Just back from my first cyclocross race at Plean, just outside Stirling. Finished it, which was my target, and was in awe at the speed of the other racers. The layout of the course was good – mix of hardpack, forest floor, one ‘carry up’ steep hill and one other steep hill which I managed to ride up, and a really fun long-and-fast downhill which started out hardpack and turned into a mud chute .. more like snowboarding than cycling.
So that was the layout of the course. However, it had rained heavily beforehand and turned most of the course into a mudbath. There was 2″ deep mud on most of the course, some bits ridable and some not. I was pretty pleased technicaly with how I fared, staying upright despite lots of slips and slides.
I think I was probably battling for last place overall – not sure until the results come out. I think I completed 5 laps, although I wasn’t really counting. On the sighting lap, my heartrate was 174bpm, higher than I’ve ever seen it. During the 1h15m I raced, my *average* heartrate was 162bpm .. and that includes a much slower second half to the race after I overcooked it. The leaders were pretty much twice as fast as I was. Jeez, and I thought I was a pretty good cyclist!
Cyclocross: Muddy, funny, recommended.
Edit: Here’s a better description of the sport of cyclocross.