cyclocross frenzy

I had been in contact with Gazza about buying some gear he had for sale and we arranged to meet at Terrey Hills on Saturday morning as he was racing in a cyclocross series. I read his post about the race and thought it would be good to try something different, and as there was a category for first timers and those on a MTB I committed myself to give it a go. I'm glad I did!
At the starting line were a bunch of blokes, a gal and a purple teletubbie?!? The starter yelled go and the teletubbie was off! He belted off the start and was leading into the first corner, in fact he probably led for the first 1 or 2 laps! I'm thinking to myself as I'm watching him disappear over the next rise I CANNOT BE BEATEN BY A TELETUBBIE, ESPECIALLY THE PURPLE ONE!!! Eventually his choice of costume got the better of him and he started to discard random items, like his giant head etc. I managed to get past him and get into a groove and the obstacles I started to get more familiar with...literally! As I was riding my dually with plush suspension and nice fat nobby tyres I thought rather than get off my bike and hop over the obstacle, I would just ride clean over them. Well that didn't work too well and I ate it a couple of times landing on top of logs etc and disappearing into thick lantana bushes on the side of the track. Getting off the bike in places was actually a better way to go.
The track was a 2km combination of gravel, grass, a small bit of bitumen and thick clay-like mud. The obstacles were logs and tyres about a foot or so off the ground and some stairs to go up. There was a good crowd hanging around the mudpit and they were quite vocal when somebody put on a show or had a stack. The race was for 30 minutes plus one lap. After 30 minutes a bell would ring to let you know there was only one lap to go. I heard a bell and thought phew almost done and as I approached the line with a couple of other guys, we were all neck and neck, totally spent and lunging for the line.......and as we crossed the line the real final lap bell was rung and they called last lap!!! WTF< WTF< WTF we all said in tandem. I realised my mistake and took off again and managed to pull enough of a gap to not be passed and actually took one more place! Stoked!!! I have no idea how I placed but I think I did alright.
I hung around to watch the real racers have their go and was blown away by the speed and the svelte gracefulness of some of these mud covered, lycra clad gazelles (Gazza included)! On again off again, bike on the shoulder type stuff and totally gassing it!
Very impressive, worth having a look, but even more worth having a go. Only $10 for the race entry plus your day licence. The next race is early Jan. So if you're thinking of trying something different, close to home and over before you need to throw up give it a go, I highly recommend it !