Cascade Cross Series

Wow, I just watched a cyclocross race. It was called Cyclo-cross National Championships, and I saw it live on the interwebs on our very own continent of and in the month of January. And it was good! Great racing, great course, great crowds, and great coverage. The cyclocross excitement on U.S. soil continues and goes international this weekend in a little town called Louisville, KY, where Masters riders from around the world will compete for Rainbow jerseys, as well as test out the venue for the Elite World Championships in 2013! I'm so grateful to see the energy and attention in this sport now continue into January in this country!

Luckily, us locals have this little race called Chiller Cross coming up this weekend to burn off our excitement & energy. It's been one of the best cyclocross seasons yet, with no signs of stopping this year, so we will blow it out big time, complete with after party!

First off, we have the updated Overall Series Standings after Thriller Cross. I'll reiterate a few rules about the series points, since this is your last chance to seal the deal! Two race minimum (so your name is in italics if you've only raced once). Lowest score is dropped, so you can miss a race, DNF, have one bad day, whatever, and your score is not impacted. If you upgraded, or want to upgrade for Chiller, you need to contact me! I will cut your points in half from the lower category and add them to your new results (did this for some guys already). Downgrades are not a supported feature, sorry. In the case of a tie, your result at the final is the tiebreaker!

All of this is important, because immediately after the race finishes at Cornwall, I will be hammering out the final standings in time for the Series Finale After Party at Chuckanut Brewery! Please note: this will be the first time I've pulled off such a feat - providing a kick-butt final race, finishing the overall scoring, having your prizes ready, and organizing an awesome shindig! Nevertheless, it's shaping up to be a rocking good time, all day long. This is partly due to my increased experience, partly due to having a great team behind me, and partly due to my signature foolish ambition, that luckily, converts to awesomeness for you, the participant!

So the party's got lots of goodies in store - a couple of free beers (for racers 21+), some pizzas provided, our favorite spinner DJ IDLHNDS mixing the music, and enough medal-winning nourishment nearby to keep any hunger or thirst satisfied! We will be awarding prizes 3 deep in each category, recognizing everyone's accomplishments, and sharing lots of muddy tales from the season. We will also be raffling off two sets of Williams Wheels to benefit the Whatcom County Composite Team of the Washington High School Mountain Bike League. See the Chiller Cross event page for more details!

Now lets get down to the race itself, because folks, without an awesome course to get you pumped, I wouldn't even bother showing up myself! Cornwall Park is the original home of cyclocross in Bellingham and will always hold a special place in the hearts of long-time racing locals. But even those from out of town know & love the location. Terry Buchanan, who promotes very big UCI races in the Seattle area and gets top urban venues like Woodland Park, came and raced here last January and suggested it would be a good venue for the WA State Championships. I won't totally rule that possibility out, but for now, it's just ours to play with!

Last year I was able to design a new course layout that brought more action to the main field in the center of the park and included another set of trails not raced on before. I will continue with that design, but of course cannot stop there. Those who raced at Border Clash and Thriller Cross this year know we like to add interesting obstacles that go beyond the standard barriers and run-ups: pump tracks, sand pits, and skinnies. For this race, the grand finale, some friends of the series have constructed something really special - a long time dream of mine to include in a Cascade Cross Series race. Now, the participants of Chiller Cross will get to experience the big debut for themselves in January 2012! Yes, kids, dreams really do come true.

So, in the conclusion of our sixth year, with our best turnouts and best venues and greatest excitement about cyclocross to date, both here and throughout the region & country, we are going out in grand style. I hope you can make it out for a full day of fun this Saturday!

If not, until next fall...

Muddily yours,
 ~RyanR>

Last weekend at Thriller Cross, those with enough savvy to not miss out experienced what may go down as one of my favorite Cascade Cross Series races yet. Mind you, I have made a habit of racing in all my races, just to really test the course and join in the fun. But now with turnout increasing and an expectation of faster results, I have to rely on feedback and post-course inspection to determine how well we did as course designers that day.

The feedback from Civic was very positive. Not to say there weren't negative outcomes: repercussions ranging from pinch flats, sheared derailleurs (3, actually), broken chains, diggers off the skinny, wet chamois (not from the mud), bikes disappearing at the hands of zombies, sore pecs from excessive push-ups, and the list goes on. People got what they expected and more, which was an adventure & challenge right here in the heart of Bellingham! And waffles.

What made it amazing for me was the level of enthusiasm and eager participation in what I hoped would be a festive, memorable event after the rest of the big NW cyclocross scene had all but shut down. Let's just talk about the costumes, for one. Some were quite off-the-hook. We had zombies. We had Santa. We had zombie elves! We had a zombie eating Santa! This went beyond my wildest dreams for participant creativity.

Then we had the stunts & “additional features.” I'm not just talking about the incredible mud pit and Zamboni snow pile. We've seen those before. I'm talking about the truly unorthodox ones we brought to you special this year. Racers attempted the skinny, first erected on site last Friday night. Some, such as Kevin Menard of Traitor Cycles, were airing the entire thing! Riders, of course, took the push-up shortcut. Some paid a heavy price and discovered naughty surprises, and some made their race via shortcuts. Sometimes the best cheater wins. How fortunate that Charlie Heggem hired the professional photographers at Pixel Bokeh to capture it all on film. I am looking forward to seeing what they produce! In the meantime, check out the B Start vid from Gregory Rehm.

Now, many are looking forward to the grand finale at Cornwall Park in just three weeks time. I've heard many promises of attendance from around the region for this NW classic. We can likely expect another record turnout (150?). It's my job right now to not only bring this event to yet another level of awesomeness (which I will), but also plan a killer finale party afterwards. Details TBA - stay tuned!

I'm just coming off an excellent string of new racing experiences - from San Francisco to Arlington - and let me tell you: I like surprises. I like things to be a bit counterintuitive. I like to see people staying on their toes. So just when everybody starts putting away their 'cross mentality (i.e. getting lazy), I will pull out all the stops to keep racing fun & exciting well into the New Year. So mysteriously, while you cannot explain to others outside 'the scene' why you're still racing in December without any intent of stopping before January, you also cannot resist the pull of mud & slippery grass!

Why do I do this? Quite simply, because I am a crossevangelist. I am here to convert people to a better way, leading by positive example, and my gospel is this: cyclocross is one the best sports going, and the season should not stop in late November or even early December!

I will remind (or inform) you that the Cascade Cross series had its all time record turnout after five seasons (at the time) in January of last year. I gambled that people would want to keep the 'cross flame burning longer, and it paid off. We had a fantastic season finale well after the CX in the region had otherwise shut down, and I expect it to happen again. Cornwall Park is a classic, regional favorite - that's why I save it for last. Perseverance pays!

Meanwhile, we have this doozy of a course for Thriller Cross coming up in one week! We've raced out at Civic for three years already, so this year I am changing it up quite a bit. For one, reversing the direction! Long ago there were water bars on the gravel trail descent in the woods that made climbing it seem awkward, but not quite a run-up either. Now it is smoothly graded, and descending it has been sketchy with the sharp right hander at the bottom. So with this keystone now reversed, the whole course can be run backwards and that should be interesting!

But I'm not stopping there. Oh, no. This is the Year of the Shortcut. We will be bringing back a "push-up" shortcut as we have seen once before (but with better enforcement). Hail! But I am going even beyond that. Galbraith-style trail riding experts will appreciate the woodwork I am introducing in the stadium area as an "optional" feature also serving as a shortcut. Yes, folks. Well-rounded skills will give you slight advancement. Failure at these challenges will bring you mild punishment. No risk, no reward!

The festival atmosphere at Cascade Cross races will also be increasing at each event. More food, more sound, more visuals. I am striving to ramp up all these elements for a great day of racing in the middle of town at a top-notch athletics facility. We've got locker rooms. We've got waffles. Working on espresso and that elusive drum-line. You bring family, friends, cowbell, lots of cheer!

And now a note about costumes. We call this Thriller Cross because there are lots of good times to get dressed up and/or scared, not just Halloween. Costumes earn you a call-up to the front row of the start line at this event, as well as greater respect and encouragement from spectators. The suggested costume theme for 2011 is one of two options: the festive Christmas-style look (ugly sweater, Santa hat, reindeer antlers, elf attire, string of lights!) or... zombies.

Why zombies? Because it's Thriller Cross. Zombies don't look at calendars. They just come out when they're hungry for fresh humans. You better be ready to fight them off with tenacity and speed! And if you can't beat them, join them. Dress as a zombie and they will leave you alone!

Following this amazing barrage of racing and festivity, we are also continuing the tradition of Bellingham cyclocross after-parties! This weekend's celebration will be hosted at the esteemed Donkelope headquarters, current house of the Cross Clash Cup. We intend to imbibe from our well-earned 'cross racing vessel, share tales of hard-fought victory & defeat at everything from Cross Border Clash to MFG to Seattle CX to San Fran to BC Cup to WA State Champs, and also admire Greg's frame-building shop. Maybe we'll even get some SSCXWC tattoos, since nobody else is this year. Arrive approx. 5pm to 6pm, leave whenever Greg kicks you out.

There will be of course a huge blow-out after party following the season finale in January, with details to be announced. This is where series overall winners will be recognized, prizes distributed, food & drink consumed, music heard, videos seen, friends made, and buddies heckled. Stay tuned, stay in shape, stay fresh!

Greetings, cross racers! Welcome, cold wind and rain! I feel like cyclocross season is just hitting its peak right now - there is so much to look forward to in the coming weeks - but first I want to quickly recap the amazing time we had out at Grandview last weekend.

First, thanks in part to excellent support from a new crop of dedicated registration persons, I got you your results for Cross Border Clash Day 1 and Day 2 published within hours of race day! As I've said before, I'm always trying to improve my series without compromising the fundamentals. With a new record turnout of 140 racers on Saturday, we no longer have the luxury of me personally looking at every waiver and combing through the lap counts by hand. We haven't strayed too far from that intimacy, however, as I'm still standing at the finish line all day and recording in my mind's eye what happened throughout the race. Now you, too, can relive the 45 minutes (or more) you spent in the pain cave, with this list of lap counts for each race! Did you get lapped? Have a back & forth battle all day? Start slow and work your way through the field? The numbers should tell the tale.

If you didn't catch the results after the event, you should bookmark this 2011 series page and hit refresh a lot, or pay attention to our FB page and Twitter stream, where I send more frequent notices about race happenings (and other goodies like pics & vids).

Results aside, the critical thing to take away is that so many people had fun! We had cheery sunshine and favorable temps both days. Everyone was (mostly) well-behaved & positive, raced hard, maybe crashed but nothing too destructive (thanks everyone for not hitting the fire hydrant, mail boxes, trees, or other immovable objects!). Many waffles were eaten, and the Waffle Guy plans to come to all my races now! The Jack's Bicycle team put in a ton of work to make the course awesome and the whole weekend run smooth. I really walked away stoked about the entire weekend (except for the many people that missed out on Sunday) and energized not only to build & improve that event in the future, but also add more fun elements to the rest of the races this season. Always raising the game!

So what do I have in store for you at Thriller Cross? I cannot reveal all the surprises, but I can tell you we will be bringing in an espresso vendor and hopefully the drumline that could not make it out last weekend. Both parties seem stoked to get involved in this - I just didn't give them enough notice last time. We are going to reverse the course of years past. We are going to bring in some man-made elements. There Will Be Shortcuts!

We also have for you today, hot off the digital presses, the current Series Overall point standings! This is after 4 of 6 races, which you must participate in at least two to reach the podium in January. There will be an awards party after Chiller Cross in January where you will be rewarded for a successful season of 'cross racing!

The next five weekends leading up to Thriller are jam packed full of top-notch 'cross. We have the MFG Season Finale (already?!?) at Woodland Park this Sunday, but even before that I'm going to hit the Mighty Riders event up at South Surrey Park. Next weekend I am headed to Singlespeed CX Worlds in San Francisco to party with the HODALA! who-lee-guns and FPDX.

