UB fundraiser ‘goes through the muck’ as cyclocross racer

Ask Gayle Hutton about the sport of cyclocross racing and she’ll tell you, “It’s a wonderful group of people getting together to encourage each other and enjoy the outdoors — no matter what the weather.”

That sounds like a Buffalo sport.

In fact, cyclocross is rapidly gaining in popularity across the U.S. and Europe. It was developed in Europe in the late 1800s and early 1900s as a way for road racers to stay fit during fall and winter. A typical cyclocross course is a 1.5-to-2-mile loop on a mix of paved and off-road surfaces. But what makes this such a unique and challenging sport is that the races also force riders to dismount and run while carrying their bikes to get over, around and through obstacles built into each course.

Asked what sort of obstacles, Hutton, a senior major gifts officer in the UB Office of Medical Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement, smiles.

“Sand pits, water traps, curb-sized barriers, dirt bumps that will rattle your bike and mud. There’s always lots of mud. My husband and I call it going through the muck.”

Hutton met her future husband, Ed, during the Ride for Roswell in 1997. The two quickly found they shared a mutual love of the outdoors.

“In addition to doing cyclocross every fall, we cross-country ski and we enjoy traveling. We did Kilimanjaro a couple of years ago and trekked in the Cordillera Blanca range in Peru for a couple of weeks this past summer. There’s a big wide world out there!”

But cyclocross racing is a favorite activity for the couple.

“Cyclocross is one of those sports where you can just do it,” Hutton says. “We are excited by the rapidly rising popularity of the sport. We are seeing more young people and women participating. It has always been predominately men, but that is starting to change.

“It is also a very social activity,” she adds. “I love that about it. There is a sense of community and everybody cheers each other on. It is also a sport that doesn’t take itself too seriously. There are built-in hands-ups during the races, things such as strips of bacon and even — unofficially — a beer or two, which keeps the spirit of the race up and makes cyclocross different. It’s a wonderful community of people.”

And the trickiest part of the races?

“The key to the bumpy dirt is to just hammer through it as quickly as possible,” Hutton says. “Trying to ride through a bad muddy section that way you could get bogged down, and racers who chose to run through it will pass you. Either way, you just have to slog through it — you’re going to get muck on your bike!”