Another big THANK YOU

...to our generous 2012 sponsors!

'Tis the season to buy local!  And if you appreciate the fact that your local bike shop (or club, or coach) supports cyclocross, please tell them so.

Series awards

Thanks to all for a wonderful season.  Final points tallies will be forthcoming.  The cross monkeys are already hard at work making next year even better.

FOURS

1. Andrew Hall (The Community Bicyclist)

2. Ben Yates (De Pijp)

3. Trevor Edwards (CARVE)

JUNIOR

1. John Drummond (Bell & Company)

2. Ben Reynolds

3. Mandy Harris

MASTERS

1. Frank Thibeault (The Community Bicyclist)

2. Vince Booth (The Community Bicyclist)

3. Bob Ocken

WOMEN

1. Emma Drummond (Bell & Company)

2. Tammy Hottinger (CARRS)

3. Mercedes Drummond (Bell & Company)

OPEN

1. Gerald Drummond (Team Athlete Forward)

2. Cooper Drummond (Team Athlete Forward)

3. Chad Cragle (Arkansas Cycling & Fitness)

4. Stephen Erickson (The Community Bicyclist)

5. Zack Lavergne (Spokes)

6. Seth Rider (901 Racing)

TEAM

There was mud

http://www.arkansasoutside.com/mud-slinging-mayhem/

There will be mud

Keegen and the CARVE crew were hard at work this morning.  Mud amounts will depend on how much rain we get over the next 24 hours.  But...be prepared.  The course will be familiar to people who have been there the last couple years, with a couple surprises lined up.

LRBP on Saturday makes it a full weekend

Starts at 10am at MacArthur Park.  Details HERE.

Championship Sunday

Burns Park, North Little Rock
10am Women, Masters, Fours
11am Open
12pm Awards
2pm Foot Down State Championships

P.S. If you want some to race CX the day before in the Memphis area, check out http://www.journeycross.com/

Bell lap!

Man oh man that was a hot back-breaking day of racing at Slaughter Pen.  Not for the faint of heart.  Results and points updates are up!

Next Sunday is both the Arkansas State Championships as well as the final event in the 2012 Arkansas Super-Prestige.  CARVE has stepped in to hold the race, which will be held at Burns Park (at the BMX track, similar course to previous years).

Note the early schedule!  Don't miss your race!

10:00am Women/Masters/Fours

11:00am Open

There is a minor error in the race flyer.  All women's categories will be raced at 10am.

Two to go!

Yup, two races to go.  It's crunch time.

We'll you see you at Slaughter Pen on Sunday.

Still up for grabs

A Footdown Contest

Turkey Burn was on Sunday.  It was awesome.  The coverage on Arkansas Outside is also awesome.

Results and updated series points are posted to the right.

The series moves to Bentonville next Sunday, December 2.  Be there!  We've got a new promoter in the series, Phat Tire Bike Shop, let's show them what's what!

There is a special event planned for December 9, in addition to the cyclocross races.

Three To Go

Yup, it's getting to be crunch time.  The series closes with three races on three consecutive Sundays, starting with the Turkey Burn tomorrow.

Team CARVE has stepped up on short notice and taken custody of the December 9 race.  Details are currently TBA, but it will be somewhere in the Little Rock area.

At that race, we will be presenting custom-design awards and $1,100 to individual series leaders, and will be passing the Arkansas Cyclo-cross Cup on to the winning team.  With winter's bite starting to come in, these will be some of the best, most competitive, and most festive races of the year.  Get you some!

Turkey Burn v3.0

The idea behind the Turkey Burn is simple: By the time Sunday rolls around on Thanksgiving weekend, most of us are ready to push ourselves away from the table, away from the malls, away from the TV set, and spend some quality time outdoors.

This year The Burn is at Boyle Park, site of last year's Jingle Cross. It will be interesting to see how the course races in dry conditions!

Forecast calls for clear cool weather under sunny skies. Sorry Joe :(

The schedule is familiar:
11AM Women, Masters, Fours, Juniors
12.30PM Open
with a kid's race following the Open.

