Babbling Brookelyn: cyclocross

So, yesterday for my weekend shenanigans, I got to complete in my very first Cyclocross race with the Cross Crusade Circuit. Never heard of Cyclocross?! Yeah, I was more or less a newb coming into, too. My good friend Wikipedia describes Cyclocross as:

'Races typically take place in the autumn and winter (the international or "World Cup" season is October–February), and consist of many laps of a short (2.5–3.5 km or 1.5–2 mile) course featuring pavement, wooded trails, grass, steep hills and obstacles requiring the rider to quickly dismount, carry the bike while navigating the obstruction and remount.'

More or less a Tough Mudder, but on a bike. My spin instructor, Tess, whom I love, has been talking it up for months and finally got me to come out this past weekend. She let me use her old bike and everything. Luckily for me, my first experience was pretty awesome. Since races are in the fall and winter it's usually rainy, muddy, and cold, but yesterday was the perfect fall day to attempt my first race.

There was gravel, mud, hills, concrete barriers, and a lot of ladies ~~that were much better than me~~ out on the course.

45 mins, 4 laps, and no crashes later (the leaders finished 5 laps in the 45min time cap) I finished middle of the pack in the beginner section and I am pretty happy with the outcome. Now obviously looking back after the race there were a lot of things I would have done differently, but oh well, race one is in the books.

Here are a few things I learned after my first race:

//I really need to stop doubting myself and my abilities.

//I really enjoy biking, even if the last time I was on a bike was 3 summers ago.

//My background in hurdles definitely helped get me and my bike over the barriers.
//I am not very good at turns at the end of steep hills.

//I had pre-race nervous pees just like before track meets.

//I need to invest in bike shorts.

Here are a few pics Brad took during my race.