Like bikes? Like beer? Have you considered cyclocross?
Cyclocross started in the flatlands of Western Europe (Belgium & Holland) as a way for road racers to keep fit in the off-season. It consists of an off-road trail ridden on what look like road bikes
To make it more interesting barriers are added so that the riders have to get off and run (or even jump) with their bikes
along with some unridable sections that are designed to make the riders work even harder
Traditionally the racing takes place in the muddy European winter. The creek crossing above was the closest thing that could be found in South East Queensland! I took part in a cyclocross race a couple of years ago and you basically hit your lactic threshold in the first 2 minutes of the race. You then continue at that level (or worse) until you vomit, cramp up and fall over or finish. Often all three occur at the same time. Jaman (the mud plugger in the picture above) had an average heart rate of 182 beats per minute - over a 45 minute race.
But where does the beer fit in? It's all part of the European tradition, where drunken spectators encourage the racers with heckles and cowbells. At Ipswich we were lucky enough to have a genuine Belgian bar selling European beers
along with cowbells
and they even provided a safe drinking area where we could enjoy the action without any danger of unnecessary exercise
Our man worked hard and came home 1st in his class. His prize? Well, beer of course
and it looked to be very welcome....
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