some words from DCMTB about DCCX!

Race Rookies Wanted!

Have you ever wanted to try bike racing? Or are you a racer who has a Curious Colleague or Wistful Wife?

DCCX has the answer.

Washington, D.C.'s only cyclocross race will hold a series of events on Oct. 23 at the Armed Forces Retirement Home in the heart of the city. In the penultimate race of the day, newbie racers will get a chance to ride the course and check out this crazy thing called cyclocross in the Rookie Race.

The event is a low-key, low stress way to try out bike racing. And, while fields are already full in the 3/4 field and the 3/4 masters' fields, the Rookie Race only has 22 riders as of Oct. 11. That will give riders plenty of space out there.

Don't own a cyclocross bike? Ride a mountain bike, a hybrid, a single speed or -- in its own event capping off the day -- a tandem. (Just make sure you have some knobs or tread on your tires and no bar-ends on your mountain bike.)

Three added benefits?

1. No need for Rookies to rise early, as that race starts at 4:15 pm giving you plenty of time to sleep in, watch the expert riders handle the course and then pin on your number and saddle up and race.

2. Race prizes are awarded to participants at random. That means precious swag from sponsor Family Bike Shop could be yours no matter where you finish up. (The results will be scored, so you can see how you compared to other competitors.)

3. Race day is really two days of fun: The course is open for practice for all riders on Saturday afternoon from 1pm until 4pm -- and there's our world-famous skills clinic for women that starts at 2pm. Pre-registration takes place at Sonoma Restaurant Wine Bar on Capitol Hill from 5:30pm until 7:30pm on Saturday, where riders can fuel up with a glass of prosecco and a charcuterie plate.

Confused about cyclocross?
Take a gander at this primer:

http://bigshark.com/articles/an-introduction-to-cyclocross-racing-pg68.htm or http://tinyurl.com/23yrqmn

What does racing at DCCX look like?

http://www.cxhairs.com/2010/10/27/dccx-non-tandem-helmet-cam/

Want to register?

Go here: http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=14363

For race-sponsor DCMTB's web site and DCCX info: www.dcmtb.com