So on Sunday I headed across Los Angeles to Fullerton to attend the SoCal CX Prestige Skills Clinic. I was definitely a part of town I had never been to so I was interested to see what trails and the like were available. We were to meet at the Fullerton Bike Shop and would be riding the Fullerton Loop which was a well-known local ride.
After a quick sign in we were off. We stopped a local parking lot which had to grassy medians and had our first lesson. Mounting and Dismounting; the key to this is to maintain forward momentum. The purpose is several-fold to allow you to navigate your way out of trouble i.e. sand or to allow you to jump over the hurdles that are found on course. I did pretty well, managing to not fall over or crash and the worst thing that happened was my phone fell out of my pocket. It was retrieved and then stashed in my saddle bag hence the lack of photos.
After perfecting these we set off again on the loop until we reached the next little park where we practiced Cornering; here the key is to actually steer with balance rather than by simply turning your handlebars. So for 15 minutes we serpentined across the park while looking like we wanted to be excused for the bathroom!
The final practice was on the Run Ups. These are basically hills that you can’t or fail to ride. They key is to minimize any lost momentum. Oh and not fall over. There is definetly some skill to the dismount, pick and shoulder your bike. We found a short sharp hill, maybe 40 yards long but a nice steep grade.
So after that these practices it was an easy ride back to the start where we peppered the RD with questions for another 30 minutes before the 90 minute drive home.
All in all a great experience, lots of new things learned and practiced. My first race is in a couple of weeks and until then it’s all trainer riding with lots of intervals! I have a few bits and bobs arriving between now and then including some nice bright orange bar tape! The bike will need a quick look over by the local Service Course; Wins Wheels and then I’ll be racing myself fit through the end of the year!
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