Monster Cross recon

I had the pleasure of pre-riding Monster Cross course with the promoter Mark Junkerman and about 30 other riders this past Sunday.  This 50 mile endurance cross event is happening at Pocahantas State park on Feb. 26 and follows a format similar to cross endurance and fondo events that have become pretty popular in the last few years. 


The course is smokin' fast, with Williamsburg-type climbs that last no more than 30-45 seconds a piece. 95% is on double track with only a fraction of that being gravel. The rest is nice packed dirt. There is one stream crossing (x2 since there are 2 laps), a couple of road crossings, and a road portion near the end of the loop. Cross bike is by far better than mt bike for this course in my view, but I am reserving the option to use mountain bike if there is ice on the ground.


There are a couple of very short sections with some embedded fist-sized rocks that could puncture cross tires Ironcross style. There were no flats in my group, but in the lead group there were at least 3. No need at all for tires that are geared toward doing well in grass.