Before last weekend, I had never been to a cyclocross race.
I’ve heard all the clichés, people getting way too excited about cross coming, the chatter around the dumb races that happen every fall and people extolling the virtues of mud. While I didn’t race this time around — didn’t hear about the event until it was too late to sign up — I can honestly say that I understand the attraction and I will be back again, hopefully with a cross bike (or converted MTB in all likelihood) of my own.
Matt, Arin and Adam were all entered in the Intermediate men’s race. I showed up just as that race started, and was instantly entranced by what was going on. The pits were full of everyone from bike punks to serious racers, and nobody had any judgments about anyone else. Bikes ranged from the ultra-expensive cross racers to full suspension mountain bikes to Matt’s singlespeed Surly Crosscheck (albeit built up differently).
Matt took the early lead, getting the hole shot in the men’s intermediate race. However, he burnt out his lungs pretty quickly. Arin ended up somewhere near the middle-end of the pack. Adam, however, ended up battling for first place with Erik Worm from the mainland. Adam held the lead for most of the race, and ended up crossing the finish in a sprint for the win just ahead of Erik. Also, Adam was riding a single speed.
He’s fast.
After letting the guys cool off for a bit, we watched Russ from Fort Street Cycle in the Masters Men’s category. That was followed by the Open categories, where all the big guns came out. Chad Grice, racing under the Fort Street team, got last not lapped in that event. A bit of excitement came when the bois had to rush to the pits and replace Chad’s bike. Chad came flying in, ghost rode his bike into the pits and hopped on his spare without losing any time. I don’t think the pit crew was ready for the handoff, but Chad was able to get back into the race very quickly.
The rain started just as the Open Men’s race entered its final few laps. Things got a bit dicey, but that’s the point of cross.
Everyone got a bit dirty, had some beers and shots on the side of the course and had a good time.
Before last weekend, I had never been to a cyclocross race, but I’ll definitely go to one again.
Cross on The Rock has five more races this season, next one on Oct. 3 at Qualicum Beach.
Race results are available here.