Then, we have a very quality venue in store for the Seattle Cyclocross season finale (already?!?) at Evergreen Fairgrounds. I have personally made this an event not to miss the past two years and never have been disappointed. It has a lot of cool & varied course elements, the atmosphere is festive, mud abundant, and some times even free beer (as in free beer).

It doesn't stop there, folks. Oh, no. Then we have the BC Cup finale on Dec. 3rd, and the newly announced WA State Championships in Arlington on Sunday, Dec. 4th. Then USGP in Bend. Then your very own Thriller Cross right here in Bellingham, but we're not even done there! Can I possibly survive all this!?

At least I'll die with mud and a smile on my face. I hope you are staying fit & motivated for more than just an early ski season (that's okay, too). Check back in after the weekend for more photos & videos I've been collecting from past events. See you out on the course!

Just a quick note to say first, what a fantastic day of racing! Sunshine and good temps, a tough but well-loved course, and another record turnout for Bellingham 'cross at 140 folks! Not to mention all the fantastic spectators. Could it have been the waffles and beer garden?

I am rewarding your loyalty (and demonstrating my increased efficiency due to more good help!) by publishing preliminary results right here, tonight! Hopefully I can keep this up in the future...

Furthermore, the tally in the Border Clash is a bit lopsided: USA-601, Canada-290. I know you've got the talent, BC. You brought out some real ringers. Where are the rest of you? Come show us your stuff tomorrow! I know you want this. Champions have already been drinking from it!

We plan to reverse the course, race harder, drink more beverages and consume more waffles. Maybe the drumline will show up! 'Cross your fingers for all that, more sun or even some rain if that suits you. See you there!

The battle grounds are already getting bloody, setting the stage for an epic confrontation at the Border Clash this weekend. I was just out at Delta Tech tonight with a skeleton crew setting some stakes, doing some mowing & brush clearing. This is in addition to the week-plus of trail building and clearing already done by Joe Parietti of Traitor Cycles and his crew. The new run-up is going to be sick. The new sand section will kick your butt. The pumptrack section will rock. The new singletrack will keep you on your toes. So much good, challenging stuff! Here, check this out. I drew a nice big course map.

But folks, that is not all. So many elements are going into making this the marquee event of the Cascade Cross Series. You may already know about the Boundary Bay beer garden, brought to you by the eager kids at Homegrown Racing. Then, we found the Waffle Guy. He is a new operation in town, but what could be a more ideal than waffles for feeding our hungry racers & fans? Furthermore, Clif Bar has thrown down several cases of racer snacks to help prevent the dreaded bonk. Don't bonk!

Then, there is the question of music. I tried to work up a DJ, but may have done one better by scoring a drumline for Sunday! I recruited some drummers out of the Bellingham High School marching band who have their state championships on Saturday, but if they still have the energy on Sunday (I'm told they love what they do), they are going to bring you some big sound to race by!

Special Instructions: Once again, we are mixing up the bib number format. You do not have to return your number! If you are Canadian, however, we are going to issue a different number sequence so you can be differentiated from your rivals to the south. Numbers will go on the LEFT SIDE for Border Clash.

Now, let's talk about the hole shot (shown on map above). The starting sprint will be short, and the course entrance narrow. We are talking maybe 100 meters leading into basically a singletrack in a field of tall grass. So you will not get hurt, but you may get cut off. So we find your Overall Standing in the series after two events is now significant, because that determines call-up order! We will have a separate starting column for each country, but from there call-up is based on your series standing, then registration order.

I also must announce a new category for a special group of hardcore racers -- Singlespeed A. This was pioneered at Woolley Cross by the indomitable Craig Etheridge, who was able to maintain speeds on par with top A racers (i.e. Steve Fisher) on a challenging course. If your name is Greg Heath, Joey Mullan, or Doug Graver, you will be joining this category on Saturday and racing at 1pm! If you think you are as fast as these guys (look them up in a Seattle series or two, their results are abundant) and only have one gear, then you should also race As. We need to give more of the actual B-level racers a shot at completing their prescribed laps. Thanks, guys. And yes, there will be upgrade points awarded at a discounted rate.

It's going to be the best weekend of bike racing Ferndale, WA has ever seen! Looking forward to seeing you out there.

I was just out riding my singlespeed on the Cross Border Clash course at Traitor Cycles headquarters, and let me tell you, I am excited! I was following Joe Parietti, who races SS in a lot of my races, and I was whooping and cheering while we whipped through the pump track section. That was after popping out of a brand new singletrack section that is a bit technical, which followed another singletrack section which has been all trimmed back nice, like a smooth moustache. There is a new sand section, possibly a bog section... the challenges keep stacking up! Good thing we will have two days to play on them all. Check out a couple pictures on Traitor's Facebook page.

Speaking of which, I've gotten a lot of questions about the two-day format, so let me clear that up. As far as the 2011 series overall is concerned, you can just think of this as two distinct days of racing. The points for the overall will be counted as two separate days. All the start times are the same on both days. If you can race both, great! If not, get what you can. Some people can never race Saturdays (like bike shop employees), so having a Sunday race is a great opportunity for them to also cash in on the local 'cross action.

The dual-day format IS important for the Border Clash. Points will be tallied for the Top 3 finisher from each country, and given points according to our standard points schedule. These will be added up across all categories for both days, and at the end of the day Sunday, the trophy will be awarded to the country with most points! We've got Craig Stephens of EVL Enterprises and Mark Matson of Kona fame working that up as we speak. It will be some sort of power goblet that can be embossed with the champion each year and passed back and forth over the coming decades.

As far as the course being “the same” both days, let me say a few things. One, this course will be challenging enough that you will not likely master it in one day! If you do, how about we reverse it? What if it rains all night, or dries up? What if I save a few features to surprise you on Sunday, or take them out if they were too hard? You will only know if you race both days. Plenty of the big series races (e.g. USGP) use the same location on day two and only alter the course slightly. Usually the conditions do more to surprise you on Sunday, along with the fatigue or new-found freshness in your legs!

So come on out to Grandview, represent your country in a fun, local format, enjoy the Boundary Bay beer garden both days from approx. 11:00 am to 3 pm, and rock your bike around this sweet course while it's all built up!

Happy Halloween! See you after all the goblins are scared off.

There are some folks who have attended Cascade Cross races over the years that would suggest we control the weather. Days or weeks of heavy rain and/or cold followed by a break in the weather with sunshine on race day (not necessarily during course set-up, which means this is all about you). So we get mud for racing plus pleasant spectating conditions. November, December, January - it don't matter. Somehow, we get the blessing.

Woolley Cross was an absolute confirmation of this. First, all the 'cross races in the region have thus far been dry to tacky this season. We get some rain and maybe a little grease, but not enough to cause tires to break turf. Then, last Friday, we get pummeled by rain overnight and well into the morning. I was excited to finally see some mud! Then, about 9:30 (half hour to C race time), the dark clouds retreated. Blue skies appeared. It stayed rain-free all day. Racers got to slog & slide around, get muddy all the way up to their faces, and spectators enjoyed the beautiful scene. Then, in the final laps of the A race, the drops returned. By the time we were packing up the barriers and stakes, it was downpouring again! We were meant to race 'cross and have a good time that day, and we did.

The course is a classic and always fun. When I say fun, I mean hard. Thanks to everyone who came out! I'll get some pictures posted up shortly. Meantime, here's a not-safe-for-kids video from the run-up, and here are the Woolley Cross results. Overall standings will be calculated in advance of Border Clash. Also note that total race times were not adjusted properly for Killer Cross results, so if you were comparing your times across categories (Masters to Seniors, or Women to Seniors), you could be off by 30 secs. or a minute. It's good to be faster than you think! I'll fix it.

I've been fielding plenty of questions about the target date for the as-yet-not-officially-announced Spiller Cross date & venue. Looking at other series for openings as I always do, I moved the date first for Singlespeed Worlds San Fran once it was officially announced for Nov. 19-20 (so I can go), then again for WA State CX Championships which nabbed Dec. 4th and gifted us with a good, quality northern location. More West Coast Cross=GOOD THING!

With those conflicts in mind, the secret new venue will postpone its release until the 2012 season so I can focus on growing other aspects of the series. After all, my objective was to provide six races in our sixth year of promoting 'cross in & around Bellingham. Now, with Cross Border Clash officially a DOUBLE HEADER! for the first time at great cyclist-centric venue near Ferndale, I can say that is mission accomplished.

Speaking of which, less than two weeks until...

More on this exciting match-up in a bit.

Woolley Cross is shaping up to be another barn burner. Got this message from course master Marshall Will on Tuesday:

I was up on the race course with Chad Berg today, who's designing the State's course at the Arlington airport. We tossed ideas back and forth and got the course finalized. Very sweet. Almost a two mile lap, with a 1 mile lap for the juniors' race without the run-up and the long grinder... I'm pumped! Now if the weather will cooperate...and downpour! Gotta love 'cross!

You may recall two years ago when the rains leading up to the Seattle series visit in late Nov. to the Northern State Recreation Area produced the muddiest cyclocross race many have ever done! I loaded up some pics from that year on the event page as a reminder, along side last year when she came back to Cascade Cross series. Check there to scope some of the great features and terrain. Hopefully revisiting those images from '09 will evoke the same weather!

Just one big of special race instructions: we will be REISSUING bib numbers. If you saved your number from Killer Cross, that's great! Please bring it back to registration and get a new one. We'll use it for other categories. Men, Master Men, Women, Juniors, Singlespeeders - EVERYONE! is getting a new number sequence. This helps you differentiate each other out on the course (color-coded) and helps us sort through results better.

Again, your waiver is here if you wish to fill it out in advance. See you out there!

UPDATE! Killer Cross results are live in their proper home, where you are tied to all your other results in both the Cascade Cross series and the Indie Series (MTB). Go check it!

A little tidbit: Pay heed to the announcement of Washington State CX Championships at the Arlington Airport Park on 12/4. This is a sufficiently northern location for my race-hungry CX peeps that I will defer to it for my desired sixth race, the yet-officially-announced Spiller Cross. It is fair for these one-day special events to stand a chance in the swarm of now three strong WA series. Who here misses Crosstoberfest?

Furthermore, Papa Berg once referred us to a pretty special course location down in Arlington, and I scoped it out for either inclusion in my series or another series that wanted to see some cross-border clash action (now evolved into the event at Grandview). I still consider Snohomish County my absolute southern boundary for hosting races, so watch this space in the future. Plenty of cool, open green space down there!

Good luck, States crew. I'll hope for mud. Look for Spiller Cross in late Dec. or a second January date at this point. Six years of 'cross in Bellingham needs six races, that is all!

I'm having a bit of difficulty firing up my online results engine, but in the interest of sharing all your hard work racing (and all my hard work making sense of it along with Marshall's fantastic help scoring & timing), here are Killer Cross results hot off the presses!

I meticulously picked over every lap for every category to make sure I tracked lapped riders, but if for some reason I made a mistake, please let me know! This will determine call up order for Woolley Cross coming up in less than two weeks, after which overall standings will be calculated.

Check back for revisions and other news items over the coming days! I will also be adding the Youth category, which was a very exciting race. Keep riding...

Results. Yes, I know you want them. I want to finish them, but we all need patience. The bike racers may be fast in Bellingham, but otherwise the pace is slower. You also have to realize that the same guy doing results is the same guy who built the course, raced the course, tore it down, put all the equipment away, updates this website, etc! So I'm a busy guy, but I did recruit some help today and plan to have results out tonight.

In the meantime, I wanted to post up some of the feedback I'm getting on the Killer Cross course, for a couple reasons. One, if you didn't make it, you'll get an idea of what you missed and not make that mistake again! Also, I hope you appreciate that this is where my focus is - finding, designing, and providing great courses. The main point is to race your bike and be challenged! Everything else is gravy. So these are the emails I got regarding the meat and potatoes last Saturday:

Your course was AWESOME! Those big race promoters in SeaTown got nothin' on you. Until last Saturday, I feel like I've been racing grassy crits. The bark pile, tight corners, and the “Danger Boulder”---now that's cross! Just wanted to let you know that Saturday was my favorite course of the year so far.

