The lull you have been experiencing on My Cheap Cyclocross Bike has been brought to you by: life. I have no solid progress to report on my bike build and haven’t since my last post. I will attempt to explain why…
My First CX Race
As promised, I did indeed race the Critz Kermis in Cazenovia, NY on September 17th. I resorted to humping my old Haro (friends and family lovingly call it, The Whoro) MTB around the orchards and Christmas tree groves at Critz Farms. A beautiful introduction to Cross; despite my wheezing, a case of dry heaves, and an unidentifiable foot injury I managed to incur a week and a half prior.
Except for two DNF’s I was dead last. I will venture to make the excuse that I hadn’t been on my bike at all for a week and a half beforehand (due to this damn foot/ankle issue I have), but I am quite certain that I still would’ve finished dead last.
I was in trouble right from the start. One lap in and everyone except the Juniors had passed me. By my second lap I was dry-heaving by the Cortland apples. By lap three, the Team Ommegang/Syracuse Bicycle guys had hammered past me (for the first time). By lap four, the race was over. I do think I should’ve gotten a freebie lap for stopping to fix some course tape, but I will admit I just wanted an excuse to rest.
Nevertheless, it was a great first experience and a beautiful day. Critz Farms is fantastic and all the people running the show and the racers kicking my ass were great. Of course some of Critz’s Harvest Moon Cider has helped to ease my post race pain.
Damn You, Life
It’s been a busy year for my wife and me. We had our first child in March, and time keeps storming by. It’s been difficult to find all the time I want to spend on my bike and on other projects this year. In addition, I’m actively searching for a new career. I won’t go into details here, but that is a major time consumer as well.
Oh, and my foot. There is something still wrong with it. I’m not going to go into detail, but my participation in the Syracuse GP is definitely in question.
My Cheap CX Build Status
As I said, I have not made any progress on the actual build. What I have done is create a spreadsheet that encapsulates everything that I have already purchased, and everything that I want to purchase.
Unfortunately the crushing reality of that spreadsheet is that it highlights the fact that there is no way I can build that bike as I have specified it for $900. Don’t get the idea that I am giving up on this project, because I am not. It just might require a different path to get it to completion.
I honestly hate to admit it, but you can probably buy a complete low end bike of (possibly) comparable quality for less through outlets like Nashbar. But again, I have another plan of attack, and I also have some other ideas for other projects, so fret not. There may be hope and I will pop out an update when I have more to report.
- Chris