Get you some!

Message from Tim McKuin

This message is from Tim McKuin who started the petition "Little Rock Public Works Department: Improve Kavanaugh, Markham, and Capitol Ave. by installing sharrows" on Change.org.

We've received well over 800 signatures so far. Thank you to everyone for showing support for making Little Rock a more bike- and pedestrian-friendly place! Please pass the petition along to anyone else who may share our interest in safer streets, because 1,000 signatures is a reachable goal with your help.

Also, please join us tomorrow night (Tuesday, Nov. 20) when we present the signatures and comments to the Little Rock City Board of Directors at their regular meeting at 6:00 p.m. Bring your helmet for some visual impact! The Board meeting room is on the second floor of City Hall at the NW corner of Broadway and Markham (directly across Broadway from Robinson Auditorium). If you would like to speak then plan to arrive a few minutes early to fill out a comment request form.

And finally, we would like to encourage you to join or renew your membership in Bicycle Advocacy of Central Arkansas: http://www.bicycleadvocacy.com/membership.html Your support is crucial as the organization continues to work via initiatives like this one to improve conditions for people who ride throughout central Arkansas.

Thanks again! Tim McKuin President, Bicycle Advocacy of Central Arkansas

TV coverage of Gearhead CX

Check it out!

KAIT-Jonesboro, AR-News, weather, sports, classifieds

Roland Liboton

Sometimes you get bored and poke around eBay.  I found this March 5, 1983, issue of Cycling with Roland Liboton on the cover.  In the 1980s, he won the World Championships four times and the Belgian national championships ten years in a row.

Choices, choices

Some of you guys might feel like racing on some trails this weekend. Few trails are as fun as the loop at Cedar Glades, where the AMBCS season closer Atilla the Hun takes place on Sunday.

Or perhaps you'd prefer to race your crossbike? Gearhead Outfitters has you covered up in Jonesboro, at Craighead Forest Park.

Either way, you are guaranteed some good, hard racing.

The Arkansas Super-Prestige resumes on the 25th, the Sunday after Thanksgiving, with the third annual Turkey Burn revving up at Boyle Park in Little Rock.

P.S. Bpost Bank Trophy Hasselt on Saturday morning and Superprestige Gavere on Sunday morning, you can probably find live streams at cyclingfans.com

West Hill Shop CX Race

I dunno, I just like this one.

Watch more videos on Big Bikes Media & cyclingdirt

It was rain

Photo courtesy ArkansasOutside.com

Yup, it was rain, not shine.  Great sloppy day of racing.  Wish I coulda been there, it looks like a really fun course at a great locale.  A big thanks to Anthony Moats and crew in Russellville.

Luckily, Joe put a great writeup, with photos, on ArkansasOutside.com

Updated results and points tallies are now up!

Rain or shine

We have assurance from race director Anthony Moats that the race takes place rain or shine.

Rulesville!

This Sunday, be there or be square!

You can watch a stream of the Jaarmarktcross in Niel on Saturday morning...a perfect weekend!

Points, Man.

Results from last weekend and updated points tallies are ready! On the World Wide Web!

See the links off to your right. Please contact steve at arkansascyclocross dott com if you see anything fishy. We do our best to get it right the first time, but we're only human.

See you in Russellville!

Zonhoven

The bell lap is epic.

Photos and write-up from De Pijp day 2

As always, Joe hits it out of the park: http://www.arkansasoutside.com/smoke-n-suds-weekend-part-2/

Next stop: Russellville

Next Sunday, the 11th, the series moves on to Russellville.  I personally have never been to Old Post Park but several trusted sources have said the exact same thing: Old Post? Oh, that's perfect for a cross race. The course will be a mix of pavement and grass with a bit of trail thrown in there, and some not insubstantial elevation change.

Women, Masters, Fours, and Juniors start at 11am, Open race at noon.

Bareeeeng eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeett!

De Pijp showed a lot of stijl

That was a gorgeous weekend of racing.

My body is wrecked.

We'll try our best to get results out soon.  I have a feeling the points races will intensify.  Have a great week, and we will see you in Russellville.

