12strings

1. I really need to buy an inner chain guard...leaning toward Deda Dog Fang. Losing my chain in the first lap of every race is not a good way to start.

2. I got beat by a boy who looked to be about 12-13. He entered both the juniors race and the men's 4/5 race. (I might not have, I was with his mid-pack group until the guy in front of me wiped out and knocked off my chain).

3. If you take a donut hand-up and eat it on your bike, people cheer for you.

4. The top riders don't take donut hand-ups. Apparently its not a performance-booster.

5. The top riders are smooth through turns. As the 2 leaders lapped me, I had a moment when I thought I could stay with them, and I actually could on straight sections, but with each turn, they pulled away, and I was just slowing down too much to be able to catch back up each time.

6. Cyclocross is still fun, even if you have no chance of winning.

redlude97

I got beat by a 16 year old. Can't wait to move up to masters...
I think a more substantial chain guard than the deda would be better. If you have a braze on use a K-edge. Less likely to squeeze past the guard and jam. Also figure out where the chain is dropping from. A lot of the time it is bouncing off the bottom of the chainring which a chain guard will not stop. If you are using shimano, there is a way to increase the tension on the RD spring by taking off the pulley arms and moving the spring mounting position. I did that at the end of last year and it helped a lot. Went to 1x this year with a praxis chain keeper for the most secure setup IME.

12strings

I have a clamp on FD. The jump stop looks good too, but it is $900 on amazon for some reason.

HOWSER

What rear derailleur do you have? One with a clutch design may alleviate the chain dropping.

12strings

I have a Sora 3500 rear derrileur paired with a triple front chainring. :-)

Ideal cross setup, I know...along with my caliper brakes...

JeffOYB

Also just try not to be so rough or bouncy. Even Wout drops a chain when he gets too wild.

That's why all the clinics and Sven tell us to set the bike down carefully after barriers, like landing a plane. Don't set it down much less drop it but push it forward so it 'lands.'

I only drop a chain now when I go nuts. It teaches me to calm down and that smooth is fast...

***

Those darn handups. I wish I could join the fun but eating something? Obviously I should just kick back a bit then I cd have all sorts of fun and even make charges now'n'then. But so far all I can do is 110%, drool, and go crosseyed...

I did drink some beer a month ago when I was going to die of heatstroke... it helped. Being smart woulda helped way more: note -- when it's hot, pour water on head and jersey before race. When it's really hot put ice on shoulders under jersey in pantyhose. Same goes when it's cold: BE SMART! think ahead plan ahead get ready!

***

Cornering is tricky! Practice is the only answer. Sadly we haven't had many practices locally. Oddly I can always gain a huge amount in technical places but not always in all corners or hairpins.

***

Little kids are darn fast. It took me awhile to crush this 13 yr old who was in front of me at Waterloo in the 4's. He was faster on the straights but had no uphill power. He had to be destroyed. (Made me laugh. But really you need to only let yourself ride near ppl who do it similar to you. It's the worst to have places on a course where someone actually balks you who is faster elsewhere. That has to be sorted ASAP!)

12strings

1. I've never dropped a chain putting the bike down, only by crashing...first time was my fault...second race was the guy in front of me.

2. I was 4 laps into the race, with more people in front of me than behind me, and the announcer was egging people on to take the donut...several passed it up, but I took it. I doubt it affected my result that day.

3. Glad to hear I'm not the only grown man battling it out with middle schoolers.

superdex

I picked up one of these, and after a few sessions (my closest cx course is really bumpy) I haven't dropped: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MS7DQH5/

I realize you're running a triple, so the above may not really be applicable. I think you're setting yourself up for a "real" CX bike next year (which is a good thing) ...

I run a 1x8 with a Shimano LX rear mech and Claris 2400 shifter (hey, I'm cheap, what can I say?). With the sharktooth chainring, I'm not dropping my chain anymore....

but dropping a chain because of a crash is normal-ish. If it's jumping off at other times, that's a bad thing...

chas58

I got beat by a 77yr old once. Geeze.

He was an olympic champion (back in the day) and caught me in my blind spot on a velodrome race, but still...

It is fun to work with youth and see that awkward 12 year old morph in to a crazy fast 16 year old!