First of all, I can't believe that I'm doing this. It is pretty last-minute, I'm totally unprepared. My total introduction to CX consists of watching SheFly in a great race last year and watching four video clips of technique on Velo News!

On the plus side, I have been doing a fair amount of road and mountain bike riding this year and feel pretty confident on my bikes now.

So, I am doing the Beginner Women's race at the Eco Cross Challenge in Falmouth, MA on Sept 22. Entry fee is cheap, 20-minute race, great organic food at Coonamessett Farm and a beer tent after!

I plan to do a few attempted dismounts, mounts, and carries over the next 10 days, but I really just want to give it a try and have some fun in something new!

My choices of bikes to ride are: My lovely full-suspension Titus Racer-X with 2.0 Serac tubeless tires, weighing in at about 25 lbs. Or...my Gary Fisher Big Sur hardtail with 2.0 Mythos tires or some 1.35 Schwalbe CX tires that I just ordered. She is about 27lbs with her current tires, probably a little lighter if I use the CX tires.

Any thoughts on which bike to use for this first-time race? Do I have to use the skinnier tires? Would it be best to use them?

Thanks to all of you...I have been lurking on this forum for awhile vicariously enjoying your race reports and learning a bit too!