There are tons of CX pics but I could not find any of me. Perhaps I was going so fast that cameras could not capture me? Nja, guess not.

This one here by Johan A is fantastic! Note that I lined my handlebars up perfectly parallel to the stairs so he could get it just right. This was obviously the lap where I had the right position.


And then we have these from Peter Hultman. See here for more. Not so impressive technique of riding through the sand but it was obvious that I was in the race.

Now I will have to stop my job of speaker for Dam Prestige because this is SM vecka and that means gubbklass for me. Even though it would make more sense to just clump everyone into a Super Speczial klass, apparently Almby IK wants this event to go on all day. But since Dam Prestige actually has SM status, it is best if I am not in anyone's way.

So I was one of only 3 from MCK that raced Kumlacrossen last year and this was my race report. Reading this now it was obvious that I loved the course but all I remember from the experience now are the hills of death and the neverending sucking grass part.

And then there was this picture. The elitcyklist in question still says that this was me. But he has been sick and had his season ruined so, fine, I can say that it was me.

Here is the lap on Youtube which I found on Ola Hellström's page. Enjoy! It looks like they have chosen a slightly different sucking grass section or maybe Kumla is growing because I don't recognize it.

At 09.30 things were looking quite bad and a lot of the track was not marked yet. But things came together so I could go and help with the pile of efteranmälningar which came right around 10.30 when things were starting. Many were in Superklass so I thought that just maybe they could 'get lost' on the way to the målbilen but I decided to behave.

Things were stressy and finally I got to change and take a test lap. I didn't really have time to warm up so soon the start went and I was completely cold in the fine November sun. I stayed with everyone for basically the whole first lap which is a nice change. Yet somewhere in the long straight and the MTB part I lost contact. It was really slippery in the forest section I called Chris Cross the other day. After that came the stairs and every time I was greeted with a flood of cheering which felt just great! But that downhill after was nasty and not once did I have my feet clipped in.
Tack Joakim Skretting for this. See more here.

So the second lap I was on my own enjoying the lovely curves on the two grusplan and everything else which was pure CX-glädje. Now the rest of this is going to sound iskall but I did not know that Dam Prestige started a minute before Super Speczial klass. I was slowly catching up to Carina Börjesson and was på rulle at the end of the start stretch. Knowing that I sucked in the MTB part I stayed behind to slide around undisturbed. I braked hard on the hill and she took off a bit but on the tung grass straight I passed and tried to open up a comfortable gap. Then I was on my own again for a bit while I started to get lapped.

People were finishing and I had one lap to go and Carina was not that far back so I pushed on. Again I could see Lisa not so far ahead but she was already at the MTB section so I was not expecting to catch up. Apparently she took a flygtur over the handlebars on that downhill that lap while I managed to do that perfectly for once. She was at the end of the grass straight while I was entering so I decided to try even if this would probably end in humiliation.

The gap was shrinking but only because I was taking every chance I could. By the grass corners out near the highway I was close but not quite there so I decided to stand up and try and nail the last grass part. For once this worked and I was flying. Gap of 25m out on the flat grus section before the long road finish stretch. Up to stora klingan and get ready for my humiliation. But instead I could have some glory and went sailing passed for a lovely finish. Again, I did not know that they started a minute ahead.

Despite all this I ended up 45th which was last except for a DNF but I was much closer to those in front of me. Slowly but surely I am getting the hang of this.

Lasse and Karlsson made us a wonderful CX track and I hope that everyone enjoyed it as much as I did. Welcome back to sunny Göteborg next year!

It's still grey out but the sun will be shining soon. My attempt to be there at 07.00 has failed miserably but after feeling a bit sick last night I needed a bit more sleep. And that was good since I feel fine now.

My first priority is organization but hopefully I can race too. Racing in front of the home crowd is wonderful...

So it was time again to head off to a sunny Borås (seriously) for some serious CX. After my test lap I declared this course to be worse than a kick in the balls and decided to just ride to finish. But the more I raced the more I started to like it.

The start was on their infamous slow uphill and I actually managed a great start and was beside Patrik and Roberto at the springbacke. Things were going well but some point in the muddy corner they took off and I was left behind a familiar sight from Falu CK. Since this is not the time to be losing a job, it was time to be a proper racerapportör.

