Cyclocross, don't tell the others, but you're my favorite.

Hello fellow cyclists and athletes! I'd like to start with something fun and easy to discuss: cyclocross. Cross is my favorite way to race a bike. I love the variety it offers, the physical challenge, battling the elements, and having a great excuse to add two bikes to my collection.

The discipline of cyclocross traces its roots to Winter training rides that road racers did to stay fit. Eventually those rainy, sometimes off-road training rides got a little more organized and eventually became a racing discipline in its own right.

Today there are plenty of rules and regulations as well as official governing bodies that oversee cyclocross racing and try to keep 'cross recognizable as 'cross, without fighting progress (much).

Typical cross races are between one and two miles to each lap, and each category does as many laps as possible in a given amount of time. Beginners may race for only 30 minutes, where experts and pros race for an hour. Given that this is a relatively short duration, the intensity is typically quite high. Actually, the physiological demands of CX are often very similar to that of playing mid-field on soccer team. Lots of high power repeats with little recovery between.

Then there's the barriers. Some like to run them, some will bunny hop, others do neither. Whatever your skill level, it pays to practice both running and bunny hopping as much as possible. At many of today's races promoters are including barrier sections that are hop-able, as well as some that are not. So you  will likely need both skills.

Another key element is turning. Learning how to corner may be easier for some than for others. The primary, most effective turning technique involves weighting the outside pedal, shifting as much weight as possible onto that pedal, while leaning the bike into the turn. The technique described and demonstrated in this video are VERY similar to what you want to do on the CX bike.

I know I skipped a lot, and only skimmed what I did touch on, but if you have questions, feel free to email me, or leave them in the comments. Until next week, happy riding!