I've been bitten by the Cyclocross bug..

Today I watched my first cyclocross race.

It was my husband's first race / first cyclocross race.

IT WAS AWESOME.

SO MUCH AWESOME.

It was like 30 minutes of hardcoreness from all sorts of different people on all sorts of different bikes.

Really strong road cyclists on cyclocross bikes, mountain bikers on mountain bikes, mountain bikers on road bikes, girls on commuter bikes, kids on kids bikes, kids on road bikes, just all sorts of everything!

Everyone just going around and it didn't really matter if you got lapped, everyone was just going for it as hard as they could.

So much pain face, even from the start.

I was ringing a cowbell (because that's what you do at Cyclocross and trying to be as encouraging as I could (but I'm not really a coach-y sort of person) which was bit of "awesome work" and "great effort".

I think I scared some people into thinking it was the last lap..

But most people gave me a smile or a grinace (grin / grimace aka pain face) when they went past.

I think my favourite response was someone yelling out "STOP SMILING" when I was positioned near some uphill switchbacks.

My husband's mud covered bike.

I was totally inspired by another girl who was racing today on a flatbar commuter bike with a rack and everything - in normal sneakers.

I saw her and thought I CAN DO THAT!

And it was cool that once the field spreads out, it doesn't matter who's lapping who, it's just sort of everyone going for it as hard as they can at their own pace.

It wasn't obvious who was coming last.  (I'm a very sore loser and I can find it very embarrassing to come last).

Cyclocross was so awesome that I rushed straight home to google Liv / Giant Brava (cyclocross bike) - to see if there was a secondhand one available, to buy it immediately.

(I have been researching it recently and wanted to get one as a commuter / start into cyclocross - but it appears they may be sold out in Sydney).

I don't want to just put knobbly tyres on my commuter because I currently have Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres (for super protection against glass) and I understand they're one of the most difficult tyres to get on the wheel - and my tender fingers ache at the thought of swapping tyres frequently...  It's just easier to buy another bike, right?  :p

So my plan is to perhaps ride some offroad / grass on my commuter to start training up for a cyclocross event.

(The next cyclocross event in this series is the day before the Rapha Women's 100 - which would be not a great time to do my first cyclocross event!)

I think I will have to wait until the next season of bikes to come out and hope that the 2014 women's cyclocross bike is not too ugly coloured...

The (pink) Liv / Giant Cyclocross bike I missed out on..

Maybe one day I'll even look like this.

(via cxmagazine.com)

The mud.

Not the winning.

Or the riding in the snow.

I'm pretty sure I don't have the time to be the next Marianne Vos.

#notwiththatattitude

I want to be a fixie girl (maybe). A Messenger Bag (and maybe my third bike?)

I want to be a fixie girl.

(Like thechubbycruiser who is so super cool and does all sorts of cool bike things in New York!)

But I live in Sydney.

And we have hills.

And I just think I wouldn't look as cool as all those fixie girls when I'm walking my fixie bike up a hill...

Or spinning out of control down a hill "twiddling" my legs.

After I get back from holidays later this year, I was considering getting a Cyclocross (CX) bike.

(and it's pink!)

Friends around me are quite into it and it possibly could be something interesting to do while it's starting to ramp up in popularity in Sydney.  (Last race there were 3 girls - all quite hardcore - but it sounds like at the moment it's about participation.  Which is good, because I may be the sorest loser in the history of humanity).

A CX bike could double as a commuter bike when I just wanted to hop on it and go.

(At the moment, my commuter is all done up for all weather conditions - fenders / rack, etc - getting started involves clipping my pannier on etc and it's a bit slow and not as cool with the flat bars).

But I wouldn't put a rack on it, so to hop on it and go, I need a bag to fit my stuff.

And because I really like the fixie girl sensibility, I thought a messenger bag would be perfect.

I had a look around and decided that the Chrome series looked the coolest.

I really liked the seatbelt strap.

"We didn't have money to make our own buckle, so we salvaged a seatbelt buckle from the local auto yard and an icon was born."

I found this video that showed how much stuff you could put in the mini one and thought it was probably the most suitable one for me (since I'm only small)..

After last night, lugging around my pannier around the markets, I thought that it was time to get a messenger bag so I had a way of carrying my stuff around without bending over sideways like a baba yaga.

My Basil pannier - which I love and is great for carrying heaps of stuff, but not so great lugging around on your shoulder..

I wanted the Chrome mini messenger night bag (with reflective bits) but they didn't have it, so I settled on the black one.

I bought some reflective ribbon off ebay so I can sew some on it if I want.

They're quite expensive (approximately $200), but there is an Australian retailer - rushfaster - that works out pretty much the same as buying it from the US.

There are some extra options available when ordering from the US.  They do custom colours and there are some limited edition designs.

I have heard good reviews about this bag and very importantly, it has a "EVA foam-padded shoulder strap with cross-chest load stabilizer for increased rideability".

The cross chest strap is really important when cycling, otherwise the weight of the bag just swings to the front of you - I actually try and rig up cross chest straps (out of ribbons and carabiners) for some of my cross body handbags when I use them on the bike.

I went to the rushfaster website tonight and there happened to be a 25% off sale for the next 15 minutes!  

"I saw the sign!"

So I ordered it (I saved $50!!) and it will be here in a few days!!

I love this photo from fixiegirls.com and now I have the haircut AND the bag!