You're doing WHAT???

A couple of weeks ago I decided to try my hand at cyclocross with the goal of improving my bike handling skills and confidence.  I signed up for the beginner race in Sun Prairie and was instantly hooked!  Since then I completed the category 4 race at Washington Heights and am looking forward to the race at Estabrook Park this weekend.  Below is a brief synopsis of my first race as a beginner from Oct. 21st.

A couple of nights before the race I borrowed a cross bike from my friend Maria.  I practiced in the backyard the night before the race.  With time and practice I was able to do 10 consecutive flying mounts and dismounts (on the flat grass with no obstacles....).  I felt confident that I could do the race the next day.

The next day I got up and drove to Sun Prairie.  I got there early because Brian Matter (professional cyclist) was giving a clinic on how to ride your bike in a cyclocross race and I knew that I had pleanty I could learn. 

I was by far the worst person in the class.  Everyone else who showed up had already done at least 1 cyclocross race and was just there to refine their skills.  We practiced flying mounts and dismounts over a barracade.  It was horrible.  I got too close to the barracade almost every time and was unable to do the mounts.  We rode a practice lap on the course and I thought I was going to crash and severely injure myself.  It was very frightening.  I ended up walking a lot of inclines and technical parts.  I almost didn't sign up for the beginner race except for the fact that I had driven over an hour to get there, so I forced myself to sign up. 

I lined up at the start line with the other newbies.  There were probably about 7-10 of us.  I let everyone go ahead of me right out of the start and didn't even get on my bike until about 5 seconds after everyone left.  I rode very slowly in the easiest gear the entire first lap.  On the 2nd lap I was more confident and didn't go quite so slow.  I was really scared the entire time, but having a blast as well.  I ended up finishing 4th out of the group and even managed to win an award!  I was amazed that I didn't crash and really felt like I was getting the hang of it (relatively speaking) by the 2nd lap.  I didn't end up doing any of the mounts/dismounts that I practiced, but I was able to ride all of the course (except for a really big hill that most people had to run up and the area with the barracades).  I just wished that the race was longer so that I could have practiced more.  It was a great time!  The goals for the next race will be to become more confident, ride in a harder gear, and try to do at least 1 flying mount/dismount.

This is the hill that most people had to run up.   The really good guys could ride all the way up the inside track where the dirt was a little harder packed.