For Mud, Bikes, Barns and Beer: An Amateur Farmer’s Take on Professional Cyclocross Racing
by Adam McGrath Life is full of surprises. Will my coffee be good or amazing today, will this mystery beer I’ve been handed while cross …
Posts in category rider diary
cyclocrosser diaries
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December 6, 2017 Wyman Wednesday: Playing in the Mud in Zeven and Basking in Sunny Spain
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December 2, 2017 Lee Waldman: A Mental and Physical Journey to Masters Worlds in Belgium
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November 22, 2017 Wyman Wednesday: Helen Says ‘Hola’ to Spain and ‘Brrrrrrr’ to Denmark
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November 8, 2017 Wyman Wednesday: Ain’t No Koppenberg High Enough and Take Me Home (Adopted) Country Roads
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October 25, 2017 Wyman Wednesday – Helen’s Guide to Belgian Weather, Automaats and Racing in Switzerland
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The Fine Line: A Workingman’s Rider Diary, Looking Forward
While it’s hardly the day for a Throwback Thursday or Flashback Friday, this first weekend of September provides us a good chance to look back …
Florida Prepares for 2014 Cyclocross Season Early: A Rider Diary
If you think you’re excited early about the start of cyclocross season, Florida has you beat. While most people think of Cross Vegas as the …
Hilly Billy Roubaix: Winner Mike Simonson’s Race Report
The Hilly Billy Roubaix was a gravel grinder before gravel grinding was cool. Now, the 70-mile dirt road race brings in hundreds of riders. This …
Dumping, Flatting, Sprinting, Roller Bombing and Horizon Hunting: A Dirty Kanza Half Pint Race Report
Andrew Vontz has been prepping for the Dirty Kanza Half Pint for the past year, after a first attempt in 2013. Between his race prep …
Reliving the Oregon Outback 360 Gravel Experience
360 miles of gravel? Cyclocross Magazine contributor Robbie Carver tackled the epic ride and lived to tell the story… At nine o’clock at night, in …
Getting Ready for Gravel: My Quest for the Ultimate Dirty Kanza Half Pint Bike
Andrew Vontz is our new gravel-grinder addict and contributing writer, and is prepping for Dirty Kanza Half Pint glory. Today, he’s showing us what exactly …
Why Go Gravel? Make the Offseason Your Now-Season with Gravel Racing
Gravel racing: It’s what you can do with that cyclocross race bike the other seven to nine months out of the year that you’re not …
Paris to Ancaster Gravel Classic—As Seen Through the Eyes of 1 ½ Belgians: A Rider Diary
by Christine Vardaros It’s been many days since Belgian ’cross racer Ellen van Loy (Telenet-Fidea) and I headed home from Canada’s Paris-Ancaster (P2A) gravel race …
Tackling the Cone-Azalia Classic Road Race — Rider Diary
Our gravel reporter Aaron Cruikshank targets another race, the Cone-Azalea, arguably the most “road-racey” of all of the recent gravel events that he’s covered. The …
Riding the SPY Chino Grinder: Nicole Duke’s Race Report
by Nicole Duke It’s not everyday that I get a chance to torture/challenge myself. So when I was asked by my sponsors SPY and Marin …
From the Front: A Paris to Ancaster Rider Diary
by Aaron Cruikshank The 21st edition of Paris to Ancaster saw an Elite field brimming with talent and a course to ready to test even …
Grinding Gravel in the Lowell 50—Race Recap
by Aaron Cruikshank Western Michigan, bikes, dirt and beer? It must be the Lowell 50. Like its counterpart, the recently-raced Barry Roubaix, it takes advantage …
Manage Your Losses—A Barry Roubaix Race Recap
by Aaron Cruikshank Hastings, Michigan has been playing host to Ultra Cross Series race, Barry Roubaix, since 2009. Regularly attracting 3000+ racers across several categories, …
Rockville 2014: Racing Singlespeed Cyclocross in Italy
by Isacco Biurlei In 2002, a group of friends sat at a bar in Cremona, Italy, a small city located along the Po River only …
UPDATING REGULARLY: Missives from the Motherland—EuroCrossCamp 2013
Once again, a select group of Juniors and U23 racers—and two Elite women!—have headed over to Europe to take part in Belgium’s Christmas Week. We …
Loving Not Only Cycling, but Life as Well: A Rider Diary from Mike van den Haam
by Mike van den Haam People ask me on a fairly regular basis what I do with my spare time now that I am ‘only’ …
Gavin Haley’s European Cyclocross Adventures: A Junior’s Rider Diary
by Gavin Haley The past three weeks spent in Belgium have been incredible. Being able to have this opportunity to come here and live, breathe, …
Junk Management: A Column by Adam McGrath
by Adam McGrath Gear. That’s what ’cross is about. Go ahead deny it: “It’s all about competition, camaraderie, finding our personal limits, suffering, cowbell.” Well …
Experiencing Europe as a Junior: Josey Weik Rider Diary
What’s it like to race a World Cup? Just ask Jonathan Page or Katie Compton… or ask one of the Junior riders who’s stepped up …
A Winning Week – Helen Wyman’s Rider Diary
by Helen Wyman A week in cycling can see many emotions. Rarely do you float through a week without issues and worries, but this week …
Careful Post-Race Positive Analysis: A Column from Michael van den Ham
Michael van den Ham is an under-23 Elite rider on the Cycle-Smart Elite team. Michael raced for Canada to 31st place at the World Championships …
Disappearing Quietly: Sue Butler’s Transition Back from Racer to Rider.
Elite racer and current Masters World Champion Sue Butler talks about making the shift from racer to rider. by Sue Butler I often underestimate my accomplishments …
Across the Other Pond: Steve Fisher’s Rider Diary from China’s First UCI Cyclocross Race
by Steve Fisher First of all, let me tell you that Oceans are not to be confused with ponds. When you fly an airplane over …
For Mud, Bikes, Beer and Barns: Going to Market with Adam McGrath
Our favorite pro-turned-farmer Adam McGrath is back for another season of harvesting both crops and points. by Adam McGrath ’Cross Season is upon us. This …
The Crossmaster and his Protégé: A Column from Michael van den Ham
Michael van den Ham is an under-23 Elite rider on the Cycle-Smart Elite team. Michael raced for Canada to 31st place at the World Championships …
Gravel Dreams Realized in New Hampshire: A Rider Diary
During the offseason, we love hitting the gravel roads on our ’cross bikes, and it’s been great to see the explosion of gravel racing (featured …
The Developmental Gamble: A New Column from U23 Cyclocrosser Michael van den Ham
Michael van den Ham is an under-23 Elite rider on the Cycle-Smart Elite team. Michael raced for Canada to 31st place at the World Championships …
Snake River Mountain Challenge: A Rider Diary from Amy Dombroski
by Amy Dombroski When I received the race email from Rocky Mountain Endurance about the Snake River Mountain Challenge boasting a closed Keystone Mountain just …
Racing the Hilly Billy Roubaix: A Rider Diary
Here, the open women’s winner of the Hilly Billy Roubaix (listed as one of the major gravel events in the US in our Gravel Grinder …