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Today I did a small local cyclocross race. I don't have a cyclocross bike, so I just used my mountain bike instead. Actually, the course favored the mountain bike quite a bit, so I guess I was lucky. The first section was mostly grass field, with three barriers just after the start/finish line. After that the course wove around the field and then went up and done a steep grassy slope a few times before the run-up. This part of the course was the hardest, because the grass was quite thick and my mountain bike tires are much wider than a cyclocross bike. In addition, there was a stiff wind in some parts, which just made it harder. After the run-up, which was relatively short, there was a tight, sandy singletrack section, and here the mountain bike was a big advantage. Following the singletrack was a long climb up a gravel road, again with a head wind. Then the course dropped down on some rocky and sandy singletrack again, up a short paved climb, and then back to the start through some tight and twisty singletrack with a few sand pits. I really had the advantage in the singletrack sections, and was able to gain a lot of time there.

Unfortunately, there was almost no turnout, so I ended up racing with just one other guy, an old friend of mine. We spent most of the 55 minute-race riding together, with him opening a gap in the grass (because he was on a cyclocross bike), and me catching and sometimes passing him in the singletrack and technical sections. In the end, I was able to pass him at the top of the climb, and open a big gap in the following descent, which I then held through until the finish one and a half laps later. I haven't done a cyclocross race in almost four years, and there were only two of us, but it was still a lot of fun just being out there. Plus, it was great crit training, since I basically spent the whole 55 minutes pushing myself as hard as I could go.