Geoff Kabush on having fun on the bike and keeping riding fresh
40-year-old still having a blast riding events in a variety of disciplines
For veteran Geoff Kabush, the 2017 season has been about mixing things up. Heading into the 2017 Canadian cyclocross national championships where he finished second to Michael van den Ham, the Comox, B.C. native has been tackling an assortment of events across North America. The approach has kept him fresh and enjoying riding his bike whether on single track, gravel or in mud.
“I’ve had a fun fall doing all sorts of different races. I did Cross Vegas, Trans Cascadia and Grinduro [California],” Kabush explained as he milled around the course before the start of his race in Sherbrooke on Saturday. “I’m always out here to have fun but when ever I line up, I want to win.”
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While the win didn’t materialize in Sherbrooke, Kabush had a strong ride. With five national cyclocross titles already in his closet, results in cyclocross are not front and centre to his goals any longer. Instead he rides for the enjoyment of the bike with nothing to loose.
“Truly, if you get stuck doing the something to much you can burnout but throughout my career I’ve always been learning new things and definitely trying new events,” Kabush explained.
In September, Kabush won the Grouse Grind Mountain Run. This season he’s done mountain bike races like the BC Bike Race, gran fondos, Downieville Classic, the Trans Cascadia enduro race, Cross Vegas and the Grinduro gravel race.
“Right now when I am doing so many different event it’s easy to keep things fresh and exciting, it’s fun to challenge yourself with new things and learn new skills,” Kabush said. “It’s a fun thing about this sport, there so many avenues to explore.”
“I ride my cross bike a tone in the winter because with disc brakes and fat tires it’s really nice especially when the weather gets bad,” Kabush said about the riding he does on his ‘cross bike. He does a bit less ‘cross racing too. “It’s a little bit hard to do it a lot this year because I am running my own program. I bartered a deal with my old team mechanic for nationals. I will always do as much ‘cross as I can because it’s a really fun community.”
Kabush’s career has taken him through different eras of cyclocross. “Domestically in North America it has been a roller coaster. From way back with the Super Cup Series which brought focus to cyclocross in the U.S.. It evolved into the U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross which was really great and brought the top riders together to be motivated and challenge for the win at each event. After the Louisville worlds in 2013, it’s gotten a bit scattered but it’s good to see there has been an effort to bring a bit more focus back.
“Today there is so much racing it’s hard for a fan to follow where the top riders are and what the top rivalries are,” Kabush said about racing in North America.
While the U.S. has always had more high profile cyclocross events, Kabush spoke about the growth of the sport in Canada noting that he sees it taking in a positive direction.
“It sounds like there’s the development of more UCI weekends in Canada which is great. Out west we have some great series with Cross on the Rock and the VCXC Vancouver series which are getting 300-400 people,” Kabush said. “Cyclocross is popular and successful, it’s a fun culture.”
As we move into the winter, Kabush is contemplating a trip to Belgium around Christmas to help out during one of the busiest periods on the ‘cross calendar adding that be might jump into a World Cup.
In late-September, Kabush released a light-hearted Belgian cyclocross training session on his Youtube channel. “That one took a couple of years to put together, there was a lot of training involved,” he said. “I’ve always used humour to connect with people so that was fun.”
