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Twisted Cross at Tondro Pray Bike Park

9/28/2021

photos by Angy Snoop (angysnoop.smugmug.com)

This weekend is the sixth edition of Twisted Cross in Cedar Falls: two days of cyclocross racing, presented by Twisted Spokes Racing Team, at Tondro Pray Bike Park.

Tondro Pray sits just north of the Cedar River, a flat, sprawling flood plain repurposed by the City after the historic flood in 2008. The park offers pump track, a mtb skills area, single track, and a fast, fun cyclocross course.

An Eastern Iowa favorite, Twisted Cross is well known for two things -- a flat, flowing course and the potential for lots of mud. Fortunately, flooding doesn't seem likely this weekend, but if the forecast holds up the race might not be entirely dry, either. With or without mud, expect a fast course with a sand trap, a series of mole hills, and sets of both tall and short barriers.
Tondro Pray provides Twisted with a perfect course for beginning 'crossers and fast fun for every racer. It's also a great venue for cheering them on.

In some ways the race will be much like editions before, with a similar course and perks like Other Place pizza and Single Speed beer for the racers, even Fat Cup Coffee flowing all day. But this year it also features some familiar faces in different roles. "Our long-time Race Director needed to step down, so I decided to help keep the race going," said the new Race Director, Twisted Spokes' Steffoni Schmidt. "We have a great local bike community and an awesome cross scene in Iowa, so I wanted to be sure that Twisted Cross would continue to be part of that."

"Steffoni took over when Joel Mason stepped down," said Cedar Valley Cyclists' Kimberly Breuer. "She got a group of us together to help out. I talked to a few sponsors, did the design work, and posted some stuff on social media."

"We’ve still got an amazing team of volunteers who are helping with the race," said Schmidt, "it’s definitely not just me! I hope the race is fun and people enjoy racing and watching."

"I’m not racing this year," Schmidt explained. "Life just got in the way of training. I hope to race in the future, but I’m even more excited to watch my kids grow for a love of the sport and cheer them on if they decide to race. The cycling community is wonderful and racing has provided me with confidence and tons of fun. That’s my wish for anyone thinking they might want to jump on a bike!"

Twisted Cross features a full slate of Juniors races and a Kids' Race both days. Sunday this year will also include a Doggy Cross.

"We'll have a Doggy Cross this year as a warmup for Jingle Cross's," said Breuer. Dogs in three weight categories will compete in three short laps including barriers, sit, roll over, and crawling sections in addition to running.
No doubt they'll be dragging their humans the whole way.

Doggy Cross rules can be found at JingleCross.com/Doggy-Cross/.

Follow Twisted Cross on Facebook and register through Thursday on BikeReg.com.

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5 Reasons Not To Miss Capital City Cross

9/22/2021

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"The BIKEIOWA RACING TEAM knows how to put on fun
and exciting events and this one will be no different."

From any other club, about any other event, a boast like this might come off as false bravado. But take a minute to unpack Capital City Cross, two days of Des Moines cyclocross this coming weekend, and it looks more like an understatement.

Here are five quick reasons not to miss Capital City Cross.

1. BIKEIOWA
BIKEIOWA is the premier bike advocate for racers in Iowa, bar none. Their website is a welcome resource to all cyclists, a showcase for any event, and a gateway to toeing the line. While bike racers have a reputation for taking themselves too seriously, BIKEIOWA events are low-key and friendly, competitive but always fun.

BIKEIOWA

2. Stone Park
A lot of great race venues have histories. Capital City's Stone Park is no exception. Renegade Cyclocross, the largest cx practice in the state, once roved the Des Moines area each week from park to park. When it grew to the point that that became impractical, the city offered up Stone Park as a more permanent home. The unassuming 8-acre park just south of downtown Des Moines has been home to both Renegade Cyclocross and Capital City Cross ever since. By now BIKEIOWA knows how to make the most of it.

3. Fast, Fun, & Spectator-friendly
Other than a hillside to the south, Stone Park is small and flat, offering a great view of the race from pretty much anywhere. It's a welcoming venue for less experienced racers and the spectators that come to heckle and cheer them on. "Look for tons of great vantage points to cheer on your favorite racers or just chill and watch the action."
The course is not intimidating, even to beginners. Mostly fast and flowy, with challenging turns and barriers. It's a great first race to try out cyclocross.

4. The Brae
There are some more technical bits on the hillside to the south, "the brae," but nothing that elicits "hell no." Short climbs and descents, an obstacle or two, a long off camber. The hillside serves up a lot of Stone Park's best cyclocross action.
As a bonus, one part of the brae often offers mud even on drier race dates. Unreliable sources from BIKEIOWA explained that it's from a septic problem in the neighborhood above, but for all of our sakes we'll just assume they were joking.

5. Des Moines
Years ago Capital City Cross helped launch the Central Iowa Cyclocross scene, even though BIKEIOWA never set out to make it much more than a fun local event. Still, this is Des Moines, with quick access from Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Missouri, and Minnesota. Capital City Cross is well known in the Midwest, and draws competition we don't often see in Eastern Iowa. Minneapolis or Kansas City is a long trip for a 40 minute race, but at Capital City Cross you can meet some racers part way.

Don't miss Capital City Cross.

Stone Park is just less than two hours from Cedar Rapids, even less from Iowa City. Right now the weather for race weekend looks pleasant enough, with highs in the 70s and 80s and overnight lows at near-cyclocross temps of high 40s and low 50s.

Online registration for Capital City Cross ends at midnight Thursday. Don't miss it. Check BIKEIOWA.com for more details, and register at BikeReg.com.

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Iowa City Community Cross '21

9/12/2021

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Good news! The weather this week is looking less and less like rain, so we'll likely be racing cyclocross in Upper City Park at Iowa City Community Cross Tuesday evening.

For a weeknight "practice race," Community Cross can draw quite the crowd. And for very good reasons.

Iowa City Community Cross 2021
Register now at BikeReg.com.

From its start as part of the Chamois Time Series, the race has focused on novice racers, a supportive atmosphere, and stiff competition. That emphasis wasn't lost when the race was later taken up by Goosetown Racing Club.