IRONCROSS PA

Do you like Paris to Ancaster but are looking for a little bit more? Ironcross! You get scenery, 100 kms of it, fast paved sections, gnarly singletrack and a leg busting climb. The field is about 200 strong and growing each year. For the enthusiasts there is an Ironcross lite the day before around the start field. If you have runners in the family there is also a 10 k run. Dave Unrau did it last year and talked me into doing it in the new singlespeed category. We headed down with six True North riders and hoped to do some damage in the team points standings. Everyone was signed up in the singlespeed category. It took about 9 hours to drive to Carlisle Pennsylvania. Three riders came from the UK to participate.
Talk about swag ouch...... Did these people give everything away? We were handed an ironcross pint glass and a technical t with the same logo. Everyone was given a pair of socks for finishing the race. There was even a free bbq after the race. There were cash prizes for every category and more for the team standings. Despite the hardships out on the trail the riders were all talkative and friendly. I managed to negotiate a draft off a geared bike's wheel on a long road section by offering my gel flask to a rider who lost his in the gnarly section. There were 4 checkpoints on the course where riders could send their bottles and food or take a neutral feed which consisted of home baked goods at some locations. The organizers also give prizes to the checkpoint voted most popular by the riders. They brought out their best recipes to gain an edge. Team True North won the most points in the end thanks to Dave Beer and Mari Evans. Dave suffered a huge gash to his tire with about 10 miles to go. With a small supply of CO2 and a great deal of ingenuity he finished the ride. The organizers had to postpone the awards for the team standings to find out if Dave and Mari were dnfs or finishers. That was a nail biter. My jaw dropped when I saw the amount of damage to his tire.
I would go back there in a heart beat.