Baptism of Fire

Todmorden Cyclocross. 2nd January 2011.

My first bike race for well over 12 months (other than the Ae Avalanche Enduro, but that was just fun and happened to be a bit tiring). Preparation wasn't ideal... I'm not very fit generally at the moment, and had a cold from Boxing Day, which had mostly cleared up by race day, but meant I hadn't ridden a bike since before Christmas. Oh, and fully embracing the Belgian culture of cyclocross, I got almightily drunk on Leffe on New Years Eve. At least my bike was shiny.

But, hey... cyclocross. It's only an hour long. Right? How hard can it be. Er... quite. At the start, I quickly went backwards, and ended up about 2/3rds of the way down the field. Going was really heavy. The course was largely claggy, sticky, thick mud. Apart from the steep cobbled climb. Hats off to those who rode it. I just didn't have the legs to stay seated and keep turning the pedals. As soon as I stood up, the back wheel span out. By the 4th lap, walking up was painful enough.

I can't think of a more tiring way to spend an hour. Heart rate way up there, little in the way of respite. If it was running, it wouldn't be so bad. I'm not sure if it is my legs that aren't used to pedalling while that close to my threshold, or if it is just that the race highlighted how unfit I've become over the last 6 months... or a bit of both.

Anyway, it was brilliant fun. Horrible, cursing myself, stupid, farcical fun.
There aren't too many 'cross races left this season, but I'll be back next year, and hopefully a little fitter and more experienced. I don't really care if I'm not though. The atmosphere was great, the format is great, the people are great. Racing is only part of the experience.

As an aside, it was also fantastic to briefly meet people who I chat to on a daily/weekly basis via Twitter. It really was great putting a face to those who I met. Look forward to similar meetings in the future, and a few social rides with many of them.

Oh... final position was 38th/52. Possibly my worst ever race result, but I'm content enough for now. It's just good to "be back".