Christmas Cross – Welsh Cyclo-cross League Final
After a Christmas gathering in Bristol, we packed up on Sunday morning and headed off in the mist and murk across the bridge to Wales. Our destination was Caerphilly Mountain for the final round of the Welsh Cyclo-cross league. I had my usual excuses – my knees were sore, I hadn’t been training and I’d eaten too much the day before. My bike was a bit creaky and the drive chain was still covered in sand. None of that really mattered though once I got onto the course for a recce. There was no chance I could ride half of this. It was the most technical of courses so far! Nothing I could do about it now though. So, after signing on and watching some of the kids races with Morgan, I lined up ready for my race.
There’s no a huge amount to say about it really. Muddy climbs, muddy descents, muddy corner and muddy banks. A few little drops, some high hurdles and the bit that wasn’t muddy was loose, slippery gravel. I surprised myself by managing to ride all of it except for the hurdles (but that’s the whole point of them), and the one steep, muddy corner at the bottom of the woods. Some people rode this bit but I didn’t see anyone do so. Quite a few people who did try to ride it crashed here though.
Christmas Cyclo-cross
I never really quite got into the seeing of things though and felt as though I was teetering my way around most of the time. I did OK though so it’ll be interesting to see the results.
We then headed home via Caerphilly garden centre where we stopped for lunch. Another nice weekend away just before Christmas. Although i think I’ll be spending the next week cleaning my bike. I think it could do with a service now that the cyclo-crosss season is over.
I may not be the best at Cyclo-cross, or even remotely any good at it, but it’s been a fun sport to get into. The races are serious and there’s always someone to compete with whatever level you are at. The racing is fast and furious too – none of this pacing yourself and going slow so that you can finish an endurance race – it’s flat out from start to finish. Despite the competition everyone seems friendly though and the kids races are just as important if not more so than the adult races so there’s a real family feel to it all. I’ve improved a little bit over the season and will be back for more – t was a good excuse for a new bike too!
