For this week’s SVENNESS, we hop the English Channel from Belgium over to Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire, England for the third round of the UCI World Cup…
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Reportage
We Finished Our Cross Season with Muddy Races and a Chili Eat-Off
I should preface this gallery by saying, as an isolated selection of images, it’s ok. But after I post all the content I got from this weekend, it’ll be more complete. That includes, reviews, portraits and yeah, my new cross bike. For now, however, it does encapsulate our race conditions and a rather fun way to end the season.
We’ve had a fairly wet fall here in Austin, resulting in some grueling races with a lot of mud. The problem is, we don’t get normal mud here, since the base is limestone. Instead, we get iron-rich clay and clay, well, clay doesn’t like bikes. At all. Unless it’s in the drying process, when suddenly it becomes rails of brown pow.
Saturday’s race was more of a Tough Mudder course than a race course, with the day starting off as a 2 mile track, with around 1.25 miles of running. It sucked. Sucked the energy from your legs, sucked your derailleur off your hanger and sucked all the space it could find within your stays, cranks and fork. The officials shortened the course, resulting in faster times, but still, a lot of running. I’ve never had to shoulder a bike in a race before. Usually, everything was ridable, for some of us, anyway.
When Sunday came around and I could barely walk, I wasn’t looking forward to the course.
Alas, there’s that magical moment where mud transforms to fast lines of singletrack through the woods and mudpits become tacky enough to form a rut. Those are the moments where cross racing takes hold of your skills and sharpens them like a battle ax. Sunday was amazing and fast!
After doing my thing, there was talk of a chili eat-off between one of the older teams in town and the newer teams. Yacht Club vs Super Awesome. I had my money on the later, since Yacht Club prides themselves on their fine dining and boyish physiques. Boy was I wrong…
Radar
Sklar Bikes: Purple ‘Cross with Ultegra 6800
I have a penchant for purple bikes and even though ‘cross is almost done for the year, it doesn’t mean we can’t keep oogling bikes like the latest from Adam Sklar.
This frame is built from OX platinum with a 44mm headtube and 142×12 spacing. This offers a stiff rear end, but an ovalized top tube bent stays offer compliance when needed. Not a lot of cross bikes have internal top tube cable routing, but this one totes it with pride.
To round it out, Adam’s client is running Ultegra 6800 with Shimano mechanicals and a Stans/DT wheelset.
I love it when bikes are built with practicality in mind. See more at Sklar’s Flickr.
Radar
The Radavist Guide to Surviving Austin During Cyclocross Nationals
Where do I eat? What’s the weather going to be like? Where can I ride? Where’s a good bar? What shop can I ship my bike to?
See the full spread below.
Radar
Walton Brush’s California State Champion Cinelli Cross
Photos by Mike Martin
It helps a lot when your teammate just so happens to be a expert at frame design and painting, especially when you win the 2013 California State ‘Cross Championships. Garrett Chow recently completed and photographed this bike for Mash-teammate, Walton Brush. Even if it did come at the end of the season, it’s still an incredible machine!
Check out some words by Garrett and more photos below!
Radar
Low Bicycles’ Prototype Cross Frame
Andrew Low sent this over, along with some other photos and information, but we’ll wait to share the rest for the time being. However, it seems that he’s developing cyclocross frames for TCB Courier’s team. I know it’s a bit late in the season, but these things take time and now at least the guys will have ample time to make any design changes until next season begins. Eventually, after all the details are dialed in, Andrew will add these bikes to the Low Bicycles catalog.
More information to come, for now, follow Low on Instagram.
Radar
Crash Nationals January 8th During Cross Nationals in Austin
With less than a month to go, I wanted to remind you all of this race on Thursday, January 8th during ‘Cross Nationals in Austin.
“Mark your calendars – get ready – Beat the Clock Cycling and The Radavist will be throwing one hell of an unsanctioned cross race Thursday night before Cross Nationals in Austin. There will be an afterparty, booze and fun times. More information to come.”
If you’re planning on coming to Nationals in Austin, make it a week-long event. I’d bring a beefy set of tires with you for trail riding and night lamps, not blink lights. LAMPS.
Radar
Villarocca
I always love seeing footage from this race in Italy.