P.S. Arkansas Outside has their day one coverage HERE.  Hottinger's the lucky one in the animated GIF.

Koppenbergcross

From this morning:

Plus a great photoset: http://cyclephotos.co.uk/2012/11/bpost-trofee-2-koppenbergcross/

DST

This is just a friendly reminder that daylight savings time ends in the wee hours of Sunday morning. So you'll have an extra hour to get to your Sunday race.

Fayetteville weekend forecast

Current forecast for Fayetteville this weekend calls for highs in the mid-60s under partly cloudy skies.

Joe Jacobs will be disappointed with the lack of mud. ;)

Koppenbergcross 2012 course preview

The race is on Thursday.

BYOP

Bring your own PLATE. If you raced in Little Rock on opening weekend, don't forget to bring your number plate to the Fayetteville races this weekend. There is a $10 replacement fee, so it pays to bring it!

Back East

November 3, 4, and 11 are the next three ASP races, in Fayetteville and Russellville. If you live farther east and prefer a race closer to home, check out the non-series events in Memphis and Wynne. The Outdoors Inc race, in particular, has a long history and tradition.

For details, see the links to the right under "Other dates of interest".

Get you some!

De Pijp Smoke-n-Suds CX Weekend

The details on November 3 & 4 are HERE. Please carefully note the start times.

The I is long and the J is silent. This will be a great weekend!

[P.S. Go for the cyclocross, stay for The Flaming Lips.]

Roster and points tallies

For the past week, one-hundred cross monkeys have been busily typing away, and we think they've finally got it right.

Please find series roster and points tallies after two races, off to the right. Note that in Race 1 (ASP Night Race), anyone in Masters, Fours, or Juniors who wasn't in the top three automatically was awarded 11 points.

If you find any discrepancies please contact steve at arkansascyclocross dott com.

Some old-school veldrijden

In Ardooie yesterday.

Another great photoset

This one is from the barriers at the ASP Night Race.
http://bobockenphotos.zenfolio.com/p1060057021

Courtesy Ocken Photography

Great photoset

Photo courtesy Charles Alton Roberts

Charlie Roberts put up a great photoset from Sunday on Facebook.  Click HERE.

Growing Pains

In the ASP opening weekend, we witnessed a 50% increase in ridership from last year.  The turnout has been exciting and gratifying.

On Saturday night, you might recall that the city never did get those softball lights turned on.  (There's some bureaucratic/technologic soap opera behind it, details of which I'm not even aware.)  People were great sports about it, and it certainly was a fantastic evening of high spirits and fast racing, but it made scoring the races incredibly difficult.  In the Masters, Fours, and Juniors classes, it was impossible to place racers with any degree of certainty beyond the top three places.  The USAC official, the race director, and the ASP secretary have all agreed that the most equitable solution is to award 11 ASP points (what you normally get for 4th place) to all remaining racers in those classes.  If you actually earned those 11 points, please accept our apologies.

No problem with the lights on Sunday, but we did see a lot of flats.  It's tempting to say, "Well, that's just cross," but it bummed me out and surprised me, since we had similar conditions but nowhere near as many flats last year.  My take is that (1) the overnight rainfall was truly exceptional and (2) greasy mud on top of sharp rock = high risk of flatting.  As far as the merits of tubular vs tubeless vs tubes vs mud tread vs file tread vs low pressure vs high pressure blah blah blah, you can discuss amongst yourselves.  Those of us who put on the race have agreed, we will reroute certain sections of the course if faced with similar conditions in the future.

After all that excitement and drama, the series takes a couple weekends off.  The avid among you might be travelling to Tulsa, Memphis, or OKC during that time.  But absolutely make sure to be at the double weekend of racing in Fayetteville, November 3 and 4, presented by De Pijp.

Results for the ASP Night Race are linkable to the right.  Reservoir results and series points totals coming more toward the weekend.

More AO coverage

Joe Jacobs has another great write-up and photoset, this time on the Reservoir race. Check it out!

