badhat

sweeeet

BF's own brianappleby had an exciting weekend out there as well. hes traveling today i think, so his report will have to wait.

sounds like it was a great event. i might try again to make it out next year, as i grew up out there and still visit regularly.

agoodale

Nice! I'll mark you...I mean look forward to seeing you at the Tour de Murrieta in 2 weeks.

spinwax

Yes, most definitely. Make sure to introduce yourself.

It was a fun race. I was off the bike all last season with knee surgeries and with my arthritis getting so bad it's nice to have weeks it doesn't get in the way of riding hard.

I thought I had the crit won. I went off the front the last lap and just blew up a few meters from the finish and got swallowed up by the sprinters. It was cool because friends of mine took 1st and 3rd.

Everyone was so nice. Stage races are fun because you really become friends with the guys your ride with for 3 days. I love that. It is what makes racing so cool.

danahs

nice job this weekend. you looked strong out there. RR was difficult.

I didn't realize this was you (your screen name) until now. (I am the tall guy in the à bloc kit)

keep up the good work...

waterrockets 

+1 spinwax

spinwax

Yeah! I remember you. Did you have fun? Looks like you did well.

Thanks for the props guys. It has been a difficult yr so far with my knee issues and being sick for almost 4 weeks leading up to this race. These young kids are so fast. Hell, the old dudes are fast. It's tough out there.

Hope to see all you guys out at the races. It is really cool to meet new folks and end up with some life long friendships.

tanhalt

Ahem...are you SURE you were awarded 1st place for the RR? I think a teammate of mine might take issue with that... ;-)

spinwax

No, I was relegated to 19th in the RR and my first was taken away for my dumbass no hands move (after the line) that caused Tucker to crash. I blew it. I felt terrible for him. I am glad they gave him the win; he is a very nice kid with lots of talent. I really screwed up. Lesson learned. I paid for that screw up big time in skin, equipment, clothes and ego. I apologized to Trucker the whole field numerous times for my screw up. I was caught up in the moment. I am not afraid to admit my screw up. Never again will I f up like that.

tanhalt

...and yet, you left that part out

What's with you guys from Las Vegas raising your hands after a Cat 4 win and then promptly crashing? Don't you guys know there's a rule against removing your hands from the bars?

(In case you can't tell...I'm just busting your [and Nathan's too] balls a little bit)

spinwax

Yes, I left that part out. I have been getting ribbed for 2 days straight Like I said, I felt terrible about it. I know the rules; I broke them and I paid the price as did Tucker for my bonehead move. Not my normal style. I got caught up in the moment. Sunday's crit was very painful physically. I was for sure I was going to get a DQ. I am lucky they let me keep my overall and give me a same time as the finishing field (what was left of it). It was down to 19 guys by the finish.

Edit. I thought about mentioning it. I know how this place is and didn't want to deal with the aftermath. I should have known it would come no matter what. My bad.

It's cool. I deserve the ball bustin. I probably should have been relegated back to the 5s

mattm

Still sounds like you did some good racing, spinwax.

spinwax

Thanks Matt. We all make mistakes. Mine was pretty sucky.

Here is the finish. This is what remained of the original 67 starters for stage II. Tucker is on the left and was eventually given the stage win because of my screw up. I am glad he got it. A strong and nice kid. I am grateful I got to keep my GC going into the third stage.

save10

Snelling Road Race
middle of nowhere, CA
35+ Cat4
distance - 49 miles
Field- 40-50?
Result- 15 (approx)

There was rumor of possible snow. But the afternoon race was warm and pleasant.

Had been sick for a week and not been on my bike for two weeks...no trainer or rollers or anything. Still thinking a top 10 was possible. Started to cramp in both calves with 4km to go. Was still able to fight for a top five wheel in the final Km's and was approx 8th wheel going around the important final corner. But the cramping got worse and as the sprint started I couldn't hold any wheels and lost a few spots.

