Last year, Portland’s cyclocross scene was one of the biggest in the country. At one Cross Crusade event (Alpenrose) there were 760 competitors, making it the largest event of its kind in the history of U.S. cross racing.
What’s not to like? Whether you watch or ride, it’s really just a big excuse to have fun on bikes.
Here are some signs that cross season is coming:
- Cross bikes and parts are being sold on the OBRA email list.
- Cross bikes are piling up for service at local shops.
- Willamette Blvd. is full of riders doing the Forest Park loop.
- The Alpenrose Cross Clinics are going strong (see below).
- The River City Bicycle ads in the Willamette Week say “1 Week” till ‘cross season!
- This Sunday is the first cyclocross race of the season (check out my report from Hood River last year) and the Cross Crusade kicks off on October 1st!
- Racers are chatting it up on the Cross Crusade Forums
According to racer and Bike Gallery crew member Matt Slaven, the first Cross Clinic had a huge turnout.
“We had about 100 people out there, one of our best turnouts ever. We asked who’d never raced cross before and about 80 of them raised their hands.”
The clinics are brought to you by Team S&M (Sellwood Cycle Repair) and the Cross Crusade. By all reports, these clinics are not to be missed, and to make things even better, Team S&M has just announced they’re raffling away a new Kona “Jake” ‘cross bike at the final clinic on September 27th (yes, there’s only one clinic left!).
Local cyclocross veteran and member of last year’s U.S. World’s team Erik Tonkin is a driving force behind the clinics. Last year I set up a blog for Erik to write about his races. I’m excited to announce that Erik will be sharing his insights with us again this year. I’ll be posting his articles here on BikePortland.org so stay tuned for tips, tricks, and race reports from Erik.
Also in the blogosphere, Portland has a new addition that is sure to please cyclocross fiends. Jeremy Burlingame, the man behind the popular Plus One Lap cyclocross blog has recently moved to Portland so watch for him out at the races.
Last year, I did my first ever cross race out at PIR and it was beyond fun. I strongly recommend checking it out.
Look forward to seeing you at the races!
Thanks for reading.
BikePortland has served this community with independent community journalism since 2005. We rely on subscriptions from readers like you to survive. Your financial support is vital in keeping this valuable resource alive and well.
Please subscribe today to strengthen and expand our work.
Went for my first cross clinic last night. They are awesome. And so helpful. Anyone interested but intimidated should really go to the last clinic. Can’t wait for the mud!
Yeah, yesterday’s clinic was great. I thought the rain might affect the turnout – it did. Even more people showed up 🙂
Here’s a story I wrote for http://www.cyclocrosselements.com (not my site, so this is not a shameless plug)
http://cyclocrosselements.com/blog1/cxclusives-cross-on-the-mind/
For those of you non cross racers (are there any of you out there?) I tried to explain the thrill and fascination of something so grueling.
So, I don’t understand what cyclocross is. Looks like a race with mud and bikes and I’m interested. Can somebody educate me about Cyclocross? Is there some kind of comprehensive schedule? Where are some places I can go to see a race? When are some times I can go to see a race? Is there a “best” event to attend?
Many thanks
Hey JP,
Start with the Wikipedia entry on cyclocross.
It’s like the best mix of road and mountain bike racing but a much bigger party, you run sometimes, you have to hop over barriers and people tend to drink beer on occassion.
As for a schedule, check out the OBRA schedule for October.
Another cool thing about cross is that most of hte venues are close to Portland; Alpenrose Dairy, PIR, Blue Lake Park, Estacade, Hood River, etc…
As for a “best” event. That depends on what you like. You would probably love the racing and the atmosphere at Alpenrose Dairy on October 1st. That is sure to be a huge event.
see you out there.
Though, there will be no beer at Alpenrose per the owners of the Dairy/Grounds.
No beer at Alpenrose? These guys will be bummed:
And for a great article about Portland’s cross scene, don’t forget about this cover story in the Willamette Week from last year.
Yea cross!!
If you haven’t been, you should go. It’s one of the most spectator friendly sports out there. What other sport is there where you get to pour beer on your friends as they go riding by?
Don’t let the mass of people intimidate you. They are all friendly and they loove good beer.
Just don’t ring your cowbell near the finish line. That’s about the only rule.
Please, oh great gods of weather, give me rain, and cold and sh*#ty conditions. That my friends is cross.
Go to crosscrusade.com for more.
Yea mud!