3rd Annual Ruts n Guts

It's happening this weekend in Broken Arrow, just outside Tulsa. Highly recommended. Three days, three races: go for one, two, or all three.

There's a huge cash purse, which attracts a lot of elite talent, and also makes the amateur divisions very hotly contested.
http://www.rutsandguts.com/

Different Kind of Obstacle

If you don't have Arkansas Outside bookmarked, friended, or followed, you should. Especially during cross season. Great write-up of the Night Race, with coverage of Reservoir soon to come.

What a weekend!

My body is sore all over, including my brain. Trevor and I will try to get results up reasonably soon, but please be patient as there are a lot of new people racing (!) and some extenuating circumstances presented themselves over the weekend. Made me feel all warm and fuzzy to see people going eyeballs out on the cross tracks.

Rain or shine

As I type, the forecast shows a 50% chance of thunderstorms on Sunday morning.

You can see over half the Reservoir course from the big covered pavilion at the top of the hill, which is also where registration and refreshments are located, right next to the start/finish stretch.

There will also be a bike-wash station.

It wouldn't hurt to bring your rain boots and umbrella.  Be prepared and have fun.

Opening weekend

OK real quick.  Make your arrangements now so you're ready to rock the opening weekend.


Saturday
ASP Night Race presented by CARVE
Kanis Park, Little Rock
4:30pm Registration opens, course open for practice
6:30pm Kid's race
7:00pm Women, Masters (40+), Juniors (18-), Fours
8:10pm Open
Two Light and Motion lights to be raffled away!


Sunday
Reservoir Cross presented by The Community Bicyclist
Reservoir Park, Little Rock
9:30am Registration opens, course open for practice
11:00am Women, Masters (40+), Juniors (18-), Fours
12:30pm Open

They wait

...and they seem to have multiplied since last year.

Last chance skills clinic

Cliff Li will be hosting what he is calling a "crash course" in basic cyclocross skills (dismounts, remounts, portages) tomorrow (Tue, Oct 9) at Allsopp at 6:00pm.

Last chance before opening weekend!

ASP number plates

The cross monkeys are trying something new this year.  At your first Arkansas Super-Prestige race (whether it's the Night Race or something else) you will be assigned a season-long number plate.  There is no fee for the plate...unless you lose it, so keep it in a safe place.  If you're fortunate enough to have a pit bike, you gotta plate that one, too; there will be supplies at registration for that.  But the official, lamaminated, fancy-dancy one is the one you have to roll to the start line.

Season-opener is in just over a week.  This will be fun.

What you need to watch cross

Let's Make Some Noise

Cowbell from ArkansasOutside on Vimeo.

A little birdie told me

that Skills n Drills has moved about four miles up Cantrell next Monday, and there might be some shenanigans. Contact K-Dawg for deets.

Less than a month to go,

or as Joe Jacobs so eloquently puts it, Withdrawal is an Ugly Thing.

WK Veldrijden 2012

Dutch women are like Belgian men. Gnarly course. The video's weird because it backtracks at some point, but the whole race is in there.

Tech Sunday

Reminder: Keegen's holding Skillz n Drillz tomorrow (Monday) evening at Allsopp at 6pm. This is the final Skillz n Drillz of the year.

I tried patching a latex tube with latex for the first time today.  Latex tubes are cool because they are lighter and less prone to pinch-flatting that butyl tubes.  But they are expensive and kind of finicky, and I never had luck patching them with normal patches.

Puncture came from a slashed tire sidewall, I think.  It was a sudden loud POP.

Donor tube.

Two layers of tube for patch.  Cleaned mating surfaces with acetone then applied rubber cement.

Et voila.  So far so good.

Chainstay cam

Colin Reuter is the nerdy fast guy behind www.crossresults.com, and he also likes to film his races. This one's nifty.
GP of Gloucester Day 1 Chainstay Cam from colin reuter on Vimeo.

Monday Skills n Drills reminder

6pm Allsopp
See a couple posts down for details.
Get you some!

Sven the Canibaal

From Behind the Stare by Geoff Proctor.