Keep up the great work,
~ Alyson

Thanks for putting together another totally awesome race.
~ J. Wiese (CAT C over 40)

Thanks for the kick butt course. The climb over the wood chips was fun and truly inspired. Too bad it was so darn clean warm and sunny, I bet it made for some fast times.
See you soon.
Scott Rittscher

and the Twitter stream:

Thank you for the fun course and what we dubbed "The Bellinghamster Cage" - your wood chip pile of fun!
~ Apex Racing Team (@ApexRacingSEA)

Thanks for the awesome race today. That course kicked my ass. Can't wait for Woolley Cross!
~ Bryan R Smith (@BryanArrSmith)

@BryanArrSmith Agreed. That was an awesome and brutal course. Well done.
~ Richard Kiene (@shmeeny)

Big props to you and your crew today! Mucho fun course! Looking forward to Woolley Cross on the 22nd and some mud!
~ Jeff Beltramini (@JeffBeltramini)

Great course and people at @cascadecross 1st race of the season in Bellingham. Scott Barr takes the home town win in my Men's 40+ C race
~ Greg Chapdelaine (@MukCX)

and zero complaints, despite numerous flats and other issues. That's racing, they say!

But don't just take our word for it. Thanks to modern technology, not only can you see some pictures on my FB profile, but also GPS data for several riders on Strava (a.k.a. a ride segment), and even a first lap video from Scott Alexander's handlebars (the camera is perhaps his StarCrossed spoils for the Cat 3 win?). Enjoy the media... talk to you in a bit.

p.s. I take the the words “favorite course of the year so far” as a challenge!

It's here!

Along with the heavy drop of fall weather, the CCX series opener is finally upon us! Course building is already well under way (Joey, go practice those barriers). This place is huge, wide open (no trees), and the ground is very hard, so I'm getting a good head start and bringing every piece of equipment I can muster! I'm looking to add lots of little challenging elements in addition to the two good hills that will wear on you each lap.

There is no pre-registration (here's one good reason), so that's obviously not open or closed, but you can get a head start on day-of registration if you like! Here's a Registration & Waiver PDF you will need to fill out. Registration opens at 9 a.m. to reflect our new start times.

Numbers on your RIGHT SIDE for Squalicum Creek. You can use the same number as last year if you have it, but check with Registration to make sure you're in the right sequence, please.

Also, if you were in the Top 3 Overall last year and did not come to the Season Finale party, please stop by Registration to pick up your plaque! We will also be selling off the custom glassware from 2010 for just $10 (they were $5 at the party, but you had to be there!). These are 23 ouncers! Get them while they're cold.

Call-up procedure will be as follows:
1) Upgraded riders! (does not apply to Cs)
2) 2010 Overall
3) Registration order

Bring your rock tires, your raw power, your pain face, more cowbell, and have some fun! See you out there.

  ~RyanR>

We are now just over one week away from the Cascade Cross season opener at Squalicum Creek. The excitement is really ramping up! I am just two weekends into racing myself, after StarCrossed, MFG #2 (Rapha-Focus GP), and the Seattle Cyclocross Series opener last Sunday.

Gratefully, I find the Pacific Northwest scene is as strong as ever: fields are large, riders are in shape, and everyone is motivated to rock! Not to mention the Bellingham contingent has been killing it out there. I mean, we had 5 out of 40 finishers in the StarCrossed Elite men's race and 7 out of 42 at Rapha-Focus GP as current or very recently departed 'Hamsters. That is over 15% of the field on Sunday! We also had a lady finish in the Top 12 Elite Women both days, a Cat 3 male winner and Cat 3 lady 2nd place at Starcrossed, Masters Men 1/2 45+ in 4th and 6th on Sunday, and not to mention the now-nationally famous singlespeed pro barrier hopper...

No wonder our Wed. Night practices at Lake Padden dish out the pain with large shovels. We are shaping up for some very competitive racing up in our little fourth corner this year. That being said, beginners are always welcome, and I encourage everyone else to take advantage of our low-key, self-seeding racing scene to race up! Sand baggers will be booed and maybe even poo-pooed.

I must give a shout out to fellow promoter Sven Sturm who puts on the Vanier Park Cyclocross event this Sunday, the “longest running cross race in BC.” I have raced this event several times and it is a blast! Although I must say in this vid from 2010 the course looks faster & more open then I remember. The highly urban setting is hard to match, plus the terrain is still challenging, the fields strong, and the prizes great! He has offered to discount U.S. racers $5 to compensate for the border crossing, and USCF licenses will be accepted! Register online and you're only out $20 for a fantastic international race!

Speaking of BC and the great CX partnership we are developing along our northern border, I have decided to break with my tradition of Saturday-only races for one particular weekend. Dec 3rd is their BC Cup final at South Surrey Athletic Park (just over the border near White Rock), and several loyal Canuck series participants have asked that I avoid that critical race. I think we can accommodate. So I had hoped to introduce a new venue on Dec. 4th called Spiller Cross and move Civic, aka Thriller Cross to Saturday, Dec. 17th. I am still going with that schedule for now (notice sidebar), but after a bit of hiking around I must say the new venue is pending. Luckily, I've got a couple cards up my sleeve.

The whole point is to keep the season rocking well into December leading up to Nationals, but I also must leave room for USGP Bend and that funny holiday with the presents. There was also some chatter with Terry B of MFG about possibly partnering up for winter series after their regular season wraps up with that excellent Woodland Park course. Stay tuned!

Last minute note: the second of two Ladies Intro to Cyclocross clinic is tonight! See flyer with pink and horsies below.

Final note: remember the CCX Series start times have been officially moved back one hour! So if you accidentally show up early, imagine what a great warm-up you'll get! Just bring an extra coffee & goo packet.

Welcome to September! The month with lots of CX news. It is also The Month that 'Cross Starts. Well, at least in some Pacific Northwest towns other than Bellingham.

Now, we do have PRACTICE. Those have in fact already begun. Find us every Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Lake Padden ballfields under the lights (not needed yet). Cost is generally free, although I do believe the organizers like someone to chip in for the cost of turning on the lights. Maybe some thoughtful sponsor has covered it, I'm not entirely sure. I do know that later in the season (thankfully), after softball season ends, we get to move to Civic Fields. So go get some intensity in (i.e. mock race), do some skills drills, and make some new CX friends! It's a good spot to find carpool partners to upcoming races.

In other nearby locales last weekend, we had some races. Langley, BC hosted the H&R Block race, a new Oregon series kicked off in Vancouver, WA (Trebon was reportedly present), and the immortal Labor Day CX Championships tested out “The Pit” in Milton, WA.

Boy, are folks getting busy! And dusty. And hot. Not my kind of racing weather, but I'm sure people had a good time, blew off the cobwebs, drank beer, tested out their equipment, inhaled minute dirt particles into their lungs, etc. Personally, I like to wind it up a bit slower and look forward to hitting it hard in late November, carry on well into December, and finally having something left in the psychological tank for Nationals in January, when it is certain to be cold, dark, and difficult.

In other words, cyclocross weather. That wonderful dank stuff that lubes up our race surfaces and sends our tires plunging into muck & mire. I seem to have accurately predicted (so far) a solid Indian Summer. We can only hope a true Fall will appear in time for the Cascade Cross season opener at Squalicum Creek Park on Oct. 8th. That course has some pretty tough terrain - hard rocky earth surrounded by big steep banks - and I would love for it be at least a little slippery for you! Only the cyclocross gods can answer this prayer.

I can tell you the omens are good. My hope - no need - for a solid team of volunteers for building this monstrous course has already been addressed by the friendly riders known as the Fairhaven Bike Club. Look for them at a local ride and now a CX race registration table near you!

Speaking of beseeching, several people have inquired about the status of the Women's Intro to Cyclocross Clinic this year. Always one to encourage newcomers and the underrepresented categories, I am presenting it for the third year running! Click the image below (art by co-instructor Nicole Conner, joined by another high energy CCX participant, Alyson Indrunas). Two Wednesdays, 9/14 and 9/28. 6pm at Civic Fields, we will cover the basics each night and get in a fun workout. Send your lady friends you've been trying to get hooked! It's free, and most importantly, non-intimidating.

That's all for now. The next four weeks is when I go deep into “planning mode”. I will be testing out new staking methods, organizing course tape, ordering bib numbers, reviewing courses over & over (in person and in my mind), updating the website, building super-secret structures, etc. I will keep you posted of all happenings afoot! Now go get fit and dial your bikes (Aw, shoot, I have to do that, too!)

Oh, WAIT! There is one other key piece of information about my races. Sorry this came a bit late, but thankfully the whole operation is moving a bit later to accommodate you late risers (including me, and that pesky winter sun). Races will be shifting back ONE HOUR! First race at 10, kids race at 11, B race at 11:30, and A race at 1pm. The volunteers setting up spirals and registration tables in Cornwall Park in January, beginner racers, and last but not least, parents of small children trying their first bike race ever thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Oh, crap. One more thing... SSCXWCSF!

Yours truly, the heart & the history of the Cascade Cross Series got a write-up in Cyclocross Magazine last week. This unwanted (heh!) media attention arrived courtesy of the freaky fast local singlespeeder, Joey Mullan. Thanks, Joey! He plans to interview a host of other series promoters throughout the season, but of course, you don't care (as much) about them, right? I might get jealous. Unreasonable emotions aside, it might just interest you to know some of the background that goes into building such a good time for everyone!

Regarding the tentative dates published below, I have been informed by Parks that all my dates are good, with the exception of Civic on Nov. 19th due to a yet-to-be-determined football event (silly sport that it is, they get first dibs). As you can see, I have the option to move that to a December date and fill it with one of several alternate venues I am now researching. I could also leave Nov. 19th open for what is rumored to be San Francisco's turn at SSCXWC. However, official details from that event are hard to track down. I will avoid the date if it seems like THE hot place to be that weekend. I have an SS race bike almost ready to rage, so maybe I'll go. I will keep you posted!

Last item in the news is the status of our very own CCX Facebook page. I made a mistake by naming the Page with a specific year (2010). Now, with well over 100 fans, I am not permitted to change it! I have been asking those of you who "Liked" the page to temporarily "Unlike" it so I can update it to something more timeless (like hey, how about Casade Cross Series? Brilliant!). I would appreciate the cooperation of at least 38 more people in not liking me! I will let you know when it is all fixed up.

Yours,
  ~RyanR>

Ruth Mtn went down in style yesterday. It's amazing to see all the snow that remains up high. It's a strong reminder of what a wild winter we had last year! It makes me wonder what kind of winter is in store for us next. Will we be racing 'cross in snow in Washington? That is something I would relish being a part of, as it has been quite rare.

The proposed 2011-12 schedule for the Cascade Cross Series is as follows:

• Oct 8th - Killer 'Cross (Squalicum Creek Park)
• Oct 22nd - Woolley 'Cross (Northern State Rec Area)
• Nov. 5th (and 6th?) - Cross Border Clash (Industrial Park at Grandview)
• Nov. 19th - Thriller Cross (Civic Fields)
• Dec. 3rd or 17th - tentative extra dates
• Jan. 14th - Chiller Cross (Cornwall Park)
• Jan. 28th - tentative bonus date

I have to get official course approval for all this, and secure additional venues if I manage to add dates! But I am going with this based on the success of these locations and approx. dates in the past, and avoiding other CX events/series in the region.

Looking forward to seeing you out racing!
  ~RyanR>

Happy August! I am going to post preliminary dates & locations for the 2011-12 Cascade Cross Series on Monday. At least the first five! We may add more races on the tail end of the year (up to seven), because nobody else is doing races around here to keep you fit until Nationals!

Lots of big plans in the works, but I'm also busy doing my version of 'cross riding. See you after a summit of Ruth and Icy Mountains!

So people want to know about 'cross. They want to talk about 'cross. They want to do 'cross. They LOVE 'cross!

I love 'cross, too. However, in July, I am just beginning to think about it. Right now, I am enjoying summer. Lazy river floats frying my skin under a relentless sun (?!). Epic mountain bike rides on long trails before only read about in books. Long couch sessions studying the breakaway's chances in the Tour de France, or poring over the best pictures, analysis, and choice quotes. Ascending mountain peaks just recently unlocked from record snowfalls. Putting in long road miles without knee warmers or fenders!

