How Cross Propz came about

About Cross Propz

Hi, my name is Paul McCarthy, the creator of Cross Propz.

I live in the mountains of the Front Range in Colorado with my wife Lori and three dogs and four horses we rescued. I am a cyclist and racer, I enjoy road, mountain and especially cyclocross riding.

Awhile back in Boulder Colorado, I was attending a cyclocross clinic put on by Boulder Cycle Sport at a local park. There was a good turnout and Brandon Dwight brought some help with him to teach this informal clinic. We started out riding across a field practicing dismounting and remounting our bikes. We started at a slow pace and gradually picked up speed. Now it was time to try dismounts with barriers. Some pvc barriers were set up and we rode in circles practicing dismounts and getting over the barriers.

At one point I managed to crash into one of the barriers. I put my bike down and walked back and started to re-assemble the barrier when a friendly voice said ” I’ll do that, … you just practice.” Although it was a nice gesture, by none other than Greg Keller of Mud and Cowbells, it made me think… why should anyone have to stop their session to re-assemble a barrier, after all its practice, they’re gonna get hit! So that’s how it started.

All the Cross Propz barriers are made by me in an unheated shed in the Rocky Mountains. At first they were a trial and error adventure, I experimented with different sizes and settled on two, 1/2” and 3/4″ (Belgian version). The more I thought about their purpose, the better defined the idea became. I wanted something I could pick up after a busy day and with a busy schedule that would maximize the short time I had for this important aspect of ‘cross practice. I figured if I made a bag for them to be carried in, with enough room for a water bottle and a tube or two, I could be on my way to the local park in no time. They don’t take up much room so they’re easy to carry in the car with my bike as well.

Thanks for checking out Cross Propz, Paul

Hi, my name is Paul McCarthy and I am the creator of Cross Propz.

I live in the mountains of the Front Range in Colorado with my wife Lori and three dogs and four horses we rescued. I am a cyclist and racer and enjoy road, mountain and, especially, cyclocross riding.

A while back in Boulder Colorado, I was attending a cyclocross clinic put on by Boulder Cycle Sport at a local park. There was a good turnout and Brandon Dwight brought some help with him to teach this informal cyclocross training session. We started out riding across a field practicing dismounting and remounting our bikes. We started at a slow pace and gradually picked up speed. Now it was time to try dismounts with barriers. Some pvc barriers were set up and we rode in circles practicing dismounts and getting over the barriers.

How the CrossPropz mobile cyclocross training barrier came about

At one point I managed to crash into one of the barriers. I put my bike down and walked back and started to re-assemble the barrier when a friendly voice said "I’ll do that, … you just practice." Although it was a nice gesture, by none other than Greg Keller of Mud and Cowbells, it made me think 'Why should anyone have to stop their session to re-assemble a barrier. After all it's practice, they’re gonna get hit?' So that’s how it started.

All the Cross Propz barriers are made by me in an unheated shed in the Rocky Mountains. At first they were a trial and error adventure, I experimented with different sizes and settled on two, 1/2” and 3/4″ (Belgian version). The more I thought about their purpose, the better defined the idea became. I wanted something I could pick up after a busy day and with a busy schedule that would maximize the short time I had for this important aspect of cyclocross practice. I figured if I made a bag for them to be carried in, with enough room for a water bottle and a tube or two, I could be on my way to the local park in no time. They don’t take up much room so they’re easy to carry in the car with my bike as well.

Thanks for checking out Cross Propz,

Paul