First Cx Race of the year! Blind Date at the Dairy #2

Last Wednesday I did my first cyclocross race of the season out at Blind Date at the Dairy, a new Wednesday night Cx series here in Portland. One might think this would mean I would have practiced my cx mount & dismount prior to showing up - not so. Although I wouldn't actually recommend this plan of attack to anyone else planning on racing cross, the race actually went better than I thought it would and I managed to get on and off my bike without looking too much like an injured frog.

My friend Emilia came to the race with me and acted as my very own personal photographer from the race. Here are a few shots she captured:

Lined up and waiting at the start

Speeding around a corner mid-race

Carrying my bike coming into a set of three barriers you needed to run over.

Coming through at the end of a lap.

Passing some competition on the way into the run-up (section of the course that is steep enough you can't ride it - you have to run your bike up instead).

Preparing to remount my bike at the top of the run-up.

Nicely silhouetted as the sun goes down. The later races in the evening are held in the dark with large floodlights illuminating the course.

Running the barriers on my last lap coming into the finish.

Rounding the final corner towards the finish line.