The Tuesday evening cyclocross practice series begins one week from today. And, humble though it is, let me disabuse you of the notion that it just happens without forethought or effort. Today, Jeff Wren (Team Extreme) and I broke out the rakes, clippers, and pruners to ensure a clear path through the woods for next week’s session at Royal Oaks. The park is in fantastic shape. It’s kind of a shame we didn’t have an official practice today.
But we did have an unofficial one! Both Jeff and I have new cyclocross bikes for the 2018 season, so when the groundskeeping was done we went through an equipment shakedown. I got immediate results from lowering my saddle. Jeff might be looking into swapping out his stock handlebar for a wider one. We’ll probably find a few more things to adjust before the WCA season begins on September 8, and that’s fine. That’s one of the best things about cyclocross practice.
My biggest concern coming out of today’s practice is gearing. My easiest combination on the new bike is 40x28, and that might not work for me on the toughest hills of the WCA series. I’m thinking mostly of Manitowoc and Grafton, but even places like Milwaukee’s Humboldt Park and both venues in Waterloo have some short, steep sections. I got up all of the climbs at Royal Oaks today, even the seldom-used singletrack on the east side of the sledding hill, but I surely wouldn’t mind an 11-36 cassette. That would mean a new chain too, so there goes another $125 for the set. Oh, well … it’s only money.
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