Active.com Action Sports

X Games 13

The 13th annual X Games are quickly approaching. Three new events will be featured this year: women's surfing, BMX freestyle big air and motocross racing.

While X Games 13 will take place August 2 to 5 in Los Angeles, California, the surfing competition is scheduled for July 3 to 6 at Puerto Escondido, also known as the Mexican Pipeline. In addition to women’s surfing, this year's competition will feature a "USA vs. the World" format that replaces the "East Coast vs. West Coast" approach from past years. This format pits surfers on opposing teams against one another as they compete for the highest score based on speed, control and power, all in support of a team victory.

The surfing competition is less than a week away. Until then, this video should hold you over.

Surfing 50 States

With Memorial Day weekend behind us and schools dismissing their classrooms, summer is (unofficially) here. The season for  vacations and road trips is upon us, and I’ve got a few trips lined up that I’m looking forward to. However, none of my plans are nearly as cool as the trip two Australians, Jonathan Durrant and Stefan Hunt, just completed.

Durrant and Hunt traveled for seven months to complete their mission to surf in all 50 states. When told that they couldn’t possibly surf the inland states, they found "waves" in irrigation ditches, snow and even in a potato field. Raised in St. Louis, I was curious to see where they chose to surf in Missouri and was expecting to find they took on the Mississippi River. I think they did one better in checking off Missouri by surfing down the steps at the Arch.

Their rules were simple: to surf all 50 states, “surf” was defined as being on a surfboard with some sort of momentum, and to document and share the experience with as many people as possible.

To top it all off, they had an ice cream truck donated to them by a sponsor to help minimize their costs. However, during the 20,000 miles they traveled, it seems the truck ended up being more trouble than it was worth. It needed two engines, two alternators, one muffler, one repaired fuel tank, one battery, one ignition coil, two rewiring repairs and three tows.

Judging by their stories and pictures, it looks like it was worth it.

(Photo provided by Getty Images)

Speed Flying

There is an up-and-coming sport that combines skiing, parachuting, snow kiting and parasailing that allows you to descend mountains at speeds up to 70 miles an hour. That is intense.

Here’s a unique view of the new sport known as speed flying or speed riding. The video lets you vicariously experience the alternating skiing and soaring effect:

This sport gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “extreme sport.”

Changing the way we see skateboarding

As an underground activity, skateboarding has always come along with stereotypes, many of them negative and misconstrued. But the rebellious, drug-taking-punk image of old is giving way to that of a skillful athlete with a daring edge. It's the skaters themselves making this change, and Richard Zuccarello is among those leading the way. His organization Skateboarders Against Drugs sends a positive message to the community while promoting the sport of skateboarding to kids.

The creation of Skateboarders Against Drugs was sparked in 2003 when an elementary school in Woodland Hills, Calif. asked professional skateboarder Zuccarello to help them with their anti-drug campaign.

Read more about Skateboarders Against Drugs.

How to Harness the Wind

Combining paragliding, wakeboarding and windsurfing, kiteboarding (also known as kitesurfing) is still a debutante in the athletic world -- yet to celebrate its tenth birthday. But the high-adrenaline sport, in which you can perform tricks more than 20 feet above the water and travel at speeds of more than 30 knots, is steadily gaining disciples.

Despite its reputation as an extreme sport, kiteboarding is also about balance, technique and finesse. Perhaps that's why the ranks of women riders increase every year, along with female instructors and women-specific kiting camps.

Kiteboarding classes -- an absolute must to get started in the sport -- are available around the country. Follow these tips to help you soar across the water.

How extreme should I go? You Decide.

Dear readers,

The weather is getting warmer and I'm looking for more reasons to get outside and enjoy being active.

My first love is team sports. However, I want to broaden my horizons and take up a new action sport. I want you to decide which one I pick up. I will post which sport got the most votes and updates on how I am progressing.

So, let's hear it. Should I be grinding at the skate park? Hitting the trail? Tell me which sport I've been missing out on.

Mountain Biking the North Pole

A couple weeks ago Chicago had record high temperatures and I was overjoyed to be outside on my bike after a long winter of indoor training rides. Winter is back now in the Midwest and it is a rude awakening. It’s almost the middle of April and Major League baseball games have been canceled in both Cleveland and Chicago on account of snow. I’ll admit, it makes me not want to take my bike out anytime soon.