Reminder: Skills n Drills Monday

Skills n Drills
6pm Allsopp Park
Every Monday for the rest of September
All skill levels
This is not a workout or race-simulation. Learn/practice/hone your CX-specific skills.

Ruts n Guts, Oct 19/20/21

Found this in my inbox this morning:

I just wanted to give you a heads up if you want to get the word out. Ruts n Guts is set up for October the 19, 20 and 21st. It’s a 3 day weekend race with $23,000 In payouts. We are also adding an Omnium this year as well. Lots of cool give aways and even giving away 2 kids bikes a night for 14 and under. So spread the word and I will get you a flyer asap. You can also see the details at RutsandGuts.com

I've heard great things about this event. Minimal drive time (Tulsa) for some great racing. Top-notch talent was out there last year, including Steve Tilford, Chris Drummond, and Bryan Fawley, and it should be even better this year. Solid fields in all categories.

Step-through?

Here is what reigning U.S. champ Jeremy Powers has to say:

Monday Skills n Drills

Keegen Knapp will be holding Monday evening Skills n Drills throughout the rest of September. 6pm at Little Rock's Allsopp Park.

All skill levels are welcome. This is the place to learn, practice, and perfect cyclocross-specific skills such as:
Starts
Dismounts
Remounts
Portaging
Hurdling barriers

Here's a nice video clip from last year:

skills n drills week1 from Bully Otter Sports on Vimeo.

P.S. Joe knows cross. Make sure to bookmark Arkansas Outside to get the latest on all Arkansas outdoors sport. [But we all know cross is the best.]

A nice advert

We don't condone stealing coffee.

Kona Loves Cyclocross from Kona Bikes on Vimeo.

4ème Manche de CDM cyclo-cross

4ème Manche de CDM cyclo-cross from Petitesreines on Vimeo.

USA Cycling license info

All Arkansas Super-Prestige races are sanctioned by USA Cycling (USAC), the national governing body for bicycle racing. There are a lot of advantages--some obvious, some not so obvious--that come from this arrangement, but we won't get into that here.

USAC-sanctioning means that all ASP racers must hold a USAC license, which you can either pay for annually ($60) or race-by-race ("one-day", $10 per event). I can see all of you reaching for your slide rules; an annual license pays for itself after six races.

When you purchase an annual license, you have to choose the blue pill (Road/Track/CX) or red pill (Mountain Bike/CX), or you can pay an extra $30 and get both pills (Road/Track/Mountain Bike/CX). No matter which you choose, you still get CX!

When you first purchase a license, whether annual or one-day, you are assigned to CX category 4. If you're the ambitious sort and want some day to upgrade to cat 3, you'll want an annual license because (1) your race results accumulate and are tracked by your license number and (2) you can't upgrade to cat 3 without an annual license. On the other hand, there are many people who happily do a few races per year on one-day licenses, and that's cool too.

Clear as mud? Awesome. Let's race.

[PS: Road cat 2 or MTB cat 1 racers can automatically request an upgrade to CX cat 3. http://www.usacycling.org/forms/USAC_rulebook-1.pdf]

September Skills-n-Drills

Have received word that Skills-n-Drills will be held Monday evenings in September at Allsopp Park. This will be a great opportunity for riders of all levels to learn, practice, and hone their CX-specific skills. It is not a hot-laps session. Details to come.

Microcross

"Microcross is a practice cyclocross session. It is free to anyone and allows riders to practice the skills needed to compete in cyclocross racing."

It's put on by Highroller Cyclery and runs Thursday evenings. Looks like the first one in on September 6, but check their Facebook page to make sure. A practice session like this is the best way to get prepared for cross season!

Get you some!

Tubeless experiment, part 2

Short little update to the tubeless experiment.

The dreaded burp has not been a problem (knock on wood). But I did manage to pinch-flat this morning, bottoming out on a stream crossing at 35psi. The sealant did its darndest, but no dice. The only time I've pinch-flatted a tubular was on a similar deal. (Now I get to test Hutchinson's tubeless repair kit.)

