I'm considering doing my first cross race on Saturday....

People keep saying that cross is the sort of thing you can and maybe should just "jump into," and it's best to get your feet wet. It is something I am interested in doing at some point as a new challenge.

That said, I have really no cross skills. I can only do dismounts if I'm on platform pedals and can't do mounts at all, and I basically only have experience riding on the road which means my bike handling skills aren't great - I am worried about sharp turns, drop offs, etc. My fitness has been dropping off since October, too - I've been riding but nothing hard.

I have seen some cross races, but unfortunately mostly just the elites which doesn't give me a lot of confidence. When I saw my husband race in a cat 4/5 men's everyone seemed to more or less know what they were doing, too, although I wasn't exactly watching for mistakes. The tandem race WAS welcoming and fun and hilarious, but unfortunately I don't have a tandem!

So -- is it better to give myself a year to practice skills (I'm thinking about getting a mountain bike, which I imagine will improve my offroad confidence greatly), or should I just go in completely unprepared??

Well I've never done cross and I don't race. But I guess one question is -- what do you have to lose if you just try it? How much is the registration and how annoyed/frustrated/etc would you be if it didn't go well?

There was someone on TE who kind of jumped into it here in New England, a few years ago. For the life of me, I can't remember her name. She was a road and mountain biker, but really not much different than you or me. I saw her race a few times, when I went to see SheFly race. She was usuallylast or near last and sometimes she was lapped, but she had great fun. Not sure how much she trained. Personally, I would train over the next year and try it next season.

I think it depends on how frustrating it would be to you if you did not do well right away. If you could live with that and learn as you go, then sure, jump right in, but if it would be frustrating or frightening to not know if you are doing things correctly then train and try some clinics first.

My DH started cross racing last year, and it sure looked like fun. The beginner women raced with the kids, so the stakes seemed pretty low. I had considered doing it this year, and being the token fat lady riding by herself --until I was mowed down by a truck--now I'm pn the sidelines cheering for the other token fat lady.

Right, you guys are raising the point I worry about most, which is that I am not really the type of person to jump into something unprepared, and I do get very frustrated with myself when I don't do well! So I guess the risk is that doing cross unprepared might scare me away from the sport altogether.

I'd say, jump in. It's a lot of fun. When in doubt, dismount and run it. The skills come gradually. Practicing on your own never pushes you as hard as a race and there is something about knowing a course that is great. I get lapped all the time. Many times, I will race the cat 3 and 4 race because it is later in the day (even if I am dead last), so I can pre-ride the course a couple of times. If you are going to the Red Shedman race, go to the women's clinic at 9:30AM.

PS: If you have bottle cages on your bike, I would suggest that you remove them for the race. If you carry your bike, you need to be able to put your arm through the triangle so that the top tube ends up resting on your shoulder.