Coming down the grass hill I was på rulle and managed a beautiful late breaking to slide passed Lisa on the corner. Excellent. What I was not expecting was for her to come flying passed me in such a way that made me feel like I should actually be in Dam Prestige. This was in the little grus section and I was obviously eager to answer that move. But then Carina Börjesson politely told me to get out of the way and I had to let her and Mirella Ehrin pass. It would not be polite to interfere with their battle for 3rd.

Lisa had opened up a nice lead at this point and Carina and Mirella were seriously determined so I ended up sitting for almost a lap watching them fight. At some point Mirella dropped a bit so I passed and I hope that Carina realized that it was me behind and not anyone else. Things were pretty stable with 3 laps to go and it was somewhere here that I started getting lapped. Hearing how hard they were breathing made me feel like I should push more too. Which was fine since I was starting to really enjoy the track at this point.

With 2 laps remaining I was side by side with Carina on the finish hill but she seemed to slow down at this point so it was okay for me to continue. And with a bit of effort (note the blue smoke above) I opened up a gap there and could run my own race now. I could see Mattias and Petter a couple corners ahead but we all know that in CX a couple of corners is an eternity.

Last lap and I had some pretty good flow in my riding so I did speed up when I could. I did manage to close some of the gap up to Lisa but I see that I was still back by 22 seconds.

I ended my race with a lovely spurt up the hill and was welcomed by cheers from MCK which felt just perfect! So this was good for a 34th place finish which was ahead of Mattias and Petter who did not do the last lap. So in a sneaky way I was not last. =)

Welcome tomorrow for some more proper CX.

We were working on the track this afternoon and I think you will find that it is worth the drive to Götet to race or watch. Here is a quick preview...

At the end of the long paved cykelväg section you come to Karlssons kurva which is a 90 degree left and up a short little hill. But, this hill is mud that you sink into about 2 cm. After that comes Chris Cross which I name after myself because I raked the leaves there and also because it goes back and forth in the forest with lots of slanted parts and corners that are banked the wrong way. Because we think LVG riders should also get to train MTB sometimes.

After that we come to Sven's masterpiece...let's called it Svennys stairs. The first 3 steps are at one distance and height but then it gets steeper and shorter for the last ones. =) And once you reach the top you get to ride down and immediately take a 90 degree right.

That is about all we managed but after this section it heads out to the grusplan which is full of water so that should do a bit of wheelsucking. The sand is in place also plus we have a grass section. After all this it was decided that a löphinder was not really necessary.

Let's see if Mattias has fixed an equally painful track for Ymercrossen tomorrow.

By some miracle I am still healthy and the weather for this weekend says no rain. Yes, it IS possible to have a sunny day in Borås and Göteborg. But last year's course in Borås was like Norberg...lots of hills, mud and grass and completely horrible for me. So my expectations are low and I expect to be floating around defending my last place.

After Stockholm, it seems like I am supposed to be racerapportör for a certain Falu CK cyclist in every race. So someone could give me an Öijer cam and a mic so Oskar Ekstam can pass off to me for a report direct from the action. It could go like this...

Lisa made a great start and she is now surrounded by a group of MCK cyclists. Just look at their new uniforms! What a great club! Over to you Oskar...

Oj...that was a big slide in that corner. She is never going to catch up riding like that...

Jaha, on this long start/finish stretch she seems to be giving the finger to the camera now. Or maybe that was directed at that Chris Cross guy who just passed her?


If I continue with this type of commentary, things may end up like this fine YouTube clip.

But seriously, I will try my best and enjoy myself and hope that I am not last. On the agenda today is a little track building this afternoon at Slottskogsvallen. And I am still in the mood for throwing things so this is a good opportunity.

Everyone at work is becoming sick and things are spreading around MCK also. So far I am fine but there is definitely something brewing inside of me. Still, if I raced last year with svininfluensa, this little cold should not stop me.

So this Vasaloppet thing has been on my mind now. Has anyone done it? How was it? My MTB långlopp experience should give me some type of kondition to start with but are rullskidor the only way to train down here in Göteborg? Or can I run/ride until I can get away for some skiing?

Then I also need better skis. Everyone with green skis (Fischer) passed me so either I need some green paint or an upgrade from my nybörjare-paket. I suppose I should also move to Falun so I can train every day on proper trails instead of a 2km konstsnö thing they have here. Yes, perfect plan when I am almost unemployed.

