CX Practice

I went to my first actual Cyclocross practice on Wed.
I had mentioned to my daughter if she would maybe like to do some bike racing and that I was going to a practice in a couple days. Well she jumped right on it and that's all she talked about for the week leading up to the practice.
So Megan came along and did the practice as well. She enjoyed it but said it was a bit tiring so was looking more forward to an actual race.
For the practice we first started out with mounting and dismounting. I find I can dismount pretty well and fast. I am confident enough to keep pedaling until the last second, jump off and carry.
I find running with the bike awkward and jumping barriers is definitely my least favorite part of cross. I like the mounting/dismounting part tho :)
Megan is also very good at getting on and off the bike and can step off both with the 'back step' or the 'step through'.
After this we practiced some zig zagging around flags on a grassy slope, zigging downhill then zagging back up. It was good practice for braking and turning on off-camber and slipper sections.
This is my favorite part of Cross racing. Bike handling and sliding around on the edge of control. Its probably because I do CX and Road riding to improve my MTB racing :)
Megan started off a bit tentatively with this exercise but was getting the hang of it by the end. She was learning to go a bit fast and how to brake before the turn in. She was locking it up a bit but kept the rubber side down and was learning to modulate the brakes ;)
For fun we finished this drill with a sprint start. I didn't do too well. I thought I would fare better but was one of the slower people out of the blocks. I guess I need more practice and need to learn what gearing best suits me.
On the plus side, even tho I was a bit slower out if the blocks my top end is not so bad and I would close the gap back up before the turn in to the first flag. On the down side once you get into the tight twisty stuff its near impossible to pass. I thought about passing on the outside a few times, but since I didn't know the person I was passing and it was supposed to be a fun practice, I didn't get too aggressive :)
Lastly we did some carries up a steep pitch. My frame is a bit small for me to shoulder grabbing on the balance point of the bottom tube so I have to improvise and grab higher on the down tube and flick the bike a bit with the left hand to get the bike to a swing up onto my shoulder. This works looks rather smooth but it is harder to get the bike on the shoulder without bumping up my arm and shoulder. Bit sore the next day.
Megan is too small to carry the bike so has to resort to pushing. She can do the top tube carry over an obstacle but see how her bike weights more than 50% of her body weight and she probably has a 20 inch inseam it like climbing over full size saw horses for her! Hopefully the races will have small barriers for the kids race.
So the first practice is a wrap. I didn't do to badly but my motor need some serious work.