The Challenge of Cyclocross - Slide Show - NYTimes.com I started photographing cyclocross races five years ago because I just couldn't resist picking up my camera after I'd raced in a few myself. Exhausted, exhilarated, covered in dust or mud, I made a few pictures after I raced because it was so raw and exciting, I just had to do it. The next year, some fellow photographers and I started posting images on a website we started (www.pdxcross.com), and I gradually moved from being a cyclist with a camera to a photographer with a bike. My wife discovered why I disappeared each Sunday. Now she races and I cheer and heckle. And I want to be out there every week looking for interesting pictures. The season starts in early fall in the heat and dust and continues each weekend into winter, when rain and snow are added to the recipe. Each day unfolds with a series of swift 45-minute races, on a closed-circuit course, held at a different location each week. The cyclocross scene in Oregon is lively. Emotions are intense. The fun factor is high for both riders and spectators. At one race this past season, more than 1,500 racers, including more than 200 beginners, cranked their way over the course throughout the day. The whole thing is contagious. Maybe it's that accessibility that makes it so entertaining to photograph: you can cheer for your neighbor during the beginners" race in the morning and then watch in awe as elite athletes float with speed and agility over the same route in the fading light of the late afternoon. Tim LaBarge is a freelance photographer in Portland, Ore.