Why are you all rushing to get into Fall already? It will come. I'm hoping for late October, meaning a much-deserved Indian Summer. If that is the case, cyclocross should not begin with all seriousness in September. Especially now that Nationals are properly & finally moved to January! We have so much time to wait for the mud & cold to return. I love summer weather, but I don't like racing 'cross in it!

That being said, my series racers are my peeps, and I have to keep you happy. I have to tell you something. So here's what I'm saying: Cascade Cross Series will be coming on strong for the SIXTH! straight year! I will start the racing sometime in OCTOBER! There will be at least FIVE! races in the series, and we will run it until at least JANUARY!, if not FEBRUARY! (I always have to up the ante). We will be going big at the Cross Border venue on GRANDVIEW! since that was a big surprise hit last year. And finally, as always, I will be making the best COURSES!, looking to bring in at least one new, never-before-seen, blow-your-socks-off VENUE! And I will do my best to avoid conflicts with other popular series in the region.

So is that enough good news and loaded promises to tide you over for another month? Probably not. I do appreciate that some people need to plan their calendars well in advance, especially hot shots like Steve Fisher who have to travel to Europe and stuff but would love to race right here in Bellingham! Here is my defense in this respect:

Yes, I realize the two big Seattle series have already published schedules, with MFG already hosting a race laden with dusty crashes last week. That is helpful, but really not even a large issue since they basically just filled up every Sunday from Sept. 11th to Nov. 27th (except Halloween weekend). All my races are always on Saturday! And they have nothing in December, when I plan to have at least one race to fill the welcome void left by Nationals.

The final piece of the great NW CX scheduling puzzle (besides approval for the venues) is still lacking definition. It is the BC Cyclocross calendar. I'm told that a key meeting has been held, and that a calendar will be published shortly, and when it is you can find it here. I have not always been able to avoid conflicts with their schedule, but this year I am making a concerted effort. Their 'cross scene is growing rapidly, more Canadian racers are venturing south to mix it up with us Yanks, and I welcome their participation! They need more 'local' races, too.

So hang onto your skinsuits and chamois cream - we will get your knobby tires dirty soon enough!

Party!

Well, since there were no big breakthroughs from our U.S. representatives at the World Championships in St. Wendel last weekend, we'll just have to keep the CX excitement rolling on through the end of the season right here at home.

First off, we've got your Series Overall Results! I am seeing some very familiar names in the Top Three of every category, which goes to show that consistency (and loyalty to your local 'cross scene) pays off. Good job, everyone! Top 3 in each category will be recognized at the Finale Party next weekend!

Which brings me to party details. I am pleased to announce that the Cascade Cross Finale party will be debuting the new event space above Backcountry Essentials on Holly St. in downtown Bellingham. They have been doing other cool things to attract people like us, such as stocking some of the best canned beer available. Owner Chris Gerston has been kind enough to make sure his remodel of the space is complete in time for us. It may be a little rough around the edges, but I told him cyclocross folks are okay with hard conditions!

There will be beer, food, award presentations, random prizes, CX vids. Did I mention beer? More details are on the event page.

Finally, let's talk about this Noordzee Cross ride. At noon, a healthy crowd of CX riders will gather in an open space next to Bellingham Bay. They will receive clues (fairly obvious ones) about their next destination. They will ride to that spot as quickly and safely as possible, then repeat with a new clue, until they reach the final destination where the ultimate treasure will be revealed. If you get there faster, you get your pick of the better treasure. That is all.

See you in a week for the best winter cycling party in Bellingham!

Chiller Cross results are finally posted! It took me much longer to produce them than you deserve, but it took as long as I required to produce them correctly. The C race in particular was quite a tangle to sort out, but I believe we got everyone placed properly. So many finishers is a good problem to have!

Overall calculations are next on my agenda, with all the upgrade requests I received to be included. I will give you points in the higher category according to the placing your average lap times would have given you amongst the faster riders. This takes some careful hand calculation, so check back in a few days!

Meanwhile, here is some other fun data to chew upon. The 2010-2011 season was a banner year for the Bellingham cyclocross scene, with the following milestones worth noting:

• • Most races in one season (5)
• • Longest season (15 weeks)
• • Most participants at one race (118 at Cornwall)
• • Most unique participants all season (250)
• • Most total participations/entries all season (441=88 person/race average)
• • First collegiate nationals title (Western Washington University)
• • First male collegiate national champion (Steve Fisher)
• • First Men Cat 3 overall winner in Seattle Cyclocross series? (Chris Ellis)
• • Longest running local series (5 years)

I think this says a lot about the growth of sport in our town, and I only expect these numbers to increase! Thanks again for being a part. I look forward to giving riders more action & excitement in 2011!

News!

I know you are all dying for some news, and I'm here to tell you something! First, after counting about 115 participants, I have to say Chiller Cross last weekend was THE BEST turnout at any cyclocross race in Bellingham EVER. And it is January! This, combined with all the thanks I got and smiles I saw, tells me a lot about the demand for CX racing in January. Bring it! This was not the first year I hosted races later than everyone else, and it will not be the last, I can tell you that! Big thanks to all the volunteers that helped make it happen, particularly the WWU Cycling team.

Now onto results. I know you all want to know how you did. Well, you did great! We are a culture of instant gratification, so you expect results NOW (actually last Monday to distract you from work), but I am going to spread the excitement out a bit. We've still got a few weeks to go until the next event (more on that in a bit). In truth, I've just been hammered with other matters, including (but not limited to)...

Raking! I just received 11 photographs from the Parks Dept. of areas impacted at Cornwall last Saturday that they would like raked. A few volunteers and I worked several hours after the race last Saturday to smooth out the ruts. After that, it snowed, so the project was on hold. Tomorrow, I am finally headed out there again, likely in the afternoon. If you would like to assist, call 927-2340 for a time or some directions to work on your own. If you have a metal rake, that is helpful.

Now pictures! William Currie, a Men C racer, had his dad come out and take some pictures. He took a lot of every race all day. Here they are! I'm told higher resolution can be obtained, so if you see a keeper, let me know. Thanks to the Williams! There are more that I am working on obtaining. Again, patience is a virtue.

Now February! I've previously announced that the Grand Finale Party was on hold for a better opportunity. I think I can safely say now that I'm holding out to debut the new event space at Backcountry Essentials on Holly St. in downtown Bellingham. It's a perfect place for a cyclocross party. They're currently finishing up a remodel to make it all up to code for a large group, but I've got a tentative agreement from the owner for a Feb. 12th event date. This coincides with the UCI C2 Noordzeecross in Belgium, so to spice up the day for everyone, I'm going to throw a Noordzeecross de Belgiumham that day. Details will follow, but think AlleyCat meets SSCXWC Qualifier meets fun-ride-on-a-cyclocross-bike-followed-by-a-party. We'll watch some races, drink some beer, and hand out awards.

If it doesn't go according to plan, we'll postpone it! Which means must more fun & activity to look forward to in February. Something has to get us through the winter. See you!

Cornwall!

I know it's been quiet around here, 'specially with the Holidays and all, but with 2011 just around the corner, there is definitely something to get excited about and stay in shape for. It's the continuation of the local cyclocross season!

In fact, few other parts of the U.S. can lay claim to such a luxury, but it makes perfect sense. With the big pro scene still raging on, a la the World Championships in late January and series like the World Cup, GVA Trofee, and Superprestige carrying on into February, how else are we going to show our solidarity with our suffering brotherin' and sisterin' in Europe? Who are we to pack it in? Sit on the couch and just watch like softies? I don't think so.

For example, your own favorite U23 Rad Racer, Steve Fisher, has been over in Belgium living it up and digging deep in the EuroCrossCamp. He's on his way back now to race at Cornwall, so watch out Mens A! Just before mixing it up with the world's best, he was down in Bend earning some hardware along with six other of our favorite Cascade Crossers:

 

Well, no need to let all the fun & memories end there. We've got Cornwall Park! A classic course, to be sure, and a regional favorite. Nevertheless, after seeing what Brad Ross did with the eternally used-and-abused course at PIR for the big USGP weekend in Portland, mixing it up and making a spectator & vendor friendly core, I've got some ideas. I've got approval from the Parks Dept. to use some new trails, and I will even go so far as to reverse the direction! There is a map here.

So that's the good news. The bad news: due to personal circumstances, I'm not ready to throw a grand finale party immediately after Cornwall as I did last year. However, it's not all bad. I'm not going to short change you from a great celebration that you all so richly deserve for racing hard all season. You just get more cyclocross season! I am going to postpone it to February, but I've got some tricks up my sleeve to make the wait worthwhile. For one, I'm holding out for a perfect new venue downtown to finish up a remodel (hint-hint). Second, we can't really have a party without some World Championship footage! Lastly, and certainly not least, we cannot expect our out-of-town friends to join us without giving them something to do on their bikes! So I am going to throw another event the day of the party.

Now don't worry, Chiller Cross is still the final! This February incident will not be series points event, or even necessarily a traditional cyclocross race. Just something fun to do on your bike and a good reason to be outdoors with friends, kicking up the metabolism in advance of some heavy celebrating.

Stay in touch. I'm going skiing. It's my birthday on Friday, happily stepping into the 35+ category (cyclocross age). Although that means I have to race against Russell Stevenson. Ugh. I guess there is no excuse for getting slower with time!

Following an excellent showing at the Seattle Series finale at the Evergreen Fairgrounds in Monroe on Sunday by Bellingham all-stars such as Chris Ellis, Scott Alexander, Steve Fisher, and many others (not to mention an excellent after-party), I was inspired enough to update the Cascade Cross Series overall scores. Check out how your persistence has paid off! Remember, there is a two race minimum. If you upgraded and want the previous results to count towards your overall score, you have to ask.

Also, some curious cat from Bellingham came out to Woolley Cross and shot some nice photos of the B race and posted on the Slice O' the 'Ham blog. Check 'em out!

With USGP coming up in Portland this weekend, I'm about to tune out and focus on doing my best ride of the season. I have a rebuilt SS bike that I'm gluing some tubulars on right now to use as a pit bike. Oooh, a pit bike. I feel so fancy...

I wish everyone luck who is headed down to Portland and/or Bend over the next two weeks. This could be my favorite time of year! I'll see you in January for Chiller Cross, and stay tuned to this website for after-party details.

Kari Studley has announced the prize winners for the inaugural Washington Women of Cross series! Looks like some fantastic rewards for all-around consistent racing. Way to go, newbie ladies!

As a reminder, two Cascade Cross races were featured in the series races this year, Thriller and Woolley. It looks like Whitney Anderson fared the best out of our participants this season, following a rock solid overall result in the Indie MTB Series this summer where she moved up to Expert from Sport Class by the season's end.

I look forward to watching this competition grow along with the skills & abilities of the women. You go, girls!

Woolley Cross results are now available! Thanks to everyone who came out. Overall standings will be recalculated in a short bit, as soon as I get over the fact I raced for 70 mins (Marshall!).

Woolley Cross kicked!

Here is a Picasa photo gallery courtesy of the day's Men B winner (and next upgrade candidate), Rusty Dodge, pictured below with Single Speed winner Greg Heath with whom he nearly closed down a 30 sec. starting gap:

(p.s. that red jacket hanging in the background is in my possession - contact me to reclaim!)

If you've never ventured out to the Northern State Recreation Area, Rusty's pictures will give you some sense of what a cool venue we have to play in. May it always be featured in the Cascade Cross Series!

While Marshall Will is busily & faithfully cranking out some results, I'm headed north to tackle my second race of the weekend and do a bit of Cross Border research! I'll catch up with you in a day or so.

Cheers,
 ~RyanR>

First off! The new course at Grandview CX used for this year's Cross Border Clash was well-received. About 20% of our participants came down from Canada, including hot shots like United Healthcare's Andrew Pinfold, to give us (well, Logan) a good run for our money. Results are now posted here! Look for this venue to return in 2011, with more terrain features, more entertainment, and lots more clashing with our Canadian friends & rivals!

