Events: Fourth Annual Sly Fox Cross (and Why You Should Spectate)
(2017) For the past few weeks cyclocross season has had it easy. Watching Instagram videos of dusty courses with ne’er an arm warmer in sight made for confusing nostalgia. Participants often keel over at the end of a cross race but the October races had me wondering if some people were passing out from heat exhaustion. That’s hardly the spirit of cyclocross when mud and a little snow come to mind. Even Zonhoven had bare armed racers.
With a cold blast swinging through the mid-Atlantic region, the flag has gone up for cyclocross racing. This weekend, after endurable days of mid-fifty degree high temperatures, Sly Fox Brewing Company will host the Sly Fox Cross on Saturday November 11th where the high is currently predicted to be a sweltering 39 degrees. (I was about to register but realized I forgot my shoes already.)
Looks like it'll finally be cold enough to wear arm warmers Saturday.
What’s exciting is the fact that breweries have been hosting cross races for quite some time. Sierra Nevada brewing has had cross races, as have Deschutes Brewing and Oskar Blues. Last weekend Stoudt’s Brewing hosted a ‘cross race in Adamstown, PA. It’s a fine way to spend a day at a local brewery if I do say so myself. Visting the location that brews 113 IPA with a troupe of cyclocross racers parading around the brewery is a great way to spend a Saturday. Sipping a 113 IPA is the way to stand in the woods in your Speedvagen Pit Boots and watch local racers try the new course for this year. It’s how ‘cross should be carried out.
As if you may need further convincing to stand around, Sly Fox gets into the festivities by firing up the grill and serving beer all around the course. The entrance fee is free and the food is pay-as-you-go. Is there honestly a better way to spend one weekend between the fall foliage and the upcoming Thanksgiving season? The answer is no.
Expect to see bike shops in attendance. Bike Sport of Trappe will field a team of racers, as will Doylestown Bike Works. They’ll be easy to locate with their tents and colored kits. It wouldn’t be a cyclocross festival without welcoming dogs. And according to Sly Fox, their race swag is the most desirable swag offered at any event. Sly Fox event? Cyclocross events? Superprestige swag? One may never know which event they’re referencing.
In the meantime, on account of being a roadie and still unable to find my ‘cross shoes, I unfortunately had to bow out before the start. I will take no questions from the throngs of cycling reporters undoubtedly looking to scoop the other publications. Or perhaps I’m gearing up for a super secret race. (I’m not.) Until the next race soak in the atmosphere only Sly Fox Brewing can bring and remember heckling the poor rider in the barely-above-freezing temperature is encouraged. It may warm his/ her soul.
Sly Fox Brewing is located in Pottstown, PA. Racing starts at 8am and goes to about 4pm.
