Crossobter Fest

So I decided to try cyclo-cross. I am not sure why I wanted to try it but it looked fun and it was close.

Cyclo-cross is a a cross between mountain bike racing and road racing. We started on a street and then rode through a parking lot and into a park. We rode through dirt, grass, mud, sand, wood chips you name it. All of this and the sport is primarily done on road bikes with upgrades.

I had done some research and saw that most people had cyclo-cross tire, which look like skinny mountain bike tires and over sized breaks. I figured I would try it with my old bike just the way it was. This is California after all there isnt much mud, or loose dirt right.

The race didnt start until 11 so it was a little weird getting ready. We ended up getting to the race a little late and I really didnt get to warm up. I hadnt rode my old bike in some time and was surprised how heavy and slow it felt.

I was a little confused on how everything worked but I lined up at the start line and when the whistle blew I took off. I stayed towards the back because I just wanted to observe and have a good time.

That lasted about 30 seconds into the park. The grass was rough, my teeth were chattering, and I had hit a pot hole so hard my handlebars bent down. Then it was through the mud, loose dirt and rocks. Since I didnt get the knobby tires my bike was all over the place. I could feel the tires spinning as I tried to pedal up hill.

Halfway through the course I took my first spill. I was going up hill in pine needles and the tire spun, I hit someone else and went down. I jumped back up and kept going. Then it was the obstacles, you jump off your bike carry it over 2 feet tall hurdles and jump back on the bike and go. There were also steps that you have to climb up carrying the bike.

I stayed ahead of a handful of riders despite going really slow through the loose parts of the course. Then making a right hand turn I went down again. This time the chain fell off to the inside. Man I missed my bike and its chainstay to prevent that. A few more people past me but I kept going I was not going to give up.

I had caught up to three other riders and really wanted to pass them so I started taking some risk. That's where it all went bad for me. I flew into a U turn pushing way to hard and couldnt turn. So I hit the brakes and nothing happened, then I leaned to turn more and the front wheel dug into the ground and I went over the handlebars. There was a lot of flipping and rolling but I was ok. I jumped up and tried to ride away but the chain was stuck in the crankarm.

So I had to step off the course and pull the chain out. It took a while to get fixed and I ended up getting pasted by the leaders. I finally got back out onto the course and finished the race but I was dying. I had been jarred, jammed and beating. I learned that the moral of the story is if they make a specific part for a certain type of racing its for a reason.

Im pretty sure that this is the last time that I will try cyclo-cross, it not my thing. I prefer to go fast on a road and where falling is something that you expect every race. It is the off season though so I wanted to try some different things. I am doing a triathlon in December so hopefully that will go better.