Jonathan Page Cross Clinic...

I was fortunate enough to spend yesterday afternoon with one of the best cyclocross racers in the WORLD. Yep I went the the Jonathan Page/Planet Bike/Capital City Velo Club Cross Clinic yesterday - it was a blast. Thanks to Renee Callaway , Planet Bike , and all of the volunteers for making it happen! Both Renee and Planet Bike do a ton to support an awesome cross scene in Wisconsin. Renee is a class A race promoter and runs THE site for cross info in Wisconsin and Planet Bike in addition to giving 25% of it's profits to cycling advocacy is a major supporter of the local series. So sign up for her race and go buy some Planet Bike product from your local bike shop.

On to the clinic. 40+ cross fanatics showed up to glean every bit of info they could out of JP and the rest of the Planet Bike Cross Crew. After some introductions, Jonathan jumped right into demonstrating the most anxiety ridden skill for most racers - dismounts and remounts. JP walked everyone through the basics of stepping onto your bike (Never think of it as jumping back on to your bike!), making contact between the saddle and your inner thigh then sliding onto the saddle. Jonathan also showed everyone an often overlooked subtlety of the dismount - resting your left thigh against the saddle as you approach the dismount and prepare to swing your right leg over so that you have total control over your bike. After everyone was turned loose to practice under the watchful eyes of the Planet Bike crew it was awesome to see people dialing in the skill and start to banish the dreaded skip/stutter steps.

Interesting side note: JP is of what I consider the "East Coast Old School" of clipping your left foot out and resting it on the pedal as you approach the dismount, then unclipping your right swing it over and passing it between your left foot and the frame vs. the "other way" of swinging your right leg over stepping behind your left foot as you pop your left cleat out. I was taught the step through way and tried to master it over two seasons (crashing numerous times in the process) before giving up and going with the step behind method - it works for me, I am much faster this way, and I don't get tripped up. I did try the step through method during the clinic, but it still feels wrong and slow to me and I feel that as long as it works for you, is fast, and it doesn't trip you up whichever style you go with is fine.

Jonathan then demonstrated a much under utilized portaging skill in the US - shouldering your bike. Every year I see racers pushing the bike or struggling with how to carry the bike on run-ups, stairs, etc. It is obvious they haven't been shown or practiced how to shoulder a bike. When done properly it is a much more stable and faster method to get up a run-up.

Next was cornering, for me this was the highlight as I got to ride Jonathan and Jesse's wheel through some off-camber turns and see their body position and lines. JP talked about scrubbing speed early, digging your tires into the turn, using your body position to control the bike and keep positive traction, and then accelerate out of the turn. He highlighted a major difference in the cornering style of road racing v. cross racing. Roadies tend to lean the bike into the turn, but in cross that is a recipe for washing out your tires and going down. Instead keep your body centered over the bottom bracket keeping your self balance over the bike so that you can shift your weight to increase traction if needed.

The group then road over to a sand pit where Jonathan demonstrated the fine style of riding sand. I really do wish more courses incorporated sand pits/beaches into the races, they are a great way to split up a field and make a race more interesting as they tend to make the cross specialists (those who practice the unique skills of cross) rise to the top v. the fast bike riders.
Jonathan's advice here was to actually accelerate towards the sand, commit to riding it, slightly unweight the front end as you enter the sand then immediately accelerate all the way to the end. As you can imagine much comedy ensued as bodies and bikes were piled all about the sand pit and riders were dumping sand out of their shoes. I think in the end most everyone made it all the way through the sand a few times.
As the clinic was wrapping up and people were patiently waiting for the post clinic cookout to begin, Jonathan had us play a bike handling game "A little dab will do ya". The rules are simple everyone rides their bike into a small square, you have to stay clipped into your pedals, your hands must stay on the bars, if you put your foot down/ride out of the square/or take your hands off the bars you are out. It was fun and a great way to practice controlling your bike with body english.

THANKS TO
Renee, Planet Bike, Jonathan Page, Jesse LaLonde, Bob Downs, Kristin Wentworth, Anna Young and all the volunteers that made this clinic a success. What a fabulous way to kick off the cross season. Sorry no pictures, I was too busy paying attention. I am sure their will be some up on the maddcross site and Jonathan has a couple on his page.