Erik Tonkin in Outdoors NW

from: Outdoors NW
By Anne Scalamonti

It takes a little bit of a masochist to be a cyclocross racer.
The courses are muddy and rough, and literally change with the weather.
The rider must bike through these conditions but also dismount and run,
jumping over obstacles and slogging through soupy mud with their bike slung
over one shoulder. It’s not a sport for the faint of heart or those averse
to a little suffering.

That’s why the sport suits elite cyclocross racer Erik Tonkin like a snug
lycra jersey. Tonkin played a key role in founding Team S&M, whom he also
joins for mountain biking and road racing in the summer. Since 2001, the
31-year old athlete has also been a member of the Kona cyclocross team.
When he moved to Portland at the age of 19, he switched from hockey and
mountain biking to cyclocross. Already fit, but by no means in the
condition he is today, the young rider took to the grueling sport
immediately.

“It whipped me into shape pretty fast,” he remembers, “because of the
varied levels of athleticism and aerobics.”

In 1995 – only his third year of cyclocross racing – Tonkin had his
breakthrough at the Estacada Cross Crusade race where he finished in third
place.

A decade later, after winning numerous local and regional races, he was
one of 50 riders from around the world to compete in the 2005 World
Championships in St. Wendel, Germany.

“I’m the only guy in my category I know who is moonlighting as a pro,” he
laughs gently.

In other words, Tonkin doesn’t do it for the money.

Since 1998, he has co-owned southeast Portland’s Sellwood Cycle Repair.
He works 50-60 hours a week, at times rising as early as 5 a.m. to train
before the store opens. And he somehow finds time to organize and teach
weekly local cyclocross clinics with his wife – also a professional racer –
Rhonda Mazza.

The rain-soaked Pacific Northwest, like the rainy, cool climate of the
European countries where cyclocross originated, makes for slick and tricky
trails – perfect for riders like Tonkin.

“I’m at my best when conditions are at their worst,” he says of the
Northwest’s muddy race courses.

He is currently training for the U.S. Cyclocross Nationals and Grand
Prix, and wants to improve his standings at this year’s European Cross Camp
in Belgium.

An exceptional competitor, he stresses that he is part of a cycling
community first, whose success is no less important than his own rankings.
Inspiring passion in other cyclists is most important to him, said Tonkin,
and it benefits him as much as those he instructs.

“The more challengers there are to ride against, the better I’ll get.” He
mentors plenty of riders who are better than him, he says. “It’s honestly
great to watch them improve.”

“Of course, sometimes it stings when they beat you,” he laughs.

— Anne Scalamonti of Portland, Oregon, is an Outdoors NW intern and avid
cyclist.