MUD, SWEAT & GEARS.

Byline: Mike Stahlberg The Register-Guard

When man bites dog, that's news. But when bike rides man, well, that's cyclocross.

Of course, the bikes weren't actually riding the 82 men and women who competed Saturday in the Fox Hollow Grand Prix in south Eugene.

It just looked that way whenever racers dismounted and shouldered their bikes to hurdle wooden barriers and logs, or to charge up slick slopes too steep to pedal.

Riders in a dozen different age, gender and experience categories rode and ran in the opening event of the four-race "Psycho Cross Series." Aptly named, considering one has to be a little crazy to do something known for mud (sometimes blood), sweat and tears of frustration over gunked-up gears, hard spills, and flat tires.

Weather and field conditions on a dry, sunny Saturday in Eugene were almost too ideal for `cross devotees, many of whom thrive on getting down and dirty.

"Most `cross racers would look at this as being not a good day," said Richard Sweet of Sweet Sports, promoter of the final two races in the Psycho Cross series. "They would rather have mud and stuff like that - it's kind of what most of us look forward to."

Still, spectators were having a hoot of a time providing vocal encouragement for the racers.

"C'mon, Bruce, pass that fool!" "Get the gap! Get the gap! Go-go-go!" "C'mon Ken, move it. Move it!"

Cyclocross is generating more fans these days, especially in Oregon, where several world-class riders make their home.

A season-opening race in Portland's "Cross Crusade" series Oct. 7 drew 1,079 entrants, making it "the largest one-day cyclocross race in the United States," said Sweet. Since then, "they've been averaging over 800 people per race."

Portland will host the Single Speed Cyclocross World Championships (limited to one-speed bicycles) Sunday at the Estacada Timber Bowl. And the U.S. Grand Prix of Cyclocross Dec. 1 and 2 on the grounds of Portland International Raceway will provide riders a chance to qualify for the world championships.

Cyclocross traces its roots to Europe, where bicycle racers in the first half of the 20th century combined biking and cross-country running to add spice to their off-season training regimens.

The first world cyclocross championships were held in France in 1950.

Surprisingly, Eugene once hosted the U.S. cyclocross championships, back when the sport had a very low profile. The year was 1979 and the National Cyclocross Championships were decided around the base of Skinner Butte. More than 40 elite rider/runners started the race, but only 16 finished.

According to The Register-Guard's account, the race course was such a quagmire that bike tires sank past the rims and several competitors become hypothermic.

"The event gave new meaning to the term `grueling,' " the newspaper reported.

It was 20 years before a another major cyclocross event was held in Eugene - in 1999 on the Fox Hollow School site.

Jump forward another eight years and Eugene is hosting six "cross exams" this fall - two evening events in September that drew mostly local riders, plus the four-event "Psycho Cross Series" during November and December, which is luring riders from as far away as Bend and Portland.

Saturday's race and No. 2 in the series - to be held Nov. 24, on a slightly different course on the grounds of Fox Hollow Elementary School - are sponsored by the Midtown Racing Team. Races on Dec. 9 and 15 will be sponsored by a second group of cyclists, the Eugene Racing Team.

Participants can accumulate points in each race that count toward an overall series championship.

The Fox Hollow Grand Prix course, which snakes around the hilly school grounds and along a single track trail through neighboring woods, is just shy of a mile long. As if the natural ups and downs weren't challenging enough, organizers made sure there were other obstacles.

"We have four different places where you have to dismount your bike unless you are extremely skilled," said Galen Mittermann, a Eugene engineer in charge of organizing the event for Midtown Racing Team. "We have a section of three wooden barriers, placed close together so you can't bunny-hop them, a large log in the middle of the woods that has to be cleared, and two different run-ups, which are short steep sections that force people to get off ...

"And there's lots of slick grass and switchbacks, and some off-camber sections along the side of a hill - it requires a fair amount of skill just to maneuver the course," Mittermann said.

Paul Shrikey of Corvallis, who was competing in his first cyclocross, described the course as tough but fun.

"It's basically a criterium - really short and fast laps - only off-road," he said. "The hardest part for me was the triple jump (barriers) followed by up the hill and across the curbs ... just maintaining through all that was hard. The best part was the single track through the forest. That was a lot of fun."

Meanwhile, perhaps fueled by the popularity of mountain-biking, which requires similar skills, cyclocross continues to catch on with Oregon bicyclists who find the sport an interesting change of pace from road and mountain bike racing.

The rules of cyclocross allow riders to use up to three different bicycles during a race. In muddy conditions, a clean bike can weigh as much as 20 pounds less than one caked with mud, so elite competitors might switch bikes each time they pass the designated "pit" area, where their crews are busy cleaning and oiling bikes.

Another unusual aspect of cyclocross is that the length of the race is based upon elapsed time rather than covering a pre-determined distance or number of laps. Race organizers set a base time period, such as 40 minutes or an hour, then ring a bell signifying one more lap to go when the leader passes the start/finish line after the pre-set time has elapsed.

Saturday's races ranged from base times of 15 minutes for the "Kiddie Cross" to 60 minutes for the Men's A division, which includes the most -skilled riders.

Any cycle is legal in cyclocross - road bike, mountain bike, or even unicycle.

"Whatever turns your wheels," said Mittermann.

But serious `cross riders outfit themselves with special cyclocross bikes that provide extra clearance for brakes and other key components that tend to get caked with mud.

Some bikes even feature crossbars with flat bottoms, which don't dig into the shoulder like a regular rounded crossbar does when it's the bike's turn to ride the man.