About as good as it was gonna go given the circumstances.


also...nice stuff spinwax

agoodale

spinwax are you cat 4 or 3? If 4 then I don't have to worry about you. I'll point you out to our cat 4 squad

not busting your *****. just want to make sure the keep you in check since they probably haven't raced with you before.

merlinextraligh

Everybody makes mistakes. I wouldn't worry about it anymore.

However, one thing they teach in Trial Advocacy is that when your opponent has damaging information on you, you bring it up first, and diffuse it. It takes the sting out of it, and its much less harmful than if your opponent mentions it first.

Same thing is true in Public Relations, you lay out the bad facts first and deal with them before your competitors, detractors get to.

Works on BF too, deal with the negative issue first and no one can bust your balls about it.

And congratulations on the strong riding.

tanhalt

Don't forget the "Whoah, whoah...Oh ****" moment

spinwax

Agreed. I was gonna mention the relegation and my screw up, I just didn't think it was worth the hassle. No biggie, I went about it the wrong way. My bad.

Racer Ex 

I can send you some instructional video if you want.

Actually the first RR I won I nearly did the same thing. Bad crosswind but I was going to get those hands up dammit.

Good/bad job I guess. Strong ride in any case. Congrats. Wish I had been there.

ridethecliche

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!!!

That's incredible.

Spinwax, you should frame that picture. Or someone needs to photoshop it and write 'FAIL' all over it.

spinwax

I grabbed those bars quick and over corrected. That was the end of that celebration.

spinwax

Nah, no need for the video. Hands on the bars at all times. I use to put them up all the time as a Jr. Too old for that crap now. LOL.

Too bad you couldn't make it. The race was a lot of fun. Hope you are feeling better and maybe you can make it next yr.

spinwax

Thanks, you too! Cramps suck, I deal with them as well. You still pulled out a good finish for the suffering you were dealing with. Good stuff!

brianappleby

My callville experience: 4 days in the Cat 2's.

Day 1, flatted, chased alone. Got back. Wrong side of a separation in the wind/rollers, chased w/ 6 guys. Caught the group. Pack time. Actually I got caught behind some guy who crashed sprinting for 15th and lost 3 seconds.
You do realize that beyond bragging rights that there is absolutely no reason to sprint in a stage race without time bonuses? I just don't get it.

Day 2, 6th in the TT. Uphill, VERY windy. Tail in the directionway. Thanks for the advice. All of the winners had Discs or Covers. The winner in the 2's was on a road frame w/ clip-ons, but a disc rear. He also won by 42 seconds over 2nd. All of the other high placers were on TT bikes. 2-10th were only separated by a few more seconds.

Day 3, Effing rainy 80 mile road race. I attacked alone with 15ish miles left in the race and won by 24 seconds. Enough to put me 2nd in GC.

Day 4. I hate crits. Pack time, no change in GC. Another crash in the final corner but the administration didn't hand out time gaps.

This was my first 2-only race and I'm thrilled. Racing without teammates is lonely and difficult, but I made some acquaintances and ended up ok. It would have taken 29 additional seconds to get me into 1st place, and in retrospect, over the course of my hour plus off the front, I probably could have found 30 seconds. In truth, I was giving it all I had, and without serious motivation or at least a time split from somebody, there was no way I was going any faster.


Narcissistic edit: Are there any pictures out there of the Cat2 field? All I've seen so far are the pros.

badhat

good show dude.

i hear you RE crits. the only time i ever have fun in crits is in SRs where I (and most of the other GC guys) are jsut trying to finish with the pack and not be heroes.

esammuli

Nice ride! I went with the TT bike and the disc cover and I'm glad I did. That tailwind was crazy compared to last year. I did similar power (and similar equipment) and went 40 seconds faster.

Edit: Now you just need to grab 10 more points. I bet you could get them at Tucson. Sounds like I'll be seeing you in the P/1 next year.