I really like the Mud 2 as an all-around tire. Great grip, rolls pretty nice on pavement. I haven't tested it in real slop yet.

Bottom line: There is no single fool-proof tire setup. And the Natural State is rough on tires.

P.S. We welcome Leborne Coaching as the final co-sponsor of the 2012 Arkansas Super-Prestige. They can help you get ready for cross season!
P.P.S. We're sorry that you get an error message if you don't type "www." before "arkansascyclocross.com". The cross monkeys are working on it.

Swapping drop bars for flat bars

Apparently the secret is using a really long stem.  Et voila.

http://surlybikes.com/blog/post/an_old_friend_revisited

[By the way, it is perfectly legal, according to USA Cycling rules, to race cyclocross on a mountain bike, on a cross bike with flat bars, on a vintage road bike with knobby tires, or basically anything with two wheels, two brakes, and nothing obviously dangerous on it.  The ultra-picky Union Cycliste Internationale rules only apply to internationally sanctioned elite races.]

Here's a video of Thomas Frishknecht sprinting to silver on flat bars in the 1997 world championships.

2012 Arkansas Super-Prestige

The 2012 Arkansas Super-Prestige (ASP) cyclocross points series will be contested over eight races in central and northwest Arkansas, running from October through December. Medals will be awarded three-deep in five race classes---Open, Women, Fours (USA Cycling CX category 4), Masters (40+), and Juniors (18-)---and the overall highest-scoring team will be awarded the Arkansas Cyclocross Cup.

The 2012 ASP is co-sponsored by Arkansas Cycling & Fitness, CARVE, Chainwheel, The Community Bicyclist, Phat Tire Bike Shop, Spokes, and Leborne Coaching. Thanks to their generous support, the ASP will be awarding $900 $1100 to the top Open and Women's class racers:
Open payout: $150 / 130 / 120 / 110 / 100 / 90
Women's payout: $150 / 130 / 120

Cyclocross ("CX", "cross") is a 30- to 60-minute bicycle race covering a roughly one-mile closed circuit of mixed terrain including pavement, grass, gravel, and dirt. Racers are forced to dismount and portage their bikes over a variety of hurdles, log-piles, or steep ravines, earning the sport its reputation as "the steeplechase of cycling." Because of its unique challenges and spectator-friendly nature, cross is the fastest growing form of bike racing in the U.S.

The ASP season opens with a weekend of racing in Little Rock. On Saturday, October 13, the ASP Night Race takes over Kanis Park for fast and exciting racing under the lights, followed on Sunday with Reservoir Cross, over a tough, hilly, rocky circuit in Reservoir Park. The entire season is listed below.

Bookmark www.arkansascyclocross.com for the latest ASP news, a complete set of series rules, and ongoing coverage of the races.

Date	Location		Presented by
Oct 13	Little Rock	ASP Night Race	CARVE
Oct 14	Little Rock	Reservoir Cross	The Community Bicyclist
Nov 3	Fayetteville	Highroller's Cyclocross Adventure	Highroller Cyclery
Nov 4	Fayetteville	De Pijp's Smoke & Suds	De Pijp Cycling Team
Nov 11	Russellville	Old Post Cyclocross	Poppa Wheelies
Nov 25	Little Rock	Turkey Burn	CARVE
Dec 2	Bentonville	Phat Tire Cyclocross	Phat Tire Bike Shop
Dec 9	Little Rock	Series Closer	CARVE

August is Cyclocross Base Training Month

The cross-monkeys are hard at work making this year the CXbest ever.  The series calendar is holding steady.  We've got several generous sponsors lining up to give the Arkansas Super-Prestige points series its first cash purse.  We'll be rolling out the finalized calendar, series rules, and prize schedule in the next couple weeks.

These hot months are a great time to get low- to moderate-intensity mileage done.  The better your tanline in September, the better your performance in December.  Carry plenty of water and salt.  Wear a cabbage-leaf under your helmet to keep your head cool and sunburn-free.  Be happy in the swelter.

Series schedule...are we there yet?

We're getting very close to finalizing the series schedule.  CLICK HERE to see the calendar as it currently stands.


