No longer a CX virgin!

Yet again I got to try something new this weekend - cyclocross. I guess I had to see what all the hoopla is about. A while ago I thought I should do 1 CX race this year and decided I should do the Psycho Cross weekend. That way, I could get a clinic in and then race while it was still fresh in my head. Plus, if all else failed, I could enjoy the costume race!

Some of the girls I've met through Velo Girls decided to do a group costume of superheroines, so I joined in with them. They designated me Cat Woman, since I already had the vinyl and whip. I bought some vinyl cat ears for my helmet and a pin-on vinyl cat tail. It was quite the look. Janet was Bat Girl. Cindy was Robin. Cara and Jenny were Supergirls, and Lauren was Princess Leia. Rick threw on a hoochie tee, boa and tiarra and was a cute diva. All sorts of fun! If you want to see some other cool costume pics, check out Flandria's blog.



I used the costume race as a warmup, but cut the most technical part of the course. The vinyl jacket didn't allow me to stretch back enough for the steep downhills. Our group costume was one of the winners! Yay! Free beer!



Before going to the line for the real race, we bumped into one of my new co-workers, Paul, and his girlfriend. We did quick intros and then I had to get on the line.


The start was weird. They pulled the C's over to the side and let the A/B racers do a lap before starting us. But, I thought they were going to put us on the line and then start us. All of a sudden, the whistle blew, and I wasn't even straddling my bike. Ugh! So, I pretty much started in last, but that was OK, because I just was there for fun. The first series of obstacles was a log, runup, remount and a steep, off-camber little uphill. Two of the C's crashed on that off-camber uphill. After hearing they were OK, I dismounted and ran around them and remounted. At the beginning of the second lap, Beth handed me a water bottle, which was great. Thank you!!! Each lap I heard cheers from my costume buddies who weren't racing, Olaf, Ms. Vello Bella, and of course, my sweetie!

I continued on my own in no-man's land after that - not really passing anyone and not being passed by anyone in my field. I froze at the top of the big, steep downhill and ran down the first time. The next 3 laps I rode it, though. Occasionally As or Bs would ask to pass, so I slowed down and gave them room. At the end of the 3rd lap, I caught and passed a C racer on the big run-up. Yay! I held that to finish in front of her. However, I did get lapped by the top three C racers in the last lap.

I know that if I work on the technical aspects of CX, I could be MUCH faster. My dismounts and mounts were sloppy and I missed a lot of them, coming to a complete standstill over and over. However, it was a victory just to ride through what was described as a very technical course (some things I would have never attempted before this weekend). And, I did it without crashing! Yay!

Thanks to the Bellas for a great race with lots of great prizes and fun. And, thanks for the great clinic, too!