Re:
Thursday evening I took a trip down to Camperdown Park in Dundee to have a go at the "Midsummer Madness" cyclo-cross race, touted as a relaxed cx race suitable for beginners and Pro's alike. As I am neither of those I figured it'd be fun to have a go
After registering I was just in time for a practice lap around the course, which consisted of some sections of wooded singletrack, then across the open parkland and through some tight hairpin sections , a quick grassy down hill bit, negotiate a ditch, some Belgian Steps (wooden pallets on a grassy incline) and then onto the barriers just before the finish.
It was all rideable, I thought, the Belgian Steps were simple enough although everyone else I saw dismounted and carried their bike up them :? The barriers looked simple enough too, so I decided to bunnyhop them... cleared the first one, but carried too much speed and there wasn't much distance between the barriers soooo.... the back wheel clipped the srcond barrier and tipped me forward and dumped me unceremoniously on the grass... right in front of the largest group of spectators on the course :facepalm:

no damage done (except to my pride), but I decided it'd be quicker (And safer!) to carry the bike over them in the actual race.
So it turned out I was gridded near the front of the "Open" race :shock: they were doing it on age and not previous results, as it wasn't a points scoring series race.
It seemed that almost everyone else belonged to some cycle club or other, all I could see was club kit and tight fitting lycra. I meanwhile was rocking the baggy shorts and T-shirt look
I'd already decided pre-race to not start too fast, so I wasn't surprised when almost the entire field overtook me straight away

looking back I could still see a few riders, so at least I wasn't last! I tagged on behind some guy in Leslie Bike shop kit and settled in for a couple of laps to see how I felt.
It turned out I felt ok, and I started to make up a few places.
I was quicker than most on the more technical bits ie singletrack, obstacles, and downhill , but elsewhere it was pure fitness (or lack if it) that counted.
Good job it was dry though as I'd decided not to bother fitting the actual CX tyres I had :facepalm: , and just ride the WTB Horizon tyres, which are essentially chunky slicks, had there been a rain shower I think I'd have been in big trouble.
Race time was set at 50 minutes, which at my pace meant 7 or 8 laps, towards the end of the race I made up a few more places, beating some of the Senior Women! :twisted:

but I was just happy to finish.
48th out of 60 in the end, happy with that as I wasn't taking it too seriously, and paced myself. Might look into doing a few more cx races later this year, an hour of fast paced exercise is about right for me I think.
Few photos of the evening...