Pittsburgh Cyclocross

Thanks to Nina Wilczek for her tales from the JBV Coaching/ProBIkes Cyclocross clinic on Sept. 25th in Frick park. Enjoy!

-by Nina Wilczek
Cycling Fusion

My husband and I are both mountain bikers by trade but like most true cyclists we have come to learn to love all aspects of cycling. It was only natural that the evolution of our love of cycling had led us to cyclocross.

I had heard about cross here and there on Facebook and in various cycling magazines. I knew it had something to do with the cold, the mud and an hour or so of maximum effort, threshold riding. It sounded pretty insane, which is probably what draw us to it.

The only problem was, we knew nothing about the sport. So naturally we both immediately bought bikes and jumped right in. We watched YouTube videos on how do dismount, remount and leap over barriers. We practiced a few times down at the rail trail and built a few barriers of our own. We even did a grassroots cross race at a friends house as our intro to the sport.

What made it all really click though was the clinic that we took at Frick Park led by Chris Mayhew and Pro Bikes. The atmosphere was open and relaxed and from the start you could tell that these guys had passion. Not just passion for the sport but passion for helping others like ourselves so that we could come to love this maniacal sport as much as they do.

In just four hours, Chris coached us through remounts, dismounts, barriers and sprints. Chris had lots of stories to tell which kept it interesting and made sure to start with the very basics to break down any potential bad habits before they started. This was key for me, since I’m the kind of person that is always in race mode. I had to start slow in order to learn the basic mechanisms before I could go fast.

Those four hours flew by and before I knew it it was over. I couldn’t believe how much he was able to teach in such a short amount of time and there wasn’t a question that went unanswered. Chris’s enthusiasm and spirit is infectious and as a local Pittsburgh cyclist I am grateful to have people like him and others in the cycling community paying it forward, willing to devote their time and knowledge to newbies like me. Hopefully one day I’ll be able to do the same.”