Flatballer

Navy crit. OTB after two laps, and then crashed in a stupid corner trying to get back on.

I'm gonna stop racing until I've gotten a lot more intensity work in. It's just not worth the money to get dropped after 2 laps. That's not racing.

El Diablo Rojo

Between the dropped 40+ rider and the crashed rider at the finish I'm surprised any of us finished. Here is my report:

My 7 yearold daughter decided to kick me out of bed around 2:30...I hit the couch but never really fell back to sleep...so on three house of sleep I did my last race as a 4.

Two teams were there with intent...TBI and PAAC. TBI brought their climber and their plan was to control then launch him with 1 or 2 to go. They pretty much controlled the first 3 laps until one of the TBI riders lost concentration and plowed into the guy in front of him and went down in front of me...some one was looking out for me as he fell to his right and the bike somehow didn't come over on me...this split the race and most of the TBI guys were behind the crash. Two guys drilled it and we got the field down to around 15 or so.

PAAC was there with two guys and they did some good work but the pace was pretty easy so the group just stayed together...I was alone so I was holding my powder till the last lap, even with no sleep I felt pretty good. On the last lap I punched at start/finish and made them chase me up the first part of the climb. It was pretty strung out and one of the AT&T guys jumped when I sat up...I jumped his wheel and he did a nice long strong pull. We were pretty much together for the descent..the guy who won Walburg (a really tough race) was getting pretty frisky so I decided to make sure I had his wheel in the last 200k. With 1k to go a 40+ rider who was dropped was just tooling around in the middle of the road and we almost hit him going near 50mph..this kinda messed up the grouping but put Walburg winner and I in perfect position as we hit the last 200m. The last 200m starts as a false flat then kicks to around 6% for about 50m then flattens out for a 20m to the finish. We are getting all set up on the right when we look up the road and the right side is blocked off and they waving us over to the left to avoid a crash. By the time Walburg and I get over we are somewhere around 15th. We pick our way through and I pip him at the line for 3rd....I had great legs at the finish...I'm sure he and I would have finished 1/2 (I think I could have taken him) had they not moved us over...I think they should have relegated us and made us do another lap...So I really wanted to go out with a W but circumstances kinda foiled that...putting for my upgrade on Monday...Ultimate cat here I come!!!

flaco

I heard that the wreck in the 40+ race that messed up our finish was caused by a lapped 5 who jumped into their race.

El Diablo Rojo

Yep...he hit a jr or woman I'm not sure...idiot. What kit where you in today? I was the Joe's Pro rider.

substructure

Fork Shoals RR. Race 3 of 6 in the Spring Series.

10th place. 1 point for the omnium. I may still be in the top 10 overall. Not sure yet.

Missed the break. But I tried to go with everything. It's just tough when it's attack after attack after attack. And anyone of them could be the one.
Stayed with the main field and tried to stay up front. Finished 5th in the field. 10th overall.

ridethecliche

And this is why dropped riders need to be removed from a race.

I've been a dropped rider who has stuck around and I almost got into trouble. This was as one of my first races. Never again unless it's in a training crit and I can give them enough room and latch onto the back.

flaco

I'm the Austinbikes rider. btw, congrats on your pending upgrade, will you be racing masters or cat 3?

roy5000x2

So I ended up being 43rd/~200 in the Indoor TT. 7th/23 in my category (Collegiate Men's). Gotta love the compu trainers. 306.7 average watts and a horrendous 3.33 w/kg. Those numbers looked kinda out of place compared to everyone else on the page.

Can't wait to race...now if only this crappy weather would let up.

Grumpy McTrumpy

how long was the TT?

johnybutts

Lago Vista cat 4. I had one teammate.

He and one other guy went OTF basically from the gun. Someone told me the other rider was strong, and he looked skinny, so I decided it was worth my effort to stall the field.

I used pretty much every trick in the book, false tempo, gaps, boxing in the people who decided to pull so they couldn't get out of the wind for their rotation. It basically was pulled in by 2 guys and I found out one of them (Texas rider) has his 3 upgrade in the bag even before this race. My teammate got about 35 seconds on the field eventually, but despite both his and my efforts, was pulled in by lap 3/7.

