Even by New England standards this has been a muddy cross season.  I've been away from mud for five years and I have been getting schooled in how to race mud for the past month.  I thought I would share some of my revelations here for my west coast brethren.

For the purposes of this post I'm talking about serious mud, not just a damp course.  Think mud soup, pissing rain, mud bath, the kind of race where it doesn't matter what kit you're wearing because it's going to be dirt brown after the first lap anyway.

Pit Bike

If the forecast is rain, bring beer.  You will need it to get someone to pit for you.  You may be able to finish a race without washing your bike each lap.  But depending on the course, you competitors are gaining thirty seconds to a minute each lap solely because of their pit man. 

Toe Spikes

Before I broke down and bought toe spikes I encountered several run-ups where I simply could not run or I would slip and fall flat on my face.  This was incredibly frustrating because I wasn't working hard on the run-up but could not go any faster.  The lesson I learned from this is always pack toe spikes and the tools to install or remove them before the race.

Course Inspection

It's not as simple as just make sure you pre-ride the course.  Picking the wrong line can sink your race faster than blue lights in your rear view on the way home from the bar.  Take your time.  Go slow, turn around and re-ride sections that are difficult.  Pay attention to the entire width of the course.

Wear clothes that you're not going to race in and get them muddy.  Sometimes the best line is through the worst mud.  Make sure you don't shy away from mud on your freezing cold, miserable pre-ride.

Rims - Deep V is better.

This hurts to hear because it means money.  I was talking to someone a few weeks ago about why people use these expensive deep-V carbon fiber rims in cross and I couldn't figure out a worthwhile reason.  Now I have a pretty good idea..  Here is why:

  1. In deep mud, the deep rim acts like a rudder.  You're tires aren't doing jack in four inches of mud.  It's your rim.
  2. They roll faster through deep mud.  A box rim has to pull up mud as it rolls up out of the mud.  On the other hand a deep rim may not get entirely covered by mud and when it does, it slices out of the mud which lets you roll faster.
  3. The last nail in the coffin is mud accumulation.  Box rims pick up lots of mud and then deposit this mud on the bike.  In very short order this will make your bike drag like you have your brakes on and double the bike's weight.

Competition

Supposing you were a good boy and forced yourself out of the comfort of your warm car and out on to the course for a pre-ride and you know lots of decent lines.  Now that you're in the race, pay attention to the other riders around you.  They will always have a few lines that you didn't see.  Also, as the race progresses, new lines will emerge that were not there in practice.

Tire Pressure

We all hear stories about people running tubulars at 28 psi.  I've had the odd course where I needed to run such low pressures.  However it's not as simple as "more mud means lower pressure", the best lines may be through some bad mud where you simply cannot see what rocks are waiting to flat your tire or wreck your wheel.  In these cases you may be forced to compromise and run slightly higher pressure (~35 psi) so that you can take faster lines without breaking your equipment.

Power

Some sections just plain suck.  There is no easy way to get through them and you have to slog it out until you're on the other side.  I have noticed that occasionally in sections like this adding more power can allow you to get the bike rolling well enough that it doesn't get bogged down by the mud like it does when you run at your usual power output.  Try it out here and there, you may be able to add a little more power and breeze through that section.


November 3, 2009