Radar
CX HAIRS: LIKEAVOS 2.2
Cross season seems so short. Or maybe time flies when you’re having fun. Thankfully the CX Hairs content keeps rolling in. Here’s LIKEAVOS 2.2!
Radar
James at Niner Bikes Knows What’s Up!
When your job is to design bikes and graphics for a living, you tend to take your own bikes seriously. That’s what James at Niner did with his own BSB 9. Like most people these days, James got bit by the camo bug but didn’t want to just do a standard paint finish, so he found a local guy just getting into hydrographics and began to problem solve how to paint the fork, leaving the frame matte black with a blaze orange color accents.
The end result rules.
Radar
CX Hairs: SVENNESS 3.7
Didn’t get enough CX Hairs yesterday? Try on the latest SVENNESS for size. Looks like a muddy good time!
Radar
CX Hairs: Your Moment of SVENNESS 1.2
“Momentum is your ally, take advantage of it when you can…”
Here’s another nice Moment of SVENNESS from CX Hairs.
Radar
Manual for Speed Does Jingle Cross
Cyclocross is, to me anyway, more visually interesting than road racing, especially when it’s through the lens of Manual for Speed. Jingle Cross lives in infamy for being a really, really, really, cold and tough race, both of which is evident in Manual for Speed’s Part 1 and Part 2 of their coverage… Check it out!
Reportage
The 2014 Surf City Cyclocross Finals – Brian Vernor
The 2014 Surf City Cyclocross Finals
Words and photos by Brian Vernor
My own history of racing cyclocross with the Surf City Cyclocross Series is too long to recount in a short article. In brief, Surf City Cyclocross is why I made my first film, Pure Sweet Hell (which premiered ten years ago this month), and why I have kept cyclocross near to my heart since my first race as a junior in 1993.
There are many heartlands of cyclocross. I’ve been to Belgium, Spain, Holland, Japan, and all over the United States, searching for the best action, beautiful courses, and the cult-like communities which make up the cross scene in each of those unique cyclocross heartlands. I appreciate all of them, but I appreciate none of them more than my own scene. That’s how it should be. People here in Santa Cruz have doggedly stuck to the core of what is cyclocross in America. Cyclocross is a contradiction; it sucks to do, and it’s glorious to have done it. Cyclocross will never have the audience and participation of football, basketball, or baseball, though we involved are always trying to grow it while keeping it true. Truth comes first and growth comes second.
Reportage
A Muddy Weekend in the ‘Cross Trenches
You’ll have to excuse the excess in this photo gallery. There are a lot of shots in here.
Now that I stated the obvious, here’s even more… In Texas, we don’t get much rain, nor do we get many rainy cross races. So when the sky opens and the mud builds up, don’t be surprised to see file tread tires and Red cassettes in the staging areas.
Like house cats, having escaped for the weekend, a lot of people got quite the shock when every corner was suddenly slick and every descent, a myriad of dark brown ruts, with no grass to grip for traction.
Saturday’s race has been called the best of the season. A lotta climbing, as much descending. All in glorious mud. As the afternoon went on, it got worse and by the time the B’s raced – which is what I was in – it was pouring on us. Things didn’t go so well and I didn’t shoot many photos of Saturday’s race, but Sunday. Sunday was a blast.
New course, still just as muddy, with a run up that some of us rode and yes, plenty of pain…
Read along in the captions and enjoy the Gallery!
Radar
I’m Racing this Weekend in Houston
… and I’m most likely leaving the laptop at home. Have a great weekend!
Radar
Cadence Pop-Up at CXLA Tomorrow!
If you’re going to the races tomorrow in LA, do a few things for me: say hi to Tenspeed Hero, High Five any and all Mudfoot racers, check out Cadence’s pop-up at the Greek theater and swing by Golden Saddle afterwards!
Radar
Blue Lug: Another Custom Rew10 Works SSCX
If there was an award each year for the best customized shop bikes, Blue Lug would win it. From Surly to Fairweather and now Rew10 Works, their shop bikes are so beautiful. Check out this blue Mondrian SSCX bike, complete with that disc front and canti rear setup… While we’re at it, check out these photos on the Blue Lug blog from what appears to be a Sim Works bike show / store opening of sorts.
