Adventure cycling is on the rise and with it a range of events that cater for riders who like a good, long, epic adventure are too. Cyclocross sportives are very definitely in this camp, but at a recent event I found that I was one of a very small number of female participants.
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Almost as much as I love riding my bike, I love riding the crest of a wave. And that’s what it has felt like this summer in my first season of adventure ‘cross racing. You might not recognise 'adventure ‘cross' as a thing, maybe you prefer ‘monster cross’ or ‘CX sportives’, but they are a blend of sportive, mountain bike endurance and cyclocross.
For me it’s the best of cyclocross; no skin suits or gurning, and lots of big views, big climbs and big smiles. It’s everything bike riding should be; long days in the saddle and zero constraints about what terrain you should and shouldn’t ride and on what bike. Anything goes, although skinny road bike tyres generally won’t cut it. But it doesn’t seem to be quite hitting the mark with women, if the low numbers at events I’ve tackled this year are anything to go by. In some cases I’ve been the only contender. Good for my Strava stats, but not so good for women in cycling more broadly.
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What is a CX sportive?
What’s not to love? My recent foray into the wilds of Salisbury and The Gold Rush CX sportive included some ‘top 100’ road climbs (the 1 in 4 gradient cobbled Gold Hill and dramatic Zig Zag Hill), long tree-lined, ridge-top droves offering golden autumnal views and hair-raising rutted descents.
Whipping past the sluggish mountain bikes on the road climbs my ‘crosser was the perfect bike, although mountain bike skills helped considerably on the testing stretches of tyre-wide slimy ruts. More importantly, it didn’t feel like it was about the bike, but rather that bikes can go anywhere if the rider is willing. The experience just became about my relationship with the landscape. When I mountain bike, the ‘slog up, fly down’ approach has a totally different, adrenaline-soaked, bike-centric feel. Fun, but different.
Men-only bicycle riding?
Where are all the women?
The ‘right bike’?
Is adventure ‘cross here to stay?
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