I agree with velocipedio, a person can do a lot of things with a cross bike, but if you aren't racing in a cyclocross or training like you are, you are not doing cyclocross. I did not mean to imply that the dirt road race I was describing earlier is anything like a cyclocross. The description was only meant to highlight how versitile cross bikes are. I've used mine for everything from trail riding to road racing (I was in a pinch).