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Category archive for ‘noob’

• What to Expect When You’re Expecting … To Attend Your First Race: A Column by Josh Schwiesow

  20 May 12 • 0 comment

  By now, you’ve probably read about our newest noob columnist, Josh. Why cyclocross and why now? Well, don’t ask us, just check out his first column. But in Josh’s timeline, now that he’s found his new bike and taken a hard look at how the first season of racing went overall, he’s ready to start [...]

• First Lessons in Season One: A Column from Josh Schwiesow

  29 April 12 • 0 comment

  

  By now, you’ve probably read about our newest noob columnist, Josh. Why cyclocross and why now? Well, don’t ask us, just check out his first column. But in Josh’s timeline, now that he’s found his new bike, he’s looking at how the first season of racing went, in order to see what needs to be [...]

• Women’s Wednesdays: Clinics Down Under

  25 April 12 • 0 comment

  

  by Kate Lansell The first Dirty Deeds (the cyclocross series that’s growing the sport in Australia) women’s skills session was held last Saturday at Darebin Parklands. For a misty Melbourne morning, it was great to have a bunch of enthusiastic women arrive all kitted up and ready to go. Some were experienced riders who had participated in [...]

• Newbie News: Eight Tips to Starting Cyclocross

  7 April 12 • 3 comments

  

  Over the year, and especially in the months leading up to the start of ’cross season, here at Cyclocross Magazine, we get a lot of questions from novice racers and people who are excited to be trying their first race in the fall. The main question we hear: “how do I get started?”

  In this new bi-weekly feature, Newbie News, we’ll be talking about how to get started racing cyclocross, regardless of skill level, budget or fitness. We wanted to start this column with a bang, and give you a preview of what’s to come as the weeks progress and the season gets closer and closer.

• Video: Barriers, Remounts and Dismounts with the Keough Brothers

  13 October 11 • 0 comment

  

  by Molly Hurford If you’re part of the New England cyclocross scene, you’ve probably come across a Keough or two while racing. As the managers and racers for Keough Cyclocross presented by Champion Systems, the crew is hard to miss, especially with their new Keough Cyclocross van, row of Stevens bikes and of course, the [...]

• Newbie News: Cyclocross Preparedness Will Out-Fox Your Competitors

  13 October 11 • 0 comment

  

  In the just-released Issue 14, our regular contributors all chipped in with advice for a piece on 25 Things to Do on Raceday (and Robbie Carver threw in his own, more lighthearted, race essentials list, which included such things as pre-vomiting). Now Rhonda Morin, Cat 1 ’crosser, Masters Nationals bronze medalist and coach with Wenzel [...]

• Newbie News: Remounting (Video)

  29 August 11 • 2 comments

  

  Here at Cyclocross Magazine, we’re excited to launch our first of many how-to videos. In this series, we’ll be asking elite riders to show us how they perfected skills like remounts, dismounts, cornering, barriers, sand and quite a few other tricks.

• Newbie News: Why Do A Clinic?

  8 August 11 • 2 comments

  

  The idea of going to a cyclocross clinic can be daunting for some. It’s nerve-wracking to be confronted with trying new techniques, learning completely new skills or even just practicing old ones in front of a crowd. And for me, lining up and taking an off-camber taped-off turn with everyone else watching sounds sort of like the fourth or fifth circle of hell. However, it’s not that bad. Really. In fact, it can be pretty darn fun, not to mention extremely helpful.

• Newbie News: Cyclocross Transitions and the Time-Space Continuum

  27 June 11 • 1 comment

  

  One of the best cyclocross skills to learn as a new racer is learning how to take “transitions.” (Not just barriers: transitions can mean a lot of different obstacles.) In this article, Erik Tonkin of Sellwood Cycles writes about how to practice dismounts so by the time race season starts, you’re a pro at dismounting [...]

• Newbie News: Building Your Own Barriers

  13 June 11 • 11 comments

  

  Building a set of collapsible barriers with PVC pipe is a piece of cake! If you’ve ever attending a cyclocross practice session, you probably have seen a set of PVC barriers erected. For one thing, they’re incredibly easy to break down and set up. An added bonus is that if a newer, more unsteady rider crashes into them (or if a seasoned pro comes in too hot and crashes into them), it won’t really hurt anything but his or her pride.

• Training Tuesday: Building a Base in the Off-Season

  24 May 11 • 5 comments

  

  June is here in just a week, and September and racing season are not too far behind. If you haven’t started coming up with a plan for the season, now is the time to start. We have a great article here by USAC Level 2 coach Mike Birner about how to start the season strong by building a good base over the summer. Birner believes that, “Base period should be about building the ‘engine,’” and following his advice will get you one high-horsepower motor!

• Skills and Fitness on the Fritz? Consider a Clinic!

  20 May 11 • 1 comment

  

  Summer: a time to relax, have barbeques, hit the beach and … get ready for cyclocross season. If you finished last season feeling like your technical skills weren’t quite up to par, if you hit the buffets a bit too hard over winter or if you’re just finding yourself a little unmotivated, it might be [...]