The next 2 laps, I spent hiding and trying to recover. Texas was at the front almost the entire time. On lap 6/7 he started attacking, he and one guy got a gap, and I was about 10 m off their wheel and 20m in front of the field, but couldn't close it. Group was brought back together. Attacks start going, nothing gets off. On lap 7/7 a couple of idiots 2 bikes in front of me decide to lean on each other. they go down, the guys in front of me go down, my thought process is "maybe I can make it through without hitting anything... nope" endoed into the dirt, bike was completely fine, I bruised my hip, shoulders are sore, saddle is broken, but fixed with some tape.


I rode through the finish, it was painful

El Diablo Rojo

Hey, you rode great today..the end was BS they should have given us another lap. I'll do the odd 3's race but mostly masters..it really what our team is built for.

El Diablo Rojo

Good job..I watched a couple of laps and the break was killing it when I left. Sorry about your accident but it seems like every race had a some crashes. Some were dumber than others.

waterrockets 

EDR: nicely raced, and you've shown a solid series of in-the-money placings this season. You just needed a run of good health to release the racer inside. Well done.

JB: glad you're ok after going over the bars, and were able to finish

robncircus

My 2 day report I had sent to the team for Callville:

Hi

Just got the internet at the hotel so I thought I'd post an update. FWIW, Ricardo and I are the two here for CAT5. The good: this is my last race as a 5. The bad: I am a slow 5, will be a slower 4, and Ricardo only had me to work with : p

Day 1:

Day 1 was the TT. Ricardo and I left LA at 5:30 AM or so to make sure we were here for the 12:58 and 12:59 start. We got here about 10:30 which gave us plenty of time to warm up. Since the TT didn't start until 12, we were permitted to ride the course. The course was 3.4 miles with 2 rollers and one long (I guess maybe a mile) 6-7% climb at the end. After the last climb, there was a quick descent to the finish. Ricardo and I rode the course and both of us felt good about it. Actually, we both said it's sorta like Mandeville minus the roller part. My start time was 12:58 and Ricardo was around 12:59:30. I will say the start was very well organized and it was easy to find out when/where we were supposed to me.

Now, anyone who knows me or has ridden/raced with me knows that I'm prone to bike failures of some sort. Generally these are flat tires but yesterday was different. I was given the "Go!" and took off riding. Got through the first little climb at the start then there was a short descent. In my infinite wisdom I decided to big-ring the descent to carry as much momentum as possible going into the first roller. Got to the roller and BAM! I can't shift off the big ring. Great. So, my first roller was an unplanned big-ring climb which cost me some crucial energy later on. By the time I hit the second roller, the bike had figured itself out and I had a little ring to spin. About 3/4 of the way through my run the gentleman who started behind me passed. I had asked him in line to at least say "on your left" when he passed (I had a feeling this was going to happen judging his fitness) and he kindly obliged. I finished with a time of 12:19 which put me in 32/43. Ricardo Fared better (not sure on his time) but he was 13/43 at the end of day 1.

Day 2:
After checking the weather, it looked like we were going to see a repeat of Boulevard today. Weather called for 90% chance of rain and 40 degrees. Nice. Our race started at 7:20 so we got there about 6:30 to get warmed up. It hadn't started to rain so deciding what to wear was a challenge. I went with the trusty military issued undershirt beneath my jersey, arm warmers, toe warmers, and thick argyle socks from Gap. Someone at the start called me a hipster . Anyway, after warm-up we made our way to the line and were in the front where we should be. This race had better organization Boulevard and had a wheel truck behind each group of riders. However, after flatting 8 miles into Boulevard I took no chances and brought a flat kit.

The whistle blew and off we went. The start of this race was the TT from the day before so we all knew the course by that point. Ricardo and I maintained up front positioning for most of the start until I was dropped 3/4 of the way through the final TT climb. However, due to being small and thick I was able to catch back on during the descent. The first 13 or so miles were rollers. Lots of rollers. The race was going well and seemed safer than other road races I had done. I was able to make my way back to the front of the pack to hang with Ricardo and work for him if need be. However, there was a climb just before the first turnaround point and a rider attacked. I didn't think anyone would go for it but the group took off. So, I was dropped again.

