The Traveling Circus

The first rule of fight club is, “You do not talk about fight club”. On October 3rd, 2025, a magical, and somewhat underground bike counter culture will descend upon Minneapolis. I say “somewhat underground”, because since its inception in 2007, Single Speed Cross World Championship has gone from mythical beast to being featured in Cyclocross Magazine, The Radivist and has been all over social media.

What started in Portland, following the “keep Portland weird movement”, with 140 participants, has now grown to over 500 participants as it makes its way throughout the country. The first few years, SSCXWC stayed parked in the Portland area, then in 2010, made its first jump to Seattle. From that point on, the following year’s host city had to be won. Fast forward to 2023, where in Santa Cruz, CA, a group of cyclists and friends of mine, lovingly known as “The 2-Bit Bicycle Goons”, won it for Madison, WI.

Bringing it home

I spoke to Gavin LaFave about how the event settled in the cheese country. “I attended SSCXWC 3 times before ever entering the hosting competition. The 2-Bit Bicycle Goons first attempted to win the hosting rights the 4th time I attended SSCXWC in Durango in 2022, but were thwarted by Santa Cruz. So, we went to Santa Cruz with a much larger contingent and hoped to bring the event to Wisconsin. As Brendan, the race directed host of Santa Cruz said, ‘Sometimes host cities are determined by chugging jello out of a condom, other times they are determined in back room deals’. We won the rights in a ‘back room deal’ of sorts. The crew in Santa Cruz felt it really important to send the event to a city and a host crew that would do it justice and felt that we would do that, so at the after party, amidst crowd surfing, it was announced that we would be bringing the hosting rights to the Midwest for the first time in Madison!”

Race or scheduled debauchery?

Ask anyone who has participated in this event and they will share stories of the absurdity pleasantly mixed with moments of hard core racing. The single speed community celebrates these qualities in all bike disciplines it seems, from mountain bikes to road racing and cross. “How can we make it harder for ourselves?”, is often what I think most single speeders take joy in. And yet, with something like cyclocross or mountain biking, not having a derailleur can often make it easier in muddy conditions because you only have one gear to deal with. If you’ve ever been to a single speed race, take that energy, and times it by 100. Then you’ll get a feel for what SSCXWC is. Costumes? Yep…highly encouraged. Feats of strength including arm wrestling, hill climbs, mini bike races? Yep! This race isn’t just a race, it’s an entire weekend of fun with a race thrown in the middle. Riders show up on Friday and there’s always a group ride led by a local group or shop—often followed by a party. Saturday is the qualifiers, including whatever feats of strength the organizers choose to throw in that year. A rolling bike party following is the norm. Sunday brings the finals for racers and the decision of who will bring home the rights of hosting the event the following year. Sunday night, the final party.

You may notice the word “party” being used multiple times in my description. For those who drink alcohol, there are, indeed, many opportunities to partake. As more and more cyclists choose to be sober, as several of the 2-Bit Cycling Goons (a small cycling group of friends spread through the Midwest) are, hosts provide different options like sparkling water—which is equally as hard to chug during feats of strength. No matter if you partake in drinking, or choose to stay dry, the scene provides an equally good time and a guarantee you won’t be pressured to sway from your choice.

“The favorite part from all the Goons was being able to showcase the unique way the Madison bike community combines your typical bicycle dirt baginess with those Midwest nice vibes. The goal was to put on an event that toed the line of absurd and debauchery but also provided an atmosphere for people to party together and meet other singlespeeders from all over. Not only North America, but outside the country as well. There were plenty of challenges hosting the event. The biggest was finding venues to host 3 nights of partying and group gatherings. Big shout to Delta Beer Lab for helping us pull off a great pre party the night before the race as well as to Motorless Motion Bikes for hosting our registration party that ended with a huge shindig at the Burdocks trails. To top it off, we had the best race venue around. Englewood and the Agnew family (who own a family farm and host several bike events) are top notch and embraced our wild idea with open minds from the start!” LaFave said about hosting last year. “The 2-Bit Bicycle Goons are rolling deep up to Minneapolis! We have close to 10 members already registered. There are talks of taking a train to party all the way. We are really looking forward to experiencing the event without any of the hosting pressure.”

From Madison to Minneapolis with love—passing the torch

Chelli (prefers to use only her first name), is a part of the “disorganizers”, a group of four folks in Minneapolis including Kadence, Renne and Nikki, who meet monthly to plan and put the event on this year. Chelli first learned about the event on a group ride in Madison. After hearing what it entails from Keely, one of the Madison organizers, she said “I was immediately in. Madison was my first SSCXWC, and I didn’t know what I was getting into. It was a nonstop three days of silliness, from shot putting a vintage bike to riding across town on a friend’s handlebars to an after party, to watching Mpls local racer, Risa, get their winner’s tattoo on Sunday night. It was an incredible way to see the city—I’m from Madison and that weekend took me to places I’ve never been before. The Englewood farm race on Sunday was the highlight of my weekend and hands down the most joyful cross course I’ve ever ridden. Shotskis, berms, rocky uphills, and a man singing opera in the woods!”

So how, might you ask, did Minneapolis snag the host city? “Before SSCXWC24 kicked off, they invited folks to put in a bid to host the next year’s race. I love organizing and felt up to the challenge of putting together a weekend event, so I threw Minneapolis’s hat into the ring. Plus, I wanted to show everyone what an amazing (and underrated) city we have. That whole weekend, our Minneapolis crew was stoking up excitement about our enthusiasm to host (shout out to my team, handup racing, and our friends at Versus Racing). The true gauntlet fell at Sunday night’s after-party, when Minneapolis went head-to-head against Seattle to see who would win the hosting rights for SSCXWC25. In a sadistic, very Wisconsin turn of events, I had to participate in a cheese-curd-eating competition against a Seattle racer. It was horrific, and may have involved a curd-related blackout, but I walked off the stage victorious”, said Chelli.

What can riders expect from Minneapolis? “If you’ve never done a SSCXWC before, we still want you at our event! You don’t even need to be a single speed devotee—with a zip tie and a sense of adventure, you’ll fit right in. As for the weekend, you can expect three nights of parties, a special edition beer from Bauhaus Brew Labs, a BBQ lunch, a Saturday spent exploring the Twin Cities by bike, lots of locals and out-of-towners to befriend, and a race course with sick off-cambers, singletrack through the woods, quad-busting climbs, and other mysterious shenanigans. We highly encourage out-of-towners to come Thursday-Monday to partake in the entire range of events. In terms of what will make SSCXWC25 stand out, well, Minneapolis is a city that does not lack in water features. Our feats of strength will be ‘single speedo’ themed, meaning wear a bathing suit and be prepared to get wet. We’re still working out the weekend’s full details, but there may also be live band karaoke, an afterparty at a skatepark, and the return of the golden speedo. But you’ll just have to show up to find out!”

As a Madison resident, and a cyclist born and raised in Minneapolis, I can’t express how much these Midwest cities have to offer from providing great infrastructure and businesses who support those on two wheels to having an extremely supportive bike community. I’m lucky to see such a great event pass through two places I’ve called home! Ready to sign up, or find out how you can participate or spectate? Head over to sscxwc.bike which has a link to register and more information.