View >2012 Arkansas Super-Prestige in a larger map

Tubeless experiment, part 1

I've had a keen eye on the Michelin Mud 2 ever since seeing this photo of Adam Craig's rig a couple years ago, with Mud 2 tread glued to Dugast tubular casings:

cyclingnews.com

The Mud 2 is widely touted as good for tubeless conversions.  Time for a little summer project....

NoTubes "29er" rim strip

The Mud 2 measures 34mm wide,
even though it is listed at 30mm

Setting up a tubeless conversion isn't most people's idea of a good time, but this one went smoothly and mostly hassle-free.  My first ride, which included some rocky/rooty trail at Allsopp, and a Pfeiffer Loop, went fine at 40 psi.  I'll post a follow-up after trying some lower pressures and riding this set-up a lot more.

Here are some numbers for you gram counters, weighed on our digital kitchen scale:
Velocity A23 rim 450g
Cloth rim tape 17g
NoTubes "29er" rim strip 61g
Michelin Mud 2 tire 332g

2012 Arkansas Super-Prestige dates

Pencil the dates in your calendar. Save the ink for another month or so.  Details are still being ironed out, but it'll be good.


View >2012 Arkansas Super-Prestige in a larger map

June update

Opening weekend
There's been a slight juggling of dates for this fall's cyclocross season.  The opening weekend of the Arkansas Super-Prestige will be October 13 & 14 with the Night Race followed by Reservoir Cross.  If you were there last year, you know it will be pretty flippin' cool whether you're racing or watching.  There will be prizes, merchandise, and $800 up for grabs.  Watch this space for more details.

Showdown at Sundown/Ruts n Guts
The opening weekend was moved up a week to allow Arkansans to race in Tulsa the following weekend.  They offer quite a bit of cash, so it attracts really good racers from a wide area, which in turn attracts large fields across all categories.  Highly recommended.

Tubeless experiment
A lot of people coming to CX from mountain biking are interested in going tubeless.  In the next month or so, I'll be trying out a set-up with:
1) Velocity A23 rims
2) Stan's No-tubes rim strips
3) Michelin Mud 2 tires
and I'll be reporting on my experiences.

My oh my how time has flown.  The AMBCS season is in full swing, the temps are hitting the 90s, and le Tour starts in a couple weeks, which means that fall is coming!

Low-cost chainwatcher

If you're going to run a single chainring next season, here's an idea:

From mudandcowbells.com

It's been too long...

...since I've posted here.

Things I'm sort of meh about:
1. The new disc brake CX bikes
2. CX at Sea Otter
3. Sven Nys being all coy about whether he'll race Worlds in Louisville

Things I'm totally stoked on:
1. Riding the mountain bike
2. Riding the road bike
3. Our mild spring

Just a reminder, things are slowly percolating toward this fall's CX season.  We've got some dates lined up (look to your right) and the series calendar and rules and prizes are all shaping up.

You don't need a cross bike to race cross...but now's a good time to shop for a cross bike, when people are still trying to fund their summer bike stuff by selling off cross stuff.

One more thing I'm stoked on is this photo of Merckx racing CX.  [He didn't need a cross bike; just slapped some knobbies on his road bike.  These days you're lucky if you can squeeze 27mm slicks under your road bike.]

Photo: @peterbsully

The Arkansas Cyclo-Cross Cup

Cross ain't over yet...

...at least in Europe.  While the rest of us turn our thoughts to various Kitchens, Challenges, and Revenges, there are still a couple weekends left in the Euro cross season.  This morning, starting at 9am Central, the Superprestige in Middelkerke:
http://www.cyclingfans.com/node/3877

If you missed it, the World Championship race was a Belgian clinic in riding sand.  Utter domination on an unprecedented scale.  If you like baby-blue skinsuits, you'll enjoy watching the race in its entirety, which someone uploaded to youtube.

Meanwhile, dates, times, and places are starting to fall into place for the next Arkansan cyclocross season.  If you, or someone you know, is even vaguely interesting in putting on a cross race next season,  we highly recommend getting in touch with the ASP cognoscenti, by either commenting on this post or by posting to the Arkansas Super-Prestige facebook page.

