Andy_K 

Nice report. Definitely bring a couple of friends next time! Ideally, cyclocross shouldn't be about spandex and speed so much as it is about mud and fun. If that's not the culture where you are, keep bringing more people until that is the culture.

Around here, the cross culture is just incredible. Most people do wear spandex for the reasons stated above, and a lot of them are really fast, but ultimately it's about having fun. I'm absurdly slow, but I've never caught even a hint of condescension about it from anyone.

In my first race (last year), I was sucking wind so badly at one point that one of the spectators pushed me up a hill. What I've found is that if you're really, really slow but you do it with a smile you'll be a crowd favorite. And as you get a little bit faster but keep smiling, you'll still be a crowd favorite. Mostly, I think they like to see people suffer and smile at the same time.