Those of you following my blog will recognize that this is Wednesday, the day I complain about being stressed and announce yet again that I have not glued my Vittoria Evo XM tires. And how could I disappoint you today?

Truth is I feel a bit stupid about my choice of tire since their treads are nowhere near as aggressive as the Tufo mud tires. So putting these on will mean that I still slide. At the moment my old red Tufo Prestiges are still taped on so why not leave them? Borås and our track are guaranteed to be wet and muddy so clinchers are the clear choice for me anyway.

I feel a lot better today and things will probably work out with my job. So anyone else hoping to claim last place will have to wait a bit longer...

I found Jahn Ekman's wonderful CX pictures on Facebook and as you can see from above, even I made it onto the memory card. This is from Lidköping and the first sand section which was deep but only a few metres. You could hit this section with good speed and then just hold on and hope for the best. That explains my look of terror. =) Many of us fell in the sand parts as you have seen/heard.

Only moments later my bike fell apart. But it looks damn fine here!

I already mentioned that 5 nov was an important day. But today ended up being the day I found out. Nej. Nada. NO. Chris Cross will not get a 4-year research position. I get to continue along a path of uncertainty hoping that the next application will work. I have been doing this for over 2 years now. Enough is enough.

In a 'dagens idiot' moment last Friday I signed up for Öppet Spår which is going to kill me. But now it looks like that may be the last thing I do in Sweden before leaving. I have felt completely drained today...the kind of numb feeling you might get if you decided to ride Finnmarksturen 3 times in the same day. I thought that this time would be different and this time they would understand what I was doing and think it was worthy. Obviously not. Well, I can take my brain to another country.

The problem is that I like it here. So any tips on some sort of job that might suit me would be appreciated at hejchris2 @ gmail . com. I also can proofread things, write in English and give lectures. My company is already set up in case today came.

Hopefully I can stay in Sweden and continue writing about my cycling adventures. But it's not looking to great...

MCK Cykelcross is this Sunday and so far the interest has been kind of low. Super Speczial klass is the largest as usual but when MCK makes up almost half of that, one gets worried. I realize that making a trip from Dalarna down to Borås and Göteborg takes some effort but we went up there. So it would be a shame to divide CX Cupen into north and south. Especially when we have set up a world class course full of all the classic CX moments.

And to those of you that come to Introcross and read this page, why not come and race Open Sport class which is basically empty? You can be first! Or if you have tävlingslicens, race me in Superklass. This is a completely different atmosphere compared to our normal battles in Skatås and you can also see some seriously talented riders in H Prestige. Efteranmälan is perfectly okay. I am helping with that bit...

Maybe it was the couple glasses of red wine last night or the guy in the next room 'entertaining' his nightclub lady. Either way, I had a horrible sleep. And this time change thing was confusing since my phone, laptop and the room TV all changed automatically so only when I arrived at the car did I really know that I was on the right time. And that time was late.

Pump the tubdäck to 2.7 and take a test lap to see if I would slide like a crazy Chris Cross. It was okay. Head back to car. Realize Veteranklass was starting in 20 minutes. Hmm. No time for the spare bike. I was still fixing my clothes when everyone else was on the start line but I made it.

Only 18 started so I could sit på rulle directly on the long gravel path. I was still with everyone at the fun grass corner section but on the next long path most disappeared. This happens all the time. I did have two behind me and someone from CK Valhall in front so I just tried to keep going while my body was cursing me in Italian.

I was surprised at how many were saying 'Heja Chris!' and started to think I was some kind of kändis. Of course this blog does get many visitors from Stockholm and it felt like it today. Two friends were watching also and I will post their pics here soon.

Anyway, back to the race. In the middle I had built up quite a gap between myself and the last two guys but the grass section was tung. I slipped at the löphinder and hit the bike on it while jumping which knocked my chain off. I had a hell of a time getting it back on but I did and saw that the guys were only 25 m behind. So I flew along the grass corner part in the start area and just loved my Ridley for stability. By 2 laps to go, there was no chance they would catch me.

I was lapped but they let me continue and finish my last lap and boy what a lap that was! For training value, I gave it everything I had left. Who cares if I slid in the corners because I didn't brake? On the last lap everything goes. My legs were burning through the grass section but it went fast. And I was accelerating beautifully! Yes, I love my bike!

