What do I know about how a cross bike should feel? Absolutely nothing. What I do know is that I hate riding my mountain bike on the road and my road bikes are not designed to be taken off asphalt. This is where a cyclocross bike comes in. This is my latest toy from Blue. A CX6.5.

I found that the bike felt very smooth on road sections and with a change out of tires I could easily use it for some long training rides. The full carbon fork, including the steer tube, really sucks up vibration on the rougher trails. I had mine built up with Shimano 105 running a 50-34 front and a 12-27 rear. This combo pretty much will get me up anything. My ride on it Saturday I swapped out wheels and used my Xero lite. I'm running Maxxis Locust tires which I found had awesome grip in the trails. Mix that in with Areus bars, stem and seatpost and the bike tops the scale at 18.5 pounds.

This is the bike I will be spending alot of time on over the next few months. Will a cross race be in my focus. Not for this year but next fall for sure. It will be tested at the Icebreaker and Paris-Ancaster next spring.

As for racing for next year. The schedule is starting to come together. For now its time for some dinner.

pictures later