Until I read about the North Pole Bike Extreme, the first bike race at the North Pole. The race description on the site is as follows:

You will cycle a 26.2-mile marathon distance in extreme sub-zero temperatures on the high Arctic Ocean while negotiating small hillocks of ice and pressure ridges. You will struggle in this formidable challenge, constantly aware you are on territory where the polar bear is king. Forced to carry your bike in some sections, and with 6 to 12 feet of pack ice separating you from 12,000 feet of Arctic Ocean below, a steely nerve will be required to take part in North Pole Bike Extreme - the coolest bike race on the planet.

The Midwest weather doesn’t seem so bad anymore. Fewer excuses, more pedaling!

(Photo provided by Getty Images/Image Source)

Surf Year-Round

Whenever surfing comes up in conversation with non-surfing people, the matter of water temperature almost always surfaces. I've met several people who say, "I don't surf here (in Nor Cal) because the water is too cold!" Yes, the water temperature around Half Moon Bay, Calif. is typically in the 48 - 58 F range year-round, including in the dead of winter and summer. But, with new technology in wetsuits, this is no longer an excuse.

A wetsuit is a surfer's essential life-support system, especially for a starter who spends more time inside the water.

For more on new wetsuit technologies, accessories, and how to choose the right one for you - check out the full story here!

Miss Motocross

"Hello, my name is Ashley Fiolek. I'm 16 years old, I am profoundly deaf, and I race motocross."

These are the first words in the biography section of ashleyfiolek.com. The bio goes on to summarize the accomplishments of her amateur career. It's a record that would be impressive for any racer but one that is especially notable because Ashley Fiolek is both improbably young and unable to hear.

Motocross is a loud sport, and racers depend on sound for cues. The buzz of the engine tells them when to shift. Sound also warns that another rider is approaching, indicating when it would be best to move out of the way. Fiolek knows when to shift by sensing vibrations, feeling the bike as it groans and memorizing every bump of the course.

After two years of dominating amateur races on her 85cc, Fiolek made her 125cc debut against the best women in the world in November, winning the women's supercross title. She also qualified for a boys' race at Loretta Lynn's last summer. Out of 42 riders—41 male—she finished 11th. She'll turn pro in August, midway through the six-event Hitachi WMA National Championship series, the pinnacle of women's pro motocross.

First-Ever X Games Asia in China

The city of Shanghai will host the KIA X Games Asia 2007 May 3-5 from KIC Jiang Wan Stadium, it was announced today by Rick Alessandri, senior vice president, general manager, ESPN Consumer Products and X Games Franchise Managing Director.

The event will mark the first time X Games Asia will be held in the People's Republic of China.

More than 200 of the world's top action sports athletes from more than 20 countries and five continents will compete in the three-day event and feature multiple disciplines, including Aggressive In-Line Skate, Skateboard, BMX Freestyle, Sport Climbing as well as a Moto X demonstration.

(Photo provided by Getty Images/Streeter Lecka)

Stand up paddle surfing

Stand up paddle surfing is an aspect of surfing that has seen a recent resurgence. For those that are not familiar with the sport, it entails standing on a large longboard and propelling yourself with essentially a canoe paddle. Recently, it has been picked up as an alternative way to ride surf and as a means of staying in shape. The level of surfing on stand up paddle boards has sky rocketed in the last few years.

This type of surfing involves using a massive longboard — generally 12 feet long, 30 inches wide and 4-5 inches thick — with a canoe-style paddle that should be about six inches taller than you. You throw the board in the water, paddle out past the shorebreak with the paddle tucked under you, then pop to your feet with the paddle in your hand. With your feet parallel, you can then balance on the board and paddle around. Once you get the feel of it, the next goal is to propel yourself into waves.

Stand-up paddle surfers have found they can have fun even in small, mushy waves because the paddle and the massive boards add entirely new abilities and dimensions. It wouldn't be ideal for crowded conditions, because of the size of the board. But on a marginal day or during a swamped-out high tide, stand-up can make surfing possible and really fun.

Riding the Spine

There are a group of guys riding their bikes the length of the Earth by following the backbone of the globe -- the world's longest continuous mountain range. The route takes them along the backroads and trails that traverse the Continental Divide. The off-road nature of this trip sounds like it would be an awesome ride and a unique opportunity to see the world and enjoy the great outdoors.

The Great Divide runs along the crest of the Rockies, from British Columbia, through the United States, and continues southward into Mexico and Central America. It divides the continent's principal drainage into that flowing eastward (to the Hudson Bay in Canada or to the Mississippi River) and that flowing westward (to the Pacific Ocean).

