Never discount the fact that the spirit of cycling can be found in ANY form of racing. For years I held cyclocross at face value as a contrived sport, silly or perhaps down right lame. But, as happens all to often, I had my expectation altered in the best way at todays Surf City "Psycho"cross at Soquel High School in Santa Cruz. The following are my brief observations on the sport. Props to Jeff for his strong finish on a race he felt "ill prepared for". I shutter to think of a race you ARE prepared for!
1. These riders are ATHLETES. But what's more is that they are highly skilled at navigating the subtle challenges these courses have to offer. To anyone who has ever ridden a road bike you know how squirly they are. Cross bikes are not much more than road bicycles. Off camber turns, hills, loose dirt, these are all hazards to the cross bike and rider!
2. This is racing at its finest!! Fast paced non-stop action. Guys and girls battling for each position at every moment. Just the way I like it!
3. The Cyclocross scene ROCKS! The riders and spectators that show up at these racers are the exact vision of cycling that I hold in my mind. At one point a rider crested a brief hill after a solid impact that tore the tire off the front wheel. After I helped him get the bead back on the rim, a spectator ran up and asked, "you want another wheel?" At that point he immediately said yes, and replaced the wheel and kept going. Awesome. The "run ups" are the almost mandatory run sections of the course, though the few, the proud do actually ride up them. (beyond impressive) This section of course draws the finest of the crowd, whose singular goal is to heckle, roust, cheer and yell at riders. The slow pace of the run up allows for a sort of "dialogue" in which responses to heckles can be made, and further rebuttals can be made! The crowd consisted of beer drinking costume laden folks firing nerf darts at riders, screaming and laughing. At the end of a run-up on one of the last laps, the leader happily accepted a beer, not water, a beer from a spectator, took a swig and carried on.
4. Cross bikes are beautiful precision. They look like pizza cutters riding on loose dirt, and they make a wonderful hum when they zip over gravel. The lack of suspension and thin tires make the 100% efficient. The gearing remains mostly similar to road gearing, meaning all the hills must be tackled on hard ratios.
I'm looking forward to more time out at the course, and adding these events to the list that makes up our vast season! Enjoy this video from he day!
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
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