Oh man I got spoiled by the 11:00 starts for my field and haven’t done an early morning race in years.
Yesterday I raced in another state and we were set to go off at 8am.
I got there 2 hours before and it was a mess.
Park was still dark and windy.
First time at that venue so I was lost.
It was freezing in the morning and couldn’t figure out what to wear.
At the end began the race with no warm up or course inspection which really sucked because the course was fun as hell. I already put it on the calendar for next year.
Oh well I have one more early race and I’ll take what I’ve learned to the next one.
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I got bumped up to the ‘A’ (main) race this week and had to start from the very back of the field. Top 20 are gridded and the rest is a free-for-all. Was late arriving to the start so that’s on me. 55 racers in total, I finished 29th. My first lap was quite frustrating getting through traffic but laps 2-6 were fun. Coming from an XC background, CX is hard! After finishing I was retching and quite light-headed for about 5-6 minutes. Type 2 fun as they say. To the surprise of no-one, CX tyres were much better than gravel tyres in the slop.
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Looking for everyone’s tips on cold weather cross - MN state champs are this weekend, and in true MN fashion, it’s looking COLD. Forecast highs are low to mid 30s F. I struggle with cold feet and I REALLY don’t want to have to use my winter boots.
Does cold feet affect your performance? or is it just not comfortable.
Deep heat? feet warming pads? Waterproof socks if wet?
Wool liner socks. Then sock of choice over. I like Swiftwick Pursuit socks which also have wool. Like any CX race your are going to be cold at the start but will warm up when the race begins.
I’m in your race, so no tips from me. And I don’t have any actual advice anyways.
My wife is very much dreading the weekend. We did not get to ease into the cold. Last weekend was chilly in wisco, but not cold.
Thicker wool socks, may sacrifice some shoe covers if I have to. Wonder what embro feels like on the feet. Other than that, htfu and send it.
My fingers are what give up on me first. Can barely use the brakes and shift for the first lap.
As said above, two layers of socks, but not so tight they cut off circulation. To be honest, I don’t get cold feet during cross, high effort, low speed / low windchill, getting off and running, all help keeping your feet warm.
I’d bring warm boots for before and after the race, don’t stay in your cycling shoes afterwards.
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In unrelated news, Ritchey has discontinued the Swiss Cross. Sad day for the history of CX bikes.
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Temps are still hovering high 40s/low 50s at my race time and I usually warm up with a thermal long sleeve, leg warmers, and take it all off while staging. I was looking at getting some thermal bib tights for training and racing but it’s been a warm Fall this year in Colorado.
Back at it this weekend.
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I just got a pair of the pactimo alpine thermal tights without a chamois. I waited far too long to have something like that to warm up in. I have a couple pairs of their thermal bib tights for winter/cold weather riding. They are nice, but have the lower tier chamois that I don’t love.
Until it is in the mid to low 20s I can race in a regular skin suit. I wore my long sleeve skin suit in a rainy low 40s race last weekend and it was too warm for me.
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Yeah I won’t race with anything on my legs unless it’s super cold like you mentioned.
Adam Myerson had great information on when to and course conditions (rain/snow) for leg warmers/bib tights. Basically if it’s raining, wearing leg warmers/tights is not ideal as you’ll be slogging around with wet/heavy leg warmers that’ll probably make you colder. Best to just not wear them for a 40-60min race when it’s wet.
Good call on the tights without chamois - I may look into that.
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I like the information that Adam Myerson puts out. I’m looking for that information now.
He has some stuff on YouTube under the Cycle Smart channel.
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My issue with tights over bibs is the tights can get caught when jumping back on the saddle so I always go leg warmers if it is that cold. For warmup I just wear sweat pants.
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These are a splurge, but I’ve been very happy with them–my wife has a pair along with a jacket I got her when Lastig had their initial Kickstarter. Everyday Ziptights – LASTIG
Tights over bibs is just for warm ups. If it really is that cold, I have thermal bibs and full length thermal bib tights as well.
High 20s to mid 30s I use some embro on the knees. And consider a thermal top.
Duct tape over the vents on your shoes looks janky, but works in a pinch to keep the cold air out.
I nearly always over dress and suffer later in the race due to being too hot. Be bold, start cold. It took until my junior year of high school to realize how little I needed for XC ski racing. Only wore a hat for races sub 20. And worked my way down to thinner and thinner gloves as well. Freeze for the first 5 minutes was better than overheat for the last 5 to 10.
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This has been super helpful for me dialing in my warmup, getting to the venue with more than enough time (though this calls for 4;30 am wakeup calls for me : / ), course inspection etc.
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This is a good one, I listened to the whole podcast.
Last Saturday I did the North Hampton CX race.
That first race of the day was hard, 3:30 wake up for me.
Then getting to the race and it’s still dark, cold and windy, oh.
Once the race started it got nice out.
Fun race and next year I want to make a weekend out of it.
Adam, won his field that day.
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