From Aigle, With Love

Today the UCI released its 2023-2024 Cyclocross World Cup schedule, and I guess we stupid Americans should just shut up and count ourselves lucky that we still have one race. Those halcyon days of October 2021, during which America enjoyed not one but three World Cup races in an 8-day period, are long gone. Later in that same season, the biggest names in the sport came back across the Atlantic for the world championships. America had never seen a cyclocross season like it … and probably never will again.

What we’re left with is the season-opening race at Trek’s headquarters in Waterloo. And sincere thanks to Trek for its continuing commitment, but the bloom is off the rose. Waterloo was one of two World Cup races in America during the 2022-2023 season. Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert, and Tom Pidcock skipped both. For the three superstars of cyclocross, it simply wasn’t worth the time and expense to come over from Europe. With so many races on the schedule, anyone with series ambitions or who uses the World Cup season only to tune up for the world championships can skip the American trip and keep training without jet lag. With only one American race on next season’s calendar, the situation promises to be even worse. If you’re not a Trek-sponsored rider, an American, or a Canadian, then you’re better off staying in Europe.

Ultimately, the only thing that will make things better on this side of the pond is money. Lots of money. Make American races so lucrative that the Europeans can’t ignore them. The top names in cyclocross typically get appearance money to ensure their participation in races they might otherwise skip. Appearance money brings in the most popular racers, and that attracts more fans. If you’re monetizing the fan base—like every major sport in the world does—then attracting more fans equals more revenue for the race promoters. Done right, that’s a self-perpetuating cycle with benefits for everyone and a path back to multiple World Cup races in America.

Waterloo’s World Cup race will be the biggest cyclocross event in Wisconsin in 2023. It will fall smack in the middle of the Wisconsin Cycling Association season. So, it’s not too early to think about what the WCA calendar will look like, but it is too early to expect any announcements. Last year’s calendar wasn’t released until May 24. The very top level of cyclocross is now barely breathing outside of Europe, but there’s every reason to expect our state championship series will continue to be strong. Hang in there, baby, #crossiscoming.

That’s A Workout!

I hate snow as completely as a person can hate snow. Every flake is a personal insult. Snow represents not fun, but work. It’s another form of trash: something I have to discard, just like autumn leaves or used kitty litter. And my hatred for snow is only enhanced by my ownership of a corner lot. I have sidewalks on two sides of my house, not just one. There’s 121 feet on the north side and 94 feet on the east side, plus another 47 feet from the front door to the streetside mailbox. My driveway is 52 feet long and fans out from 19 feet wide at the garage door to 22 feet wide at the curb.

It’s a lot of concrete. Any measurable snowfall leaves me with more than an hour of shoveling if I want to clear it all. I briefly utilized a snowblower about 20 years ago, but I hated it. Not only was it extremely loud, but also it didn’t clean down to bare concrete. I went back to shoveling and, while I despise it, I’m a demon at it. Remember the legend of John Henry, the “steel-driving man” who could hammer his way through solid rock faster than a steam powered drill? I’m that good with a shovel: I frequently clear my sidewalks faster than my snowblowing neighbors. And I don’t die of heart failure at the end, so there’s that!

Of course, some people do die of heart failure during or shortly after shoveling. Your local newscast will be happy to warn you about the dangers every winter. So, just how hard is it? Today I measured my effort as I cleared 5-6 inches of snow from my sidewalks. I left the driveway alone; we’ll be somewhere around 40° tomorrow and Sunday, and I have nowhere to go in the meantime. Here’s what today’s sidewalk cleanup looked like statistically:

That’s no joke: a workout of 53 minutes, 40 seconds, with an average heart rate of 116, a maximum heart rate of 150, and an estimated energy burn of 332 calories. I would have to walk almost 3 miles at a brisk pace to match it, and there are plenty of hour-long Zwift rides on which I don’t approach 17:30 above Zone 3. Enough snow shoveling would beat almost anyone into shape … if it didn’t beat him to death.

Weird Little Day

Today was West Bend’s first look at 50° since December 30 and I was only too happy to hop aboard my Framed Gravier for another ride around town. We got up to 52° before the rain came and the temperature dropped back into the 40s. I now have done three outdoor rides in the last seven days, which is unusual for February. But it’s also unusual that I am continuing to struggle with a bike that, to me, still seems brand new. I’m having problems that I don’t think I should be having with fewer than 500 miles of service.

Today it was the crankset: single chainring SRAM Rival paired with an FSA BB30 bottom bracket. I noticed as I pedaled that the chainring wasn’t tracking in a consistent plane; it appeared to wobble. Shifting wasn’t affected—all of that takes place in back, of course—and there was no sensation that the chain was going to drop off the chainring. Things seemed fine but they looked odd. And looks were not deceiving. I stopped at Pedal Moraine and, with the bike on the workstand, it was obvious that the drive-side crankarm would not have held on much longer. I may have been only a minute away from a catastrophic failure and a humiliating walk home.

Once everything was taken apart, cleaned, and reassembled, I was ready to roll again. Critical to reassembly was ensuring the proper torque on the crankarms. That’s probably the root of the issue, and it’s something I didn’t even think to check when I took delivery of the bike last July. I wouldn’t doubt that the issue was present from my very first ride.

Today was also an opportunity for one more adjustment to the rear disc brakes, which have been extraordinarily hard to get dialed.

I had no trouble on the short ride home from the shop, so I’m looking forward to my next ride. I still think the Gravier will be a honey of a bike once I beat it into submission. Today’s ride was only our 17th adventure together, and on almost every one I have found something at least a little out of place. Is that just part of the deal when your bike is shipped to you from the manufacturer rather than handed to you at the local bike shop? Maybe.

The 2023 WEMS Schedule

Today the Wisconsin Endurance Mountain Bike Series released its 2023 schedule, and it’s a head scratcher:

5/13 – Alpine Valley

6/03 – Jack Lake

6/17 – Wausau

7/08 – Rhinelander (Washburn Trails)

8/19 – Underdown

8/25 – Tomahawk (new, overnight race)

9/09 – Levis/Trow

Only the season opener and the season finale will run on dates that don’t conflict with the much more popular Wisconsin Off-Road Series. The pool of mountain bikers is only so large. Why does WEMS continue to schedule events on the same weekends as WORS?

Poor turnout was the reason behind Team Pedal Moraine’s decision not to bring back the Greenbush Grinder for 2023. You’ll also notice that New Fane is missing. I hate to say it, but I’m not sure how much longer WEMS can hang on if it continues in this direction.

First Outdoor Miles Of 2023

I think we topped out at 47° today, which is very nice for February 8 in West Bend and certainly nice enough to reduce cabin fever. I pulled out the Framed Gravier for a 1-hour ride around town, my first outdoor ride this year. As expected, there were places I couldn’t go because of lingering snow and ice, but it was fun simply to get outside.

The 2023 WORS Schedule