Unfortunately, they were busted by federal agents for biking through the Grand Canyon. They’re staying in Flagstaff for awhile to work construction and raise some cash to pay down their legal fees before moving on. The worst part is that they probably would have gotten away with it if they hadn’t posted pictures and stories about their illegal ride on their blog. After paying a $500 fine and being  in jail for two days, they had to post something on their blog about why people shouldn’t bike through the Grand Canyon. Even worse, they are banned from National Parks for five years.

Another example of why one should be careful of what gets posted on the internet (and, of course, why to not ride your bike in the Grand Canyon). But these guys are on to something very cool in riding the longest off-pavement bike route in the world. They will be leaving Flagstaff and hitting the trail again in a couple weeks; if you want to keep an eye on them, their effort is called “Riding the Spine.”

(Photo provided by Getty Images/taken byKashi Leuchs)

Women Surfers Want Equal Pay Too

In surfing, the participation and performance of women have been surging, boosting industry profits. But going on 50 years since Kathy Kohner Zuckerman (nicknamed Gidget), earned grudging respect from the guys — and two weeks after Wimbledon pledged to pay equal prize money to women — gender equity for the sport remains a point of contention.

The Association of Surfing Professionals men’s and women’s world tour seasons began last week on Australia’s Gold Coast, near Brisbane, with the men’s Quiksilver Pro and the women’s Roxy Pro. The contrast is stark.

On the men’s tour, 45 surfers compete in 10 events, with the Quiksilver Pro offering $300,000 in prize money. The women’s tour consists of 17 surfers in seven events. The Roxy Pro, which was won by Chelsea Hedges on Monday, paid a total of $80,000 in winnings. Layne Beachley, the seven-time and defending women’s world champion, said the surf industry needed to do more.

“There is always room for improvement, both at the elite level and at grass roots,” Beachley, 34, said in an e-mail message from Australia. “And considering the industry have made an enormous amount of money through its representation of this lifestyle, I feel that the disparity between the incomes of the men and women still have a long way to go to become ‘equal.’ ”

Mr. Motocross

James Stewart is a 21-year-old Floridian, the youngest champion AMA motocross has ever seen and the first and only African-American to win a major motorsports championship.

Stewart turned pro in January 2002 and has rewritten the record book since. As the AMA rookie of the year, he set a record for most overall motocross wins in a season and thus nabbed the AMA national title. In 2003 he won the AMA West Supercross championship, and in 2004 he won the AMA East Supercross championship. In doing so, he broke his record for wins in a season (this time nabbing 11 of 12), and became the only rider to win all three AMA titles of the 125cc class.

Stewart opened this season with three straight victories -- making him the first rider in 10 years to win the opening three rounds of the AMA Supercross Series (legend Jeremy McGrath did it in 1996). Halfway through the season, Stewart is the points leader for world and domestic Supercross championships.

Between the travel and training, ESPN.com spoke with Stewart about his accomplishments and aspirations:

Because of your age, talent and race, you are seen as someone who is different than the rest of the field. Do you feel different than everyone else?

Not really, no. I see myself just like everybody else as far as going out and doing my best and trying to win races and having fun in the meantime. Under the helmet, other things don't matter. We all have an equal shot at winning and that's why we're out there. But I'd say the biggest difference between me and the rest of the field is probably just that image of what I try to give back to the fans and how hard I try to please them … even if it means falling on my face [laughs]. My personality is probably the biggest difference, more so than any of the other factors that describe me.

Skiing into the record books

By most measurements, there are 54 mountains in Colorado surpassing 14,000 feet in elevation. Chris Davenport, a two-time extreme-skiing world champion, recently completed his goal of climbing up and skiing off the top of each of them.

After a few emotional moments on the 14,255-foot summit, he and his friends clicked into their skis and made a dash down the mountain and into mountaineering’s record books. The only other man to have skied from the summit of all 54 peaks was Lou Dawson, who took 13 years to accomplish the feat.

“Conditions are extremely variable in Colorado,” said Neal Beidleman, a climber who in 1996 was part of the ill-fated expedition of Mount Everest that was the subject of Jon Krakauer’s book “Into Thin Air.” “To try to find good conditions in all those ranges on all those peaks is very challenging. This was an endurance event.”

