I’m not a racer, nor do I train. Cycling to me is mutually exclusive to racing and here in Austin, it’s something I try to encourage: just because you ride bikes doesn’t mean they have to be taken super seriously. Maybe that’s what my initial attraction to cyclocross was?

Sure, you can take ‘cross seriously, train, get down to race weight and kill it. But that gets old pretty fast. Riding bikes to me is an escape from my job and while I may always appear to be working while I’m riding, I need a way to shut off the world and just have fun.

I’ve been wanting to throw a fun and weird race in Austin for some time. All of the group rides I put on take people who are great cross racers and put them in uncomfortably “weird” situations. For me, being able to ride on a whim and trust your instincts is what makes a great racer…

Luckily, Jeff from All-City feels the same way.

Mid-November, we’ll be throwing a “Keep Cross Weird” race here in Austin. There will be an All-City frame up for grabs in the men’s and women’s categories, as well as a post-race sprint for cash. That entire week, we’ll be riding, getting weird and enjoying bikes off-road.

Basically, prepare to have some fun!