Furthermore! The overall standings are now calculated with the first 3 of 5 races in the series. Your lowest score will be dropped after the final, but you must race in at least two races to qualify for goodies at the finalé party!

Next! Get ready for a fantastic day in the mud this very Saturday at Woolley Cross! Marshall Will and the NWCC have put all the pieces together, so even I can just show up and race. Go put it all out there!

Finally! Jeff Van Mulligen of Atomic Racing/Speed Theory invites you to the AtomiCX at Aldergrove Park on Sunday! This is just over the border from Lynden, and may be suitable for future border clashes in the CCX Series. He will be knocking a bit off the entry free for U.S. participants (you need a one-day BC Cycling license if you don't have a UCI), so the cost will be $30. Go have fun and support another local race up north!

Oh, one more thing! If you have not made your plans to attend the huge CX races coming up in Portland and Bend, OR in the first few weeks of December, you should do so now! These are very special events in our region that should not be missed if you truly love 'cross! The season goes so quick. I hope to see you there!

Cheers,
 ~RyanR>

The Cross Border Clash is a go!

Thanks to our good friends at Traitor Cycles, Joe and Kevin (pictured with Joey Mullan below following Thriller Cross), we have a location to race on Saturday!

More details on the event page.

Special Announcement regarding Cross Border Clash:

In 2007, my series debuted an amazing new course up north in Lynden at the Northwest Washington Fairgrounds. It had a lot of interesting course elements, including slippery grass, pavement, deep mud, gravel, a table-top ramp in a skate park, and a killer run-up. Furthermore, the facilities were very comfortable: indoor registration, coffee shops across the street, and hot water from the hoses, even RV hookups if needed. We called it Tractor Cross (ties to a tractor museum at a nearby location that was originally planned for the race). Everyone had a great time and the facility was burned indelibly into the minds of many local 'crossers.

In 2010, I decided to bring the venue back with a similar course layout, but under a special new format. The plan was to try and marry the two exciting 'cross scenes emerging in the far corner of our state with the one growing rapidly just over the border in lower BC. National pride always seems to come alive in sports, and there is no reason cyclocross in North America should be denied the fervor (at least until the World Championships come to Louisville).

Concept is one thing, and execution is another, and this time 'round circumstances have conspired against me.

For one, the fairgrounds office apparently did not look at my facility request very closely until this week. They have triple booked the grounds, with a horse show and a dog show both taking priority. Their space needs are such that all interesting features and the expansive nature of the course would be too severely compromised. I'm not going to ask you to come out there and take your money just to ride around in kiddie circles. It's against my deeply ingrained 'cross course design principles!

Secondly, we have the issue of reciprocity with the BC Cycling community. Jeff Van Mulligen of Atomic Racing is still hosting ATOMICX at the Aldergrove Lake Regional Park on Sunday, Nov. 14th (the day after Woolley Cross), a high quality course just a stone's throw from Lynden. This seemed like the right partnership to have both sides of the border represented (although hosting on different weekends was less than ideal, it was a start to something).

Well, as it turns out, while my events treat Canadian riders the same in terms of registration cost and insurance coverage, BC Cycling would not provide a reciprocity agreement for US riders. One day licenses would have to be purchased, which are only valid in the Citizen category. Not exactly a strong man's & strong woman's showdown in the making.

Fortunately, yours truly is not known for giving up without a fight. Thanks to help from my local cycling friends (yet to be announced), I have an alternate course in my back pocket that may just fit the bill. It is just off I-5 and still near the Canadian border. That's about as much as I can announce until the course magicians do their thing and the landowner gives final approval. The point is to still occupy this otherwise open Saturday with your favorite November activity, cyclocross! Plan C may involve moving it to December, just to round out the CCX Schedule and keep five races in the series.

I will post the details as soon as I have them. I am reminded of 2008 when we moved the series final from Lake Padden to Civic Fields last minute due to a similar double-booking snafu, which really worked out to our benefit as we've now raced at that fantastic venue three times!

So stay tuned for good news, and thank you for your passion for cyclocross! We'll keep it coming to the best of our ability.

Okay, I finally got the last piece of dirt out of my eyes following the mud bath at SSCXWC last Sunday and got my head screwed on straight, so without further ado... here are the Thriller Cross results!

It was a fantastic day and a well-received race. Civic is ever the crowd favorite simply based on its naturally interesting & varied terrain, but sun certainly helps. We had a strong showing of ladies and Canadians (especially the Canadian ladies), and I'm very grateful for everyone that came out with a smile on their face, which was almost everyone! The costumes were plentiful and spirited, including Granny Gear, Father Cross, and the everyone's favorite man? of fitness, Richard Simmons.

Granted, I produced these results much later than I would I have liked this time around. To be fair to myself, I was preoccupied with rebuilding an old frame (my first and only cyclocross bike for 7 years) into a singlespeed bike just in time for the big international event. This included a dropout conversion & headtube replacement from Donkelope Bikes and a fresh, original paint job from JL Powdercoating out in Ferndale. However, there was one other snag I should like to detail for you, my faithful racers of local 'cross.

The astute observer will notice that all the CCX Series results have been removed from their former host - an organization that principally supports road racing events sanctioned by USA Cycling - to their new home on the Indie Series website, which is an organization that supports independent promoters of mountain bike races in Washington. Well, here we are with cyclocross left out like the bastard stepchild of cycling disciplines (as with the Olympics).

Some series in Washington are USAC sanctioned, and that is a workable model for them given their well-established rider base. However, I have a friend here in town new to 'cross. He just dished out the coin to get a CX bike built and is trying to learn the sport. He doesn't have a USA Cycling license for 2010 from a prior discipline. Is he going to pay $60 for a license only good for a few races, or $10 on top of $25 to try a 30 min. Cat 4 race that he has to drive a couple hours to reach? Not likely, and I'm sure he's not the only one.

We still have a lot of people to introduce to the sport of 'cross, and the more inviting these events are in terms of proximity, cost, and attitude, the better. I'm not the only series in Washington to take this stance. If the “state road organization” requires sanctioning to support 'cross (by allowing me to post results there alongside other disciplines), than this 'cross series won't be supporting the “state road organization” by sending you to their website to look at results. The Indie Series is definitely something we can get behind, and the series will be growing in 2011, so check them out!

Now, onto the future, and the future will be written in Lynden at the NW Washington Fairgrounds in less than two weeks! More on this fantastic, off-the-hook venue in a bit.

Cheers,
  ~RyanR>

p.s. the beginner ladies (Womens B category) will be rewarded with points in the Washington Women of Cross series.

Judging from the number of photos of bikes I saw loaded with muck on Facebook after the Beverly Park race in the Seattle CX series yesterday, people had a muddy-good time. Finally, some proper 'cross conditions are arriving! Just in time to soften up the lovely terrain at Civic Fields for Thriller Cross next weekend!

Now, Civic Fields has been in the Cascade Cross lineup for three years now. It was brought in as a last minute location for the Series finalé in 2008 when the Lake Padden ballfields got double-booked for a collegiate XC regional championship. Just about 50 people got to appreciate how lucky we were to be moved to this venue that year. Conditions were difficult and the course put people through the deepest mud I could have anticipated. Then we discovered the hot showers! and all was well that ends well.

Last year, Silly Cross opened up the series with a bang at Civic Fields and totally lived up to the name. Afterall, I was wearing a Black Night costume, and Logan Wetzel was wearing a pink ski suit. This was appropriate, as there were large sculptures of Zamboni-shaved ice being sculpted in the paths of racers. Yes folks, this is the ONLY race in Washington guaranteeing you snow in October.

This year promises to offer up some great fall conditions. It's been raining aplenty, leaves have been falling, and we have a variety of terrain waiting to challenge you, from deep grass to compact gravel to pavement, uphills, downhills, & flats. It has trails, a stadium, & slippery bridges. This course has a little bit of everything, so we'll keep it in approximately the same format as last year.

However, I'm not saying there won't be any surprises. With a name like Thriller Cross, there has to be a reason to get scared! If nothing else, you'll be inspired to embrace the spookiness well in advance of Halloween this year.

This is also the first race (of two) in the Cascade Cross Series that is part of the Washington Women of Cyclocross Series. If you are a beginner woman, new to CX in Cat. 4 or Cat. 3, Kari Studley will be offering you points to go towards some great prizes! You should race with the Women B at 9:00 am, and Kari will score you separately by USCF category at a later date.

Speaking of great photos from Patrick Means (gracing the banner image on this site), here's a set his lady Deanna snapped at the Mens A race at Squalicum Creek. What a fantastic sunny, windy, rocky day on the 'cross bike that was:

Now, bring the real mud!

  ~RyanR>

Results from Killer Cross last weekend are posted on WSBARacing.com. Please contact me with any issues.

I'll make a brief statement on the timeliness of results, in the spirit of an open & honest discussion about the challenge of producing quality 'cross results quickly, I'll give y'all some lowdown. After all, as paying participants, you deserve to know how your suffering paid off!

So you've probably figured out that Cascade Cross is basically a one-man show. I get lots of great volunteers that really make this all possible, but when it comes down to it at the end of the day, there is only one “staff” member, and that's Ryan the Rocket. He builds the course, he scores all the races, he races his own course (to make sure it's up to snuff), then he tears it all down and organizes everything for the next race. Results tend to come after all of that (especially after a bit of rest).

The trade-off for you, the participant, is that you get very individualized attention. This is also the advantage of a smaller, low-key racing scene. I know many of you personally, I looked at the madness and hurt in your eye as you cruised past the finish line time after time, lap after lap, earnestly chasing that wheel in front of you, and so sorry the lap count was not lower already! I have meticulous records of each racer, and I feel I rarely make a mistake. I've got your lap count (even if you didn't finish) and lap times for everybody. The technology on the WSBA website also links the results from events, teams, and racers all together. Not bad for a little grassroots operation.

So, as stated at the beginning of this blather, check out your Killer Cross results, and let me know if I got it wrong, and I'm sure I can straighten it all out.

See you at Thriller Cross for your local Halloweeney 'cross race and the only 'cross race in Washington guaranteed to include snow, even in October!

Here's a litte write-up on Killer Cross I did for the upcoming Mount Baker Bicycle Club newsletter. I'll give you a sneak peak until it gets published.
  ~RyanR>

Cyclocross is the fever of fall cycling. It comes on very suddenly. You're getting along fine, enjoying your summer, and then it hits. And once you have it, it's hard to think about doing anything else. At least until December, because when the snow flies the fever starts to break.

It's the same being a cyclocross event promoter. It didn't really hit me until just a few weeks ago that I had to build one of the largest courses I've ever attempted in the City of Bellingham's newest acquisition, Squalicum Creek Park. I used it for the first time last November (Hilly Cross), and it's a beast. Hard-packed rocky earth. No trees. Full exposure to the wind. A course builder's nightmare, but at the same time, a spectator's dream. You can see racers over the entire course from one vantage point - at the top of the mound.

So this year I decided to tackle it first, in September when I had lots of fresh energy, and get everyone excited about the season even earlier. I decided to call it Killer Cross, because after racing it last year, I realized how difficult it was to complete all the laps! I took even greater advantage of that large, grassy mound. I passed the course over the top 3 times, with a little island in the middle for bell-clanging fans to get their fill of desperately tired racers. This is the same mound used in the Ski-to-Sea this spring by the mountain bike leg designer, Charlie Heggem. I also used his path through the nearby field owned by Allsop (Squalicum Lofts). This proved to be the muddiest, most-slippery section. All the ruts of those 400-plus bikers passing through had been perfectly preserved all summer, making for nearly impossible cornering. But luckily, there was enough rain recently to soften them up and make for a slippery good time!

And let's talk more about luck. Kevin Menard of Traitor Cycles, who fanatically raced the Single Speed category at 10:30, said to me, "God must have blessed you as a race promoter, because all of your races are sunny!" It's true. After some pretty difficult weather passed through the area in previous weeks, we had what seemed to be one the hottest days of September. It was almost too hot for 'cross. I know, because I raced seven laps of that monster course at noon. And I was soooo thirsty, I had a ring of white around my mouth at the end of the day. I was not the only one.

