This article was originally published in the Friday September 3rd 2010 edition of the Lake Tahoe paper, the Sierra Sun.
Summer is winding down into fall in Tahoe with frost covered mornings, early sunsets and a reduced time to ride. The 2010 road bike and mountain bike race season is also closing its doors for the year. Many racers and riders hang up their helmets in September, relax, indulge themselves and watch their bellies grow as their legs shrink. For some, this transition period into winter is an important act of recovery from a long summer of cycling. But for those who may have gotten a late start to their season or racers with a competitive fire that cant be doused, the end of summer bike riding is an unhappy time.
If you find yourself lamenting the cold weather and lack of serious bike riding, I have a solution to your problem, Cyclocross. Cyclo-what? Say it slowly, Sahy-kloh-kraws. Its an off-road style of bike racing, a mix of riding on pavement, dirt, grass, sand and mud combined with some running, obstacle hurdling and bike shouldering. The courses are usually short, no more than a mile or two and are run for multiple laps for up to an hour. Its designed to be a fast, hard event that can performed in any type of weather, including snow. Cyclocross events are usually ridden on mutated road bikes with knobby tires and cantilever type brakes, however specialized equipment is not needed to be competitive. Many Cyclocross racers simply use a mountain bike.
