New England racing scene

[Cheese Head]

I recently moved here from Wisconsin, and I'm thinking about racing. I have a 2002 Cannondale F600 that is stock. I could keep up in the rolling farmlands of the mid-west, but I'm not sure how I'll do on the rocks and roots of New England.

Any advice?

[slapheadmofo]

I'm sure you'll get to love the the riding here - there's a ton of variety and the bumpy stuff keeps things interesting.
I don't have any worthwhile knowledge about the XC racing scene, but welcome to NE. What town/state are you in?
d

IAny advice?


CHeck out the body armor thread, your gunna need it ;D

Racing is over here
http://www.efta.com/

[BG]

Moe, Larry, another Cheese! ;D

Welcome, and lower the pressure in your tires a bit to cope with the terrain, possibly even a change of rubber completely to better suit the conditions depending on where you race/ride.

BG

[Quo Fan]

Just as bit of warning, there was a guy here with a similar handle that just left the board because Minkhiller and Jerseygirl accused him of being somebody else's alias.

[jerseygirl]

Just as bit of warning, there was a guy here with a similar handle that just left the board because Minkhiller and Jerseygirl accused him of being somebody else's alias.


I think he was looking for racing advice.

[rockhopper]

Watch out for the rocks.
Go Packers!

[Cheese Head]

Thanks for all the advice, everyone.

[hogboy]

what advice ?

here is some advice.

use 35psi in yer tires, right light and fast. ignore
the crap in front of your wheel and focus 25 feet ahead
and pedal hard. that is all. hop over crap that will
flat your tire and otherwise, just hammer.

no one needs any body armor for this NE stuff,
unless you ride slow and like to huck off things.
for XC racing, dress like a roadie

[EricM3]

what advice ?

here is some advice.

use 35psi in yer tires, right light and fast. ignore
the crap in front of your wheel and focus 25 feet ahead
and pedal hard. that is all. hop over crap that will
flat your tire and otherwise, just hammer.

no one needs any body armor for this NE stuff,
unless you ride slow and like to huck off things.
for XC racing, dress like a roadie


Agreed. The rocks will take some getting used to, with or without shocks pick up a set of 2.35" Ritchey Z-Max tires to use so you're not constantly getting pinch flats, and run them at a slightly lower pressure than you normally would. They are light and roll fast and the tred pattern works well all around.

Body armor? Uhh, no. Totally not necessary for racing XC.

The northeast XC scene (I've been out of it for quite a while) has always been pretty competitive. In my experience stay away from the Ski Area races, search out the local races like the Landmine Classic.

Racing is racing, and racing is 5% bike, 95% training/fitness/suffering ability/skills. Go out and ride rocky rooty trails like Wompatuck and Freetown and you'll be ready for the races.

I used to play Bike Polo so that when I needed to drink from a water bottle while riding one-handed through singletrack it would be easy.

Do some running too, or cyclocross training, invariably you will have to run a section that is to crowded muddy rocky steep rooted alloftheabove and that is never an fun. Did I mention stay away from the ski area races?