The largest group of the day started us off at 9 am. 35 'C' racers took to the field before the heat of the day set it. Some still had long-sleeves and knee warmers or knickers on. That would not last. Most everyone finished, although a few were taken out by flats on the rocky soil, or other mechanical issues. 6 or 7 little tykes raced after them, completing a smaller loop that did NOT include the mound. One little guy even finished with training wheels on! Very muddy after that effort, I might add. Quinn Hartsoch looked pretty proud, especially since both his mom (Beth) & his dad (Jacob) would be racing later in the day! It truly is a family sport.

The B field at 10:30 was nearly as large as the first. It started off as a pitched battle between Scott Alexander, a long time local racer and Sehome H.S. graduate, against Joey Mullan (Fairhaven Bike employee) and Greg Heath (of Donkelope Bikes) on their Single Speeds. Then, just like last year, the winds picked up. Mother nature was trying to rip my course to shreds. A couple folks got caught up in course tape, but friends and fans around the field chipped in to try and hammer it back together.

This race also included the Women's A field, and it was one of the strongest showings of top women I have ever had the pleasure of hosting. Kari Studley, a WWU graduate and former triathlete, is now an elite 'cross racer who travels to Cross Vegas and the big competitions out on the East Coast. She is starting a 'Washington Women of Cyclocross Series' this year for beginner women, and it includes two of my races. She also mastered my course and made mince meat of the competition, although Nicola Mann of Trailhead Athletics gave a fantastic chase. Kari would race again with the Mens A group at noon, along with her husband, and she even passed me up. An incredible performance after already racing once that day!

The final race of the day was just about a dozen of the fastest gentlemen (plus Kari). The heat really set in, but that did not slow down these studs from flexing their late September muscles. Ian Crane, a Whatcom Community College student, and Patrick Means, a former Fairhaven Bike employee, WWU racer, and quickly becoming a renowned mountain bike and road racer, completely lit it up at the front of the field. I tried to watch from about halfway back on the course, but I also was trying to watch where I was going!

All in all, it was a stellar start to what I predict will be the best cyclocross season in Bellingham yet! I've been doing this CX promotion thing five years now. The Parks department has really got on board with it. The racers know about it and look forward to all the varied courses. I've got five races to offer this year, lasting all the way into January. It really is a great time to catch the cyclocross fever, and it's not too late!

The folks at Cascade Cross (mainly just me) are very excited to start off the Bellingham 'cross season with Killer Cross at Squalicum Creek Park this very Saturday! Now in our 5th year, this will be our earliest series start ever. Add to that: lots of interesting changes to the terrain in one of last year's most-talked-about courses, torrential rain recently followed by sunny skies forecast for race day, lots of new people coming into the sport, lots of great volunteers, lots of support from the City of Bellingham Parks Dept., and lots more great races to follow. All perfectly good reasons 2010 is poised to be the best CCX Series yet!

Also, part deux of the ladies cyclocross clinic is tomorrow! See the blog post a few entries down for more details. New ladies are welcome to jump in - we just won't cover all the same material we did last time. Mainly focusing on starts, barriers, and run-ups with some racing & cornering to finish off the night and tune you up for Saturday!

See you out there, with mud & cowbells on...

Great news coming down the pipe from one of our favorite high caliber lady racers in Washington! A new points series for you beginner-to-intermediate gals! Here's her message:

New for 2010 - The Washington Women of Cyclocross Points Series.

Similar in format to the Road Racing Cat 3/4 Points series. The goals of this series are to encourage women to have FUN racing cyclocross, encourage participation in a variety of cross race experiences and to increase the number of women racing cross in Washington state!

7 races have been selected in each of the 4 Cyclocross Series within Washington state.

• 9/12 - Kick Off Cross (MFG)
• 9/19 - Rad Racing GP (MFG)
• 10/16 - Thriller Cross (Cascade Cross Series)
• 10/31 - Steilacoom (Seattle Cyclocross Series)
• 11/7 - Maris Farm (Seattle Cyclocross Series) OR Ephrata Cross (Inland NW Series)
• 11/13 - Woolley Cross (Cascade Cross Series)

Who is eligible? Cat 4, Cat 3 and those new to cyclocross. There is a separate points series for each category.

Thanks to our series sponsors - Redline, Gregg's Cycles, Nuun, Wenzel Coaching - There are FABULOUS grand prizes for each series and participant prizes for all!

More information can be found at: http://wawomenofcross.blogspot.com

You can also become a fan on Facebook! (search Washington Women of Cyclocross)

Any questions, suggestions - email Kari Studley

Cascade Cross is pleased & honored to get one-third of the fun factor in this new series! Kari & I go way back - before she had raced a bike in anything more than a triathlon - and she knows first-hand Bellingham is a great place to be on a bike.

She also picked two great races. Civic Fields (Thriller Cross) has become an instant classic up here, and Woolley 'Cross was my recommendation since it is closer to the other races and familiar to some Seattle CX hardcores. Come check it out and get in the action ladies!

See also my post below if you are a woman in Bellingham and new to 'cross! We are here to support you!

I was just reminded by a friend who publishes the newsletter for the Mt Baker Bicycle Club that I have a Ladies Intro to Cyclocross Clinic coming up next month! Oh, goodie!

I started this up last year in response to a relative dearth of ladies racing at my local events. I spread invites around using the ol' word-of-mouth technique, and added the presence of Nicola Mann as an additional hook. Nicola has been racing at a pretty high level for many years, and probably knows more than I do! She also looks really great riding that bike.

This year Nicola is busy teaching A LOT of people about fitness in general by opening an excellent training studio, Trailhead Athletics. Her and her partner, Derek Shiers, are even running a CX Training class of their own this fall! I highly recommend working with these folks to get faster, stronger, and more stable!

Any ways, we had about 8 ladies turn out last year on the first night, and even fewer on the follow-up night, so the instructor/student ratio was really good. We had ladies on full-suspension mountain bikes, and of course most had zero experience with the sport. The upside is we learned a lot each night in 1.5 hours or less!

Kathy of the Fanatik Bike Shop is sponsoring the event. She came out to learn something that night, certain she would be terrible at it, and went on to win a Women's B race at Squalicum Park in November on a mountain bike! We also had a gal with some road racing experience on the Fanatik team take her bike down to Marymoor Park in Redmond just a few days later and take 6th in the stacked Women Cat 3/4 field at StarCrossed!

So, in summary, if you are looking for a new outdoor activity this fall, something to get you out on a rainy, dark day and still come home smiling, allow me to recommend one of the funnest sports I know of! If you have a bike with any reasonable traction, bring it on out to Civic Fields on Thursday at 6 pm in two weeks, and we'll show you the ropes! Then go racing. You won't regret it!

Howdy, folks! Like a zombie rising from the dead, the Cascade Cross Series is coming back with a vengeance in 2010!

Take a gander at the event dates on the right. That's right - we're going big with FIVE event dates this extra-special explosive 'cross season!

We'll be bringing back the same 3 great Bellingham City Parks courses that everyone loved last year, such as Civic Fields. We are still running later than everyone on the calendar in Cornwall Park in January, but starting even SOONER with a Squalicum Creek Park opener in September.

Also, some special additions. Woolley 'Cross is back from her temporary moment of insanity in the Seattle CX series, with a die hard date of Nov. 13th AND we are also bringing back the eternal favorite from 2007 - the NW WA Fairgrounds are on tap for a Cross Border Clash on Nov. 6th!

There is SOOO much 'cross taking off in a big way this year, but that's not stopping us from going huge right here in our little corner of the NW. We have put these special Bellingham and surrounding courses in a rightful place in your hearts as the place to race 'cross. Look for more parties, more mud, more people having more fun on their bikes in 2010 and beyond!

Preliminary results are posted. Series overall points will be compiled and posted this week on WSBARacing.com. Meanwhile, check out this awesome vid of the A race from RD Watters (who raced 542, Silly, & Hilly Cross)!

I'm pleased to announce the 2009/10 Bellingham cyclocross season finale was a resounding success! Turnout was on par with our popular Hilly Cross in November, with perhaps even more spectators. The strong desire to race and experience 'cross into the New Year was palpable. Party attendees were delighted and entertained. New exposure was gained for our amazing sport. What more can you ask for on a cool, sunny/foggy Saturday in January?

I want to send a huge thank you to the volunteers who helped make this season a success, including the WWU Cycling, Recycled Cycles Racing, and Fanatik Bike Co. teams (see Event Partner links at right). Gigantic credit is also due to Lance Romo and the Bellingham Parks Dept. for permitting every race this year on city property. In my mind, terrain makes or breaks a good cyclocross course, and I did not make the terrain! We are blessed with good parks in Bellingham, so show them your support!

I also appreciate every single person that attended a race in Bellingham this year and years past, either as a participant or spectator. You make the sport what it is - a good time had by all who show up!

We look forward to seeing you next year for more pain... I mean, fun! Bring a friend and the sport will continue to rise to its rightful prominence, from muddy October to frosty January. Then we can set our sights on February!

Yours,
   RyanR>

If you find yourself struggling to understand the hype about cyclocross, or maybe just not finding the motivation to get your bike out this weekend to hit the anaerobic threshold for 30 to 60 minutes in mid-January, perhaps this video about the U.S. Gran Prix of cyclocross from BrakeThrough Media will be of assistance.

This is footage from a weekend in Portland in early December, which many Bellingham 'cross racers attended and even brought home some good results! I can highly recommend the trip down, even as a spectator, and while I may not have waffle vendors or big sponsors on hand at Cornwall, I think you will feel much of the same spirit. After all, this is true grassroots cyclocross!

Greetings, 'cross fans. I've been taking a fair number of inquiries from our neighbors to the north (Canadians), primarily about licensing. The short, easy answer is: No, you don't need one! The entry fee you see is the entry fee you get. Insurance is all inclusive.

I'm taking away a few things from these inquiries. One, there is widespread demand in our region for cyclocross races in January. This is not a national issue. It is a Northwest problem! Canadian CX Nationals have been in November, and in 2009 were in freakin' October. That is a problem! U.S. Nationals are two weeks before Christmas. That is a problem! I don't know where Mexico stands, but we've got to get with the Euro program!

There have been a few rumors circulating that U.S. Nationals may one day soon be moved to January, and plenty of surveys have come back with the majority of riders wishing to continue racing into the new year. We agree, and Bellingham is here to show you the way! We've been racing on snow and ice at Nationals every year in my memory since RI in 2005, so what's the diff? On the flip side, temps hit the mid-60s (18ºC) at 7 p.m. today, so we can't exactly say this is not 'cross weather!

The other takeaway is that there needs to be more 'cross pollination between the B.C. and Washington cyclocross scenes. In fact, myself and another B.C. promoter already have a Cross Border Clash concept in the works for 2010! This smells like a good healthy battle brewing, starting with Chilly Cross.

Another interesting reaction I've been getting from folks when talking about this weekend is my use of the word “exclusive” to describe the party on Saturday. The only thing exclusive about it is the limitation to people who attend Chilly Cross and one guest! There are two reasons for this: 1) I am using every incentive possible to get people out to Cornwall Park in January, and 2) with free food & beer on the menu, I have to limit it in some way to those who participated in the series. Spectating counts nearly as much as racing! If you are on the scene at Cornwall Park, you are in the cool club.

Speaking of Belgium and racing in January, Steve Fisher has just returned to Bellingham last week from a successful January racing campaign in Euro Cross Camp VII, one of several such journeys for him in his career as an Elite Junior and now U23 rider. Look for him to not only challenge for the A win on Saturday, but perhaps tell you a few tales at the after party!

Happy New Year! Okay, friends and rivals. I've been really excited to announce this, but wanted to finalize some of the details. I also figured it would make for some good news to brighten your first week back at school and/or work. Boooo! Let's think about bike racing and more parties! And more cowbell!

