First CycleCross "Race" - Tuesday Night CycleCross Training Race

Tonight I did my first cyclecross "race", I put it in quotes because it is labeled a training race. It was, to say the least, humbling. I finished dead last. I learned that triathlon in shape, is not cyclecross in shape. The race made me feel very out of shape.

I don't have pictures of the course, so I will try to describe it. It is in Aquila Park in St. Louis Park and the course is marked out with stakes and yellow tape. The course changes every week. After listening to a couple of conversations, it appears that this weeks arrangements was one of the more difficult. The course had multiple climbs, all of them steep, one end of the park is a hill and the course stayed mostly on the side of that hill. All of the barriers, except one, are at the bottom of a climb. So you had to jump off your bike, jump over the barrier, and then run the bike up the hill and then mount at the top of the hill.

The race is 30 minutes long, Cat 4 and Jr, and the winner is the first person to cross the finish line who does the most laps. I did 4, I was lapped at least once. I think a single lap contained about 7 climbs. By my second loop I was basically stopping at the top of the hills to catch my breath. I thought I would going to loose my legs a number of times and just fall over while trying to get on and off the bike.

I need to practice my high speed mount and dismount, many of the people racing out there would put triathletes to shame with how fast they dismount, jump over the obstacle, and remount. They are incredibly fast.

I will continue to do this on Tuesday nights. It is a really kick ass workout and gives me something new to work on. I can see how doing this type of cycling can make you a much better cyclist. It is one hell of a workout. Next Tuesday I will try to take some pictures.