East coast cyclocross

Hey all - here's a quick summary of my first season of eastcoast cyclocross, so far. My first race of the season was a HUGE event by the seaside in Gloucester, MA. I found out a few things about how it's done out here - firstly, they follow USA Cycling rules, which means I had to buy a racing license and start out in the C race and can't move up until I get enough points. That turns out to be fine by me, because the B division is pretty darned serious. As it was, my field was 48 racers, with a total of 125 racers on the course (they run men's C division, masters B, and women's B at the same time). The men's B division got its own race, 125 riders. Yow. I got to the start line kinda late, so I spent half the race getting by other racers. The course offered plenty of passing opportunities, lots of wide-open grassy sections. I managed to claw my way up to 23rd out of 48 by the end of the race. This weekend Stacey and I headed up to Maine, where I did a bit better, mostly owing to my improved start position. From the second row, I managed to stay up with the leaders off the line, and at the end of the first lap, I was in the lead (see first picture). That didn't last, however; as we went up the asphalt hill past the start/finish, I was out-spun and lost a few places. After dodging a crash on the second lap, I contented myself with battling it out with one other rider, though I hoped that we could pull the leaders back in. Compared to other 'cross races I've done, this one had a lot of elevation change. The only barriers on the course were placed after a prolonged uphill. In the end, I managed to hold on to sixth place out of 40 racers. I handed my bike off to Stacey, who did her first cyclocross race in the women's B division. We stuck around to watch part of the men's B race - maybe with some work I can move up to the Bs next year. The only singlespeeders were me and Billy, whom I coerced into racing with me, and one rider in the B's. I was sorry I missed seeing the performance of the red-suited rider coming out of the mudhole (second picture) -- note his excellent form.
cheers
J