As a reward to the supporters of the Bellingham cyclocross scene, from series overall winners to spectators to volunteers, I am throwing an exclusive post-race finale party at the Hotel Bellwether, right in the heart of Bellingham Bay, at 6 p.m. on Saturday, January 16th. It is a 3 mile straight shot from Cornwall Park down Squalicum Parkway, right past the location of Hilly Cross, and a stunning setting for a night out on our enviable coastal town with fellow bike racers and 'cross fans.

I am still dialing down some of the colorful details that will be included in the evening, but you can anticipate some or all of the following: 1 hosted keg of Boundary Bay IPA, trays of assorted appetizers, a killer turntable DJ powered up by YOU using the Power Wheel from the Make.Shift project, current footage from European cyclocross World Cup races, and award presentations to both 2008 and 2009(10) Cascade Cross Series overall winners!

This event is just $5 for Chilly Cross participants and volunteers, and only $10 for spectators & cyclocross fans. But here's the deal - I have to limit this to about 75 glorious cycling bodies, so you have to come down to the race at Cornwall park on Saturday to sign up (+1 guest). Contrast this with the Mid-Atlantic Cross Series Awards Banquet who is using this thing called the “internet” and robots?

I want to see your pretty (muddy) face at a cyclocross race in January! Is that too much to ask?

More details will be posted as they become available. Thanks for keeping it real!

I've finally pieced my life together after the blitzkrieg from the USGP Finale in Portland to CX Nationals in Bend, where I battled mud, ice, cold wind, flats, and embrocation flare-up in a total of 5 races over the span of 8 days. That was followed swiftly, of course, by the lovely experience we call Holidays, when our peak fitness quickly begins to feel like a thing of the past.

Before you travel too far down that road, consider ramping yourself back up for the next (and last) big event on the local cyclocross scene. Unless you're camped out in Belgium right now, that would have to be Chilly Cross, our series finale!

The Cornwall Park course will be laid out in a familiar style for those who have raced at this classic over the years (with a Spiral of Death adding some extra zing). But the real news is... I'm adding something special to cap the end of the local cyclocross season... a series finale party!

I want to reward all the loyal participants of our cyclocross races over the past four years (especially the winners), and hang with all the best of the Bellingham cycling community in one warm space. So save your Saturday evening on Jan. 16th, and maybe plan for some local lodging if you're traveling from out of town. Here's an unconfirmed tip-off if you want to sleep real close to the party.

I hope to make this a multimedia event, complete with Euro race footage to help keep the excitement going all the way to the World Championships on January 30. If you like to help plan parties, please !

Hilly Cross results are finally posted on WSBARacing.com! Remember you must race in the final to score points in the overall series.

Sorry for the delay on those. As I posted on my Twitter account, I've taken the last few weeks to work on some good results of my own. It's now or never for us average folks, as the Seattle CX Series wound up the last two weeks up North, in Sedro Woolley (#7) and Monroe (#8). Now it's on to USGP Portland and Nationals in Bend just down the road in Oregon! What a dream month for cyclocross on the west coast.

I expect to have some fun things to report from the field over the two big weekends. I'm taking the full week as vacation and living the amateur bike racer's dream - 5 races in 8 days. I hope my bike holds up, and I hope to see you out there battling it to the end!

FOUND: Pair of spectacles at registration.

Thanks to everyone who came out and supported Hilly Cross on Saturday! We couldn't really have asked for better weather, considering how wet & windy it's been the past few weeks and how nasty it turned out to be on Sunday for the Seattle CX race down in Sedro Woolley. I'll take a sporadic, chilly wind with some sun poking through any day in November! Hey, we only damaged one tent.

Hordes of ravenous 'cross fans huddled on the burial mound, cheering over the arctic-ish blasts while I raced with the A's at noon. You can't really judge a course without racing it, so that's what I did. Then I could relate to my friends on Sunday who were punished by the mud down in Sedro Woolley and complaining about heavy legs. I thought Hilly Cross was a great warm-up for that flattish course. I also heard you about the organic matter discovered in the thick mud section. Somethings on a course you don't know about until it's too late. Sorry, we'll avoid the poo next time.

I've posted your podium finishers in preliminary fashion. I'll get the official results with lap counts & total race times posted over the next few days. Thanks for your patience - I'm sort of a one-man army on a lot of the follow-up and follow-through for these races.

The volunteers on Friday & Saturday, including -- Rob Trombley and all the guys from Recycle Cycles Racing, Harvey Varga, Jim Clevenger, Rob Tierney, Luke, Chris Ellis, Jeff Cummings, and Courteney -- were hugely instrumental in pulling off a big course like that! I was impressed with the cooperation and fun level we achieved.

Kevin Hall shot a great helmet video of his first lap in the Silly Cross A Men race. Complete with a barrier slam, followed by a barrier hop! If you have not ridden our courses first hand, this gives you some idea of how hugely awesome and varied they are. Thanks, Kevin!

(Side note for the curious: guy lining up next to him at the start in the Western skinsuit is the same as in the banner on this website, Patrick Means)

I shot a video of my own (with a Droid phone) at the Bellingham cyclocross practice last week. It's our bumping drill - have to stay inside the shrinking square, put a foot down and you're out.

We are still getting a great turnout, even as the temps dip and conditions worsen. We have a great crew of CX racers here. Thanks to Jim Clevenger of Runningshoes.com for building our courses every week and setting up drills!

Cassi Gallagher came out to Silly Cross to take some pictures, and posted a write up on her blog from a newcomer's perspective. The Picasa gallery has some real gems for you to peruse, especially the zamboni snow pit sequence shots. But here's one of my faves from the B Race start:

I also have some hot news coming out about our final in January. I don't want to jump the gun and get you too excited about racing in January for the first time, but we need to dial that course location much sooner than last year. I can tell you it could be the one that everybody loves, and it rhymes with "Hornball".

Folks, we got Silly Cross results. Thanks for your patience!

My apologies to the B and A category racers for the lack of total race time. We had the timer running for the B race, but my officials got overwhelmed and didn't hit the split button. I was busy trying to swipe you with my sword (pics coming) and spouting lines from Monty Python. For the A race, the battery on my sophisticated timing device (iPod Touch and an iPhone app) was just dying, so I didn't bother starting it. We'll get that dialed for Hilly Cross.

For the curious, I'd like to explain the power of the huge engine where your cyclocross results are posted. Click on your first or last name in your particular result. If you have raced any other bike race in Washington that has submitted results to the WSBA (mostly road), you will see all of those along side your 'cross result. Same goes for your team name. What a great way to give your sponsor proper credit by filing your result properly under their name.

This breaks if we have your name or team spelled wrong or different, so now you see the importance of filling out your registration form legibly and consistently! if there is a mistake and we can merge your results into one person and team.

This benefit is provided to you mainly because I am also the WSBA webmaster. We are working on getting cyclocross consistent with the other disciplines in the state. Furthermore, we could be storing a centralized scoring system across multiple series -- somewhat like CrossResults.com -- but specific to just Washington.

Thanks for helping grow the sport of cyclocross by participating! We'll see you at the next one.

If you were one of the lucky spooks at MFG Cross on Halloween afternoon, you got to witness the Lion of Flanders try his hand at racing. Often waved and carried about by passionate spectators (especially those ravenous Belgian fans), I thought the lion looked even better on a bike and running the barriers. We hope to provide some pictures for those who missed.

In future news, Hilly Cross has been awarded the status of Northwest Collegiate Cycling Conference (NWCCC) cyclocross championships by the conference director Bill Wykoff. It is important this year to establish a conference CX champion because of the call-up procedure for the collegiate race at Nationals in Bend.

We are offering this opportunity with a slight bias towards our hometown racers at WWU, past National champions in the discipline and home of a talented favorite, but the race is certainly open to all collegiate athletes from Oregon, Idaho, Washington, and Montana. We will run a separate category at the A race at noon - Men in front of the other racers, Women behind - with a time gap as necessary. This is our smallest field during the day, so there should be minimum disruptions and a fair race.

All students pay a discounted entry fee of $15 at Cascade Cross, regardless of category, so we welcome more young and aspiring athletes to try their hand at this addictive sport. We feel once you get a taste, all those other fall school activities will seem rather luke warm.

The news from MFG yesterday regarding Lincoln Park CX on Halloween being canceled is nothing short of a travesty of parks management. The drum signals should be pounding all around the cyclocross community right now. Head over to the MFG website, gather up the Seattle Parks contact info, and make your voice heard loud!

Even if you are not a resident of the city, those of us planning a visit should also be respected, not least the sport of cyclocross in general.

UPDATE! They have already secured an alternate venue. They are announcing Lakewood Park on Twitter. Wow, what an adaptable bunch. Hope to see you there in full Halloween regalia.

RD Watters has provided another first-hand report of local cyclocross racing on his blog. His video captures some great moments, the full size of which is here. Kevin Hall also shot some helmet cam footage of the A race, so we'll post that when we can.

RD won the Cross 542 race in the C category, and upgraded for this race. As a downhiller, he has an interesting perspective on the sport. Great to see some cross over from all the other cycling disciplines! Those with a BMX background like Chris Ellis are also fun to watch (especially when they start catching air and snapping forks).

Results from last Saturday are forthcoming. I still have to return some equipment to Bellingham Parks and my rental costume has to go back to La Rue, some time today in this soggy rain. Now is also time to plan & build a race-able costume for MFG next Saturday at Lincoln Park. I'll see you out there with the other creepy 'crossers!

A raucous good time was had by all! So raucous, in fact, that is all I have the energy to say about that right now.

In all seriousness, however, people in the know realize that today's course was genuine 'cross. We don't short you here in Bellingham, just because we have smaller fields. This is proper 'cross, all silliness aside.

Thanks to everyone who came out: spectators, volunteers, and most importantly the costume clad participants! May the sunshine continue to smile upon you, as long as the mud is well formed overnight as it was today.

Big shout out to the great volunteers from the WWU Cycling Team tonight, who were unfettered by the torrential rains. Now, the course is 90% laid out in superior fashion.

Yes, my friends, the 'cross gods have smiled upon Us Silly Persons.

Will it be the first muddy race of the season? Seems like it, so I guess that makes it the first real CX race of the NW season.

Come n' get it, 'cross kiddies. The Black Knight awaits you.

At least a baker's dozen of Bellingham's finest CX racers made their way south to Everett on Sunday to race Seattle CX and dip their toes in the shores of Silver Lake (if only to avoid the speed-sucking sand on their left). All that riding on Galbraith with our 'cross bikes finally paid off, heh? Probably would have helped to do some running workouts, too.

This course was widely considered to be good and tough - some called it a "man's course". Yet it was our local ladies who dominated it! Nicole Conner (Fanatik) takes 2nd in the Women Cat 3, Shannon Mallory (Redline) wins the Junior 10/12 Women! This is where our sport needs to grow right now. Give the ladies a big cheer!

I can't help but feel the excitement and tension in town now at the opportunity to Race Local. That is a motto to recreate by - if you have the opportunity to get out and get muddy with a fun bunch of folks, or even just cheer at them, without climbing in your car - do it! It is happening this very Saturday, and there will be no shortage of tomfoolery to marvel at and be a part of.

I'm off to dial down my costume. Be afraid...

p.s. I just got word from Jim Clevenger of Runningshoes.com. We just earned one more week of practice at Lake Padden on Wednesday. You know what that means - no course previews! All the better to have more surprises.

I was going to write a post today about how thrilled I am about the weather. About how it is actually raining and we have a chance of actually getting properly muddy at a race for a change.

I was also going to say how impressed I was that the Bellingham CX practice still had a good turnout (the last one at the Lake Padden Ballfields for '09), despite the very ominous storm clouds in our whereabouts. Even with a reduced area to work with, Clev set up a fun, twisty, mostly-grass course that provided some challenges (I crashed and took out Scott Alexander). Next Wednesday, we're finally at Civic. Meet at the baseball area called Geri Fields down by Fraser St. I can show you what the Silly Cross course is made of!

