2014 Race Results Thread
03-29-14, 08:24 PM
#901
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Sacramento, California, USA
Posts: 40,865
Bikes: Specialized Tarmac, Canyon Exceed, Specialized Transition, Ellsworth Roots, Ridley Excalibur
Mentioned: 68 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2952 Post(s)
Liked 3,106 Times
in
1,417 Posts
Nice job, Aaron! I flatted myself out before most of those crashes. Kinda glad I did. But also a little annoyed because I was feeling a bit fitter than expected. Well, whatever. It was still a nice day for a bike ride. And I found somebody's Joule and brought it up to Reg. So got a few in the karma bank, I guess.
We had five in the race but couldn't execute any tactics. I flatted, one teammate was DQ'ed for centerline, another had seat post issues and rode 50 miles with the saddle nose pointing down, and one got caught out by a crash and couldn't chase back on. Pretty much anything that could go wrong did.
That's racing, I guess.
We had five in the race but couldn't execute any tactics. I flatted, one teammate was DQ'ed for centerline, another had seat post issues and rode 50 miles with the saddle nose pointing down, and one got caught out by a crash and couldn't chase back on. Pretty much anything that could go wrong did.
That's racing, I guess.
03-29-14, 08:27 PM
#902
Junior Member
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 17
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Maybe so. I've put in a lot of work this season, made a lot of progress, and seen some good results recently, but I'll keep your perspective in mind next time I think about posting a report. How have your races been going?
03-29-14, 08:34 PM
#903
Banned.
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 1,497
Bikes: Black Incs
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
I've noticed that whenever someone is happy Miley does his best to make them think their happiness is unwarranted and undeserved.
That's weak sauce, dude. You don't have to share someone's happiness but for Christ's sake let them enjoy it instead of trying to make them feel worthless. If the state champ race is meaningless at anything other than cat 1 then why award winners and give jerseys? Actually I just decided that some schmuck cat1 should never feel satisfied with a win because unless it's a grand tour it doesn't count.
/endrant. Going back to being done with you.
That's weak sauce, dude. You don't have to share someone's happiness but for Christ's sake let them enjoy it instead of trying to make them feel worthless. If the state champ race is meaningless at anything other than cat 1 then why award winners and give jerseys? Actually I just decided that some schmuck cat1 should never feel satisfied with a win because unless it's a grand tour it doesn't count.
/endrant. Going back to being done with you.
03-29-14, 08:57 PM
#904
**** that
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: CALI
Posts: 15,402
Mentioned: 151 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1099 Post(s)
Liked 104 Times
in
30 Posts
Arizona State Criterium Championships
Cat 4
1/40ish
We had about five guys in the field. Plan A was to get one of our guys in a breakaway and, if that didn't work, keep me up front in case of a sprint finish. Our breakaway guy took off solo after a prime lap and we kept rotating up front and easing off the throttle just enough to give him space. This lasted for about ten minutes until he got reeled back in - I was hoping a couple other racers would bridge up sooner because they could have been long gone.
So Plan B. With a few laps to go, our guys got to the front (including breakaway guy) and started setting a fast pace. This discouraged some attacks and kept me in good position. On the last lap, two guys from another team attacked and I followed their wheels to use them as my leadout. I jumped before the last corner knowing that their lead rider wouldn't be able to respond from working the entire lap and that their sprinter wouldn't be able to react in time. And, well, it worked.
Fun race, great teamwork, great result.
Cat 4
1/40ish
We had about five guys in the field. Plan A was to get one of our guys in a breakaway and, if that didn't work, keep me up front in case of a sprint finish. Our breakaway guy took off solo after a prime lap and we kept rotating up front and easing off the throttle just enough to give him space. This lasted for about ten minutes until he got reeled back in - I was hoping a couple other racers would bridge up sooner because they could have been long gone.
So Plan B. With a few laps to go, our guys got to the front (including breakaway guy) and started setting a fast pace. This discouraged some attacks and kept me in good position. On the last lap, two guys from another team attacked and I followed their wheels to use them as my leadout. I jumped before the last corner knowing that their lead rider wouldn't be able to respond from working the entire lap and that their sprinter wouldn't be able to react in time. And, well, it worked.
Fun race, great teamwork, great result.
a win is a win, don't worry about any nay-saying.
