Getting the 'cross bike out

Part of working at a retail establishment is working rides around retail hours. Tonight, I didn't get to leave the shop until 6:30, an hour after the Tuesday night World Championships had departed, and 30 minutes after the 'cross ride scheduled to be held in the state park had begun. Still, it had been a long day of bicycle sales, and something physical had to be done, so I hopped on my 'cross bike and headed to the state park, hoping to join the ride late.

Save for a few minutes last week, this was the first time I'd touched my 'cross bike since Wicked Creepy in 2009. I find 'cross to be an odd sport, and as much as I love promoting 'cross races, I don't love dismounting, jumping, and attempting to re-mount my bike. But, I do recognize that it gets easier if you practice, so there I was.

I briefly met up with Stud Chris McBurnie and Studette Jenny Ives, and tried to follow them through some of the park's sinuous trails. I was able to hang until I dropped my chain to the outside and had to stop to fix it. How I dropped my chain on a bike with no front derailleur is a very good question.

Eventually, I ran into the boys from Team Elevate, and joined them in a little barrier practice. This was good, as I'm a terrible stutter-stepper where barriers are concerned, although, at least I'm not as bad as this guy. After some practice runs, I decided to give up and headed out to Malta Ridge for a few laps in the fast-fading daylight.

With properly inflated tires, the 'cross bike wasn't too bad to ride, although I think my 1990-era Ritchey pedals are finally toasted. I'm willing to bet that my 'cross racing would improve dramatically if I wasn't afraid of pulling my foot out of the pedal on every stroke. Next time, I'm going to test my metal on some more-challenging trails on the northern side of town, but first I'm going to need to fix my front brake, which was rubbing so badly that I had to ride around with it disconnected tonight.

So, while starting my ride after 6:30 with a sunset scarcely an hour later isn't ideal, I had fun tonight, and with the productive evening of cover letter-writing and networking that followed, I really don't have much to complain about.