Today we have the privilege of hearing from someone who will be taking part in their first cyclocross race at the Nutty Cross! Christine Bowen is no stranger to bicycles and has done a wide variety of bike related activities over the years. Thank you for sharing your journey with us.
Let’s start with a timeline of Christine’s cycling adventures:
“2005 - I was going to grad school at UO in Eugene OR, and first started enjoying riding bike trails instead of strictly as a necessity for commuting to school. 10 miles was an accomplishment at the time.
2007 - I was an intern for the forest service, living in a town of 200 people. I got my first cheap road bike and would bike 50 miles after work a couple times a week because not much else was going on.
2008 - I moved to Fresno CA for a fulltime job. I rode in my first organized ride and got addicted to these for several years because it was a way to travel and explore roads I wouldn't have planned on my own.
2011 - Rode SF to LA AIDS ride with my new carbon road bike. The fundraising was more difficult than the training.
2014 - Moved to Sacramento. I randomly got involved with Cyclists for Cultural Exchange (CCE) based out of Santa Cruz after riding their Strawberry Fields Forever ride. I later arrived in Poland alone not knowing anyone to ride a low budget tour with the group and left having made many new friends from all over the world.
2015 - went on a week long tour with CCE in California hosting people from other countries.
2016 - Went back for a different bike tour in Poland with CCE
2017 - Went on my first bikepacking trip in Idaho on the Weisser trail to watch the full solar eclipse.
2018 - Backpacking trip for a several day loop from Reno, mostly along Tahoe-Pyramid trail. My boyfriend made me ride up to the top of Donner's Pass with 70lbs of camping gear so he could propose to me overlooking the lake. I also went with a CCE group and bike maker Craig Calfee to tour eastern Cuba with handmade bamboo bicycles.
2019 - My last organized ride and longest recorded ride. Sacramento Century, plus riding from home, for 117 miles. I also happened to be 20 weeks pregnant.
2020 - I planned a route for the annual CCE California host ride for guests representing many countries to focus on the Sacramento area then ride into SF. Everything was booked up until COVID cancelled everything. They may use my plans for 2023.
2021 - Rode my Novara Buzz with my toddler since she was 6 months old up until 42 weeks pregnant with my youngest.
2022 - Converted my Surly ECR to haul both children with fat road tires and yepp seats - I started my son out at 5 months old. I'm postponing electric assist as long as possible but hauling 130ish pounds can be a bit much sometimes. I'm currently converting my Novara Buzz to be my test Cyclocross bike. If all goes well, I may be in the market for another bike to add to my collection.”
What a journey! After reading through the timeline above I had a few questions about CCE and if you’re as curious as I was then click here to learn more about it. I asked Christine to compare and contrast her various bike experiences, from organized road cycling events to bikepacking to carrying two kids on a bike at the same time, and here is what she had to say.
“My whole take on biking is to explore and challenge myself and what my limits are. Organized rides meant that I challenged myself to be able to complete a certain mileage and not get SAGed. It was a way to explore areas without too much thought.
Bike packing usually had a route and goals to complete but required more flexibility and had an element of survival and learn from your mistakes to it (e.g. no potable water at a camp and meeting friendly campers who gave us a bag of ice to melt, the dozen goat heads I got on a canal trail, a closed road requiring to detour on likely private property, racing sunset to get to and set up camp, etc). There was also much more time upfront to plan routes and scout them out before throwing yourself out there. Luckily my husband did much of that part for us.
Nowadays besides getting out on my road bike early in the morning during the summer before my family wakes, I'm usually hauling kids around, up to 30 mile long rides. The focus has shifted to being task oriented. I pick up the oldest from daycare on the bike some days, take them both to a park across town about once a week, we'll go meet my mom for lunch on my days off, and once a month is ice cream weekend and we'll go pick up a couple pints of local ice cream or gelato with a freezer pack bag. I also joined a group last year called Coffeeneurs. Each year there is a challenge with set of rules to essentially ride your bike and get some coffee (or other fall beverage) at 7 or more different locations within a set time. Today we rode to Soilborn Farms off the river trail and got some coffee and pastries and relaxed (as much relaxing as there can be with young children at least). It's fun for me to see where others are riding across the country and what yummy treats they find.
I see cyclocross as a new experience and a way to test myself and get outside my comfort level again. My goal is to give it a shot, complete the race and not fall down. And if I do fall down, at least not get hurt. Competing against others is intriguing because I'm usually only competing against myself. I hope by getting into this niche I can work on biking skills to bring back to bikepacking or even mountain biking if I ever get into that down the road.”
Christine
Come out to Dixon on November 20th and cheer on Christine as she lines up on the start line for her first cyclocross experience. Let’s hope there are more races to come in her future!