Two days of cycling, festive atmosphere
Thousands flock to Druid Hill Park for the 12th Charm City Cross
Bob Reuther had just won his portion of a bicycle race through the rain-soaked hills of Druid Hill Park, and he was happy to discuss the challenges presented by the 2.8-kilometer course he’d just conquered.
There was the zigzag climb up the lawn in front of the Mansion House of the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. There were the barriers he’d jumped, the stairs he’d climbed, the sand pits he’d ridden and more.
But as he held a modest check he won in the men’s 45-and-up category of the 12th annual Charm City Cross race, he gazed across the crowd and seemed as moved by the atmosphere as by his triumph.
“There are all these people cheering you on,” he said. “There are all these family members and friends. There are the good-natured hecklers giving you a hard time. It’s like a Grateful Dead concert in Lycra.”
Reuther, 53, of West Chester, Pa., was one of about 1,600 riders taking part in the two-day race, one of the premier North American events in the growing sport of cyclocross.
A grueling hybrid of road cycling and mountain biking, cyclocross attracts participants and fans who represent a blend of dedication, hipness and fondness for festival-type gatherings.
Saturday’s event included 18 races for professionals and amateurs, with cyclists ranging in age from 8 to 78.
Races for younger children, called “Little Belgians,” were held on a miniature track.
Similar races were to be run all day today, when weather forecasts call for sunny conditions, not the drizzle and light rains that prevailed much of Saturday.
“It’s starting to get slick out there, and that makes it tough,” said Dean Jagusch of Baltimore, a road cyclist and former triathlete who took the sport up a year ago. “But I love the family atmosphere. It’s a great bunch of people.”
Cyclocross got its start in mid-20thcentury Europe, particularly Belgium. The sport is hugely popular in that part of the world, where meets can draw as many as 100,000 spectators and professionals can earn hundreds of thousands a year.
The sport has been growing in North America, with the Mid-Atlantic region emerging as something of a hotbed.
There are three different tours in the region, and races are held nearly every weekend between August and December, most within two hours of Baltimore, said Johnny May, a co-owner of Twenty20 Cycling of Hampden, which sponsors the Charm City race.
“In the local races, it’s not uncommon for registration to include anywhere from 350 to 600 people, mostly from Maryland, with the majority of those from the Baltimore area,” May said.
First held in 2005, Charm City Cross began with 265 riders.
It now draws six times that many, and more than 5,000 spectators, and is the largest cyclocross event in the MidAtlantic.
Sanctioned by the Union Cycliste International, cycling’s governing body, it’s one of just eight events in the U.S. that offers men and women Category 1 races that are part of the American professional cyclocross calendar.
Kris Auer, race director and founder of the event, said he and his team of 80 volunteers devise and lay out a course with the goal to “make it as difficult as possible,” yet still maintain a friendly event that grows the sport.
Auer, a New Hampshire native, moved here in 2001 and was the original owner of Twenty20.
He recently moved to California but still calls Baltimore his “real home.”
He’s glad to see the race benefit the city, including what he says is about a $500,000 annual windfall for the local economy.
“The race introduces Baltimore to the world, and it gives Baltimore a chance to welcome a new kind of activity,” he says.
The race costs about $50,000 to stage. Revenue comes from sponsorships and entry fees, which range from $15 for junior events to $45 for elite professional racers.
None of the race workers are paid. About $20,000 in prize money is awarded, including professional first-place purses of $450 on Saturday and $1,700 today.
As the rain began to fall Saturday, those who brought more than one set of tires had to decide whether to switch to ones with a deeper tread.
Sand pits caused particular uncertainty; as moisture set in, about half the riders chose to shoulder their bikes and run.
Almost everyone rode across the flyover — an artificial turf-covered bridge about 12 feet high — and the vast majority who hit the wooden staircase up a steep hill carried their bikes, huffing red-faced to the peak before remounting.
“We like to make sure the riders have to get off their bikes,” said Auer, smiling.
Each race consisted of about six laps, and as the cyclists passed, spectators shook cowbells and blew horns. One delivered blasts from a trombone. The distractions only underscored the triumph of riders like Reuther, who has won Charm City events before.
He beat 79 others to place first, but said the day wasn’t all about competition.
He smiled as he held up the $100 check he’d won.
“You don’t do this to pay for the kids’ college tuition,” he said.