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 …
Posts in category rider diary
cyclocrosser diaries
-
February 26, 2018 The Cyclocross Apprenticeship: Corey Coogan Cisek Shares Her Lessons Learned From Belgium
Read more -
February 19, 2018 Lee Waldman: Mathieu van der Poel Reminds Us Bikes Are For Having Fun
Read more -
February 16, 2018 The Cyclocross Apprenticeship: Covering Cyclocross Worlds and Improving as a Belgian ‘Crosser
Read more -
February 15, 2018 Wyman Wednesday: Helen Gives Out Hardware for the Cyclocross Season’s Best
Read more -
February 2, 2018 The Cyclocross Apprenticeship: Eating on the Road, Humility and Respect
Read more
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 …
Trading Dark, Wet Belgium for Sunny Tour of Cyprus: A Rider Diary from Christine Vardaros
by Christine Vardaros A few weeks before the start of the Tour of Cyprus, a three-day road stage event, I prayed to the travel gods …
Bring on the Cookies and Jenever: A Rider Diary from Christine Vardaros
by Christine Vardaros While cyclocross season ended almost a month ago for most of the world, here in Belgium “de cross gaat door” (’cross goes …
A Junior’s View on Worlds: Stephen Bassett’s Rider Diary
Stephen Bassett had the chance most kids only could dream about: to represent the US in the World Championships of Cyclocross, held for the first …
A Junior’s View on Worlds: David Lombardo’s Rider Diary
David Lombardo had the chance most kids only could dream about: to represent the US in the World Championships of Cyclocross, held for the first …
A Junior’s View on Worlds: Maxx Chance’s Rider Diary
Maxx Chance had the chance most kids only could dream about: to represent the US in the World Championships of Cyclocross, held for the first …
No Crying in Bike Racing: A World Championships Rider Diary from Amy Dombroski
Amy Dombroski took 11th in the Elite Women’s Cyclocross World Championships this past weekend, just narrowly missing 10th place due to a calculated risk that …