Despite the deadline pressure, fatigue and danger involved with his quest, Davenport said the summits often remained a place for reflection.

That is why Davenport will set out in April to try to climb and ski all 15 peaks in California that are at least 14,000 feet, and Mount Rainier in Washington State. If successful, he will become the only person to have skied off the summit of every 14er in the continental United States.

Thanks in large part to Davenport, there are signs that skiing the 14ers will become a more popular activity.

(Photo provided by Getty Images/taken by Mike Powell)

Women's Surfing added to X Games

ESPN announced the full lineup of events for X Games 13 to be held in August. The major change to the event slate is the addition of Women's Surfing.

"In the tradition of progression, adding Women's Surfing is a perfect fit and will highlight the best athletes in the world competing on the biggest stage in the world," said Ron Semiao, senior vice president, ESPN Original Entertainment.

Surfing's seven-time defending Women's World Champion, Layne Beachley, commented on the addition from her hometown in Australia. "The talent of women's surfing coming through the ranks from all over the world is definitely justified now as it is included into the X Games," said Beachley. "I am really excited that finally the world of action sports acknowledges the existence of women's professional surfing, and I think it is going to be a great environment for our sport to be exposed to."

The X Games is the premier action sports event in the world, featuring athletes from across the globe competing for medals and prize money in the following sports: BMX Freestyle, Moto X, Skateboard, Surfing and Rally Car Racing. Last year for X Games 12, more than 138,000 fans attended the competition while another 35.6 million fans tuned in on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC. Now, X Games 13 is shaping up to be the biggest one ever!

(Photo provided by Getty Image/Rebecca Woods)

Le Parkour

Le Parkour is a physical art, the aim of which is to move from point A to point B as efficiently and quickly as possible, using the abilities of the human body. It is meant to help one overcome obstacles, which can be anything in the surrounding environment — from branches and rocks to rails and concrete walls — so parkour can be practiced in both rural and urban areas.

Inspiration for parkour came from many sources, the foremost being the 'Natural Method of Physical Culture' developed by George Hébert in the early twentieth century. French soldiers in Vietnam were inspired by Hébert's work and created what is now known as parkour.

There are fewer predefined movements in parkour than gymnastics and other extreme sports, in that parkour is not made up of a list of appropriate "moves". Each obstacle one faces presents a unique challenge on how they can overcome it effectively, which depends on their body type, speed and angle of approach, the physical make-up of the obstacle, etc.

Most important are good jumping and landing techniques. The roll, used to limit impact after a drop and to carry one's momentum onward, is often stressed as the most important technique to learn. Check le parkour at it's best in this video clip.

Tune Your Bike Up

I was home in St. Louis for a little while and was fortunate enough to catch a week of 60 degree temperatures. It got me thinking -- spring is in the air and my bike is calling. Here are a few tips to help you find any problems and make sure no new ones arise so your bike works smoothly through the riding season.

Inspect your wheels closely to see if there are any cracks in the rim or any signs of bulging in the tire. If you don’t regularly tension your spokes you’ll have some serious flex problems from your wheels. If you don’t feel comfortable tensioning your spokes, just drop it by the bike shop. They’ll be more than happy to help.

The American Birkebeiner

It’s just about that time of year again for the excitement, camaraderie and challenge that can only be satisfied by clicking into a pair of skis and lining up at the start line with 7,000 other ski pals from around the world. The American Birkebeiner (or Birkie) is the largest, and one of the longest cross country ski races in North America. The 51-km race from Cable to Hayward, Wisconsin is a member race of the Worldloppet Ski Federation, a federation which includes the world's most famous cross country ski marathons such as Sweden's Vasaloppet and Norway's Birkebeinerrennet.

Tomorrow morning, the Birkie will be underway for the 34th time in it's history.  Started in 1973, the Birkie is one of the few races worldwide named after and commemorating a historical episode, from 1206 when a group of Birkebeiners - soldiers who fought in the Norwegian civil war - smuggled the illegitimate son of Norway's King Håkon Sverresson to safety. At Birkebeinerrennet in Norway, skiers still carry packs symbolizing the weight of an 18-month-old child; this tradition, although not required, is also respected by some skiers in the American Birkebeiner.

The Birkie has a reputation of attracting skiers of various ability levels. Cross country skiing is particularly popular in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and the Birkie draws a large number of skiers from this area who otherwise ski only recreationally. In addition to the Birkebeiner itself, the race day includes the shorter Kortelopet, a race geared more toward recreational skiers. Each year the race is attended by over 7,000 skiers and about 20,000 spectators.

