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Cadence Pop-Up at CXLA Tomorrow!

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Cadence Pop-Up at CXLA Tomorrow!

If you’re going to the races tomorrow in LA, do a few things for me: say hi to Tenspeed Hero, High Five any and all Mudfoot racers, check out Cadence’s pop-up at the Greek theater and swing by Golden Saddle afterwards!

Iowa’s Mt. Krumpit and Jingle Cross – Andy Bokanev

Reportage By: John Watson

Iowa’s Mt. Krumpit and Jingle Cross – Andy Bokanev

Iowa’s Mt. Krumpit and Jingle Cross
Photos and words by Andy Bokanev

“And they told you Iowa was flat,” it was before noon and I’m pretty sure the beer the dude was holding was not his first. His geographically themed heckle was aimed at a random backmarker struggling his way up Mt. Krumpit with the “why I am doing this?” look painted all over his face. This was just one of many similar experiences this weekend at Jingle Cross hosted in Iowa City, Iowa.

The three day race kicked off under the lights on Friday evening in freezing conditions with the temperatures hovering in the mid teens. Saturday brought about more cold and snow just in time for the UCI C1 race. It continued snowing through the night so when everyone showed up for a the last day of racing the ground was completely covered in the white stuff eventually giving way to a thin layer of mud.

Some observations:

-Caroline Mani from not wearing any leg warmers. There is no amount of vaseline and embro in the world that would convince me to do the same.
-The race is extremely well organized featuring one of the best (if not THEE best) cyclocross course in the United States. If there is one race that deserves World Cup status, this is it
-Just like bottled water on hot and humid days there is a tariff on hot chocolate on extremely cold days. The going price for a cup of hot chocolate on Sunday was $6
-It not as cold when it’s snowing
-The course layout was different all three days which kept things interesting and challenging
-People in Iowa love pizza

So do not let the weather scare you, Jingle Cross is absolutely worth the travel.

____

Follow Andy on Instagram.

Trackside ’85 at Rapha Manchester

Radar

Trackside ’85 at Rapha Manchester

Fender company Ass Savers is partnering with Rapha to bring Trackside ‘85 Photography Exhibit to Rapha Cycle Club Manchester as the exhibition’s final 2014 destination:

“Gothenburg, Sweden, 7 November, 2014 – After successful stops in Berlin, Barcelona and London, the Trackside ’85 photo exhibition presented by Ass Savers travels to the Rapha Manchester Cycle Club on November 18th for its final stop of the tour. Staffan Jofjell’s brilliantly captured photographs from the 1985 Berlin Six Day track race will be on display from November 18th to 23rd to coincide with the Six Days of Ghent…”

Setting the Hook at the 2014 Cyclocross Scuffle in Elgin

Reportage By: John Watson

Setting the Hook at the 2014 Cyclocross Scuffle in Elgin

While this is a gallery showcasing the 2014 Cyclocross Scuffle in Elgin, Texas, it’s also a tale of what I believe is one of the best cross courses of the season thus far. Let me preface this by saying most courses in the Austin area are jokingly called “grass crits.” That means, a lot of straight ways, usually 4 – 6, which gives a lot of riders who might not have bike control the upper hand over those who aren’t in prime fitness coming off road season.

As someone who doesn’t race road, but rides a lot of trails on his cross bike, I hate these courses. Even with recent weight loss, I still huff and puff on all the straight aways and tear apart the technical “features.” Meanwhile, it’s the opposite for the fellas who raced road all season and didn’t touch their cross bike all summer…

Shimano
Tern
Wolftooth
Argonaut
Brooks
State Bicycles
Paul
RiG'd Supply
Mission Workshop
Rivendell
SimWorks
Maxxis