Newb question on 'cross in general

[Eden]

I can have a stab at those

1. Cyclecross is generally done by time rather than # of laps (like a criterium, except they don't generally pull). If you get lapped, meaning the leaders pass you, then you end up doing fewer laps - they will announce last lap to you as you cross the finish line, so no worries about not knowing when to stop. Women's 4's usually do about 30-35 min.

2. beginner cross races are generally short enough that you do not need water on the bike - even the more advanced riders that I know don't usually carry water (you can't put on bottles since that would make it diffcult to shoulder the bike). Up here it isn't usually warm during cross season, so its not usually an issue - but if it happens to be hot, lack of hydration in a long race can be a problem. I *think* in the longer races there may sometimes be a feed zone.

3. it depends - some of the races out here have a lot of technical stuff on them, some are set up places like school sports fields and are mostly grassy - but you can't necessarily tell. The first one (and only so far!) I did I thought would be fairly tame, since it was at a school, but someone told me it was a more technical course. I don't think any of ours out here use fire roads, they are mostly in park type areas with a combination of trails and grass - one is on a horse farm. At least out here, the courses do nearly always have at least one run up (a hill either too steep to ride up or that has barrier on it so you cannot ride up) and one barrier section where you have to carry your bike. A full suspension mt bike, while you probably could do it, would be very heavy for those areas - heck even a relatively light cross bike feels like lead on the 4th lap.... A lot of people,and not only beginners, do ride on mt bikes, but they are usually hard tails.