Waiting for 'cross
Dave Carr, August 2000
 

The road season	Here in Northern California, road racing is a year-round sport, or nearly so.   With perpetually mild weather, hammerheads can compete just about nine months a year, from Early Bird crits in January through to the last hill-climb races in late September.  The other three months, roadies are doing easy “base miles” (per Joe Friel) to prepare for the upcoming season. Or something like that.  So, all year you’re either racing or getting ready to race.
The 'cross season	For ‘cross riders, though, the season is always short: October to December, plus a couple weeks on either end depending on where you live or what level you’re at.  So what does that mean?  That means ‘cross racers have a good solid nine months out of the year to--what else--get stoked for ‘cross!  Usually around July, when I run into CX buddies at road races, the talk inevitably turns to 'cross: what’s new in equipment, where Natz will be this year, who’s running races this fall, and so on.  Anticipation builds.  Recently I traded someone some stuff for a pair of ‘cross tires. And the drooling begins...
Cones!	The anticipation shows up in other ways. Take the other day for example.  I was driving down the freeway, daydreaming a little perhaps, on my way to the umpteenth crit of the summer.  Then, I saw it.  In the dirt to the side of the road, maybe near a construction site… a couple of orange safety cones.  Nothing special, just a pair of orange cones, set a couple meters apart…  Suddenly my legs are getting jumpy, my feet twitching.  Cones!  A cyclocross course!  Then I snap back and realize where I am, on the freeway in the middle of summer. Time to check in to cyclocross rehab.  I’m definitely over the top. Has that ever happened to you?

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