After that I was off the back. I teamed up with another rider and we chased our way to probably within 30 seconds of the group but we both lack that last bit of fitness to get back on. The race continued and was more rollers. And more rollers.

In the end, I think I probably held my same positioning in the GC just due to how many CAT 5s we passed finishing up the road race. Ricardo felt he was around 19th or so across the line but when we left they hadn't posted official results yet. They did say at the beginning the race was 39 miles but it was more like 44.

In the end, so far so good. I think we're both having fun and we didn't get rained on today. Tomorrow is the crit and I anticipate a strong showing from us if all goes well. Wish more people had come but there's always next year.

Cheers

rob

tosterbe

1st Race Ever - Cat 5 Snelling Road Race

4 laps of ~12ish miles plus a neutral rollout.

Lots of standing water on the course. One section of about 30 yards was 4-6 inches deep. We were warned that there was debris in the water.
Hung with the peloton for the 1st lap and learned that if you mark a man then starts to fall OTB, find another one. There is a right turn after the finish line. I got stuck off the back at the turn as wasn't able to reel in the group.

Had a blast even getting dropped. Quite an experience trying to chase back on and then getting lapped by the 3s Freight Train.

Pics to follow once I find 'em.

That is all.

tspek

Welcome to the party

TheStott

Team Nature's Path Crit @ Richmond International Raceway
Cat 5

Let me start by saying that for the past 2 months, the winter weather here has been terrible. If it wasn't laying down 2 feet of snow, we had 25mph winds. In the immortal words of Lewis Black, "It has been an utter dog**** winter." I had ridden my trainer so much during December, I haven't even been able to look at it without wanting to vomit recently. Going into today's race, I knew I wasn't physiologically prepared. Since December, I've been on my bike maybe 5 times. My hopes were that everybody else was in the same boat that I was in. I was wrong..

I met my friend Poon (yes, that's his name) early this morning, and headed down to the race track. I was excited to be racing a bike at RIR, where NASCAR races are held. Arriving at the event totally lived up to my expectations. We got to drive through the tunnel, into the infield, and walk right out onto the track. Very cool. When we arrived, the women's class was underway, so we stood and watched them until they were finished. Next up were the juniors. We watched them take off, then headed back to the truck to get dressed. Obviously, I didn't judge my time well. By the time I got fully dressed, put my bike on the trainer, and inflated the tires, I only had about 5 minutes to warm up. This was a pretty big error (obviously). Next, we lined up at the start and got underway. Let me say here, that the wind was atrocious. However, since the track is shaped in an oval, we went about 30mph on one side, and around 15-20mph on the other! This wasn't necessarily a bad thing, though, because it meant that anybody trying to break away would just get caught once we turned into the wind. For the first few laps, I found myself on the inside of the track, which made it nearly impossible to make any significant passes. I passed a handful, but ended up getting passed by the same few once we slowed down in the wind. It was like an accordian. About half way through the race, I had worked my way to the outside, and made a pretty good jump to the front, finding myself looking at second place. I knew that once we turned into the wind, I'd be in trouble without anyone to draft in front of me, so I worked my way back into the pack. All in all, things went well throughout most of the race. There was great communication in the group, and I didn't notice any rude or obnoxious riding. With 3 laps to go, I wasn't paying attention, and fell off the back of a fast break away. Somebody (wayyyyyy strong) jumped from the back, all the way to the front, and kept going. The rest of the field followed. "No problem", I thought, "I'll just catch back up when they slow down, when they hit the wind." Well, the problem was, that they NEVER slowed back down!! Once I came around the turn, and saw the group pulling away, I made an all-out effort for about 30 seconds, before realizing that I wasn't making any progress in the wind, and the group was steadily disappearing. Oops. A pretty rookie mistake, to get caught not paying attention, and get dropped that quickly.
You can imagine how the remaining couple laps went. Since I had lost the back of the pack, I had nobody to help me work through the wind and it wasn't long before my lungs couldn't keep up with my legs. At that point, I just told myself that I wouldn't quit, and that if nothing else, I was going to finish the race on my own. Which is exactly what I did. Dead last. I suppose the silver lining in this story is that by being as far back as I had gotten by the finish, I missed being in the massive crash at the end, which sent 3 riders to the hospital via ambulance. I can finally say that I finished a bike race without crashing! (I crashed in my last 2 XC mountain bike races, and flatted in my first road race last fall.)

