Thursday, August 30, 2012

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]

Friday, August 24, 2012

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.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

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!

Thursday, August 16, 2012

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.

Monday, August 13, 2012

Swapping drop bars for flat bars

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

Saturday, August 11, 2012

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

Thursday, August 2, 2012

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.