The State of Cross
There is nothing more to say as far as I am concerned. It's here. Cross is here and is popping up in corners of our country that less than 3 years ago, wouldn't know a cross from a cross-walk. It's assuming control! The genius of the sport has reached critical mass: its shortness yet its epic-ness. Its attraction for the workin' (wo)man...less training, more fun, being competitive, family and friends seeing you muddy and filthy every 7 minutes or so each lap. The radness of the equipment. It's all a cocktail of beauty for the cyclist.
It's all coming to a head.
Exhibits A:
Alpenrose had 1267 racers this weekend per my main honkey Chris DiStefano this weekend out in Portland. And clearly, this is an age old hub of cross, but the numbers are out of hand. Holy absolute CRAP! Something has been added to the PDX water system for that many disciples. Grab some eye candy of the spectacle here....
Exhibit B:
My friend Blair Oxford from the South East in the epically beautiful and funky town of Savannah GA have announced their upcoming cross race, the Superprestige! Part of the Georgia Cross series. And yes, the course features ALL of my 'gotta haves'...barriers, sand traps and YES, a FLYOVER!
See their picture collection here. Amazing. I'm gonna have to go and race that thing one of these days! PDX races have featured a flyover recently too. Man, Boulder/Denver needs to GET CREATIVE!
Amazing for me to see this growth. Louisville KY, we want to see some pics from your growth! I'm hearing all kinds of stories, but no joy on teh visual tip! Send me pics!
Tuesday, October 7, 2008 at 9:12PM
Reader Comments (6)
..it IS here. In our first race at UT we shattered previous attendance and it was pissing rain. The Flywheel is turning.
Last time I was in Savannah, the river was green and I was greener the next morning. The drinking culture of that town goes hand and hand with cross. Darn tootin' I'm racing rebal grey!
Thanks for the shout out!
We have some exciting things happening in Georgia.
Great race promoters and hard courses.
Nothing like cowbells at 10:00 a.m.
Bring on the mayhem!!
Here in Mid-Atlantic region, the MABRA/MAC cyclocross scene is exploding. At the Charm City Cyclocross in Baltimore, MD - the regional opener of the season - the Men's Cat. 4 race was filled up by pre-registered riders which saw 100 riders at the start line alone.
A far cry indeed from my early cycling days (read: late 80s) where my friends and i would tool around the scrubby backwoods of suburban Long Island on retooled franken-pseudocross bikes fantasizing about those rare and wonderful pics of Belgian cyclocross in our treasured issues of Winning magazine, wondering if we would ever get to do that in anywhere in America.
Go American cycling, go American cyclocross!
I love it and hope to see it continue to grow everywhere. 1000+ racers would be a sight to see, 100+ rider fields are an awesome thing to be a part of. And a flyover?!?!? Way too cool.
Mmmmm, flyover...
We've GOTTA get one of those at the Valmont park.