REXBURG – At this time of the year, there isn’t anything quite like a bike ride. Or a bike race. The second leg of the inaugural The Cube Rexburg Cyclocross was held Saturday at the Nature Park in Rexburg.

A cyclocross event is a bike race with some running mixed in. “When you hear cyclocross, you don’t know what that is,” said race director Donn Hayes. “But when you hear marathon or triathlon, (you know what those are).” Throughout the mile-long course on Saturday, bikers encountered obstacles that required them to get off and carry their bikes, while running.

In all, 11 individuals took part in Saturday’s second leg. “It (the turnout) is a little lower than I would have liked,” Hayes said. “But this is the first year we have done it.” Hayes points to the local marathon race that drew only 32 athletes out its first year, but had over 1,000 runners take part in the race earlier this year.

Each cyclocross event is a timed race. The adult race in Saturday’s competition lasted 50 minutes. At the conclusion of the 50 minutes, a horn sounded letting the bikers know time was up. Once each rider came to the finish line after time had expired, they went around for one final lap.

Of the 11 riders in Saturday’s race, only one has done cyclocross previously. “It’s been fairly impressive,” Hayes said of the competitors. The purpose of the three-day event is to provide more opportunities to the citizens of the upper valley. “We would like to have a little more variety in the community,” Hayes said. “To let people compete (in races other than running).”

The event began on Oct. 27 with the first leg of the event. The third and final race in this year’s event will be held Saturday at the Nature Park. Those racing in all three events will accumulate series points according to their placement in each race. At the conclusion of threerace event, the rider with the most series points in each division will win a Nintendo GameCube. “I figured we would have drawn a lot more youth out from playing whatever they have,” Hayes said.

Saturday’s final race will begin at 9 a.m. The adult race will be held at 10:30 a.m. A race for children 7 to 9 years of age will be at 12:15 p.m. For more information on the race, contact Hayes at Rexburg City Offices.

Visit The Cube - Rexburg's Cyclocross on the City of Rexburg website.