Sherman Cross

Houghton, MI
Sherman Cross Saturday September 17, 2011
by: Kit Cischke

I am the current U.P. State Champion in Men's B cyclocross. It's an almost meaningless title, as there is no official sanctioning body that stands behind it. The UPCROSS series is organized by a handful of folks from Houghton and Marquette. We keep track of everything and have a big final race at the end of the season. It's no OVCX or Cross Crusade, but it's fun.

After winning the championship race (along with a handful of other class B victories), I figured it was time to move up to class A. Sherman Cross, held all of 1.1 miles from my house, was the first opportunity to race with the big boys. I got creamed.

This was the first year the race was held, put together as a fundraiser for the Michigan Tech Track and Field teams, mainly because one of our athletic marketing coordinators loves 'cross. We raced around the football and soccer fields under the lights, which was a fun and unique experience. It was a course that was more 'cross-bike friendly than many of the courses we ride -- there's a tendency up here to put together courses that are much faster on a mountain bike. A brutal run-up, some uphill barriers and an insidious set of chicanes awaited while time clicked down on the big clock at the football field.

We were no more than 200 yards into the race before I realized how far over my head I was. (That's one trip around the track that circles the field, for those keeping track at home.) After nearly getting taken out by somebody who couldn't corner hard enough, I saw some of the local strongmen pulling away at an extraordinary rate. The next time I saw them, they were lapping me. (In my defense, they placed second and seventh in the Cat 1 short-track national championships this year.) I had a good duel with a couple of guys for the first two laps before they both rode away from me, finishing around a minute up.

I didn't finish dead last, but that may have only been because the guy in last was riding a singlespeed and had already raced once that day. There were only 8 of us racing, so I still finished top-10. That's worth something, right?

I can feel my legs coming around and I got some valuable tips for handling barriers from one of my teammates, so I'm looking forward to the rest of the season. My first big test is coming up at the USGP of Cyclocross in Madison. It will be a complete shock to ride with 69 of my closest friends, compared to the fields of 20 I'm used to. Looking forward to it though. 'Cross is here, people!

Image courtesy Adam Griffis