Yesterday I was thinking about how much the equipment has advanced in the sport of cyclo-x. Guys are riding nearly the UCI limit of 6.8 kg (14.99lbs) bikes. That is pretty amazing considering the extra weight of just the tires.

Then I started thinking about how much the sport itself has changed, here in the US, and with that change how much more regulation and monitoring has happened from the UCI and USAC. I’m not sure when this new modern era of cross first started here in the US. Maybe somewhere around 2000, when the Nationals were held in Kansas City the first time. I pick 2000, because when the Nationals were held in the Presideo in S.F., the course was super short, maybe less than 4 minutes, so it would have to still be classified as cross of the past.

It is strange to think about how hardly anyone was into enforcing any type of cyclo-x rules until recently, the last few years.

When I won Cyclo-X Nationals in Santa Cruz, Ned broke off the front of his bike in a muddy bog, left it there and ran to the wheel pit without his bike. He just got relegated a couple slots. No one was really too concerned about the real rules of the sport, even at Nationals.

Or look at the Providence RI Elite Nationals the first year in the snow, 2005. I don’t remember exactly how they were lining us up that year, it might have been the first year that they used UCI points. But, they failed to clear the snow off the road that they were using for the start finish stretch. There was a huge crash on the start because the shoveled area was about 8 feet wide. Probably 1/2 the field either fell down or got caught up in it.

I remember getting into a pretty heated argument with Adam Myerson that evening, after the race, in a hotel lobby. I’m not sure if he was the UCI technical guy already then or just part of the organization putting on the race. I couldn’t understand how the whole park that the race was held in was plowed except for the road the race was using. It was incredibly dangerous and unfair to all the participates. It really didn’t go anywhere since it was after the fact.

Anyway, that never could happen anymore, at least I don’t think it could. The sport has matured enough to make sure the courses are UCI legal, which is mostly a good thing, I guess. That being said, there are a lot of rules that are just stupid. Like the tire width rule. They changed a rule that didn’t need to be screwed with. There was nothing the matter with the 35mm width rule. But, no, they had to lower the width to 33mm, with no real explanation. Stupid. And many others. But, that is just the UCI.

So, there are more rules, but more participates, so maybe the rules aren’t scaring anyone off. A lot of the rules that bother me don’t really apply to the average cyclo-x racer, so in that respect, they aren’t rules that hinder the growth of the sport.

Hopefully we’ll figure out how to keep the forward progression of the sport going. I don’t think they are going to do it by awarding more and more UCI races to just about any promoter that pays for the sanction. There need to be less UCI races in the US with more emphasis on each race. At least that is how I’d do it if I were Czar of scheduling. But, that being said, it is really the competitors that drive the growth of the sport. It is an eclectic sport that attracts eclectic people. And that is a good thing, in general, for the health of cyclocross here in the US.

Elite men’s start in Providence in 2005. The clear road was less than 10 feet wide, not even close to the UCI rule.

It was supposed to rain all day yesterday. It hardly rained anywhere I was, but I was pretty wet all day. 72 feels like 88 in December. Especially when it is 100% humidity. And that 100% humidity was the reason that I was wet all day. I started sweating from the first pedal stroke and didn’t stop for 5 + hours. They are really in a severe drought here, so they really do need some rain.

I wanted to get a few long rides in and 92 is longish, at least longish enough. Hopefully the forecast will be wrong again tomorrow and I’ll get in a few more hours. I rode mainly west, through the Hill Country. I did Lost Creek a couple times and then Barton Creek a couple times, across the dam and back. It was a lot of nearly retracing my route, but I didn’t mind.

I met up with Robbie Robinette later in the afternoon and got a good extended ride in. Robbie owes a company that trades some incredible percent of Nasdaq’s daily volume, maybe close to 10%. And a bunch of other commodities too. Whatever it is, it is mind boggling. I’ve had him explain it to me a few times in layman’s terms and still don’t get it. I know he hired something like 50 Phd’s in something, this past couple years to “tweek” his algorithm or whatever his program is called. Maybe USAC should hire him to get this ranking system figured out a little better? It would probably take him a short afternoon to make it run smoothly.

I got back just about dark. I stopped by Austin Bikes and got a spoke I’ve needed for a Shimano wheel for a couple months. (Someone stuck their pedal into my wheel training.) They had to order it. It was $15. Man, that is the most expensive spoke I’ve ever bought. I actually haven’t really bought any spokes for quite a while, but that seemed pretty crazy expensive all the same. I’m not blaming the guys at the shop, I’m sure the spokes are very unreasonably priced even at a wholesale cost.

I’m trying to decide if I’m going to race this weekend. The promoter from the Texas State Cross Championships told me about his race in Houston this Saturday. My hamstring feels better, but not perfect, or even close, but it might not ever feel perfect. I’m leaning towards going right now, but probably won’t decide until after the ride tomorrow.

It is weird having the air conditioner turn on the week before Christmas. The humidity is so high, that it is so sticky trying to sleep. Tomorrow it is supposed to rain again all day. If it is the same rain as today, let it pour. But, the temperatures are supposed to drop all day too, bottoming out in the upper 50’s in the afternoon. Burrrrr.

Stupid expensive spoke.

Lake Travis is so low that there are islands in the middle that you can walk to from the shore.