Originally Posted by
Andy_K
Here's what I learned from my second race:
1. Do it again! It is as fun as you remember, possibly even more fun. And you'll be able to start covering over the memories of how badly you did in your first race.
+1 - My first race I was 40th/67. I was just trying to finish and not cause issues and learn. My second race I was 17th/45 and third race 14th/55. Yesterday I was 22nd/55, but I chalk it up to a tougher field (cheeseheads from WI showed up), and my bad form/health.
Originally Posted by
Andy_K
2. Lower your tire pressure. I'm a roadie by nature, and as such in my first race I made the total newbie mistake of running my tires at max pressure (65 psi). Then I came to these boards and read a few threads and found out everyone else is running as low as they can get away with. My tires (Maxxis Locust CX) are labeled with a minimum psi of 50, but I ran them at 45 psi on a soft course with no problems. I probably could have gone lower. Somewhere I read that 25% of your body weight is a good starting point.
I went the otherway and because I had heard so much about how low you can run them I was running them too low on dry courses. Yesterday I didn't seem to be able to relly get them low enough, but I was approx 35psi. The gauge on my pump does not have the correct resolution for this stuff. I probably would have been perfect at 33 or so.
Originally Posted by
Andy_K
4. Use higher gears. My first race I started in the granny gear and stayed there. In my second race I resolved that I wasn't going to do that, so I started out in my middle chainring and stayed there. Starting out required more effort, but overall it wasn't that much harder.
I have found that while pre-riding the course if I really think I need a smaller cog on the cassette then I am probably geared right. Racing will get you to churn tougher gears. I have found that while cross racing I am always churning a gear that's just a tad tougher than what I would churn on the road - presumably because I feel more comfortable with a lower rpm off-road. I also find I use my smallest gears and high cadence in the technical and switchback stuff in order to fly out of the corners.
Originally Posted by
Andy_K
5. Warm up. This is probably a no brainer for most people, but I didn't do it in my first race. I didn't hurt myself or anything, but I wasn't loose. For my second race, I got there an hour and a half early and had time to preride the course at a slow pace a couple of times, practice some sprint starts to see what the traction would be like and do some stretching. By race time, I felt ready.
Correct.
Originally Posted by
Andy_K
6. The guy ahead of you is as tired as you are. This really surprised me. Finally getting the chance to pass a few guys, I was surprised to see that consistently, after I'd spent half a lap right behind these guys, as soon as I passed them they fell way back. The only thing I can figure is that they were pressing to stay ahead of me, and then when I passed them they eased up a bit. This was very good because I was afraid passing them would be wasted effort and they'd just pass me back after the next turn. Not so.
This is very true. It is because you can hear/see the guy behind you and end up racing hard to maintain your position. When they pass you lose it and drift back. I love it when that happens when I pass someone. I passed a guy yesterday where it took 1/2 a lap to get by him, and the whole time I was running up his ass trying to get by. When I finally got around I did one tecnical section and then looked back. He wasn't even in sight anymore. Colossal blow up. It was awesome.
The part that sucks is that it goes both ways. After fighting for 1-3/4 laps I got passed on a hill ....because I chose too small of a gear. It took everything he had, but when he finally passed I kind of relaxed thinking, "well at least that's over with. I've got nothing left."
Mistake. It led to me getting passed by the guy behind him with only a few turns left on the lap.
