The Beauty of Cyclocross

Cyclocross, to put it simply, is painful. How much pain can you endure without giving in or giving up. Sure there are other racers you compete against, but the biggest opponent you compete against is yourself.

There is a scared, lying whisper in your head that likes to spew false information to your body with every painful pedal stroke that this is going to kill you, you are weak.

There are many activities this whisper shows up as well, not just cycling. Anything that brings you into that painful zone. Real pain. Heart screaming pain. Not injury pain, pain that is telling you to ease up just a bit. The kind that tries to convince you that uncomfortable is just fine.

Most people understand and can deal with uncomfortable. Yea, I'm working hard, I hurt…a little. Comfortably uncomfortable.

Cyclocross is painful. That's part of it's beauty. In a fun way you challenge yourself for 30 to 60 minutes to silence that whisper. When you do, you're left in a heap of lactic acid mush. A better person I'm convinced. A cleaner soul, by virtue of a lactic acid body wash.

Other positive components, but no less important, is you meet some great people in a fun environment. I couldn't recommend enough trying to get in and challenge yourself to a race. Grand Rapids has a great venue in the form of KissCross.
Find a local race and get to it. Train out Pain.