Originally Posted by sivat
As for the specific bike I was looking at, it was a custom steel cyclocross bike. I'm guessing early to mid 90's from the components. It has rack mounts on the front fork and the seat stays, so i'm guessing it was made with multiple uses in mind. As for richard's comment, a guy at my LBS (a different shop than the one that has the bike i'm looking at) said he rides his cross bike on centuries and club rides frequently and loves it. To each his own I suppose.
I often find RC's comments amusing. I think with some smart choices you'll be able to ride your bike on all sorts of events - from centuries to light dirt track to club rides. Pick up the cross bike, and if you want to use it for dirt track use some grippy 35s of it, and maybe buy and extra set of wheels and keep some nice road tires on it. You'll be able to switch it back and forth quick...
Most of how fast you can go is about the engine, ticking cruiser or not.