My fingers are numb, everyone around me is shivering, and I’m starting to wonder if I should
have packed some warmer layers. Sunny October days in the south of England don’t normally come with a crisp frosty coating. But instead of my typical weekend rides around the western end of the South Downs, I’m in Pennsylvania on the start line of the fourth edition of Iron Cross – “America’s longest cyclocross race”.

Iron Cross is inspired by our own Three Peaks race with an extended single loop instead of the usual cyclocross format of short, high intensity, multi-lap event lasting an hour or so. And by “extended” I mean 62 miles… I’ve raced the Three Peaks once, learning the lesson of not respecting its reputation, and now a conveniently timed business trip to Washington has tempted me to extend my stay and experience the US alternative.

Always up for a slightly crazy race, and not having ridden outside the UK this year, the lucky timing meant this was clearly not an opportunity to pass up. A quick phone call extracted a promise from the airline that taking a bike would be no problem and I signed up for the race before I could change my mind.
In no time my entry is acknowledged by the race organiser who is excited about the prospect
of international entrants and I discover there is even another UK rider already entered. A couple of days
later and I’ve had useful advice from a veteran of both the 3 Peaks and Iron Cross and have been
roped into a composite team representing the Capital Bicycle Racing Club.

Around this point I start to worry that people may be developing expectations that are not going to be backed up given the amount of riding I’ve managed this summer!

After a week of meetings and hotel living I’m more than ready for fresh air and exercise, a situation that is helped by thoroughly agreeable sunny weather that is a pleasant change from the grey skies I left at home. A short bus journey back to the airport lets me pick up a hire car and I head out of the city. For once my notoriously poor sense of direction is working well and before long I’m in Carlisle, around 25 minutes from the race HQ in Michaux State Forest. Having tracked down a cheap and cheerful motel, it’s time to pull my cross bike from its bag and despite a
minor scare as I start to strip the thread in the rear mech hanger, it doesn’t take long before the bike
is back in one piece for a test ride in the car park. All that remains is to eat a huge pizza and get
some sleep in preparation for the race.

All of which brings us back to an early start on Sunday morning, and as I step out of my motel room at 7.30am to load the car I’m left hunting for something to scrape frosty windows clear. The race HQ, Camp
Thompson, is a short drive out of town and within a mile I’ve found myself in a convoy of cars and
trucks adorned with cross bikes – at least I won’t get lost!

Getting underway

Arriving at Camp Thompson reveals the usual pre-race preparations under way – bikes are being put together, riders are milling around trying to keep warm while donning race gear, and the keen few are setting up turbo trainers.

I roll up to sign on and along the way find Ian Briggs, the other UK entrant and fellow guest of the CBRC team, after spotting his Pearsons Cycles top. I’m introduced to the spendidly-named Mark Laser, the man behind the event, for a brief chat as he rushes around attending to final preparations. Then, with race number and an above average quantity of swag in hand, I make my way back to the car to get kitted up and mentally prepare myself for five or more hours of racing.

The start line is gridded according to riders’ own expectations of finishing time – I figure 5 hours is a good a time as any to aim for and line up in the appropriate place in the crowd. The event has grown steadily over its four years – this year there are 172 entrants. Around 80% of them are riding proper ‘cross bikes although, unlike the Three Peaks, mountain bikes are also allowed. Aside from Ian I haven’t managed to find my CBRC team mates but by chance theyappear alongside me and we introduce ourselves quickly as last year’s top finishers are called to the front of the grid.

Finally the countdown to the start begins, and then we’re off. After a short sprint up a gently rising fireroad, the first challenge is a lap of the more traditional cyclocross course used for Iron Cross “Lite” the day before. The frosty grass is a slippery challenge with so many riders, and the cold air is a sharp shock for the lungs. After skirting the edge of the course we enter the “death spiral”, a confusing section where riders appear to be going in every possible direction, before we exit onto the Iron Cross course itself.

Heading at warp speed along fire roads I start to reflect on my optimistic finish time estimate as several small groups of riders pass me and I can’t match their speed. Before long though we reach
a gradual climb and things start to settle into some sort of order. Descending the fire road is made extra exciting by my least favourite trail surface, loose gravel, but I exit cleanly on to a road – a rider behind isn’t so lucky as I hear the distinctive sound of rider and bike sliding out.

