@TwoWheelsDC 96013 wrote:
I would be much more tempted to spectate if the races weren’t so far away…
I hear ya. This is the most driving I’ve done all year!
@thucydides 96034 wrote:
So what’s your read on the “beginner” races that I see listed on some events. (Most don’t have rookie races though as you noted DCCX does.) They’re listed as Cat 4/5. Now you couldn’t pay me to race a Cat 4/5 crit. Have you watched or participated in any of these beginner CX races?
Yeah, I’ve done 3 Cat 4/5 races in addition to the one DCCX rookie race. (I’ve also finished one Cat 5 crit, and after the awful sounds of a crash behind me I decided not to race a crit anytime soon again!)
My read is that CX racing is pretty different. Most people won’t crash dangerously because their handling skills, fitness limits and sanity will prevent them from riding fast enough to really hurt themselves. Of course there’s exceptions, but it’s not like road racing where the peloton pretty much dictates you ride in a big tight bunch at 25mph+ if you want to be competitive/not ride solo, and your heart rate will probably be higher overall in CX, so you will be hanging on and gasping rather than thinking about attacking or shooting a gap. For most riders in most of a CX race you’ll be riding against 1 or 2 other riders who are close to you. Those 1-2 riders might change as you overtake/get overtaken but there’s no peloton to speak of, and there’s only a crowd of riders for the first 1/2 a lap or so.
That said, if you don’t like riding on deliberately unpredictable terrain/conditions and a relatively high probability of mechanical issues, then CX is probably not for you. I really enjoy it because my bike handling/cornering is pretty poor – I can balance fine on a straight line on smooth road but would like to improve my overall bike handling skills, and CX is great for that. And as hozn mentioned, a certain part of the CX crowd (Cat 4/5 included) is straight from the road racing scene – so they carry a similar competitive mentality and high-spending bike/gear habits (although some of them also just race for fun as an off-season pursuit). But there’s still the tradition of a “party in the back” in CX races (moreso in the West Coast races though I think).
If you’re interested in trying out smaller fields, the Sportif series races seem to be less popular – sometimes < 30 racers in the Cat 4/5.
@KayakCyndi 96064 wrote:
Currently pondering this one. If I go I’ll make a weekend of it. Going down to our place in WB on Friday pm before hitting the race Sunday. I’ll got room for guests ….
Cool! I’m pondering it too, but will wait to see how I feel after CX season to make a decision on it. I think at least one of the Team Sticky Fingers ladies is going.
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