I finished 13th which I am damn proud of! I beat 2 people in grand style and 3 DNFs and maybe if I hadn't lost time with the chain I could have caught the guy in front.

I left before the finish of Sport and it looks like Björn lost a spurt to Fredrich Hammarström from my old club MTB Täby. But the order was reversed yesterday. Cool.

Great job CK Valhall!

After 2 test laps my fork came loose yet again but CC Lasse fixed the problem right and it stayed the whole race. Like I said, today would be all about technique in the corner and smart racing...things which pass me well. There were over 60 starting in Super Speczial Klass and also D Prestige so I decided to chicken out a bit and start at the back. Big mistake. After the start it rolled along VERY SLOWLY and I even had to get off my bike in the hill since I was racing as Fixie Chris and not changing gears at all. Stora klingan (50) the whole way made riding a dream. With the tubulars, the bike is 8.5 kg and the Merida was over 10 kg.

So the start was crap and I was at the end in a klungan of around 5 riders. We all sort of followed but I could see that some were slow so I passed a few in corners. I made a mess of the stairs and actually hit myself in the face. I suspect the 5 photographers there got that one. After this I started following a guy in a blue jacket with no club shirt so I have no clue who he was. But he was pretty good. I tended to be cautious in the gravel but I caught up in the straights.

Together we passed I think two more riders and it seemed like everyone was slowing down. But I was full of energy so at the corner before the finish line I shoved my way into the inside corner and took off and flew up the hill and around to the fountain part. But there was still 2 with me and blue jacket guy passed me while I messed up yet another remount after the stairs and sand. So I sat på rulle and noticed that he unclipped on basically every corner but I just coasted and never really lost any time. This other guy had passed but was just getting in the way so I passed again quickly. This was all with 2 laps to go.

Heading into the finish area again just starting the last lap I decided to make another attack but with all I had left. Fan this was amazing! And it was successful. I had a good 25 m on him and for once managed to nail the stairs/sand/stairs remount, well, sort of.

I could see Jonas not too far ahead which is strange since I am normally never anywhere near anyone else. The final gap was only 10 seconds. Then I also saw Mirella Ehrin so I decided that if I passed her, the guy behind me would have no chance. So I passed in a corner and could relax a bit. That didn't stop me from flying across the finish line anyway...just for effect.

So Lisa Ström stayed ahead of me this time so I can't report on her race. But if I had had an extra lap, maybe I could have found her. In summary, my bike stayed together, I was not last, I passed people in race situations and my tires did not fall off. The Results are here. I finished 56th, was ahead of 3 others plus 8 DNFs.

What a brilliant race! And what a great ad for Mölndals CK which had strong riders in almost every class. Yes, we are cross.

I lived in Sthlm for 7 years so one would think I might long to come back again. But I don't know about that. I managed to hit Södertälje at exactly 17.00 and sat in a queue the whole freakin' way up to Söder and from there I was followed the rest of the way by an angry taxi driver to the hotel in Östermalm which had no parking. After another 30 minutes finding a parking spot, I could actually drop by the centre for a preview of tomorrow's track.

Kungsan was surrounded by all those 'fancy people' off for nights of looking at each other (fancy people don't dance in Sthlm). But no one seemed to have any clue what was going to happen there tomorrow. Lets hope Vacchi can draw the crowds.

The only hill is that part at 6 but there is a step halfway up so I am not sure if they will build around it or make us jump off. It is right after the start too so that was not so nice. Everything at the top is on cement but some parts are not so wide so there might be some contact. The sand is exactly after the corner so there is no chance of making it through (for me anyway). Back to the start and the stairs which are not too steep but there are a lot so you have to have the bike over the shoulder.

Almost everything below that is on gravel and, like I said, it is loose and slippery. So if you are the master of corner sliding, this will be fun. The challenge with this will be acceleration and skill since there is a chance of dismounting 5 times per lap.

This will be fun I think.

Guess what I just found in a box here? Tufo Extreme orange tape. I can manage taping before Saturday. There is no rain in the forecast and it will be around 7C so why not tape on my red Tufos again? They worked before.

So at the moment I will be riding on taped tires on a bike that will probably fall apart plus stora klingan since the hills are small. Yes, Kamikaze Chris Cross is headin' to Sthlm!

