Baker Orchard Cyclocross, MN
Fast bumpy flat course today with 2 dismounts. After a rest week I thought I may have something in the tank to give today….and I did for the 1st 25mins. I got a good start, put in a couple moves and was sitting top 10. I got into a couple great fast groups and sat on and felt comfortable. But after about 25mins one guy pulled through and attacked and I popped off the back and was stuck riding solo for a couple laps, then I was caught by little guy and we rolled for a lap and then we got caught by a group of about 6 with 1 lap to go….I was cooked at this point and frustrated with myself for not being able to hold on to the race early. We got lapped with 1/4 of a lap to go and I sat up and just rolled in. 15th overall and 9th in 35+. I put a riser stem on this week so I could get back into my favorite position on a cross bike..in the drops. The stem looks dorky, but it allows me to ride in the drops the whole race. CJ had a great race again and won the 35s. The guy is rocking this year.
Wah
2 Responses to “Baker Orchard Cyclocross, MN”
I suggest riding with your bars up-side-down so the drops are at eye level. I say a dude riding from the 5/8 that way, and he looked way cool.
Nothing wrong with a high rise stem. Nothing dorky about it. What’s dorky is the dudes who insist upon riding with a zero-rise stem and then running the brake levers really high up on the handlebar. It’s obvious that riding on the hoods is the default position and that the drops are almost unusably low.
I use a Midge drop (a “dirt-drop” bar) bar by On-One. I mount it to a 35-degree rise stem and spent 90-percent of my time in the drops. THAT is where I have the most control and leverage.