Race Cyclocross!

We love Oregon cyclocross. Seriously, I get the warm fuzzies just thinking about the melting pot of speed, style, and culture that is Oregon Cyclocross Racing. But there is more racing in the Pacific Northwest. Namely, our oft-forgot neighbors to the North: Seattle. Home to some really fast kids, that beef jerkey team, Iddings, and a thriving cyclocross scene. And this year they are trying something new by the name of MFG. It’s a cyclocross series, with a hat tip to the cross crusade, that aims to introduce some new elements to Seattle racing.

Zac Daab and Terry Buchanan, organizers of the MFG series, were kind enough to answer a few Oregon centric questions about the series.

MFG is a new cyclocross series this year, what’s the scoop?
ZD – Yup, MFG is the new series on the block in Seattle. Seattle has a rich history of cross racing, and there is a existing series now that’s been through different iterations over the year. MFG adds more cross races to the Seattle calendar for 2009, with minor, to no conflicts on the schedule. We’ll have super-local venues to the city, and we’re going to have fun.

What does MFG stand for?
ZD – PDX Honch Slate-O coined the term Mud, Fame, Glory. We’ve heard Mission From God. I like Made For Grass as well. If you can find Terry’s wife Sonja at a race, she’ll tell you the real meaning.

TB – What does it mean to you. That is what is important. I think those three letters can define cross in a lot of ways.

When I think of Seattle Cyclocross racing, I think of courses like Starcrossed and Steilacoom. What can we expect from the new MFG venues?
ZD – One of the elements we really wanted to incorporate into our races is proximity to the city. I know for Portland racers, this might not mean much, but at least you can come up here, hang with your pals in the city for a weekend, and race some good cross. Our courses will be fast, and designed to have actual racing going on. We want to have double pits on nearly every course we put on, and we want Accident Cross Experiences to happen with passerbys, neighbors, and other park users.

I’ve always admired the passion of the announcer at Starcrossed. Will he also be announcing at MFG?
ZD – I think there have been quite a few announcers over the years at Star Crossed, and last year featured Dave Towle. We’ll have a crew of announcers from our try out session that we held back in June. We have a good crew.

TB – And if they aren’t passionate enough I kick them off the stand and announce myself. Zac will have to take over all the behind the scenes action required to put on a race.

Will OBRA members need a USCF license to race?
ZD – OBRA members and non-OBRA members will be able to race MFG without any special license. We are not sanctioned with USA Cycling, so the whole of Oregon is invited, license-free.

It’s a long drive from Portland to Seattle. Where should I stop for coffee and snacks along the way?
ZD – Rest assured, (and Molly C and Heather and Matt will back me up) the Portland Consulate (Stumptown Coffee) will be open all weekend long in Seattle for those displaced Portlanders finding themselves in Seattle, without coffee. The P.C. can be found on Capitol Hill at 2 locations. Between PDX and here, well…, Oly seems to be a pretty good stopping point, and the gas station that says EAT.

TB- This is Washington we got coffee carts at every exit. I also got to think there is a Blizzard or two between SEA and PDX. There is also a cool McMenamins in Centralia.

Speaking of coffee, will there be coffee available at the races?
ZD – Yes, there will be a coffee roaster and support crew offering coffee at all races. This is still in the works, but it will be a local, hand-crafted roaster which serves superior coffee.

In the spirit of our CPQ, write a haiku about MFG.
Unicorns aside
Beards can still grow in the North
Pleasantries abound

Who is going to win the Grail this year?
ZD – If Chris DiStefano lays a hand on me, during any MFG race, there’s going to be hell to pay.

Final thoughts?
ZD – Props to Cross Crusade, but hire a Supporters Club bus and drive the entire Portland Cyclocross Collective up to Seattle for at least one race and smoke the entire way here. Put your unicorns on the roof, put the 6 footer in the van, and show your neighbors some love.

So, dear readers, I leave you with this parting thought:

The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.

-St. Augustine

Go race some MFGing ‘cross in Seattle this year.

Seven years ago today I moved to the fine city of Portland from Virginia Beach, Virginia by way of South Carolina. As such, I thought I’d celebrate by sharing my first cyclocross experience.

October 2002, I rode out to Pier Park with my ladyfriend and watched the Cyclocross Crusade. I knew nothing about Portland geography at the time, and so on the way had the pleasure of riding up highway 30 to the St John’s Bridge. It was a sunny hot day, and I remember sweating like crazy in my jeans on the ride out.

We arrived right before the Cat A men were to start. The leaves had started to fall, and we sat in the grass drinking coffee watching everyone line up. Everyone was riding bikes by exotic manufacturers I’d never heard of. I remember seeing a tall dude in a Kona factory kit, and some other folks who just looked fast. I was from the east coast, and these dudes looked west coast fast.

To be honest, the start was pretty unimpressive. It’s nothing like the cross crusade is today. There were some cones in the grass and only thirty racers. No glam, no spectacle. No carbon wheels to be seen, or embrocation to be smelled.

We walked around the course with our coffees and I was getting stoked. Then we got the the first run up. There was a plank at the bottom of steep hill. This was something that clearly nobody would be able to ride. Riders would be forced to get off their bike, run over the barrier, and then remount at the base of an impossibly steep run up. People were crowded all around and cheering and yelling and cowbelling. At this point the tail end of the Masters A racers were coming though, and well, they certainly weren’t making it look easy. Everyone was struggling.

Then Barry Wicks came though like a cool breeze, bunny hopped the barrier and rode his bike up the hill. A man on the hill with an enormous cowbell chased him and screamed in his face, over and over again:

I CAN SEE YOU!

I can see you, I can see you, I can see you! That didn’t make any sense to me, but I loved it. I would later realize that shouting the most obvious shit is the best way to heckle your pals.

Turns out it was Bruce from River City Bicycles doing the yelling. It was that scene right there that did it for me, that made me want to try cyclocross: Bruce yelling in Barry’s face, and Barry riding the hill with an ear to ear smile. Barry ended up getting third that day, just behind Erik Tonkin and Shannon Skerritt.

Two years later I bought a Bianchi Cross Concept scratch ‘n’ dent, and entered my first race.