The ‘Crazy Aunt’ in the Cycling World Takes Center Stage

High Country Cyclocross Series at High Country Fairgrounds Every Thursday

Story by Jason Gilmer

Locals and riders from off the mountain are coming to the High Country Fairgrounds each Thursday to compete in the High Country Cyclocross Series. The sport, which mixes road and mountain biking and includes all sorts of terrain and obstacles, has quickly gained participants and is open to the public.

This isn’t your grandpa’s bicycle races.

“Cyclocross is often referred to as the crazy aunt in the basement of the cycling world,” said Pirate Race Productions founder Andrew Stackhouse.

Plenty of locals and riders from off the mountain are coming to the High Country Fairgrounds each Thursday to compete in the High Country Cyclocross Series.

The sport, which mixes road and mountain biking, has quickly gained participants during the first six weeks of Stackhouse’s first biking series in Boone.

Registration for races on Thursday nights begins at 6:00 p.m., with the beginners and kids race—which is 30 minutes long—starting at 6:45 p.m. The experts and masters race—which is 45 minutes long—begins at 7:30 p.m.

There is a $15 entry fee for adults and a $10 entry fee for college students and kids. Each rider also must have a USA Cycling license—a one-day license costs $5.

Two weeks ago, Stackhouse said there were more than 40 riders. When the series started in September, Stackhouse said he hoped to have two dozen riders in the events.

Through word of mouth, though, the series has taken off.

Some people simply come to watch and find out what cyclocross really is. Then they come back the next week to race.

“People realize that they have a beat up mountain bike in their garage that is perfect for this,” Stackhouse said.

While there are types of bikes that may be better suited for the sport, it’s easy to get your start on a mountain bike. The course that Stackhouse has set up is “flat, on mostly grass, with a mix of long straight stretches on hard packed road, really tight turns, one set of barriers near the start and a place where you have to jump off your bike and carry it up a hill.”

Laps usually last five to 10 minutes and racers are generally worn out afterward, Stackhouse said.

With the course’s location—off Highway 421—riders from Winston-Salem and the Triad area have come to compete, along with people from Boone, Lenoir and Hickory. Stackhouse said there was even a rider from South Carolina who made the trek to compete.

Spectators are also coming out to enjoy the fun and to cheer on the competitors.

“We have a ton of people who just come to see what the deal is, just to take it in,” Stackhouse said. “Having it here in town, they can come out and see how much fun it is.”

On Thursday, October 29, the race will be Halloween themed, where riders have the option of dressing up in costumes to ride.

Stackhouse said he plans to have another series next fall and he is looking for a venue to host a road race series. In the spring, he said he plans to host two road races on weekends and one is planned to be a three-day event that will serve as a fundraiser for a local organization.

For more information about the High Country Cyclocross Series, contact Stackhouse at 828-719-8448 or pirateraceproductions@gmail.com or click on www.PirateRaceProductions.com/hccx.

LOCAL WEATHER FORECAST

LATEST COMMENTS FROM OUR READERS

TOP NEWS ACROSS THE NATION

HIGH COUNTRY MAGAZINE