Crazy awesome: Storm Eva Bandman Cross cyclocross Sun., Oct. 28

Have you ever seen cyclocross?

Is it a bike race? Is it an obstacle course? Is it a pub crawl on two wheels?

It’s crazy. Seriously crazy.

Crazy awesome.

On Sunday Oct. 28, Papa John’s hosts the 7th Annual Storm Eva Bandman Halloween Cross cyclocross event in the park that will host the 2013 World Cyclocross Championships, Eva Bandman Park on River Road.

The first race starts at 9:30 a.m. and the last race is scheduled for 2:45 p.m. There are 24 men’s, women’s, master’s and youth races scheduled.

Christine Vaughan, who will be racing in this weekend’s event, gives this advice to people who are planning to spectate for the first time: “Practice up on your heckling skills. It is the norm at a CX race to be heckled while riding. What other sport can you make fun of someone that is doing it with out getting dirty looks? You might even get a smile from the rider.”

According to the press release:

Storm Eva Bandman is the sixth race in the OVCX Series so racers will be vying for valuable series points. For budding junior crossers, there is no better place to shred than Storm Eva Bandman as the junior fields will be stacked. Competitors can check USAC’s rankings or Crossresults.com and then get signed up at Bikereg.com. Entry fee is $5.

“Storm Eva Bandman helped plant the seeds for growth of Cross in Louisville,” said race promoter Bob Bobrow. ”We’ve grown from a handful of locals who showed up in 2005 to more than 500 riders from all over Ohio Valley. The greats of US cyclocross have laid tracks at Eva Bandman – Compton, Gould, Nash, Powers, Johnson, and Trebon. It will be great to see the international great – Nys, Albert, Wellens, Pauwels, and hopefully Stybar – race here for the Worlds in 2013.”

Other features at Storm Eva Bandman include a mechanic for last-minute bike issues, brought to you by Clarksville Schwinn, complimentary massages courtesy Elite Massage Therapy, and professional race photography by Mountain Bike Hall of Famer Tom Moran. The pit at Eva Bandman has three spigots in a raised-gravel bed that drains like a sink and Papa John’s Racing Team’s power washers create a PDX-ready cyclocross pit. There is a separate hose-off area for post-race clean up.

The event will also feature three food trucks: Black Rock Grille, the Travelling Kitchen, and the Louisville Dessert Truck.

Both racers and spectators are encouraged to wear their costumes, but from what I gather from talking to Christine Vaughan, who has been participating in cyclocross for around a year and a half now, that’s a practice that’s not restricted to Halloween.

“The cool thing about cyclocross,” says Vaughan, “is you can walk the whole course and see what is going on. There’s racing all day, so come out any time. Bring chairs if you want to sit. People are very friendly at these events, so if you have questions about what you’re seeing, just ask. We’re more than happy to talk about the sport we love.”

You don’t have to be a rider to participate in the costume contest. There are gift baskets for the top three costumes, and each basket includes, among other goodies, a $100 gift certificate from ProFormance Fitness.

Check the weather before going. It’s going to be a cold one, so make sure you wear your long johns under that Yoda costume! (And people, let’s leave the tacky Lance Armstrong costumes to the amateurs, shall we?)