I've been biking for a long time but this is the first year that I will be training and racing seriously (mountain biking and cyclocross)

I've noticed that a handful of criteriums in Oregon have a fixed gear category. Would a beginner have any luck at these races or are they filled with people who would be racing Cat 1 or 2 on geared bikes?

Any fixed-gear criterium is not USCF legal, so it could be anybody from the world's fastest keirin racers to a bunch of hobos.

Your best bet is to go and try it out.

DFLing in a race is a little disappointing--but certainly not a reason not to try anyway. Do it.

That USCF rule that Aeroplane mentions is interesting--I know that in the Tour TT stages (sort of similar to a crit) some people use fixed gear bikes for enhanced efficiency. Do you know the reason behind the USCF rule? My only guess is that in crowded corners people's cranks could get tangled up if they weren't coasting.

USCF requires a brake for each wheel and a freewheel on all road bikes that aren't on a track. Crits usually have a lot of sharp turns. If you can't coast, you will be toast. And when one person crashes, many more soon follow.

this logic flies in the face of my "if it ain't fixed, it's broken" stem cap!

Except for individual TT. You still have to have a front brake, but you can ride fixed.

If its anything like singlespeed MTB racing, the person who has the biggest hangover but still finishes will probably be proclaimed the winner, regardless of who crosses the finish line first. Or perhaps the first five finishers will have to face off in a trackstand or no-handed skid contest to actually determine the winner.

I feel like a fixed crit would be insane! I have pics of myself going through turns at very steep lean angles. As for crits... they'll always be an experience.

Back home in NY they make all the racers that want to crit, do a training race to make sure people understand the etiquite.

i watched a fixed crit once, looked like a slower regular crit, i didnt have a brake so they wouldnt let me race..