First Cyclo-Cross Race

On Saturday, I tried my first cyclo-cross race. I had always fancied having a go, saw that there was one happening not too far away from my house and decided to go for it. I don't have a cyclo-cross bike so I had to make a few adjustments to my mountain bike - I changed the pedals (currently flat one side and spd on the other over to double-sided spd) and took off the clamps for the child seat and the tow bar. I didn't have any suitable shoes so I got a bargain in Evans - some Scott carbon soled MTB shoes reduced from £160 to £89! I was thinking about changing the tyres but decided to wait and see what a cross race was like before spending any more money on upgrades.
It was quite pleasant and somewhat luxurious to have an organised ride planned for the day and not have to leave the house until 1pm. When I arrived at the venue, I unloaded, got myself ready and went in to register. It cost me £13 to take part as I didn't have a Racing License and so had to pay an additional £3. I rode over to another MTB rider and had a bit of a chat and then moved off onto the course for a bit of a recce. Flippin' 'eck! within 100 metres, I was off the bike, climbing a flight of stairs with my bike under my arm then it was over some very lumpy grassy land. I was in the granny ring, legs pumping away and getting nowhere fast. We went down a tree covered descent, rocks helpfully painted white, and I was just laughing out loud. What the hell had I got myself into?? I wasn't sure where the start was so went up the stairs again, over the lumps and was then directed to the left where riders were all lined up and ready to go. The organiser gave a little speech and a blow of the whistle started us on our way.
It was fast and furious, right from the start and from the off, I was in last place. I couldn't have put any more effort in but I was going nowhere. I didn't use my Garmin, as I was worried about it getting caked in mud, so I had no idea of my heart rate, but my perceived effort was very high. I had to keep pedalling for the entire course, even on the descents, or I ground to a halt. I was soon on unfamiliar parts of the course and good grief, it didn't get any easier. One section was on a very narrow grass verge, the smooth tarmac tantalising close but sectioned off with tape. For me, this was the worst part of the course - my tyres soon filled with mud, essentially becoming very fat slick tyres. I had no grip and my back wheel was going everywhere. Shortly after the finish line, there was a steep but short hill - I saw some people dismounting but I thought I'd have a crack at it - mistake! I came to a stop, struggled to unclip and then fell slowly to the left. Lap 1 was not going well. It wasn't all bad though - whilst climbing the stairs, I overtook a lady on a mountain bike (who I later found out had to stop to be sick) and then another girl on a cross bike a bit later on. The effort was high and relentless - within half and hour, I was asking spectators how long we had to go. I just kept plugging away, getting lapped by the fast guys whilst trying not to slow them down too much. I didn't enjoy it too much - sometimes the guys shouted that they were going to overtake and gave very little room; I felt I was going to be forced off into the wooded areas. At one time, a guy shouted "on your left" and then another came whizzing by on the right, just as I was trying to move into that space to avoid the guy who had shouted up. Towards the end, I just stayed well to one side, even if that meant going over more difficult terrain.
I was really glad to finish. After a really tough hour, it was nice to have a chat with the other riders - I met Amy (Trio) and her partner Ali. I also spotted Tom (who I first met on the top of Ventoux) and Andy (from bikeradar forum).
Later that night, once the bike was cleaned (took ages) and I'd had a nice hot bath, I started to look back on the day quite fondly and even started looking on ebay for cross bikes. I will do it again - not until I've changed my tyres, but I will do it again. Hard work but fun (I think).
Here's a link to some pictures from the day - http://www.flickr.com/photos/26379578@N08/4000523917/in/set-72157622561174766/