NVV Cyclocross: Brakes for cyclocross

The cone motif
Dave Carr, Oct 2001

What up? Somebody wrote me e-mail to ask why the front page has orange cones all over it. So here's the explanation.
The cones are an inside joke, if you like, from NorCal 'cross. For as long as I can remember, the standard means of course demarcation around here has been orange traffic cones, placed in pairs (thus) to indicate the course route. That's as an alternative to course poles and tape, which apparently are standard in other parts of the country. Cones are a useful alternative because they're re-useable and also less hassle than course tape. But they don't look quite as cool, I suppose. Plus they're easier to circumvent, so the standard racer instruction at the start of an event has to be something like this: "Make sure you go over all the barriers and between all the cones. Now go!"
I don't know where the habit of using cones originated, but Jeff Clark's recollections of Surf City from 20 years ago mentions the use of cones. By now they have become thoroughly embedded in local 'cross culture, to the point that just spying a pair of cones by the road is enough to trigger a cyclocross reflex.
So now you know. --Dave Carr

Go back to the NVV Cyclocross Circuit

What up?	Somebody wrote me e-mail to ask why the front page has orange cones all over it. So here's the explanation. The cones are an inside joke, if you like, from NorCal 'cross. For as long as I can remember, the standard means of course demarcation around here has been orange traffic cones, placed in pairs (thus) to indicate the course route. That's as an alternative to course poles and tape, which apparently are standard in other parts of the country. Cones are a useful alternative because they're re-useable and also less hassle than course tape. But they don't look quite as cool, I suppose. Plus they're easier to circumvent, so the standard racer instruction at the start of an event has to be something like this: "Make sure you go over all the barriers and between all the cones. Now go!" I don't know where the habit of using cones originated, but Jeff Clark's recollections of Surf City from 20 years ago mentions the use of cones. By now they have become thoroughly embedded in local 'cross culture, to the point that just spying a pair of cones by the road is enough to trigger a cyclocross reflex. So now you know. --Dave Carr