularly and advertising would def pay for it. I want 51% of the profits, though: my idea.

Cyclocross Season Begins

People have been packing their portable barriers into their backpacks, gluing tubulars, practicing their dismounts, and marking their calendars. According to the TBRA the first points race is going down in Unicoi, TN and brought to you by MSG Cyclocross.

There are 12 points races on the calendar this year, 3 of which take place in Memphis! There are a total of 31 scheduled races, though, 10 of them in Knoxville. So we're not necessarily the hotbed of cyclocross racing for Tennessee. But those are just the races that have paid the $50 calendar fee, so you won't see Cyclocrunk up there. (The dates have not yet been released but the promoters are working on the 2011 website. Photos from previous years can be found on their flickr.)

You will see a race in Covington, TN, the City of Covington BBQ Festival CX. My friend Greg is promoting this one and it sounds like it will be great! Check out the course map here.

And please, this year, more beer handups!

Rapha Super Cross Series 2011

Rapha has set up a series of cross races across the pond that will bring a more festival atmosphere to the races. Click the banner for all the deets. My favorite has to be the Tequila Shortcut!


More: http://rapha-focus.cx/

Filming Urban CX Route Wednesday

View Martyrs To Odessa in a larger map
I got a new bike-mounted camera and I plan on filming this almost-15 mile route this Wednesday early in the morning, 7ish if anyone would care to join.

Rally Cat Reconaissance

I'm going to ride Wednesday morning and route find for a potential urban cyclocross race. 9AM-ish. Moderate to fast pace. Beers afterwards. Reply if you want to join.

CourierCX - Teaser

Alleycats with a little bit of 'cross thrown in are becoming more popular. We tried our tires at it a few winters ago with the Cyclocxt on one of the coldest days of the year. Needless to say there wasn't much race action. But other cities have done it: Pittsburgh, PA with "A Frozen Hell" and "A Balmy Heaven", Oakland, CA has the Rally Cat, Minneapolis, MN brings it monthly(?) with the Bandit Cross, and Washington, DC just recently had their CourierCX:

CourierCX Teaser from In The Crosshairs on Vimeo.

Now is not the time for a race like this in Memphis. But maybe when it cools down a little bit. I have some ideas in mind for a course.

Head down to Mud Island this Sunday for the TN State Cyclocross Championships

Spooky Cross Pictures

I hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween. Ours was very relaxing: coffee, doughnuts, and spectating cyclocross in the morning, working in the afternoon, then polo in the evening.

Cyclocrunk made me wet.

Cyclocrunk is over for 2010 but it went out with a bang! After 2 days of rain the course was pretty gross. I didn't smell it on the neutral lap but every other lap it was awful. Here's the start:


Brett and I going over barriers:

And the aftermath:

Notice my clean pedals? I sprayed them with Schwinn pedal lube. Works like magic but apparently you can't get it anymore. If I could find something to keep the mud off the bottom of my shoes so I could actually get my cleat into those clean pedals I'll be in good shape.

More photos on my flickr.

Spooky Cross Flyer + Info

Click the flyer to view the website. Pay special attention to the costume contest on Sunday: winner gets a Rider cyclocross frame and fork. I've only seen Rider's road frames so I suspect that this CX frame will be carbon as well.

Spooky Cross

Marx and Bensdorf has a cross race on the TBRA schedule entitled Spooky Cross, set to take place October 30th and 31st.

I haven't found a flyer for it yet and I'm assuming it's not associated with the Spooky Cross on Facebook.

More details when we see them...

I'm going uphill faster

than you're going downhill. That was my ride home this evening. As I crossed over East Parkway and made my way up Harbert a gentleman cruiser started pedaling his way down East Parkway. I totes beat him but you know what, it was just that kind of day to be cruising around, relaxed. Beautiful day.

I came home this evening and Em was sitting on the porch, watching the neighbor kids skateboard. I jumped over a tie they were setting up for a makeshift box and rolled up the driveway to find that Em had a surprise gift for me, wrapped in her own art.





So this book is amazing. Traffic instructions, touring tips, a chapter on cyclocross, chapters entitled 'How to Ride a High-Wheeler' and 'Hurray for Fixed Wheels', British cycle polo vs American cycle polo, and general wind directions per season/city. This coming October the wind direction, according to this book at least, will be pushing towards the west southwest. I guess we'll find out in a few weeks.

Cyclocrunk Dates

According to reliable sources the dates for Cyclocrunk 2010 are October 12th, 19th, and 26th. Same as last year on time and entry fee, like a good drink: 7 & 7. Still taking place at Tobey Park, with some "surprises."

Cyclocrunk is a non-points series purely for the love of bicycles and beer. Visit cyclocrunk.com for pictures of last years series. The dates there should be updated soon.

Some of my 2009 pictures: Cyclocrunk pictures

CX Practice Sessions

The cyclocross season is fast approaching as evidenced from Tracko and Hipster Nascar. Adding to the list of reasons why we call it "The Dirty South," cyclocross practice sessions have started early this year in anticipation of a longer, fuller race schedule. The practice sessions are taking place in Tobey Park early Wednesday mornings. I'm not sure what the course looks like since the new dog park went in. Speaking of which: the dog park is wonderful. I see more people each time I ride past. Thank you Memphis for making the city better. Although, onaccounta the dog park, the rumors ringing from the cowbell point to a new course/location? for Cyclocrunk.

Other Events: Returning to Olive Branch is the Tour de Cross CX Series. I also heard rumor of another series but can't find any info right now. If you've seen it let me know. Given that last years cyclocxt was such an epic fail (except for the people who actually showed up) I don't think I'll be resurrecting that race. Unless I move the date. In which case it will be renamed to one of the following:

Cross My Heart (to be held around February 14th)
Cyclo Cross-dressing (self-explanatory)
Kris-Cross (do your bibs work as well backwards?)
Crossmas (or CXmas)
Cross Town Traffic (the hippies will like this one)
Cross Pollinate (throw seeds as you ride!)
Crosseyed (lots of beer!)

Possible CX Race?

Since the cyclocat had such a huge turnout...

What are the chances you would show up on Sunday morning at 10am at Audubon Park for a cx race around the lake?

Would you be more inclined to wait for a warmer day?

Memphis Cyclocxt

Spread the word!

Course Info

Memphis Cyclo Cat

So I spent some time on mapmyride and came up with a tentative course for the upcoming cyclocat.


Bigger version here.

Here's stuff you need to know:
- The start is at the back part of Audubon Park, way back by the fence.
- You will exit the park to your left via the gravel road then right on Cherry.
- Make your way to the first checkpoint, behind The Peddler on Highland.
- Make your way to the intersection of Central and East Parkway, hop on the median and ride that to Poplar.
- Enter the park at your discretion, the next checkpoint is Rainbow Lake.
- Make your way to McLean and the V&E Greenway, ride that to N. Watkins.
- Use the medians to make your way down N. Parkway to Main Street.
- Ride between the Trolley tracks (staying on the cobblestones) from N. Main to S. Main, end at Midtown Bikes.

Feel free to ride this, it's 13.4 miles, and let me know what you think.

Sunday, Sunday! SUNDAY!!

Check the Outdoors, Inc. website for the official schedule and rules.