Lessons learned:
1. Train, train, train. I was ill-prepared, and I knew it.
2. Nutrition. In the excitement, I had forgotten to eat some simple carbs prior to starting the race. Breakfast wasn't sufficient, either, and was about 4 hrs prior to my start. I had also forgotten to take my dose of Sport Legs.
3. Allow enough time to warm up. Duh.
4. Pay attention. Although all breaks are not important, when the entire field jumps...I'll go with them next time, and quickly!

Ston_ar

Snelling was nice today. Rained early, but pavement was dry by the end for us.
I was in the 4's field, 5 laps. Spent the first 3 laps bouncing back and forth between the front and about 20 spots back. A 3 man break got off the front and had about a minute advantage by the start of the 4th lap. No one was pulling so I decided to go to the front and lay it down for a bit to see if I could get some movement out of some of the bigger teams, or at least thin the pack down in the crosswind sections. I managed to string the group out, but couldn't do much damage by myself. About halfway through the lap me and another guy just kinda rolled off the front, got a 5 or so second gap and decided to drill it. I felt like I was going to die bridging up to the break through a headwind that was picking up as the race went along. We caught the break and managed to start working pretty well together. The 5 of us built up a nice 2 min or so advantage before the last couple miles when we started playing games, attacking and such in set up for the finish. We dropped one of the guys, so we were down to 4.
At 1k to go there was about 500 m of a cross wind then the road turned into the wind and went uphill. I didn't remember how bad the wind was or how steep the little hill was, and I jumped around the corner hoping to get a bit of a gap. I dropped one guy, but got passed by the other 2, ended up 3rd.
I'm happy with it, I've had a string of good results so far this season, getting in lots of breaks, just haven't sealed the deal yet. That and only another 2 pts til my upgrade

El Diablo Rojo

There's a party?

umd

Good job rob, that's a tough course. Looks like you were 33rd or so, I think about 12 min back.

Road race was ok for me, but I was hurting for most of it until about the last 8 miles. I positioned myself well at the end but an accident at the finish of the previous race complicated things and I never really sprinted, coasted in for maybe 15th. There were a few ahead in a break, I was having a hard time getting anywhere near the front until near the end so I wasn't able to try anything. Our race was about 5-10 miles shirt depending on whether you believe the flyer or the bible. Our turnaround was only about a mile past the 4s turnaround. We were at mile 28 and it was supposed to be at 32.

robncircus

Thanks Steve. Today was eye opening. I normally do 25-30 mile rides but will add some longer stuff now. Not to say I don't do longer stuff... I just tend to gravitate to shorter routes. Fun race but today was hard. Tomorrow though we have a plan and I do much better in crits. We'll see what happens

esammuli

Callville Stage 3 RR was insane. It was 90 miles of climbs, rollers, dirt, gravel, mud, rain and wind. I clawed my way to the final selection that occurred at ~40 miles on a climb with a series of 6-8 gravel sections. Only about 25-30 guys made the lead group and I'm pretty sure some of the guys ahead of me in the GC didn't make it. I'm hoping that I'll move up a few places.

Tomorrow afternoon is a 60 minute crit with a sweeping U-turn and a short climb. I'll have to keep on my toes, it could be a tough race.

kudude

What team are you on? I couldn't make snelling, but I"ll be in merced for at least one of the races next weekend.

mazdatech10

yes wasn't those water crossings fun, and they tasted so good

ridethecliche

Nom nom nom