The bugs are down. The heat is off. The weeds are dying. It’s time to hit the trails!
It’s also CYCLOCROSS season! Now this is truly a fun way to play on bikes. If I can just remember not to go out too hard. What’s neat is when the courses are set up to be really tricky and short with lots of obstacles. What this does is gives STRATEGY a much bigger role to play versus fitness. The GAME comes on. You work on your skills and your flow then you bide your time. You plan ahead for passes. You don’t just blast along full out. Fun!
A short technical course where you can see all the action also makes the spectating tons of fun. More cowbell!
What I really like is that our local gang is hosting weekly Thursday fun races at a nearby course (the old Red Cedar golf course near Frandor). $2 to see what you can do with beer afterward. That’s my speed! I don’t want to drive to a race or pay out any real money. I just want some fun game and a little test. The folks in charge of all this seem to be Michael Babcock with his Stomach of Anger series and the TNR (Tuesday Nite Race) gang with their Capitol roadie team.
Of course, there are indeedio at least a couple real CX series getting under way. Kisscross pushes a casual style on the westside, for $20 a pop and a full slate of weekends. Tailwind goes official Eurostyle with elite courses and more like a $35 pricetag for national rankings on the eastside. There’s other in between that seem to appear in the center of the state, north and south. So take yer pick!
