Thursday 13 October 2011

Cross is coming!

Well, cross has been here for over a month but I'm only just getting into it! Better late than never. I haven't ridden my cross bike since February this year when I took part in the final race of the 2010/11 season. I hope I haven't forgotten how to ride a bike. I am ashamed to say that my lovely red Planet X has been sitting in the hallway, unkempt, untouched, unloved. So it's time to dust it down and ride it - soon.
I have just taken loan of a brand new Boardman cyclocross bike thanks to the good people at Halfords. The bike is going to be used in ride story shoots and of course a few races. So there'll be a few sightings of the bike in my features.

At the moment the bike is lovely, clean and bright - so much so that I dare not go out and sully it on the trails. It's gotta be done though. So I'll be going to a cyclo cross race at Hemel Hempsted this weekend. Then the weekend after will be the big cross weekend in London, with the Muddy Hell race at Herne Hill, and Rapha Supercross at Alexandra Palace. Although I haven't done much on my cyclo cross bike for a long time I have been doing mountain biking regularly, so hopefully things shouldn't be too much of a shock to the system. I will need to practice mounting and dismounting from the bike though. So I will have to brave the strange looks as I wheel my bike around my local park, not riding it but trying to jump on and jump off the thing, probably very clumsily! I'm looking forward to the cyclo cross events. Having seen the courses there will be some uphill struggles - literally! My Planet X bike will get its day out soon, but I sense that the Boardman will be my new best friend over the coming weeks. Turning up at a race with both bikes? It's an ordeal to have to clean one muddy bike when I get home after a race. Why would I want to add to the task by bringing home 2 dirty steeds? As well as that, if I turn up at a race with two bikes people might start thinking I'm really good! Gee, what a scary thought!

No comments: