Monkeyclaw

It was a 2/3/4 race, not masters. That race report was a copy of the one I sent to my team with names removed. The CAPITALS were for emphasis, not yelling. The 'berating' was me saying 'Come on, dude' in an annoyed but not loud voice. The lesson was for the new racers on the team to think about pedaling first and worry about clipping in after they are moving. I was lined up at the back because they started the line-up and race several minutes early (my teammate and several others almost missed the start). The gap probably wasn't 100m, that's probably about what it took to catch up to them.

On the last lap of the race as I was starting my attack, the guy leading out the group pulled off with his head down and almost went into the curb sideways. He looked up at the last second, bobbled and saved himself but slowed several of us down. I was far enough out that I could get around without too much issue and still have a reasonable finish. Guess who this guy was...?

In any case, a missed clip-in should be virtually imperceptible to the rest of the racers. I've been in crits where a hesitation at the start meant chasing for half the race or getting dropped altogether (luckily not to me).

aaronmcd

Idk, I assume most people fumble with a clip in occasionally. Factor in how many people are racing, and someone's gonna fumble fairly often, no? I always look at the pedal and take my time (meaning 1.5 seconds instead of 0.75), to reduce the chances. But I miss every now and then while riding.

I wouldn't want to pedal hard before clipping in though. Maybe one or two revs easy. I'd rather hold someone up than hard pedal without being clipped in.

shovelhd

Then line up at the back and let us stomp and go guys get going.

hack

I have had great luck with speedplays. I may miss a direct clip in now and then, but I'm typically able to still pedal well enough that I don't impede the flow of traffic and then I just clip in on the next down stroke.

nosignature

first day racing in 4's last weekend, was extremely passive (and hungover, and tired on 3 hours of sleep) in the actual 4's race, woke up, got some calories, and resolved to race aggressively in the 30+ field, won a prime and took 8th.

So entirely inconsistent and inconclusive, essentially a summation of every time I throw a leg over the saddle. But it blew my mind how much smoother and faster the 4's were through corners.

Ygduf

Early Bird RR
p123s all combined
4th/15ish?

There were only 3 p12 racers so they combined with the 12 or 15 3s who showed up. Race is out and back, 22mi, rolling uphill with 1.5mi of steep climbing at the turnaround.

Our race turned into a small selection quickly, about 8 guys. The 3 12s were with us, and they had their race within a race and it sucked the life out of ours a bit. Can't fault them. But a three would go up the road, then another. Then one of the 12s would go and the other 2 had to react and that was enough that we were all dragged up.

There was a break of 3 for about 10 of the outbound miles, but we could see them and just closed it down pretty easily on the climb.

Turnaround, downhill, all together. A couple of attempts to get away, but hard to do at 30mph down 1%. Very easy to sit on.

Group sprint. I did alright, I went about 10s later than I should have. Wanted to go early, jump on the response, then go again to the finish. I did that, but ran out of time to make up the few places as the line rushed up. Snap. Oh well, fun day. No crashes, got to play at the end.

aaronmcd

Also did Early Bird RR
Cat 5, see above for course.
3rd/20-something-ish. Maybe 30 at the start.

I led the way at upper tempo for the first few miles, and then dropped back "into the pack". Or so I thought - after a bit I turned around and saw no one but the mentor. He told me a few guys already got dropped. Anyway, we continued at what felt like your grandmothers pace for like 15 miles. I didn't want to break it up and be stuck working hard with the better climbers though. A few miles from the steep climb, I rode to the front and set the pace for a few miles - nice easy tempo, but no one wanted to work yet so they let me keep is pretty easy. A few minutes from the climb, I pulled back to 3rd or so to get a minuscule draft before the climb. Somehow the field got split here...

The climb started with a very steep section. I very carefully shifted into my 34 (my worst fear was dropping the chain at this part). The climb completely scattered the field. 2 guys got to the top about 30 sec ahead of me, and 3 more guys were distributed between. Hit the peak and turned around - I knew I had about 2 miles to make up as much time as I could during the winding descent. Flew past 2 guys. A couple miles later I caught up with the mentor and a 3rd guy. I tried to work with him, but after 2 pulls I looked back and he was dropping. I eased up and he told me he didn't have legs, so I dropped him and kept hammering alone (with the mentor drafting me) for several miles. Ref told me 30 seconds. Damn, I wasn't gaining. A few miles later ref told me 1 minute, and I looked back and a few guys were gaining on me. 7 miles left. This wasn't going to work, so I eased up. The guys caught me with 4 miles to go.

It was a mix of cat 4s and 5s playing leapfrog. Spent a few minutes figuring out who was who: there were 3 other cat 5s. Hill finish. I stayed at the back until just under 200m to go, then sprinted around the others and ended up with 3rd place!

hack

Great result. Are you close to your 10 races for upgrade now?

aaronmcd

8 points, plus a hill climb finish and an almost finish. I'll officially have the points tomorrow. But I'll do another in cat 5 because I have to coach a gymnastics meet during the 4s race. I'll do the last Early Bird as a 4.

hack

Good stuff. You are remember to count the races with mentors as 2 races?

mattm

Nice job Aaron & Fudgy!!

aaronmcd

I was not counting Red Kite as 2. Doesn't make a difference at this point anyway.

furiousferret

Great job Aaron and fudgy!!!!111

tetonrider

i don't like "race together; scored separate" for this reason, regardless of field size.

hack

Early bird crit Cat 4 - Hayward. Simple, flat, business park course about 1.2 miles in length.

2nd of maybe 40 or so

Unlike the last race, I did not chase breaks and saved some juice for the final kick. Aside from one guy taking about 6 laps solo, there were no breaks and we all worked well together. So, it came down to positioning on the last lap. I was able to move up to about 5th wheel with less than half a lap to go. With 400m to go the wheel I was on seemed to be done and guys were coming in on us in a hurry. So, I jumped hard and started my sprint...much earlier than I'd hoped for. I was able to take the sprint all the way to about 20m left and just bonked. Got passed by one rider and held on for second. Meh, would have been happier with a win, but it's progress.

aaronmcd

Early Bird crit #3
Cat 5, 2 races
First race (under 30): 1/~27
Second race (30-44): 11/44

Race 1:
After doing a lot of pulling and attacking last week, I decided to sit near the back, conserve energy, and move up at the end and win. And it happened just like I hoped. Small field, so I stayed back until the final lap before moving up to the front half. Half a lap to go, a few guys took off, and I rode the chasers pretty well. Each time someone stoped accelerating, I jumped around and grabbed a better position. Finally latched onto a chain of 2 guys (different kits, but I think they were teamed up). Front guy moved off and the other guy picked it up but it was a bit early and he didn't jump hard. He looked back and saw me, and moved across the road so I just went as hard as I could for the last 15 or 20 seconds. A guy started to catch up on my left, giving me more motivation. Crossed the line gaining distance on him (that part was important to me haha).

Race 2:
Bigger field made things different. There was a bad yoyo effect, but that was more due to bad lines and slowing through the corners. Crash right in front of me mid race and I narrowly avoided it. Everyone got a rest on a neutral lap. I moved up second to last lap. Last lap it was hard to keep my position, and I let myself drift back a couple places trying to save a bit longer. Couldn't find good wheels that were moving up towards the end, so I saw a lot of wind and struggled to pass maybe 5 people. Kept going hard but didn't sprint all out once I saw that I wasn't in contention.

hack

Awesome work!

mattm

Nice!

Rad dude!

You should start working on getting on a team btw - even though it's kinda late, there's maybe still time. The last Early Bird has a "meet the teams" thing where you can talk to them etc. Find the one you like (based on people, kits, whatever) and pick it.

You're strong enough to have fun in this sport, but there's so much more to it than that an eventually you'll want team mates and people to learn from.

mattm

Early Bird crit p/1/2's.

2nd out of 15 or so.

Small field, I blame it on the silly game going on this afternoon..

Break of 4 of us got away with 30' to go, halfway through the race. Guy I had my eye on was waiting for his team (Squadra) to pull back the break, and when they did he went. So I went too and we worked well together. Eventually a 5th guy bridged up, and we rode away into the sunset.

Didn't feel all that hard since we rode really smoothly. Two guys were skipping pulls now and then, couldn't tell if they were really gassed or just faking it.. so with 3 to go I jumped to see who still anything in their legs, everyone latched on.

Last lap, games begin. Love it! Nobody wants to be on the front, etc. After turn 3 one kid jumped hard, I got on his wheel.. he held it hard around the last sweeper, still with ~250m to go.. I hesitated for a few seconds which I think cost me the race. I assumed we'd dropped the other guys, but by the time I started to really go around, Squadra dude was coming by me fast.. note to self, DON'T HOLD BACK IN THE SPRINT!!

So it goes, but it was a good workout!

hack

Not too shabby at all. Can't wait for next weekend and some real racing.

furiousferret

Great job Aaron, Matt and Hack!

Some seriously impressive results. Top 3's all around you guys crushed it!

ovoleg

Looks like a good result I don't know about a good workout rofl.

Good job man!

guttertech

Avondale Criterium - three races
First race - 30+ 4/5 - 2nd/45
Second race - cat 5 - 10th/34
Third race - cat 5 - 2nd/33

Race 1:
Pretty sedate. Spent most of the race getting a feel for the course (running very late so I didn't pre-ride it). Felt very good and some teammates drilled it on the last lap to help me get good position. Sprinted into second place just behind the winner. I think I just jumped a little too late and didn't use him to lead me out.

Race 2:
Three guys broke away on the second lap. Being a cat 5 race, I figured there was no way they were going to stay away. Well, um, they stayed away. I made a couple really hard efforts to bridge, but nobody wanted to work with me. Looking at my heart rate averages, I worked so hard in that race that, had I made the "wrong" decision and went with the early break, I could have definitely contended for the finish. As it was, I sort of just sat in after a while. A really frustrating race overall, but a good learning experience in terms of race and fitness awareness.

Race 3:
This race was immediately after the second one - as in, I took my rest lap and then lined up. I felt surprisingly good and just tried to stay near the front and conserve myself. I got myself into really great position for the last lap and sprinted into second again, this time missing the cut by maybe three inches.

I've had three podiums in my last four races, so I suppose I can't complain, but I really wanted a W today! At least now I can upgrade to cat 4 and see how much harder it gets.

Ygduf

I'm proud of you guys. Racing, writing short reports, AND putting the results up front!

mattm

Yeah can't wait!!

Thanks.

It was a great workout btw - especially after 90 mile team ride yesterday, and considering I'm in Build!