03-29-14, 09:22 PM
#906
**** that
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: CALI
Posts: 15,402
Mentioned: 151 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1099 Post(s)
Liked 104 Times
in
30 Posts
san dimas cat 2 stage race so far: improved my tt time by almost a minute over last year, still got 80th lol. (out of 86 total)
road race today went much better - last year I went otb the last time up the climb; this year I was in the top 10 over it on the last lap. didn't position well for the sprint and got maybe 20th. I was at least there to see the sprint, so maybe I can actually play a part in it next year.
crit tomorrow, that's what I'm really here for!
road race today went much better - last year I went otb the last time up the climb; this year I was in the top 10 over it on the last lap. didn't position well for the sprint and got maybe 20th. I was at least there to see the sprint, so maybe I can actually play a part in it next year.
crit tomorrow, that's what I'm really here for!
03-29-14, 09:55 PM
#907
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 122
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
SDSR Cat 4, Stage 4
Came into the trial extremely underprepared, yes, excuses abound ie 70 hour workweeks, but I'm still kicking myself for not training more intelligently. Whatever, my goal was the road race, it's over most of our local Wednesday hammerfest roads and it plays to my strengths (sharp climbs, fast descents). Had a teammate in the top 10 as well, and we made the typical absurdly idealistic tactics on how we would get him time.
After waiting an hour and half for the course to be checked for earthquake damage, we roll out in the worst example of a neutral start possible. I felt amazing, drilled it up the first climb to position my teammate (and wound up with the strava KOM, it was my sole moment of glory), and was going great up the second climb when someone crashed two wheels in front of me (yep, on the climb). Had to brake and unclip to scoot around him, didn't clip in fast enough and lost all of my momentum. Whatever, a descent and flat follows, easy catch, right?
As soon as I crest the climb, a rider about 5 wheels up crashes as another rider simultaneously executes the most WTF move I've ever seen (rides off the road onto an embankment and ricochet's his bike back across the road, blocking us all. Fantastic, another gap to close. After making it safely down and scooting around some guys, I start to sprint to make up what now is about a 30 second gap to the group with my teammate. And...just...don't....have it.
A lap later after chasing like a moron in the wind, I come down the same descent and find my teammate on the side of the road getting a wheel from neutral support. I proceed to bury myself to get him to the next group on the road. We're in a group of maybe 10, only 3 of whom are even working, and I slot to the back to recover. The gap to the group balloons, and we get caught by the 3rd place rider (who had also crashed) with a teammate. He's clearly panicking, and I jump in the rotation with them. We close the gap again to maybe 5 seconds, almost reach-across-and-pinch them distance, and I blow again, this time for good. Over 40 guys either DNF'd or were time-cut, so there's that small measure of dignity.
Wasn't time cut, which was all that mattered at that point. Rode in with some guys dropped by the group ahead and I get to start tomorrow. Ridiculous day of racing, but a fun experience, made more so because I was only caught behind crashes, and not on the ground.
Came into the trial extremely underprepared, yes, excuses abound ie 70 hour workweeks, but I'm still kicking myself for not training more intelligently. Whatever, my goal was the road race, it's over most of our local Wednesday hammerfest roads and it plays to my strengths (sharp climbs, fast descents). Had a teammate in the top 10 as well, and we made the typical absurdly idealistic tactics on how we would get him time.
After waiting an hour and half for the course to be checked for earthquake damage, we roll out in the worst example of a neutral start possible. I felt amazing, drilled it up the first climb to position my teammate (and wound up with the strava KOM, it was my sole moment of glory), and was going great up the second climb when someone crashed two wheels in front of me (yep, on the climb). Had to brake and unclip to scoot around him, didn't clip in fast enough and lost all of my momentum. Whatever, a descent and flat follows, easy catch, right?
As soon as I crest the climb, a rider about 5 wheels up crashes as another rider simultaneously executes the most WTF move I've ever seen (rides off the road onto an embankment and ricochet's his bike back across the road, blocking us all. Fantastic, another gap to close. After making it safely down and scooting around some guys, I start to sprint to make up what now is about a 30 second gap to the group with my teammate. And...just...don't....have it.