Good luck to all the skiers this year!
(Photo provided by Getty Images, taken by Agence Zoom)

Take a 6,800-mile hike!

Readers, please meet the American Discovery Trail.

Stretching across more than 6,800 miles and 15 states, the ADT is the only coast-to-coast, non-motorized recreational trail. Linking communities, cities, parks and wilderness, the ADT allows people to hike, bike, trail run or ride horses for an afternoon or a cross-country adventure. The trail provides users the opportunity to journey into the heart of all that is uniquely American, its culture, heritage, landscape and spirit.

The ADT is all about connections — people to people, community to community, urban areas to wilderness. It provides the opportunity for the most adventurous to travel from coast to coast, truly discovering the heart of America. More importantly it provides millions of people access to a trail system that improves quality of life and protects our natural resources.

Get out on the trail, whether for two hours or more than two months, and have fun!

(Photo provided by Getty Images, taken by Graham Chadwick)

Improve your vision

A constant view of a two-dimensional computer screen makes it more difficult to navigate a three-dimensional trail, river or ski run. However, by using special training techniques, you can improve your vision and response time during outdoor sports. Here are a few exercises that prominent figures in action sports use:

Peripheral Awareness
Outdoor athletes must look ahead to plan their route, but they also have to stay tuned to what’s happening on the periphery. US Freestyle Ski Team coach Liz McIntyre recommends this exercise: Stand facing a wall and ask a buddy to arrange papers with numbers written on them in a semicircle on the wall, about 6 feet from where you’re standing. Looking straight ahead and without moving your eyes, call out the numbers as your buddy points to them with a ski pole or stick.

Surf's Up!

Have you ever wondered why surfing seems to be so much easier for kids than adults? This is because people of different ages learn surfing in different ways. Here's some tips on learning to surf for children, teenagers, and adults:

Children

Young children are usually eager to learn all sorts of things and learn it quickly. Children learn gross motor skills like "jumping to their feet" easier than the fine motor skills. When instructing or learning, spend more time on style, body positioning, where to look and foot positioning across the stringer than other skills.

Mountain Biking: North Shore style

The two words "North Shore" usually bring to mind Hawaii's northern beach with huge waves, rolling pipelines, and the core crowd of surfers. Recently, a new North Shore has been receiving its fair share of attention.

Vancouver's North Shore is quickly gaining a reputation for having the most serious and technical mountain bike riding in the world. The shore demands certain attitudes, certain equipment, and an amount of mental concentration that is unmatched elsewhere.

North shore mountain biking originated in the hilly, slick, rocky terrain of Vancouver, Canada's north shore. Riders began building bridges over swampy or muddy areas as a result of the nearly unridable conditions. These bridges evolved into complex, oftentimes extremely challenging, man-made stunts including twisting "ladders" raised above the ground and teeter-totters. The stunts can be narrow and may require the rider to move very slowly, requiring immense balance and bike handling skills, or may involve large drops and high speed descents.

North shore riding is quickly spreading to other parts of Canada and the United States, but if you want to experience the real thing head to one of the three mountains in Vancouver where it all started: Mt. Cypress, Mt. Fromme, and Mt. Seymour.

Snowboarding Styles: Freeride vs. Freestyle

In snowboarding, the style you choose will largely determine how you ride, what snowboard equipment or gear you will be using and where you will be riding. Each style has its own group of fans, community and competitions. Once you have passed the beginner stage, you're bound to explore one of the following snowboard riding styles:

Freeride vs. freestyle: Freeride is suitable for beginners because its only focus is on enjoying the ride and exploring the mountain. Freestyle is very different from freeriding, as it includes mostly aerial-like spins, flips and grabs.

Whitewater Kayaking

Whitewater kayaking is a lifelong pursuit of fun and challenge. If you’re looking for a new outdoor sport, now might be the time to check it out.

If you are completely new to whitewater kayaking, two things you will need to familiarize yourself with are river safety procedures and basic river-reading skills. Other skills--like boat handling, eddy hopping, ferrying and rolling--will come with time.

