It’s fall! Time for colder weather, pumpkin spice everything, and cyclocross! Cyclocross started out as a means for European road riders to maintain fitness during the winter months, but it has evolved into a distinct cycling discipline. Cyclocross races involve a mix of road and off-road sections and often include barriers and run-ups which require you to dismount your bike. They are short and intense races! But, they are a lot of fun too. It’s a great way to shake up your riding routine with something different. A key to progression is to stress your body in new and different ways. Another benefit, cyclocross races are short, and a relatively modest amount of training time is sufficient for preparation. It’s a great discipline for people with jobs, kids, and real life responsibilities.

Since cyclocross is new to many Buttians, we are offering a month long cyclocross bootcamp here in Butte, Montana. We’ll be focusing on cyclocross fundamentals. Everyone is welcome! It will be an approachable and non-elitist approach. It will be a lot of fun too! We culminate the month with the fantastic Rolling Thunder race in Missoula!

The program includes:

  • Midweek training rides. We’ll be getting together every Thursday to work on gates and technique. Plan on this being a somewhat intensive ride. But it will be on a circuit and you go as hard as you want to. No need to worry about being dropped.
  • Weekend endurance ride. On Sundays we’ll be exploring gravel roads around Butte. These rides will be at an endurance pace to focus on general aerobic fitness. Many riders may be surprised how easy endurance pace is, but the benefits are huge, even during a short period like this. Group endurance rides are a lot of fun too, they can be quite social as the pace is sufficiently chill to allow for conversation.
  • Solo indoor trainer workouts (optional). We’ll provide indoor training rides which focus on the needs of cyclocross racing. It’s also a great way to quantify your progress. Many of these rides can be done outdoors if preferred. Don’t want to do these? That’s fine–don’t! It’s up to you.

The bootcamp culminates with the Rolling Thunder Cyclocross race in Missoula. Of course racing is optional too, but it’s highly encouraged. It’s fun!

https://www.rollingthundercx.com/

Schedule

In keeping with cycling tradition, weeks start on Monday.

You can view the schedule on Google Calendar. This is subject to change.

The following schedule is tentative, register for updates.

Week 1 (29 Sept-05 October)

  • Indoor flex ride – FTP test (ramp or 20 min options). If you are using CP instead of FTP, carry on with that.
  • Solo flex ride – Endurance ride (indoor or outdoor)
  • Thursday 02 October 1800-1900 (6-7 pm) – Introduction to barriers
  • Sunday 05 October 1000-1200 (10am-12pm) – Endurance ride

Week 2 (06 October – 12 October)

  • Thursday 1800-1900 (6-7) – Runups and faster dismount practice
  • Solo flex ride – Over under intervals I
  • Solo flex ride – Endurance ride
  • Sunday 1000-1200 (10am – 12pm)- Endurance Ride

Week 3 (13 October – 19 October)

  • Wednesday 1800-1900 (6-7) – Practice race course.
  • Solo flex ride – Over under intervals II
  • Solo flex ride – Endurance ride
  • Sunday 1000-1200 (10am – 12pm)- Endurance Ride

Week 4 (20 October – 26 October)

  • Thursday 1800-1900 (6-7) – Practice race course with focus on technique.
  • Solo flex ride – Endurance ride.
  • Solo flex ride – Pre race ride.
  • Saturday 25 October Rolling Thunder Day 1
  • Sunday 26 October Rolling Thunder Day 2

Week 5

  • Solo flex ride. FTP or CP test. See how far you came in only a month! Keep it up!

Signup

Interested? Great. While you can certainly drop in on these rides, we encourage you to sign up so that we can email any changes in the meeting places.

Name
What are you hoping to get out of this
If you are interested in trainer workouts to accompany the bootcamp, what platform do you use?
Acknowledgement

FAQ

  1. Who can attend?
    • Answer: Everyone. We welcome riders of all abilities and ages, especially on the mid week rides. For the weekend endurance rides, riders should be comfortable with riding on open roads and used to rides of this duration. Juniors less than 15 years of age are discouraged from these rides except in special circumstances. Reach out if you have questions.
  2. What kind of bike should I use?
    • Answer: Ride what you have! While dedicated cyclocross bikes do exist you have a lot of other options. A gravel bike is very similar to a cyclocross bike and will work great. A mountain bike (MTB) is also a fine option. For racing on a MTB you may want to swap out lighter and narrower tyres than you typically ride. Hybrid bikes (700c wheels with flat MTB bars) can work too, generally you’ll want to swap the road slick tyres out for something more aggressive.
  3. Do I have to come to all the rides?
    • Answer: No. Feel free to attend whatever rides work with your schedule. This is supposed to be fun. In particular the solo flex rides are provided as a convenience and suggestion only.
  4. Do I have to go to Rolling Thunder?
    • Answer: No, see above!
  5. What is the cost?
    • Answer: The camp is free.
  6. This seems really short?
    • Yes, it’s just a month long introductory program. Therefore, the training schedule is very simple and we don’t consider blocks, etc. We are keeping this simple and fun. Feel free to incorporate our rides into your own training schedule.