Before I begin the topic of this article I want to first define what cyclocross is (or check out Wikipedia’s definition). Cyclocross is a type of bicycle race that takes place in fall or winter with competitors riding in laps on 1-2 mile course consisting of tight turns, steep hills, and even barriers / obstacles. Races last for typically 40 or 60 minutes. Course terrain can vary from pavement, gravel, grass, or mud, often held in farm fields or wooded areas.

Although the example I am going to use is cyclocross, I try to apply this to everything and at 26 years old this is the first time I can recall having really feel I did it successfully. I do not think I am a guru or master at it now but want to share my experience to help give motivation to someone or save them the (tiny) pains I went through!

Quick shoutout to Gary’s Project and Lance Heppler. Both make content on YouTube that has really helped me or inspired me! Gary I have watched for a while and really admire the style in which he makes his videos and his philosophy on life (especially with both of us being dads to young kids).

I only found Lance’s channel a couple weeks ago leading up to Harvest Heiser Farms Race when I was trying to figure out what to even expect from a cyclocross race. Lance’s videos were honestly the only reason I was able to stay calm and not overthink it. He gives a super level headed (and funny) take on his experience riding the course while throwing out tips here and there!

Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others

Otto Von Bismarck

If I am not careful I tend to overthink or romanticize things, especially if I have never experienced it. I also like most people am very competitive and / or at least want to always give my best effort! With all of this in mind I created some goals in an effort to contain these feelings or expectations that can come from them. The goals I set were – #1: Dismount and clear the barriers without falling, #2: Do not get lapped by the starting group, and #3 Finish the race! Simple enough right? That’s the idea!

Happiness is The Gap Between Expectations and Reality.

Morgan Housel

The main point of this article is that I have found lowering my expectations or if possible having none at all creates the best outcome. Sounds obvious and a bit vague but if we stop to think about for a moment is something we all struggle to do all day everyday.

Very early on into the first lap I crashed twice. Normally this would have devastated me and taken any wind I had out of my sails. With expectations of kicking everyone’s ass and getting first place a crash is unacceptable. Thankfully I went in with expectations I would most likely crash and doing so that soon was actually really nice! It ripped the band-aid off in terms of playing it safe or being scared and gave me a clear example of where the limit was on my Primos Cycles Dame. It also created a bit of a gap between me and the main group that allowed me to not worry about “keeping up” but race my own race.

Heiser Farm course I learned after talking to some friends is considered a much bumpier course so a lot of my inexperience with singletrack was put to the test. Again because of my low expectations on how I would perform I was just present in the moment and absorbing everything around me (not in my head worrying about what I could / should be doing better). I really enjoyed navigating the off-camber sections or switchbacks where you really had to shift your weight and line yourself up to have it feel “correct”.

I plan to post my full race on YouTube but am debating on commentating over it with my thoughts at the time and the lessons I have learned or just leave it as a raw video. Let me know if you have a preference!

One small tid-bit I will throw out for anyone considering an event like this is – invite friends and family to cheer you on! #1: if they love you, they’ll support you, #2: cyclocross is actually really fun to watch even if you don’t ride bikes, and the most important #3: it keeps you honest (can’t back out / motivation to complete) and also gives a genuine boost of energy when you ride by and when you need to dig deep.

There are a few take-aways I have in terms of skills I need to work on:

Biggest and most obvious one is, line choice. A large part of course design in cyclocross is putting you in positions like where I crashed and forcing you to navigate it. Even aside from where I crashed there were multiple corners I would have to brake fairly aggressively for and then pedal out of where if I made a better line choice I could have pedaled through it and kept most if not all of my speed.

Next is pedal position which goes hand in hand with line choice. I often would keep my outside pedal down when I needed to keep both pedals level. With my lack of experience with singletrack this was an area I could feel myself losing speed and burning energy constantly. I also think swapping over to clipless pedals in only the last month played a factor into not being confident in my foot position.

Last is a fairly easy one to fix but is conditioning. I am capable of going “long” distances (PR is 40ish miles but I have not had a need or want this year to push for more) but continuous short bursts of speed have historically been my week point in sports. I am not 100% sure how to resolve this yet but I assume it revolves around something like sets of sprints for 15, 30, or 60 seconds, hills climbs at full gas, etc.

Mentally the main take-away for me that was reinforced at this event was the idea that the more you build something up in your head the easier it will be to fall apart in reality. Inversely if I am able to stifle the want to create crazy expectations and make ones like I described above (which I easily achieved plus so much more) I actually get a huge boost of confidence and am super motivated to do it again!

Overall the Harvest Cyclocross Heiser Farm Race was extremely fun and something I will probably do a couple times a year moving forward! Huge thanks to River City Bicycles for paying for the entrance fee for all beginners this season, that is another example of how amazing this community is. I would highly recommend a cyclocross race to anyone wanting to test their limits, or scratch the itch of competing! To anyone reading this applying it to something else in your life know that the monsters you create in the closet are far worse than they seem. Starting something and doing it “terribly” is much better than never starting it at all.

This all ties into a big project I have planned to release soon about my experiences as a “beginner” cyclist in the Portland scene. This race and MADE Bike Show (which I need to write about and post ASAP I know) have really highlighted for me how strong and supportive the community is and how stupid lucky I am to have this be where I am born and raised!

I really appreciate those of you who have made it to the end taking the time to read and share my experience with me! I hope I was able to add some value to your life through this whether it was a little confidence boost, tips and tricks or a good laugh replaying my crash. Either way I hope to talk to you soon. Have a great week 🙂