Whether or not you take formal lessons, you will definitely need some instruction on how to roll. Instruction will help you develop proper technique instead of just survival skills--and ensure your safety. Instruction should start on dry land, move into a pond or pool, and then into the river. Formal instruction will also provide you with all the right equipment and a shuttle. Here are a few important aspects of kayaking to keep in mind:

Kiteboarding

Kiteboarding is a mixture between windsurfing, surfing and wakeboarding. Compared to windsurfing and surfing, kiteboarding is a relatively easy sport to learn. Most students are able to get up on their board after two or three lessons from a certified kiteboarding instructor, and with a bit of practice you can do your first jump in a few days. Once you get more experienced you can catch some huge air. The pros can easily jump 10 meters or higher.

The sport is becoming safer due to innovations in kite design, safety release systems, and instruction. Many riding styles have evolved to suit different types of riders and conditions, such as wake style, wave riding, freestyle, jumping, and cruising.

The sport is still in its infancy, but is rapidly growing in popularity. In 2006, the number of kitesurfers has been estimated at around 150,000 to 200,000.

Female Ski Jumpers Out of Luck

Ski jumping has been an Olympic sport since 1927 and it is among the events most watched on television at the Winter Games. Yet it, and the companion Nordic Combined event, which involves jumping and cross-country skiing, are the only two Winter Olympic sports that still bar women.

It is not that women's ski jumping is a novelty. Tens of thousands of women around the world are involved in the sport. The International Ski Federation (FIS) has ranked more than 140 female ski jumpers. There are 22 events held on three continents in eight major ski jumping nations, including the US, Japan, Norway, Italy, Austria, Germany, Slovenia and Canada. In this country one quarter of ski jumping Canada's 80 competition-level athletes are women.

While the International Olympic Committee is eager to have gender equity in all sports, officials said women's jumping hasn't yet been fully established, noting that the first world championships in the event aren't scheduled until 2009.

"It's still not ready," IOC vice-president Gunilla Lindberg said. "In our analysis, there are not enough athletes and not enough countries. They have to work with the international ski federation and Nordic combined to be ready for 2014."

However, the IOC stressed it would closely monitor the progress of women's ski jumping "with a view of its inclusion in future Olympic Games."

Canada's female ski jumping team is launching a human rights complaint in an effort to change rules that prevent them from competing in the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver.

Skicross

The rough-and-tumble freestyle event of skicross is in for the 2010 Winter Olympics. The International Olympic Committee approved skicross - similar to snowboard cross - for the Vancouver Games.

Skicross involves groups of skiers racing each other to the bottom of a course with jumps, rollers, banks and other manmade and natural terrain features. The competition is part of the International Ski Federation's World Cup freestyle circuit, which also includes the Olympic events of aerials and moguls.

The IOC said skicross has a "strong appeal for the young generation."

Snowboard cross debuted at the 2006 Winter Games in Turin and drew big crowds and good ratings.

Surf Kayaking 101

Stubby plastic whitewater boats with fiberglass wave skis and and fins on the bottom represent the evolution of the sport known as surf kayaking. Surf kayaking allows you to catch many more waves, paddle back out more quickly, and get to breaks that would be a long walk or paddle on a board more easily. Plus, you can have fun in more diverse conditions.

The biggest thing for beginners to grasp is the period of waves. The closer together the waves are, the harder it is to get out through them. So when launching off the beach, look for patterns in the series of waves. Wait for the larger ones to pass, then launch when the water is as close and low down on the beach as possible. Be on the lookout for side shore currents as well.

Cyclocross

The growing sport of cyclocross is an off-road circuit race ridden on modified raod bikes. Mud is a sort of founding principle, dating to the sodden winter ground on which European road racers first explored the new terrain in the early 1900s.

In cyclocross races, athletes ride laps around a course that is one to two miles long, powering over flat straightaways, grinding through bumps and soggy pits and portaging over obstacles. A few races have been known to even include flights of stairs. Mud accentuates the pain and increases the difficulty.

In the United States Gran Prix of Cyclocross last race of the season, spectators crowded along the course's toughest sections -- two quick, steep climbs up the hill, which was so soupy that everybody but the pros had to dismount and carry their bikes. Every time a pack of riders came up the hill, a chorus of cowbells and yells arose. Cyclocross in the much also draws a different breed of spectator. "It's a total cult following here," said Matt Slavin, a semipro rider who had taken the day off from racing and was wearing a pink wig.

Slavin added, "Every race, you want to vomit, you want to quit, your bike's not working, and then you come up a run-up and everyone's cheering and you get pepped up. As soon as you're done, you can't wait for the next race. It's kind of like a cruel drug -- addictive."