Time to switch up the workouts from endurance and start prepping for high intensity Cyclocross (CX) race season. CX is an hour long cardio intensive bike race held in the Fall on a closed course of grass and dirt … and sometimes mud and sand! Each lap is usually a couple kilometers long.
Prep is higher intensity intervals and core workout at the gym. Followed by time relearning essential race skills (starts, off camber turns, cornering, barriers) on my CX bike.
The most important CX skill to relearn is the art of grabbing a “beer hand up”. Spectators will tempt you with a Dixie cup usually filled with craft beer. Late in the race when heart rate is red-lined only the most skilled racer can grab that beer at race speed, down it, and discard the cup in one smooth movement before grabbing handlebars with both hands for the next turn. I usually end up wearing the beer!!! Hand ups are not limited to beer. Last season I downed a Dixie cup of “Fireball” whiskey as a hand up. That one burned for a couple laps!