I need more time. If this week were two days longer, I would manage quite nicely. So will I manage to glue my tires? Yet again the answer is no. Laundry is higher priority unless I can race naked on Saturday. Hmm...how much weight would that save?

After checking my calendar I realized that I have only taken 15 days off this year. I should have another 16 but I am far too busy to manage that. Next Friday I find out if all this effort was worthwhile enough to get me a 4-year research position. If not, I will have to work my ass even harder just to survive. Blää

But back to cycling, I just checked the fork and could not see anything strange. So I adjusted it to be a bit tighter so that you can still manage to steer but it is not extremely easy. This is assuming that it will loosen a bit during the race and then be perfect.

Thanks to Jonas for emailing this clip around. Just thought I would share it with the rest of you too. The running start idea is very good. Can't we do that? And crossing rivers reminds me a lot of Farrisrunden in Norway earlier this year. Maybe we can extend our track across to Hisingen?

Considering my last race, the idea of throwing the bike over obstacles is a nice idea. Or if someone gets too far ahead of me, I can throw my vevparti at them while I grab my spare bike. Or when my tubdäck fall off I can lasso other riders. Yes...I have many ideas now...

In the last hour of daylight I headed out on my Ridley to see what would fall off next. I did pretty much the same ride as last week but made sure to simulate a race with lots of bumps and hard braking. The vevparti stayed attached and actually felt pretty good. Nothing else seemed to be wrong either. MEN...when I was rinsing the bike off I noticed that the fork had loosened yet again. It was not as much as during the race but enough to wonder what I did wrong. But I didn't put this on so I can blame someone else.

Is it time for some Loctite 243 on the screws of the styrstam? Will that help or does it sound like something else is wrong? I have the same problem on my MTB so it would be nice to solve this.

Now I will stretch my tubdäck again and see if I will be ready to use them this weekend. But now I am tired since I was riding on stora klingan most of the time and the position must be a bit different since I feel träningsvärk again.

And if you did not come to this page via Björn's blogg, you will have missed this pic of Jens Westergren airborne in the sand. If you are going to have a vurpa, why not do it in style?

Yesterday I managed to finish a lot of things. But did I test ride the bike to see what will fall off next? No. Did I glue my tubdäck? No. And what about the two other major things I still need to do? Nada. Not exactly a stress-free start to Monday.

I just woke up with the same headache I had when I went to bed. Guess I will have to resort to a pill now. Looking out my window is also not encouraging. Very dark. Raining. So it will be a DNS for me in Lidköping.

I have plenty of other things on the agenda so fixing them today will mean less stress next weekend in Sthlm where I am definitely racing both days...rain or shine...no excuses. This should also leave me time to glue my tubdäck. Yes, this is a good plan.

Have fun today and 'Go MCK!'

When I arrived in Lidköping everyone asked 'Where is the new bike?' so I changed quick and then took the Ridley X-Ride to the start so it could be thoroughly examined. I couldn't try out the track because D Prestige were racing and I am glad I was not racing them today since they seemed to be flying along. Finally I could take a test lap and things felt okay until the downhill to the beach where my handlebar came loose and tipped down. So after a quick tighten I could see the rest of the lap and get to the startline on time. Talk about a long lap!

The start went fine and things were close together through the gravel and little grass/mud hills. It was very wet but not terribly slippery so it was fine. I was behind someone from Borensbergs IF but felt like it was going to slow so I passed him at the field before the löphinder. I didn't open up a gap because I was braking a lot in the downhill and had trouble getting up the grass hill after that despite lots of cheering from people. Then it was time for the beach and I hit the sand with good speed and managed a perfect line and got through. This is where everyone was standing so I had to at least try here. After that started the endless ride along Vänern which was nice even if it started raining.

Lap 2 was pretty uneventful. Somewhere around the first corner I lost contact with those in front of me and I was being chased still. The gap was pretty constant at around 30m. I was losing time on the gravel parts and gaining it back on the grass where the Ridley shines, even with clinchers. But I was already tired so I had to change for the next lap if I was to actually succeed in passing someone in SuperSpeczialKlass and staying in front of them.