It might not seem like it, but fall is coming!  Spring classics, then the Giro, Tour, and Vuelta, and before you know it, the leaves are starting to drop.  Don't let cross sneak up on you this year!

Bellwinners

Juniors: LaVergne, Sorrell, Vance

We'll mail you your prize, contact stephen erickson temporary at gmail (no spaces) dot com.

Final Points Tallies Are Up!

Points tallies for the inaugural season of the Arkansas Super-Prestige are up!  Start getting your game plan together for next season.

Don't forget that the World Championships is on Sunday.  Check cyclingfans.com for details on how to watch online.  It'll be sweet.

Dates and plans for next season are already in the works.  Watch this space for details and news.  Just remember, road racing and mountain bike racing (and triathlons, 10Ks, kayaking, etc etc) are great CX training. Stay stoked, keep riding your bike, and have a great winter, spring, and summer.

But don't forget that fall will be here before you know it.  Be prepared!

ASP is done, long live the ASP!

Sorry for the lack of updates.

The final race was awesome. Super-sneaky course, great weather, top-notch venue, exciting racing.

Results, ASP class winners, etc, to come, but for now, check out this
A Fond Farewell [for now!] to Cyclocross

Back to Allsopp for Season Closer

This Sunday, it's back to Allsopp Park for the 11th (!) race of the inaugural Arkansas Super-Prestige.

Are you Hillcrest enough?  Do you jog with your dog?

11am Women, Masters 40+, Fours, Juniors
12pm Open
$20 reg fee
More details HERE.

Contrary to previous reports, series trophies will not be presented at Vino's, but at the site of the race directly following completion of the noon race.  Vino's will, however, provide their customary provisions on-site at Allsopp.

Thank you Vino's for supporting cyclocross!

The weather forecast calls for dry, downright balmy conditions, so expect much faster course conditions than last time.

Without getting too weepy about it, we at arkansascyclocross.com have been incredibly pleased with this year's racing, and with the response we've gotten from our readers. And just so you know, the cross monkeys are already hard at work on next season's calendar, to make it even better: more racer-friendly, spectator-friendly, competitive, and exciting. Stay tuned.

Arkansas Cyclo-cross Cup

The Cup is a vintage American-made pewter tankard, and will be awarded to the 2011/12 Arkansas Super-prestige team winner on January 15.

It will be engraved with that team's name and entrusted to their care for the rest of 2012.

CARVE enters the fray

We are very pleased to announce that Central Arkansas Velo, better known as Team CARVE, is sponsoring the January 15 New Year Barrier race, at Allsopp Park in Little Rock.

More details still to come but the race schedule remains:
11:00am Women, Masters, Fours, Juniors
12:00pm Open

Have a great weekend!

Renew your license

One little awkward thing about cyclocross—in addition to the off-camber switchbacks, triple barrier sets, and ditch crossings—is that the season straddles the calendar.

Your 2011 USA Cycling license has expired.  Renew now and avoid a $10 one-day license fee at the New Year Barrier race.  For those of you who have been holding off on getting the annual license, now is the time to commit.  Whether you choose a Road or Mountain license, you will have authorization to race cross.

USA Cycling

Battle of the Fours: The Plot Thickens

We've been notified that Brian Newkirk (300802) and Brian Neukirch (300302) are actually the same person, giving him 60 points total, and making the situation even more intriguing for the Fours class as we head into the final race of this inaugural season of the Arkansas Super-Prestige.

People have been clamoring for details on the January 15 race.  Trusted sources say (1) it will take place at Allsopp Park in the heart of Little Rock, (2) women, masters, juniors, and fours will race at 11am, (3) the open race starts at noon, and (4) race and series awards will be presented at Vino's (a 5-minute drive down Cantrell, on 7th and Chester) at 1:30pm.  [Correction: Awards will be presented at Allsopp Park, right after the noon race.]

When these and other details get confirmed, we will post them here ASAP.