One of the many reasons I love the internet is its ability to teach me about stuff I’ve never heard of before. Without fail, if I log on and spend more than five minutes staring at Twitter, Facebook, or TikTok, I’ll come across something that has me audibly whispering to myself, “What the hell?”
This morning’s mindless scroll gifted me an absolute banger: An activity called “Hobbycrossing,” wherein people hold handlebars taken from a bicycle or a motorcycle (or sticks resembling handlebars) and run around pretending to ride dirtbikes.
Evolved from literal child’s play, hobbycrossing has become a bit of an online phenomenon, with people across the web demonstrating their skills and speed, as I’ve discovered after diving down a rabbit hole of social media. Let me take you down this hole with me.
Born From A Different Type Of Riding
Hobbycrossing isn’t a totally original activity. It’s a spin-off of hobby horsing, a similar activity that originated in Finland, where people perform stunts while holding a stick horse—also known as a hobby horse—between their legs. Hobby horsing is a serious thing; there are entire organizations around it in several countries that hold annual competitions, where participants perform tricks and acrobatics in front of crowds.
The U.S. Hobby Horse Championships take place every August in Michigan, where participants describe the performances as “every equine discipline you can ever do, done on a hobby horse.” The activities include hurdling, timed courses, and even a dressage-type segment. Here’s a video of highlights from last year:
Hobbycrossing is, then, simply an evolution of hobby horsing. But instead of a hobby horse, you hold handlebars that have been disconnected from bikes. And instead of performing equestrian stunts, people online are recreating motocross stunts for their followers.
The Art Of Hobbycrossing
The act of hobbycrossing isn’t nearly as well-established as hobby horsing, but it’s nonetheless become a fairly popular activity that replicates the same basic premise. This August 2024 Instagram video from the user officialchickenjoe shows their similarities well. It directly references the connection with hobby horsing, and shows someone in a motocross outfit pretending to rip around a dirt course as if they were riding a real dirtbike:
Here’s another one from Instagram user misshaby, with a very similar theme:
Search the term “Hobby Cross” on any social media platform, and you’ll be greeted with dozens of similar videos, some more satirical than others. One user, one andy_braker on YouTube, has leaned into the joke by dedicating his channel to trying to launch hobbycrossing (he calls it hobbyduro, as in the endurance version of hobbycrossing) into the mainstream.
Andy goes a few steps further than your “average” hobbycrosser. In addition to wearing a full motocross outfit, he also uses a full dirtbike fairing attached to his handlebars. Here’s a video of him performing some stunts while describing, either through voiceover or an AI narrator, what appears to be his extremely deep passion for the activity:
Andy describes hobbyduro as “the toughest, most spectacular, and downright awe-inspiring sport on the planet,” which makes sense considering he’s lugging around that entire fairing, instead of just a pair of handlebars.
Andy’s videos show him holding the fairing between his legs, performing tricks similar to those you’d see someone do on an actual bike. Except, instead of wheels and tires, he’s using his feet to maneuver over and against objects. Slightly impressive? Sure. Widely entertaining? Definitely.
Let’s Get Competitive
Interestingly, it was none of Andy’s or anyone else’s videos that sent me down this rabbit hole. Instead, it was footage of an actual race. Yes, in addition to people joking online, there is a sanctioned series for hobbyracers that happens alongside real motocross events throughout Europe. It’s called the Raven Spectator Race, and it’s happened alongside the FIM SuperEnduro World Championship for the past two years. Held more as a slice of halftime entertainment for the crowd before the real bike races, it has hobbycrossers going all-out on the same jump-filled dirt courses.
The championship has been holding these races for at least two seasons, from what I can tell from the races published online, and the people participating seem to take it pretty seriously (well, at least some people). Here’s a video from the earliest event published by the organization’s YouTube channel, where at least one guy racing was dressed up as a banana:
From what I can tell, the only real rule here is to stay on the course and hold the bar with both hands, though it’s clear not everyone is gripping the bar throughout the entire race, with some using their arms and hands to maintain balance or get a better running stride. If anything, it’s probably best not to take any of this so seriously.
My personal favorite version of this has to be this race, which was held in January 2024 during the SuperEnduro event in Romania, had a photo finish for first place:
While the act of hobbycross racing is very much in its infancy, I see a lot of potential here, either as a standalone race series or, like hobby horsing, an annual get-together where competitions can be held not just for speed, but for style and pizazz. Seeing as how it’s essentially just running with some extra steps attached, virtually anyone can get into it. If an event were held in my neck of the woods, I’d certainly consider going after seeing all of this.
Top graphic image: andy_braker / YouTube
The post I Have Fallen Down The Rabbit Hole Of A Nonsensical Activity Called ‘Hobbycrossing’ And I’m Going to Drag You Down With Me appeared first on The Autopian.
