Due to injury, it has been a few years since I last made the autumn drive up I-91 to Northampton, Massachusetts for Cycle-Smart Northampton Cyclocross. In fact, going through the TBD archives it appears my last visit to Look Memorial Park was back in 2023 when I skipped racing to drag around a big medium-format camera to shoot the race from the sidelines.
In returning for this, the 35th edition of Noho CX, I swapped that medium-format camera for a manual focus one and brought along some CX race ambitions for perhaps the first time since my injury. Unfortunately not everything went to plan, but it was still a near-perfect fall weekend in Northampton.
In fairness, longtime readers know that Northampton holds a permanent spot in TBD lore - from our 2017 Top Ten and 2018 Northampton guide right through to Shane's weekend forecast last fall. Even as familiarity with the venue builds over the years, it is striking just how well Adam Myerson, Al Donahue, and the entire Cycle-Smart crew use every corner of a relatively compact park (with bonus points, as always, for immaculate course taping).
A Properly Balanced Course
A big part of Noho's enduring appeal is the balance of the course itself. People sometimes shorthand Look Park as a "grass crit," which is fair for roughly half the lap. The lower grassy sections around the center of the park reward pedaling power and smart line choices through wide, sweeping corners while drafting wherever possible on the long grassy straights.
Then you reach the north end of the park and enter the woods, where races are usually won or lost. Punchy elevation changes, carved ruts, and berms through the trees offer plenty of technical features to keep you honest. Add Noho's tradition of flipping the course direction from Saturday to Sunday and you get two distinct, memorable races in one weekend.
Club Row and the Hangs
As good as the course layout is, what really sets Noho CX apart is everything happening outside the tape. With dry, sunny fall weather cooperating across Halloween weekend (complete with plenty of costumes on course on Saturday), setting up home base on Club Row makes for easy all-day hangs.
Years ago on the Journal, Barb observed that when New York City teams travel up to Northampton, rival local squads essentially merge into one big super-team. That dynamic is still very much alive. Between helping each other out with wrenching and wandering across the park to cheer (and heckle) friends in every field, it really is a community oriented weekend.
A BUM Elbow and Why Going Still Mattered
As for my own racing? Simply put, it didn't go well. Going in, I knew my elbow was still a question mark, and cyclocross quickly exposes any physical limitation. The smooth grass straights were manageable, but the rutted woods put my elbow in serious pain early on. I drifted back through the field and finished squarely in TBD's time-honored tradition of driving to big races and getting no results.
Even so, I'm glad I went. In our 2017 Noho recap, we wrote that big cyclocross weekends are just as much about the surroundings - the racing community, the host town, and time with teammates - as they are about race points. After missing Noho CX for several seasons, spending two days on Club Row drove that point home once again.
Whether you are chasing upgrade points, looking for an excuse to visit Northampton, or just coming out with a camera and a cowbell, Noho CX belongs on your 2027 calendar. Even with a bad elbow and nothing to show on the results sheet, it was worth the trip and we'll definitely be back next year.