I was also going to say how stoked I am to finally have a race north of Seattle, specifically at Silver Lake on Sunday, so us Bellinghamsters can get in on the big Seattle action without having to fully traverse said city. Us locals are looking forward to caravanning down with grails and other regalia in tow and returning with vast chests of war booty!

But instead, I'm going to talk about the play I saw tonight at the iDiOM theatre. The play is called Storm Still, written and performed by the Nonsense Company, and it was about King Lear (I'm pretty sure). It was also a commentary on this term (borrowed from medicine) called catharsis. It can have a variety of meanings, but as I heard the characters debate about it, all I could think of is cyclocross. Yes, our sport can be seen as complete nonsense. When people try to understand the madness that is 'cross, they must know we are most definitely engaging in our form of catharsis. Look it up!

I could also talk about the fiasco that was Nationals registration last weekend, but that is all over Twitter already, so I don't have to repeat that here (but damn you, SBO, for disrupting my catharsis).

Just register already! CX Nationals are back on the West Coast, and they won't be here for long. Maybe if we're lucky, it will snow.

If you require some education on NW cyclocross culture and cannot make the several hour journey to Portland for a real taste, please peruse this gallery from the Cross Clash last Sunday for a sampling.

The only proper ingredient missing is mud, but these people manage to stay freaky despite the ongoing drought.

Please assimilate the culture before attending Silly Cross. We need your freakiness!

Rough estimates would put the attendance at the Bellingham cyclocross practice last night around 40. This includes rippin' fast hot shots like Ian Crane and Steve Fisher of Rad Racing/Hagens Berman, newcomers in town like Joey from Tacoma (Old Town Bicycle), curious ladies like Cheryl Batty of Fanatik, and upcoming junior racers like Ryan Mallory. My team had 10 members on the grass, so I think we've got the makings of a strong cyclocross presence building here.

In other news, new custom race bibs are being printed, snazzy posters will soon be posted, '08 prizes are finally ordered (and maybe '09 too!), insurance is requested (darn, this gets expensive). You may have noticed a slight price bump for men - this will help us hopefully break even this year, but only if you attend every race, and bring a friend! The under-represented categories (women, juniors, collegiate, youth) are still subsidized.

We're getting ridiculously close to Silly Cross! Are you working on your costume yet!?

The talented design crew down at Carnes Media (on State St. next to Pepper Sisters) scratched this up us on fairly short notice. Hopefully, it will draw some more local racers and spectators for the '09 season. We think it's hot!

The run-up photo is from Joe Martin. I'll be getting this printed up next week and distributed around Bellingham with the help of the WWU Cycling crew. If you want a copy, either print the reduced quality version above, or let know and I'll print an extra on high quality paper for $1.

I'm a bit slow on the uptake on this one, but I just looked at the results from Seattle Cyclocross #1 last Sunday at Evergreen.

I want to give a big shout out to Ryan Mallory of the Fanatik Bike Co. team as the only racer in Elite Juniors. Good job, dude!

Ryan likely raced his first 'cross race up here in Bellingham in the past few years. We need more juniors laying it on the line like Ryan. Please encourage your local youth to try 'cross!

Luke Seemann of the Chicago Tribune has published a nice thorough set of articles describing the sport of CX, complete with helpful photography and other tips.

There is even advice for proper spectating! I like “Be the Mickey to their Rocky.”

MORE COWBELLS!

We are finally nailing down some dates for 2009, and they are coming up fast. Except for one.

The astute observer will notice a January date on the schedule. That's right, January. The month where Europeans are still racing 'cross, and we in the Northwest never are. Why? Something about Nationals in December? Well, Canadians' Nationals are in November. Should they stop racing then? Of course not! Why get fit for 'cross and quit two months in?

So yes, sports fans, we are taking the plunge. When faced with a difficult or experimental project, and the question is continually “Well, who's gonna do it?”, eventually if no one answers the call, my response is “Okay fine, I'll do it!” So here it is. I'll do the first NW 'cross race in January (that I've ever heard of).

Here's the catch to make it all work. Last year, the series overall points were limited to those who raced in at least two events. This year (2009/10), you must attend the final! So you can pick one from the October and November dates (or better yet, do both), but only those who race in January are eligible for the overall.

“But, Ryan,” you say, “I never got my series overall prize from last year. Why should I care?” Well, for one, because the courses are awesome, and we there will be no shortage of excitement and challenges in store for you this year. But I will also deliver your custom goods when you arrive to the races this year. Fair deal?

Okay, I've finally got the bug! Just needed a few races to blow the cobwebs off. Now I'm stoked to put on races again. I've updated the calendar, I'm combing locations, I'm gathering equipment and volunteers. Are you getting fitter? You should be. My courses may not be as nice as years past. See sidebar at right.

I'm getting plenty of inquiries about the 2009 season already. Fair enough in August, but frankly I'm just not ready to let go of summer yet! I've been enjoying some of my old hobbies, like rock climbing, and trying out new ones, like paddling. But the die hard 'crossers cannot be held back from their destiny - another season of mud, sweat, and beers!

So I have been reevaluating my motivations for putting on a new series, and why they might not be as strong this year (we'll see - often it comes on late). Here's a few insights on where my head is at for 2009:

One purpose I had when expanding the Cyclocrazed Series into something more regional was to offer a change up from the "standard" format. Our region had basically one style of CX racing to choose from: one schedule of categories, one way of setting courses, one way of registration and scoring. People like to see innovation and a different approach to things, and I strived to give you that.

But this year, Terry B. and crew may be fulfilling that role with their new MFG Cyclocross Series. They are certainly in a position to offer you a different brand of racing, judging from the experience at StarCrossed and the ton of planning & marketing they have done already. The Puget Sound region now has a choice again among big time 'cross series, without driving to Portland (in fact, Portland will be coming to us for the glorious cup clash at Tumwater)!

I was stoked to be given the opportunity to participate with MFG by hosting an event in the series. I think that demonstrated how well received the Cascade Cross events had been so far. I searched pretty hard for a location down south that was suitable, and important long term strides were made, but all the stars didn't align for me in the debut year. Maybe in 2010 we'll have something special for you.

So let's look at my other motivations. Certainly the most basic one has always been providing folks in the Bellingham area some exposure and opportunity to race 'cross without driving down I-5. I feel people are more likely to try something out first in their hometown, whether as a racer, spectator, or volunteer. Once they see the excitement and fun, they are sure to try it again, perhaps even buy a racing license and start to travel to the bigger events.

It was very rewarding to see 'cross back in Bellingham, and with the help of my usual suspects, I think we can still make that happen for you. I will be sure to offer up a couple low-key races in Bellingham, just for the locals. Of course, those that have raced on my courses know they are worth traveling to our "small town" for! Case in point: be sure to check out 542 Cross for an early season warm up, one day prior to the MFG season opener.

For those paying attention to the road racing scene, you may have noticed my involvement with the WSBA. That's because I took on the role of Web Developer for WSBARacing.com in late 2008 and have been bringing a fair amount of upgrades to the results & ranking system this year. There is plenty of demand for improvements to the software, which I enjoy, and it is still a good opportunity for me to help grow cyclocross in Washington. For one, I can try to give it an equal status on the website, from the calendar listing to importing your results from 'cross to show up next to your road accomplishments.

I hope you have stuck with me this far. I've met some great people and seen a lot of dirty, sweaty, smiling faces over the past 4 years of trying to grow the number and quality of cyclocross events offered in Washington. I am glad to see the sport taking on a life of it's own as people come to understand the madness that is 'cross. Stay tuned for something exciting this year, train hard, and we'll see you out there!

A new cyclocross series in the Seattle area is announced! It is called MFG Cyclocross, and it's brought to you by Terry Buchanan of Star Crossed fame, Zac Daab of Hup United, Jim Brown of Rad Racing GP, and yours truly!

The full announcement is here. You can also follow them on Twitter for the most rapid news updates.

While you're out battling snow and freezing rain at the road races, you can imagine yourself at exciting, warm, festive CX races all the way to next fall! We wish you luck. Please do the same for the awesome factor of the new series.

For those of you on the Web 2.0, social networking, mobile phone gadget bandwagon, I will be Tweeting (and reading) about all things cycling here: http://twitter.com/cascadecross.

Look for specific updates related to the series when the 2009 season gets closer!

Thanks, sports fans.

In a big push before I hit the road for the USGP Portland Cup, I just got the lap counts and times into the results for Viking Cross! These are time adjusted for the staggered starts, so now you can see how you stacked up against all the other categories. Note to math buffs: all lap counts should be + 1/2 lap (so 3.5, 4.5, and 5.5 for C,B,A respectively).

I'm also getting rolling on a new photo gallery feature. Got Patrick Mean's B race pics showing up from Belly Cross, and a few of my own from the A race at Viking Cross. Joe Martin had us covered at DocKore Cross (along with most other races this season). I'll be working on a ton of photos from the beautiful day at Woolley Cross when I get back!

If you have any photos from our first season, you can send them , or if you just get them on Flickr and a link to it, I can make magic happen!

There is talk of some Seattle folks meeting at a pub in N. Portland known as “The Nickel”, so maybe I will see you there, or maybe (just maybe) I will beat you off the line along with all the other 90+ B Men at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning! If not, I'm certain to try again on Sunday. Drive safe.

Overall is posted!

I will make some small tweaks over next day or so, correcting team names and adding times for Viking Cross. If you see any obvious problems, please !

We had some awesome racers grace the Viking Cross course on Saturday, one even showing up early on Friday to help with the set up.

That volunteer was Debbie Driver of Ragnarok, with perfect attendance in the series and therefore 1st overall in the Women's B category. This note came from her:

This is a note from Phil Pons, Mens C racer and 4th place overall in the series, addressed to me and the Bellingham Parks department:

That nicely sums it up, Phil! I would just like to know why I wasn't invited down for that $100 in food and drink? We do appreciate your endless supply of PBR at the run-up, 3 of which kept Toby Swanson fueled and motivated during his long foray off the front, and your spirited Viking horns.

This is a note from Zack Phillips, first overall in Mens C after taking 2nd at every Cascade Cross race:

Thanks also to some great score keepers and data entry volunteers, overall results were announced throughout the day at Civic Fields. Looks of blissful amazement were expressed. Lewd podium shots were taken. Monday night I plan to publish just the facts, ma'am.

After that, I will write a brief race report, get prizes made up based on your size requests and mailed out, post photos from all the awesome races, and finally start planning next year's series!

No rest for the weary, but we really had so much fun, who wants to stop now? We're just getting rollin'.

Big thanks (to name just a few) to Wick, Sean Wittmer, Mark Peterson, Marshall Will, Tela & Ian Crane, the WWU Cycling Team, Jeff & Clayton Cummings, Dick Henrie & Lance Romo of Bellingham Parks Dept. for helping make the 2008 cyclocross season a memorable one with fresh faces and cool places.

Here's looking forward to 2009! Now go, fight, and win down in P-town!

It's just a half hour past Thanksgiving, and I'm pleased to announce the overall after 3 races is calculated. Check it!

I scored from 1st down to 18th place. Everyone in that range will show points, even if you only did one race. That's so you can see where you stand going into tomorrow's race! Also known as “preliminary”.

After Viking Cross, the results will reflect the two race minimum, which should break up a lot of the ties. The number of repeat racers in this series is much lower than you might think! Consistency rules.

Regarding the Overall

With our final location finally established, I can devote part of my Thanksgiving holiday to riding, and part to getting the overall calculations correct (and maybe a tiny part eating - but not too much!). They will be posted here as well on WSBARacing.com.

If you have done at least two races including Saturday, you will have an overall standing. We do not drop a "worst" race. We do not award double points. You race, you get points. You don't race, no points. So simple it's brilliant!

Prizes will go to the Top 3 in each category, and will be custom embroidered tech vests (1st), brimmed beanies (2nd), and shop aprons (3rd). If you are in such an enviable position following Saturday's race, be sure we have your correct mailing address and preferred garment size (see the sizing info at the links above). We will hopefully do podium shots to cement your glorious deed into the annals of infamy, but your prize will be unceremoniously mailed.

Happy Turkey Day! Hope to see you well rested but not too fat on Saturday morning.