I'm a commuter too and this Summer decided to give cyclocross racing a shot. Last racing experience was a couple decades ago in college in a crit that didn't end well. I was taken out in a crash that wrecked both my bike and left shoulder.

My experience with cross racing this fall was much different. Raced 11 times this season and had a blast. I crashed several times but speeds are low and most of the surfaces are somewhat forgiving (grass/dirt/sand/and of course the dreaded mud). I just got back up and kept going. My "best" wipeout was a very slow motion fail going through a sand pit.

Best thing I did was to join a club and attend a pre-season clinic. Couple of Saturday mornings learning some basic skills and getting pointers from experienced guys during the season really helped.

Give it a shot next season. Worst case scenario is if cross racing is not your thing, a cross bike makes a really good wet weather commuter . I'm hooked and will be using my commute to work on skills and conditioning that will help improve my performance next season.

Good luck.