HONE YOUR CYCLOCROSS SKILLS, WEDNESDAY NIGHTS AUGUST 31, SEPTEMBER 7, 14 & 21 Cyclocross racing season starts soon, and now is the time to work on your technique. Every Wednesday during September, the "Knights of the 'Cross" will lead cyclocross training clinics at Alpenrose Dairy. You'll learn and practice the skills necessary to compete in cyclocross racing, including mounting your bike while running, dismounting from a rolling bicycle, and crossing barriers while carrying your bike on your shoulder. (Sounds like fun, right?) Time: Registration 6:00–6:20pm. Practice starts at 6:30pm sharp. Be ready to ride at 6:20 pm Fee: $5 per clinic or $20 prepaid for all Place: Alpenrose Dairy, 6149 SW Shattuck Road, Portland Info: Erik Tonkin, 503-233-9392, tonkin@sellwoodcycle.com NOTES ON THE CLINICS Try to register by 6:15 (at the latest) so we can be ready to practice by 6:30. This will be important as daylight dwindles. We're here to practice our skills, not get a workout. Go slowly at first to hone your technique, then gradually speed up. That's the healthy and safe way to do it. At every practice we'll break into equal-sized groups, each "coached" by one or two riders. Groups will not necessarily be divided by gender or skill level. Work with a different coach each week – what one coach has to say may "click" better than it did with another. Each practice will be broken, roughly, into three segments. First, we'll work on the approach and dismount. Second, we'll work on going over the barrier or up the run-up. Third we'll work on the dreaded remount and get-away. Also, each practice we'll try to end with a group rally or race simulation. At the first clinic on Aug. 31, we will use boards laid flat on the ground rather than real barriers. Further, we may only work through segments 1 and 2 of the clinic. We may also devote a group to simple bike handling skills. Cyclocross bikes for "demo" may be available at the clinics.