Lap 3 was very eventful. I decided to fly through the road section up to varvning and keep up the speed until the grass. I was starting to take chances and brake less but I could also feel that my fork was not really handling the bumps well (i.e. loose). Despite all of this, the gap was getting smaller and his running up the grass hill was a strategy I used last week...stupid me. But he didn't get close enough. I gave it my best shot in the sand but still got stuck so I ran through. Behind me I heard the crowd yell 'Woooohhhh!' and knew that he must have taken a spectacular vurpa.

It was still tough along the beach but my superb ride on the grass and the corners after led to a sizeable and more relaxing gap. On the road section something funny was happening when I clipped in the left shoe. For each rotation my foot seemed to be moving in some strange angle. I assumed it was the pedal full of mud so I kept going. Rounding the corner to enter the start/mål area I looked down and saw that my left foot was clipped into the pedal but the vevarm was no longer attached to the bike. Shit. I was about 2 mil away from the depå where my indestructable Merida was waiting in case this happened. But feeling like I did, I decided to quit and take my first CX DNF. I had a hell of a lead on that guy too but I wished him 'grattis' when he passed.

First I was pissed and wanted to go strangle a few people in Alingsås. But then I realized that I put that part on myself. Doh. Mats fixed it for me so now it should be tight. He also fixed the fork which has come loose on both rides I have taken. I have to say that it is disappointing to have spent so much money and time on this and now it is falling apart. But I should remember that this is the first bike I have custom-made...all my others were assembled in some factory for me.

Driving home was full of mixed feelings. I normally feel down after a race because I am just dead tired. It rained heavy the entire way home and that never helps my mood either. And now that I am writing this, I actually feel like some kind of cold is brewing inside of me. So tomorrow is not looking too promising.

For me it is important to keep the cykelglädje high. And Björn said that the course will be pretty much the same tomorrow except shorter since it will have rained all night. So we will see if I start tomorrow. Maybe I will. Or maybe I will train here just to see what will fall off of the bike next.

Ridley may say 'We are Belgium' but after seeing this great picture by Mats Harring, I can proudly say 'Mölndals CK is cyclocross!' Watch out Lidköping...MCK is on its way!

I finally finished my report and needed a reward for my hard work. Since I can proofread when it is dark, you can guess what my reward was. =) Yesterday I wrote all about Baby so it was time for the premiere ride.

Yes, no one puts Baby in a corner. Baby needs to see some mud and grass. =) But now I will stop joking and give a serious review of the Ridley X-Ride so anyone that googles it can come here.

The first thing I did was pick it up and run up stairs which was different because the tube is so much bigger than my Merida and the wires run over the top so it sat on my shoulder nicely. Starting to ride was no instant magic I have to say. The Ultegra 6700 gears shifted quick and precise but it did not feel all that different. Great, did I just waste a lot of money? This first stretch is actually a gradual uphill over to Sävecrossen things actually felt bad because of the hill.

Getting out into the grass felt okay and the tire spin on the wet hills had more to do with my tires than the bike. My problem was my riding style. I was riding it the same way as my Merida. Because on the way to Skatås for the real test, the magic started. On the grusväg of 8:an this bike is an animal. Wow! I could fly along effortlessly and corners were beautiful! Arriving at the Introcross area I took a couple laps and was inpressed! It was stable in the sand. It flew over bumps in the grass. Grass curves also seemed to be better.

I have an FSA Gossamer 50-34 because with the Merida I never had enough strength in a race situation to change up from the 34. The Ridley X-Ride is totally different. I did our whole lap (sand and all) on the 50 and rode all the way home on the 50 also. I have never ridden a bike that has felt this stable offroad. If my MTB felt like this, I would be so much better.

So just like Styby, I have to remember to point at the Ridley logo. Now Chris Cross is ready for action! We are Belgium is just what I have needed.

This story starts 9 months ago. There were strong feelings. Things got impulsive. It was love at first sight for me. Slowly I have watched my baby grow and believe me I was impatient. Over the last month things have moved very quickly but today was the day! Yes, today I got my baby! Now I am welcome in the Mölndals CK Superklass family!

For those of you completely confused now, what I meant to say is that I just picked up my Ridley X-Ride and it is all together and ready to ride. But it is my baby. I have hand picked everything on it and even assembled more than half.

But this proud father will have to wait for some daylight before he can take it for a proper test ride. Rolling around the parking lot of Allebike does not count even if we had our CX race there last year.