Cyclocross - CX and SSCX races and training

What's the race duration? What's the course comprise of?

You don’t need a BC license. There are no restrictions on tyre width either, unless you’re racing UCI classified races, which only applies to National Trophy and Championship level in the U.K.

Being a noob is fine, generally cross is very accepting of newcomers and encourages them. Races are usually gridded so the fast folk are at the front, start with the rabble behind them. MTBs are fine, usually slower but depends on the course.

Out. Unless someone is standing ready with a pressure sprayer every lap?

What's the race duration? What's the course comprise of?

60 minutes of full gas. More if they are feeling cruel.

Course was a good mix of grass track, banked turns, short stabby climbs, gravelly corners, stairs and hurdles. Bigger your engine the better at that one though, it was savage.

Early enough in the year that the course will probably be dry or at least remain solid if wet, none of that bike ruining clay mud nonsense (Hemel?) above.

bike ruining clay mud nonsense

Hey!

^ Everything @andyp said.

The course is probably about as newbie-friendly as they come. It's wide, to encourage overtaking, and fast. There's a bit of everything, but the emphasis is on big sweeping curves, designed to be ridden at speed, rather than dead turns. You'll probably get lapped (as will half the rest of the field), but the riders lapping you will have no issue getting past; no need at all for you to get out of their way. The ground is very well drained, so anyone expecting a mudfest is going to be disappointed, it'll look nothing like the photo above.
Parcours is probably 80% grass, 20% gravel track. There's a set of steps that some people were riding last year, though I suspect running was quicker, and two pairs of hurdles. There's a couple of hills, but nothing brutal; single speed will be fine.
You can race on pretty much any bike you like, so long as it has bar end plugs, 2 brakes and a freewheel. I've actually ridden the course on a road bike, but that might be a bit sketchy in the wet.
Races are 1 hour for Senior, 40 mins for Vets and Women.
Entry and race times here or you can enter on the day, no limit on numbers, but it'll cost you an extra 5 quid.

Epping has nothing on Herts mate, remember this?

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That mudfest could have been Berkhamsted (Ashlyns School)...

RIP, Headshok

Yep, that mudfest was ours. You can see the snowpile in the background.

Sorry not sorry

I have missed the entry deadline for Herne Hill this Sunday. Will it be ok to enter on the day? Or, does it get oversubscribed? I'm a newbie to this...

Entry on the day is fine, just allow yourself a bit of extra time to sign on.

Ok, great! Thank you.

Enjoyed HHV today, better routing than the Summer Series - especially the start - and managed my season target for a top 20 finish.

KWCCCX at Bedfont next week. :)

I also raced at HH today and had a lot of fun with it despite many mechanicals

HH was ace today. Surprisingly no mechanicals given I set my gears up this morning. Good crowd and fast course and fun at the back of the field.

I did 1 1/2 laps before getting a pinch flat on a rock just before the hill, first lap felt alright too.

I found that course so hard today.
Fun but really draining.

Had 5 people catch me on the final lap. Not my finest effort.

Herne Hill, destroyer of tyres. Bad luck.

Herne Hill summer series triggered a move to tubeless & I could feel the rim taking a few hits in the run up to the climb, totally worth it.

Online entries for the Kingston Wheelers race close Tuesday evening - don't get caught out! Entry link here.

We have unlimited entries on the day, but it'll cost you an extra fiver and you'll be gridded at the back.

Results from other leagues will be taken into account by the gridding committee, so visitors who pre-enter should get a fair gridding!

I did the same, but put in a new tube and rejoined (is that allowed?). Couldn't avoid coming last after that. Considering tubeless now.

I did the same, but put in a new tube and rejoined (is that allowed?)

If ya did it in the pits.

It doesn't matter really unless you are competing for places / league standing.

Tubeless helps with this but make sure you use the modern tougher tubeless specific tyres that have reinforced sidewalls, coz instead of wrecking a tube you might wreck the sidewall of tyre instead.

Unless you are going to win stuff I'd sneakily try tyres a bit bigger than UCI / BC rules determine, simply because it's such a bloody waste of time and money if you schlepp to a race then pinch flat on lap 1.

I think you can fix it anywhere you like, so long as you don't receive outside assistance (and obviously good not to get in anyone's way). Pits allow you to get help/kit from other people. I was chatting with someone who left the course to get first aid treatment a couple of weeks ago. The comms then allowed him to rejoin the race, the only stipulation being that he do it from the same point he'd left, so I doubt you'd upset anyone if you ducked under the course tape to perform your repair in a safer location.

For league races, no need to be sneaky about wider tyres; it's totally legal. If it wasn't, newcomers to the sport wouldn't be able to try it out on MTBs, which would be a really bad thing. You only need to stay within the 33mm limit at National Trophy races and above; the comms in Derby yesterday had a jig, and were checking tyres before riders were called up at the start of the elite races.