Race week

I haven't raced since July.

Moreover, I haven't really even thought about racing since July. I think that's what has made it hard to really get psyched up for 'cross. I just haven't been in "race mode" for such a long time. As such, talking about next weekend's races kind of freaked me out a bit.

What? A race? Now? Huh.

I'm basically ready to go. I haven't felt particularly fast — though I've been doing OK — for a few weeks now, so it's hard to tell exactly how this is going to go. It kinda feels like it's fall, when I'm usually spinning long, easy miles. To have this kind of intensity going right now is weird.

If nothing else, though, I'm super-psyched about racing this bike:

Damn, Cronus CX. It's hard to describe it with words other than "sweet" or "awesome." This is one, maybe: ridiculous. Light, stiff and fast also work.

I threw some Challenge Fangos on there last week and they felt pretty great. The Bontrager CX0 tires were nice, but when it was time to get good hook-up on the tighter, faster corners, they weren't doing the job.

Otherwise, I have it set up in its stock configuration. I kept the Bontrager RL wheels on, because I'm using my Dura-Ace tubeless wheels on the road next season. And because my new Madone is going to have deep-section wheels on it, I need those low-profile DA wheels to be in one piece. I'm not super-worried about trashing them, but I'd rather not take any chances. The RLs are solid, and I've been effectively racing on them at 'cross practice with no problems.

All told, the bike weighs in right at 17 pounds. Sure, it could be lighter. But even the very light ones ridden by the Trek Midwest CX team aren't that much lighter. And, seriously, at this point it would be overkill anyway.

Bring on race week. I'm ready ... I guess.