*new*guy

YAY~! Sunny, very light winds, temps in the high 60s; a perfect day for a race. Don't forget your dustmasks for the gravel...hasn't rained in a bit so that's going to be fun.

Winds are supposed to pick up overnight so the Bunny Hop on Sunday is going to be interesting for sure; as if doing a master's race w/ Ramon and Super Dave isn't hard enough.

DrPete 

I just pre-rode the course on Tuesday, and the only really sketchy part of the course is the turn onto the dirt. I almost ate it trying to take it fast... it is pretty dry, though. If only we could get a tiny bit of drizzle tonight.

I'm in for the 4/5 race-- road races are NOT my forte, mainly because I just don't put in the hours on the bike to be competitive in the 3/4 race. We'll see, though. Depending on how the race plays out, I feel like I can do some damage in a 4/5 field.

The brain has plenty of ideas, but we'll see how the legs feel about executing them tomorrow.

FWIW, I've decided to stick with my Mondo S-Works tires at 130psi mounted onto my PowerTap/DT RR1.1 bomber wheels. The dirt is smoother than I had thought.

Good luck to everyone, and I'll see you there!

*new*guy

Good luck in the 4/5 Pete. One of my 'mates will be in that one. I'm doing the 3/4.

Just remember to do all your braking before the turn and keep your eyes on the guys who try to jump ahead on the right side of the entry to the gravel.

Lithuania

I rode the course 4 days over the last 2 weeks and i can say for sure that whatever plans i make for getting into the gravel go out the window when other people are around you.

MDcatV

Good luck folks. I'm not 100% that I'll make it as I had a family emergency this week that had my daughter in the hospital from Tuesday until last night. That = no sleep since monday for daddy, lots of negative stress, horrible food, and no time on the bike. A very bad recipe for the week prior to a hard road race.

DrPete 

Everyone's hyping the "attack on the dirt" strategy, but it seems like that would actually be pretty tough to do. The dirt isn't THAT bad, and there's still a steady climb back to the start/finish.

How often to breaks survive on this course? It doesn't seem like a lot would.

DrPete 

Sorry to hear that, MDCatV. I hope everything's OK with your daughter.

Lithuania

i think breaks get away very easy on this course.

Lithuania

I hope everything is alright man. stuff like that really put these races in the proper perspective.

MDcatV

Almost always. great course for breakaways - tough, narrow, out of site, out of mind. IME, the "dirt" is a place where the race is lost, but rarely won.

MDcatV

Thanks, it puts lots of things into proper perspective. I hope to race though even if I get shelled 100 feet into it, just to get back to normal life.

DrPete 

Good to know... (filing that one away)

Although I think the jumpiness of a 4/5 field will result in a lot of chasing relative to a 3/4, so I don't think quite as many will get away, but we'll see.

Lithuania

i think the potentially large fitness gap from newer 5s to older 4s adds to the probability of breaks getting away.

I also think this is a great course for people to blow up early on leading to more breaks making it.

*new*guy

Wow. best wishes to you and your family.

Pete, I think the section right as you exit the gravel is the place to make a go at it. The pace is going to be high through the gravel as everyone is eager to get out of it fast--just be careful of the weaker guys drifting backwards in that section as they can cause you to get gapped.

dirtyphotons

see you bright and early dr pete. i'll be pretty easy to spot, i'll be the only one in a purple/blue rails to trails jersey.

i'm pretty nervous about this. i should've been training with a team, but other obligations this spring have prevented it. hopefully this is a good enough experience that i'm encouraged to do so next year.

hope you're daugther's ok MDCatV, puts my nervousness issues in perspective.

Lithuania

ive been looking so forward to this race that I just know its going to end in heart break

MDcatV

Dr. P and *new* guy, et. al. - thanks for the kind words. Daughter seems to be fine aside from being very tired, but we had quite a scare this week.

Exiting the gravel, the "kicker" right after it are certainly good "go" points. Also, dont get complacent on Westerly road

Be safe and have fun, should be a perfect day for racing!

aicabsolut

Good luck everyone! I'm not in shape for a road race right now, so I'm going to go suffer solo down in c-ville this weekend. Looking forward to the reports.

DrPete 

Haha... Isn't that always the way? Totally happened to me at UMD...

Lithuania

i was seriously thinking about you and that race while thinking about this race the other day.

DrPete 

Whatever dude. We'll hang out, and if a break goes off I'm draggin' your azz with me.

Lithuania

only if i can get around 50 of your team mates

DrPete 

Nah, we only have 12 in the 4/5 race.

galen_52657

This is true:

Lost due to flats, lost due to getting behind some schmuck who is afraid of riding fast on gravel or some other schmuck who wants to change from one side to the other and falls trying...

The trick is to figure out which side of the gravel road is smoothest the first time through then ride that side every lap after. Last year it was the left side....or was it the right side????

Lithuania

people really have that hard a time changing sides?