Troupe Racing Co.

This is the time of year that the cyclocross circus comes to town. For a few years, we have wanted to check it out and give it a try. But each year, there are always big, end of the year xc races to focus on. Not this year. My cross debut was put on the calendar long ago, and I was looking forward to jumping in totally unprepared and naive to the weirdest form of bike racing. The event: SoCal Prestige Series Spooky Cross.

Being totally new to this, I entered the mens category 4. I was racing on a hardtail mountain bike (my precious Rivette). The race was only 35 minutes long, and being well versed in 24 hour solo racing, I felt that I could manage myself for a measly 35 minutes.

The race started, and everything was going good. I was able to move up from the back of the field of 65 riders up towards the front. And then, we hit the first stair step run-up, which was a mandatory dismount. Suddenly, my heart rate spiked, but I ran quickly up the steps and remounted the bike smoothly.

Normally, I’m able to relax and recover from short efforts like that, but not here. The constant corners made it necessary to hammer and accelerate out of each turn which due to the layout of the course, either gave you a good view of who you’re chasing or who’s chasing you. Nothing else to do but hit the gas and try to keep the speed up.

Long story short, I had a total anaerobic riot. Cross racing is just what I had expected. For Spooky Cross, I finished 18th out of 65. Not bad for a first attempt on a mountain bike.

After the my race we stayed to watch the pro’s race and the costumed races in which all craziness broke loose. We heckled, had a few beers, and had a great time.

But that wasn’t enough.

The following day, we hit the Urban Cross series race which was right down the road in Silverado. This is a smaller event, with a pretty hardcore following. While this race didn’t have all the costumes and bike riding oddities that Spooky Cross did, it had a killer course that required some real handling skills and some tough competition that was racing for series points.

Second verse, same as the first. The race was crazy hard – 4 dismounts sent the heart rate sky high. Gopher holes covered the one straight stretch and rattled my cage, and plenty of off camber turns put our years of xc racing to good use. I got off to a good start but was unable to keep my speed up and finished 5th.

Michelle even decided to race, and she tore it up in the women’s 3-4 category, and finished 1st. She looked like she was on a mission, passing on the inside, passing on the outside and cruising through the switchbacks of the course. She raced against some very strong girls all on cross bikes, but her hardtail was what she was most comfortable on.

Looking back to those events, we felt that cross racing and mountain biking could learn from each other. Mountain bike racers need to remember that the events are as fun as we competitors make it. The social aspect of cross is what drew us in and it did not disapoint. These events last all day and have hundreds of racers, music, and plenty of obnoxious cheering. We would like to see some of that rowdy cross spirit find its way to xc racing.

Cross racing, and specifically, U.S. Cycling officials… lighten up. This is bike racing, and it is supposed to be fun. Visit any xc race and you’ll see race promoters who truly enjoy putting on a race.

There are a few more cross races that we can hit this season around our big fall xc races. We’ll be back for more, and we’ll be on our mountain bikes.