A routine develops as riders merge into groups on the flat and slowly spread out on the climbs. And then things get more interesting as we turn onto the Lippencote Trail, a singletrack section littered with sharp edged rocks. While not overly challenging for the riders on mountain bikes, on a cross bike a delicate balance is needed to maintain momentum
while avoiding punctures but I find myself picking up places and push the pace a litte, hoping my heavyweight tubes will keep me safe. The crux of the trail is a steep rocky gully, allegedly ridable on a cross bike, but I only make it half way down before succumbing to the sheer number of riders trying to make it down at the same time. The final section opens a little becoming faster and less rocky before we swing back onto wider paths.

Settling down to a steady pace as the race unfolds it’s tempting to enjoy the autumn colours, but the
shadows on the fire road hide numerous potholes, and the course is marked by yellow arrows that
blend into the foliage. More than once I fly past a turn. As the day warms up, I’m enjoying myself
as I get steadily closer to the “powerline run-up”.

Rather predictably, there is very little chance of running up the climb. Compared to Ingleborough, the
most brutal of the climbs at the Three Peaks, it is much shorter but almost as steep in places. After around 30 miles of riding my calves are not amused as I make my way up the loose “trail”. A short rideable section leads on to a second hike over baby head rocks before my legs can start to recover from the “running”.

Are we nearly there yet?

My recollection of the course profile has me convinced that the bulk of the climbing is now over
with. But as I roll up to the third check point, a marshal is taking great pleasure in informing everyone about the climb that we are about to start while also trying to convince us all that we’re only 34 miles into the course. I’m sure he’s joking but it takes a communal consultation of computers to be sure – reassured I start trying to work out if my five-hour target is still realistic.

With 45 miles ridden, the climb from checkpoint 3 feels like the hardest so far, and I’m glad I’ve got a
36:32 bottom gear to call on. The hard work is eventually rewarded by a long and fast fireroad descent and the remaining miles are steadily counting down as I roll into the final singletrack section of the course. I follow the lone fixed wheel rider as he makes impressively smooth work of a fun swoopy section before we reach more climbing and a final short run-up. By now I’m officially broken and my five hour target is just a pipedream.

Finally I hit the road for the run into the finish, I’d hoped for a nice easy coast home but the road
dishes out a succession of small rolling climbs that completely finish my legs off. Somehow I manage to put in a last spurt to power up towards the line but the inclusion of cyclocross barriers in the last few metres seems awfully cruel after 62 miles, 6,300 ft of climbing and five hours 22 minutes of riding. But after I’ve collapsed on the grass to recover for a minute or two, and taken advantage of the free barbeque, the pain is already fading and leaving behind fond memories.

The obvious question of course is which event is the hardest, the Three Peaks or Iron Cross? Despite the obvious similarities the two events are quite different. The Iron Cross course is significantly longer, with less time off the bike and higher average speeds compared to the more punishing nature of the Three Peaks. But despite spending the first half of the Iron Cross believing that I’m in for a slightly easier ride, the second half just kept on punishing tiring legs and by the finish I felt every bit as broken as I had after the Three Peaks.

My ride was good for 81st place in the end, but “Best Brit” honours went to Paul Guttridge who had snuck in under the radar from a Washington address. The organisation of the event was superb with the road junctions extremely well managed and checkpoints competing with one another to keep riders spirits high. Next year’s race is on 14 October 14 2007 and I can highly recommend finding your way to the US to check it out. I’m already trying to figure out if I can line up another well timed business trip so that I can have another crack at that sub-five hour ride…

• The $60 race entry is roughly equivalent
  to similar length events in the UK and came with a stack of freebies – event t-shirt and pint glass, sample energy drinks, and commemorative socks for finishers.
• My flight to Washington DC cost a reasonable £280 return with sensible weight limits and no surcharge for a bike bag. Michaux State Forest is
  around 2 hours drive from Dulles Airport and nearby Carlisle is quiet but has lots of accommodation to choose from.
• Autumn is a great time to visit the US east coast and enjoy the colours of “the Fall”. A web search will reveal plenty or riding and hiking options, and Washington itself has a huge array of museums and other tourist attractions.