A different type of bicycle racing is gaining in popularity here in Virginia's Blue Ridge.
it's called cyclocross, a type of riding that combines the best of mountain biking, road biking and fun.
It's a September Wednesday night at Roanoke's Fallon Park -- cyclocross night.
"Cyclocross is the classic kind of feeling like a kid again. Where you're riding around in the park and you're hopping off your bike when you're carrying it over barriers or running through sand. It's just … it's kind of silly," said Wes Best, owner of East Coasters Bicycles and the race organizer.
"The word cross, it's really a cross between road riding and mountain biking," explained Sarah Lukens, one of the racers.
This type of bike racing happens in the fall and winter. Kids and adults on the same course all at once, each trying to complete as many laps as possible in a given time limit, typically 30 minutes or an hour. Though it is a race, like local 5k runs, it's accessible to everyone. For most, it's about being there.
"It's just to try and stay in shape and play outside," Lukens said.
"It's a little more relaxed and you can just be yourself you can push yourself as hard as you want and that's what it's all about - just the satisfaction of when you finish the race," said Frank Deal, a member of the Deschutes Team, based in Roanoke.
Even local phenom, 17-year-old Tyler Smith, who won the race, is sort of laid back about it.
"It's a really spectator friendly sport and with the stairs and everything you just have people everywhere on the course and everybody's having fun," he said.
Locally, The popularity is growing because of the Wednesday night series, a number of kids' development teams and in part because of Deschutes Brewery's arrival in Roanoke. The company sponsors a Roanoke-based team to complement its larger west coast team housed at the company's home operation in Bend, Oregon.
In fact, they "recruited" me as an honorary member.
So, on a bike I borrowed from Best, Deal gave me my first taste of the sport.
We carried the bikes over barriers, ran them up stairs, and navigated around a sand pit. The rest of the riding was simply following a mowed path through tall grass in a field at the edge of the park. The bike had knobby tires, ample gearing and rolled more easily than I expected.
Though it was easier for Deal, it turned out to be more doable than I imagined. Something I could enjoy -- which is what everyone had been telling me all evening.
Perhaps Lukens said it best. "I love it! When you get it you start breathing hard you get warm when it's cold out and then the endorphins rage," said Lukens.
Well -- who wouldn't want that?
In addition to the Wednesday night series in September, Roanoke is hosting an event dubbed Go Cross on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1. The event will attract the best racers in the nation who will be competing in a festival atmosphere. In addition to the bike racing, the Deschutes sponsored event will include a craft beer garden, VIP tents, food trucks and more.
Click here for information on the Go Cross event: http://www.roanokeoutside.com/events/go-cross-cyclocross-race/
Click here for more information on cyclocross in Roanoke: http://www.roanokeoutside.com/cyclocross-fast-pace-and-big-fun-2/