Random SSCX

Yesterday morning, the trails were wet and the weather was nice, so I felt the need to complete a “long run” in preparation for the next weekend’s adventure race. I figured I’d stick to the 6 mile Tour de Wolf trail near my house since it’s got a good bit of root/roll to it. Since I started on this run buildup, I’ve made it a point to always run with some sort of impetus rather than just plodding along. It seems to have worked, because, though I doubled my past mileage in yesterday’s run, I kept with a solid sub-9min/mile pace. Kinda slow, but, not knowing how I’d feel the second half of the run, I started slow and ramped up until the last mile was at a sub-8 pace. (Side effect- Strava poaching!) I was comfortable the entire time (although, this morning, my body seems kinda pissed at the jump from 3 to 6 miles), so I’m feeling good about however much I’m going to need to run next weekend.

After my run, Matt and I went out for a short stint of trailwork on the Wolf River Trail. We didn’t get into hours of digging and hole-fixing like last time. Instead, we cleared vines and branches from tall cyclist/horseback rider headspace. We also saw a bunch of people going to ride the trails, which we’d both avoided riding since they were too wet. “Too wet” is a bit of a subjective definition, of course. However, now that I’ve put hours into moving dirt to fill spots that are eroded because of people riding them when they’re wet, I can tell you that riding on days like yesterday- when 75% of the trail is dry, but the other 25% is water/mudholes- is what causes the holes that Matt and I (and others in the community) are trying to fix.

I digress.

This morning, I was trying to decide what I’d do today, when someone on Facebook posted a link to the Keep Calm and Race Cross flyer. I immediately noticed the placement of the Singlespeed CX race a nice bit after the Women’s Elite race. I ran through the houshold spare parts list in my head, and came up with this idea:

out

in

There’s something oddly satisfying about putting a handful of high-end components on a nice, budget-oriented steel frame. I’m going to go ride it now and make sure that the rear wheel doesn’t slip. It may end up needing a tensioner, but for now, I’ve got the dura-ace skewer as tight as I’m able to make it.

Parts rundown:
Surly Crosscheck frame/fork
Dura-ace C24 Tubeless wheels
Hutchinson Bulldog Tubeless tires
SRAM Red Crank w/FSA 39t chainring
KMC 10spd Chain
XTR Pedals
Tektro Mini-v brakes
Tektro Levers
Salsa Cowbell bar
Thomson X2 Stem
FSA SLK Carbon Post
Fizik Saddle & Bar tape

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