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September 23, 2004
• Cyclocross racing Cyclocross racing The Berkshire Cycling Association, according to its President Mike Ward, was formed in 1986 as "sort of an amalgam of three existing clubs -- The Berkshires' Velo Club, The Spoke up in Williamstown and Ordinary Cycles, under Geoff Weber. This was a pretty sparse district for racing bikes and I guess he thought 'why divide up into three clubs?’ Some of the members were very serious racers, and some still are, while some only do the Josh Billings. We have some who race on tandems and some who’ve been specializing in purveys -- long distance runs, with no shock absorbers, none of that stuff ..." Velo, short for velocipede -- the French word denoting an early bicycle that had its pedals attached to the front wheel and required a great deal of strength, balance and fortitude to ride over any long distance, may well be the key element in this club's philosophy. Although based in the Berkshire Hills of Western Massachusetts, the club has more than 250 members, many scattered throughout New England and nearby New York. Their membership ranges from serious amateur racers to hardcore tourists. Their primary focus is to promote bike racing and increase participation by women and juniors in the sport. Nothing is easy for them, including the courses they race. Focus of the club has increasingly been to improve and increase junior racing. "That's an observation on the sport, in general," Ward said. "We’ve had a lot of guys in their 30s and 40s coming in now, but age handicaps the races and we’ve got up to a 55 and over Masters Race. But there have been less in the juniors. The visibility of Lance Armstrong has really helped us just like Greg Lamont did in his day. However, there really isn’t a good Little League-type solution for this sport. It seems crazy that cycling didn’t have one." One solution has been to set bicycle racing as an interim sport in the region. "For six years now," Ward reported, "we've had a seven-week series on the Pittsfield common. It’s been pretty low-key, easy to run, requiring no special equipment and all on a grass circuit around the common. This has tended to dovetail nicely with other summer sports, being mainly in July. It came right after Little League baseball finals and before football and soccer. It gave the kids something else to do that was fun and a sport." Throughout the summer there are daily rides of one kind or another throughout the county, from Great Barrington to Williamstown. There is a major ride up and down Mt. Greylock, a 30-mile endurance test. This Saturday is the Berkshire Cyclocross race at Springside Park in Pittsfield. Cyclocross is a bit different from other aspects of the sport. "It's a variant of bike racing, that is kind of a cross between mountain biking and a road, or cross-country, course," Ward described it. "The bikes use a slightly knobby kind of tires." Springside Park has a combination of surfaces that cyclocross racing requires. "There's some pavement, some grass, some dirt roads, gravel, even sand in some areas," Ward explained. "If you have sand you can create a technical course that has a lot of sections that change and involve instant accelerations in order to be competitive. In these races, power is at a premium. Usually it’s a disadvantage to use a mountain bike on these courses because you’re not going to cruise as fast." There are eight categories of racers, each riding for a different number of laps or a different time period. Prizes consist of medals or a shared pot of cash. Registration for the races starts at 8:30 in the morning at Springside House and ends one half-hour prior to the start of whichever race you enter. All racing is under precise and specific rules. Weather conditions help to provide parameters for this race and all cyclocross events, which Ward explained was a sport principally practiced between September and December. For the official September race, the first three categories of racers are the Men's "C" category, or beginners, which is a 30-minute race that kicks off at 10, and the Juniors 10-12 and Juniors 13-14, both of which consist of a single lap and begin at 10:01. Entry fee of the Men’s race is $15 and the two juniors is $5. At 11, the next two races start. These are both 45-minute trials for juniors and for the Master 35+ set, adults over the age of 35. The fees for these two races are the same as for the earlier competitions: $5 for kids and $15 for adults. The last three races are the true endurance matches. The men's "B," or intermediate, race is also a 45 minute course, costing $15. It begins at 12:15. It is followed by the women’s race which starts at 1:30, lasts 45 minutes and costs $20 to enter. Finally, the Men’s "A" race, lasting one hour, with a $20 entry fee, happens at 2:45 in the afternoon. These two final races carry cash prizes.
"Almost every race has a couple of sections that cannot be covered on the bike," Ward said. "You have to run carrying the bike, frequently up a short steep hill, selected for just this reason -- it's unrideable, it would be so slow trying to bike up that it’s faster to run anyway. Sometimes you have to use a barrier, not more than 15 inches high. You have to come coasting toward it, dismount while still in motion, run, then leap back on while still in motion. The better you are at it the better you do overall. At Springside, we have the hills.” Timing the race for the riders is based on the time it takes principal riders to finish the first few laps. USCF officials will time the first lap or two. That timing is applied mathematically to estimate the number of laps it will take to complete the course and riders are signalled with lap remaining cards during the race as to the number of additional circuits they must ride. For fans of the sport this is an exceptional opportunity to watch a fast race with a course of no longer than a single mile, in most cases. There are constantly riders coming past their fans and, unlike long-distance cross-country races, there is no long wait. "It's a very good spectator sport," Ward concurs. "The laps are six to seven minutes long. If you’re in the middle you can see the leaders every few minutes." Ward estimates that between 125 and 150 racers will participate on Saturday, making this a much smaller turnout than for the BCA's Spring race at Jiminy Peak in May. For that race there were nearly 400 participants. High intensity, high speed is the goal here, and the timing of one lap can easily vary with weather. "Cyclocross is a fall and winter sport," Ward said. "Snow and ice can thoroughly change the course. It can be dicey and it only improves through your bike handling skills.” World championships in cyclocross racing are held in Europe each year, usually from the end of January into early February. The U.S. Nationals are normally held in December. "It's not close enough to the Worlds for us to make a good Worlds team," Ward laments. "Even so, Tim Johnson, a native of Pittsfield, had his first race here with us and eventually got a bronze medal in the under 23 category about four years ago at the Worlds. He’s a pro." Clearly, if biking is a passion for an individual who wants to pursue this as a sport rather than as a pastime, the Berkshire Cycling Association, its trainings and its competitions may be the way to go. But keep in mind that obstacles and variations, along with cool weather, ice and those run-ups can come into play and change the experience. This is clearly not for the faint-hearted fan, but rather for the hardy. |
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