Cyclocross.  The best mix of everything.  Cyclocross is typically a 30-60 minute event done on a variety of terrain.  Usually a mix of grass, dirt, gravel and pave.  There are sections of the course which have 18" high barriers where you dismount, shoulder the bike and run the barriers.  Some prefer to bunny hop them.  Then you remount your bike and hup hup hup!  Either way, it's fast, it's furious and oh so addicting.

The Season.  The cyclocross racing season usually runs from September through December.  Conditions are most favorable for exciting racing when it is cold, wet and muddy.

Cyclocross Bikes.  Cyclocross bikes look like a crossover between a road bike and a mountain bike.  The bike frame has the styling of a road bike only with slightly different geometry and wider clearance for a thicker tire.  Drop bars are used with brake shifter/levers and the wheels are most often road rims.  However, the tires are a bit wider than a road tire, yet knobby enough to grip the grassy, slick surfaces of the course.  The brakes are cantilever as opposed to a v-brake.  Gearing is also lower than a road bike, most often a 46-38 ratio in the front and a 12-27 rear cassette cluster.

 Race Face