Wheels of change: two emerging sports bring irreverent fun to cycling.(cyclocross and bicycle polo)

Mention the word "cycling" and most people will think of the high profile, elite world of European road cycling races such as the Tour de France. However, here in the United States interest is growing in road cycling's more casual off-season cousin, cyclocross, along with even more unusual cycling sports such as hardcourt bike polo. Both have plenty in common--they are great spectator sports with a lot of action packed into a small area, they include strongly dedicated and Internet-savvy participants, and they often dispense with formality in favor of mud, blood, and beer.

Some park systems are accommodating these new sports by building permanent cyclocross courses or converting underused tennis courts into bike polo courts. Other cycling sport facilities being added to public parks include BMX courses and "pump tracks" where mountain bikers can practice their skills. Although cyclocross is much better established as a sport than bike polo, both activities continue to grow at a remarkable rate.

Cyclocross

Cyclocross is a winter sport, which could serve as a good draw to bring people to parks in colder months, says Micah Rice, managing director of national events at USA Cycling. Any potential damage to the grass is limited because the grass is dormant. The sport began in Belgium in the 1940s as a way for road cyclists to stay fit during the off season. However, it didn't really catch on in the United States until the late 1970s, when the first national championship in Austin, Texas, included a field of 18 competitors. In contrast, last year's championships in Bend included 1,500 participants.

"Running a cyclocross event is so much easier and cheaper than a road race--really all you need is permission to use a small piece of land," Rice says. "A county park is a fantastic venue."

Usually the course is between one and two miles, with each lap ideally taking 8-12 minutes to complete. Every course is different and can include zig-zagging hilly areas that test technical skills along with flatter, faster sections and obstacles that require riders to dismount and carry their bikes, such as stairs, fallen trees, and specially placed barriers.

Cyclocross will be just one of the features offered at a new 40-acre bike park opening in June in Boulder, Colorado, Part of Boulder's Valmont City Park is being converted into a cycling park that will feature a permanent competition cyclocross course, along with training and skills trails, mountain bike trails, a BMX area, pump track, tot area, event plaza, and paved cycling paths.

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"We invested in a collaborative partnership with Boulder Mountainbike Alliance and the off-road cycling community to design and build this portion of Valmont City Park," says Kirk Kincannon, director of the City of Boulder's Parks and Recreation Department. "As a result, we've built a park worthy of our internationally-recognized athletic community--one that will be a daily asset to kids, families, local riders, and businesses, and also attract events and riders from all over the country and the world."

Rice advises that parks considering hosting a cyclocross event focus on the course set-up and amenities. Park directors should ask where people can park, where a registration pavilion (preferably heated) can be set up, and how to position the course in relation to facilities like restrooms so there are as few pedestrian crossings across the course as possible. Including a vendor area for coffee and sandwiches provides an opportunity to get local businesses involved.

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"I think the cool thing about cyclocross that I've noticed, even at a national championship, is that the top riders are really truly competing ... but there's always a group in the back just doing it for a really good time, enjoying themselves and just having fun getting away, getting some exercise, and participating in a big event," Rice says. "Cyclocross has always been pretty family friendly. A lot of kids show up....A dad might race and a 15-year-old or even 12-year-old child might race on the same day."

Bike Polo

"It's a culture that brings in people from everywhere," says Ben Schultz, the Chicago-based regional representative for North American Hardcourt (NAH), a fledgling organization that coordinates the growing competition schedule for the sport. "It's creating a unique spectacle--cyclocross and bike polo are the only two cycling sports that you can watch in a contained area. This is a great spectator sport and it's fun--it's colorful."

Hardcourt bike polo is believed to have originated with bike messengers looking for a way to kill time between deliveries. The three players on each team ride fixed-gear bikes, often with colorful cardboard discs inserted into the front wheels to prevent the mallet from becoming entangled in the spokes. Although largely male dominated, women participate on the same teams as men and often can "play the pants off the majority of the men," Schultz says.

Schultz describes how Chicago teams play year round, shoveling snow off the court themselves or sometimes even playing under a highway overpass. In fact, finding places to play is still the major hurdle for bike polo clubs, who often make do with converted tennis courts or anything else suitably paved, whether it is regulation-sized or not.

"We get the leftovers," Schultz says, blaming the sport's small size, with around 275 clubs worldwide--more than half of those in the United States--that usually have around 20 to 30 members each. Schultz's group recently succeeded in getting their own court in Chicago's Garfield Park, replacing a homemade installation of plywood boards.

"It's always the campfire rule--it's always left better than we find it," Schultz says. "If you give us a space, it's going to look great, we're going to treat it well, and we're going to nurture the environment around that space."

One club that will soon get its own specifically built court in June is East Van Bike Polo in East Vancouver, Canada. The world's first bike polo court to be built from scratch, the East Vancouver court also can be used for other sports like roller hockey, but no one will deny its construction was largely driven by the bike polo club.

"The Parks Board was very clear in laying out their consultation process and had recognized East Van Bike Polo as a park user before the first open house, so it alleviated a lot of pressure we had put on ourselves to insert our group into the process," explains Lisa Moffatt of East Van Bike Polo. "We consulted with the bike polo community at large to see what people wanted to see in a polo court and worked from that to define the design. We are all pretty excited about this world first and there is guaranteed to be a huge party to kick off the court's opening."

"Bike polo is good for the city," Schultz says. "We just want to play polo.... You couldn't ask for a more dedicated subculture."