DRAFT Magazine

Photo via BikePortland.org

When the weather gets nasty, the nasty go biking.

Meet cyclocross racers: The crazies of the cycling world.

November is go-time of the cyclocross season, when racers contend with dirt, mud, hills, snow, sleet, slush, and actual road blocks in the middle of the course that force riders to shoulder their bikes and run around obstacles.

Oh, it’s loads of fun.

So how do these bikers survive? Beer helps. Consider this description from last year’s brutal championship race in Hales Corners, Wisconsin.

The festival-like atmosphere, with 30-packs of Pabst lined up next to Coleman stoves, is a welcome change for the top riders who exhaust themselves in upward of 60 road and mountain bike races through the summer.

Now meet three of these crazies.

Patrick Haley

Describe cyclocross in three words “Pain, suffering, agony.”

Biggest difference between road racing and cross? “Cyclocross is all out from the start. If you miss the lead group on the first lap, you won’t see them again.”

Have any spectacular wipeouts? “I separated my shoulder, and my teammate shattered his collarbone.”

What was your toughest race? “It was 20 degrees with snow and a thick layer of mud over the entire course. Imagine going outside when it is 20 degrees and stand in your boxers for 15 minutes. Then ride a bike with two flat tires as hard as you can for six minutes, dismount, pick up your bike, run up a hill in flip flops and remount. Repeat for one hour.”

Has cyclocross helped your fitness? “You are utilizing every muscle for balance, agility, and power. Technically, I am forced to navigate every imaginable surface: Grass, mud, concrete, sand, stairs, wood chips, rocks, water, and snow. Mentally, it has pushed me past my limit to a very dark place.”

Haley races for Velo Trocadero

Lyle Hanson

Describe cyclocross in three words “Mud, beer, cowbells.”

Biggest difference between road racing and cross? “In road racing, you have to be more cerebral about finding ways to conserve energy. In cross, there’s nowhere to hide. You have to be on the gas the whole time or else you’re going backwards.”

What was your toughest race? “One of my worst races was on a soggy, muddy course where I was grinding away endlessly in my lowest gear, and it felt like I was hardly moving. It was definitely one of those times that makes you think, ‘I’m paying money for this?’”

Has cyclocross helped your overall fitness? “Cross is a great way to stay motivated to train in the fall when it’s getting darker, colder, and wetter every day. If nothing else, it puts pain into perspective and toughens you both mentally and physically for other forms of racing or for life in general.”

Anything else? “I can’t think of a more beautiful sport. Your sense of accomplishment is much greater for it.”

Hanson races for the Bareknuckle Brigade

Zack Reilley

Describe the sport in three words “Pain, pain, beer.”

Biggest difference between road racing and cyclocross racing? “Road racing sucks, and cross doesn’t. I don’t road race, but there is very little soft pedaling in a big group at a cross race.”

Have any spectacular wipeouts? “I messed up a running section one time when I didn’t get my foot out of the pedal and crashed into the barrier.”

What was your toughest race? “The course was just a big mud pit, and you just had to grind your way though it very slowly for what seemed like an eternity.”

Has cyclocross helped your overall fitness? “I can now dismount my bike faster than I ever thought possible.”

Anything else? “If you have not raced cross yet, you should. It is like a big party where you have to ride your bike so hard that you can barely breathe.”

Reilley makes custom bike frames for his business ZR Cycles

Want a list of upcoming races around the country? Oh, yes you do. Click here.