It's the 18th September, a surprisingly warm start to the day (compared to the previous day for Round 2 of the London cyclocross League. Round 2 was held at Penshurst Off-Road Club, Penshurst, Kent and promoted by Addiscombe CC.

This race normally is later in the calendar and is often very muddy but having it early in the season made it A quick down hill course with some steep climbs.

Preparation went well until the skinsuit zipper broke when a 'convenience brake; was needed. Thankfully a spare jersey is always bought to races!

A spare jersey provided by Attacus CC helped to cover up the broken skinsuit.

Cyclocross racing is very much a completely different way of racing to anything else I have been used to. Similarlly to time trailing, you are racing your own race against the clock with the aim to get as many laps in as possible in the allotted hour of racing. What is so nice about it is the respect each rider shows eachother and the much more relaxed and fun attitude. You are all in it for the same reasons, to have fun and try and better yourself on each lap.

One of the many turns on the descent into the valley.

The course itself contained many sharp turns. These tended to be at the end of long straights where you can start to get some power down, then having to sharply stop to take the corner. The race was on the side of a hill; meaning what goes down equally must go up too. The climbs were short and steep. At the base of the valley was a bomb crater with a sharp drop and raise on the opposite side.

Socks provided by The Wonderful Socks, gloves provided by Grip Grab.

A slight sprint to the finish made each lap quick. All in all a fantastic race with many strong riders racing. Chapeau to all! Strava link below:

Photos provided by John Mullineaux