A lap later after chasing like a moron in the wind, I come down the same descent and find my teammate on the side of the road getting a wheel from neutral support. I proceed to bury myself to get him to the next group on the road. We're in a group of maybe 10, only 3 of whom are even working, and I slot to the back to recover. The gap to the group balloons, and we get caught by the 3rd place rider (who had also crashed) with a teammate. He's clearly panicking, and I jump in the rotation with them. We close the gap again to maybe 5 seconds, almost reach-across-and-pinch them distance, and I blow again, this time for good. Over 40 guys either DNF'd or were time-cut, so there's that small measure of dignity.
Wasn't time cut, which was all that mattered at that point. Rode in with some guys dropped by the group ahead and I get to start tomorrow. Ridiculous day of racing, but a fun experience, made more so because I was only caught behind crashes, and not on the ground.
03-29-14, 09:55 PM
#908
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Alpenrose - Portland
Posts: 361
Bikes: Veloforma for my primary.
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
The cat 3/4/5 races are important as those are the guys that will be moving up to replace the 1/2 guys in the future. And the old guys ... we don't matter much at all, if we did we would race the 1/2 race.
Congrats on your state champs in any division, a race is a race and you still have to outgun the rest, and the promoters need all the groups to show up to make money.
03-29-14, 10:23 PM
#909
Banned.
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 1,497
Bikes: Black Incs
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
So what about the junior and women races, too pointless to even dog on?
The cat 3/4/5 races are important as those are the guys that will be moving up to replace the 1/2 guys in the future. And the old guys ... we don't matter much at all, if we did we would race the 1/2 race.
Congrats on your state champs in any division, a race is a race and you still have to outgun the rest, and the promoters need all the groups to show up to make money.
The cat 3/4/5 races are important as those are the guys that will be moving up to replace the 1/2 guys in the future. And the old guys ... we don't matter much at all, if we did we would race the 1/2 race.
Congrats on your state champs in any division, a race is a race and you still have to outgun the rest, and the promoters need all the groups to show up to make money.
Unfortunately it sounds like we lost about $1200 on this race, as most teams this year lost money on their races. The scene is bad this year, I think the largest field I saw was one I was in that had 52, ugh. My 30-39 age group at state crit tomorrow has 6... SIX!
03-29-14, 10:49 PM
#910
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Saratoga, CA
Posts: 74
Bikes: Leopard M1SL
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Turlock Lake Road Race
Category: 35+ Masters 4/5
Race: Turlock Lake Road Race
Teammates: None
Field: 70
Weather: 70 and overcast
Report: I am not a sprinter. I have plenty of aerobic power, but I can only do maybe 800W for 10s when I'm rested. Turlock isn't well suited to me, but when family schedules are arranged, you need to make room for some B races and this one fit. Biggest field I have ever raced in. First lap was incredibly tame, with the exception of occasional surges on some rollers. While the entire course is closed, there is a centerline rule in effect in a few spots and all of Keyes road. I was worried about being out of position on Keyes given how narrow it was going to be and this was a good call. In general, I did a good job of maintaining good position the entire day, always staying in the top 5-10 riders but spending little time in the wind.
There were several attacks throughout the day, many of them solo that went nowhere. An attacker would get maybe 20s on the field and then just sit out there and slowly get reeled in even without anybody actively chasing. At one point some guy from Team Revolutions went off the front only to have his own team slowly real him back in... In retrospect I should have seen these as weak riders, but during the race all I thought to myself is that there was no chance for anybody to get away. My original intent had been to attack in the rollers section on Hawkins, but lots of people had the same idea so it turned into a bit of a slugfest there, good racing. I finally decided i\'m going to wait for 1k and then give it everything I\'ve got.
The pace after Hawkins was more subdued with everyone sitting in waiting for the inevitable sprint finish. I saw 3k to go and got ready to make my move. At 1k to go I was 3rd wheel and I hit it hard. Off the front with one guy on my wheel and we had a gap, maybe 30m. I gave it everything I had. Redline. It got quiet. Like I was out riding all by myself. I kept waiting for that inevitable ruhr ruhr sound of the tires as sprinters jump out of the saddle. I saw the finish line, and started to get emotional. 200m to go, and then they came around. I was cooked. I tried to jump again but there was nothing left. I rolled in mid pack.
So, what would I change? If I wanted a top 10 finish, I probably could have just waited and played in the field sprint. No way I could have won, but I would have gotten some upgrade points. Maybe. What if I had taken off earlier at 3k to go instead? What if I had tried to initiate a break on Keyes were the pace was slow? I shouldn\'t have been scared to try this.
Looking at the ride data, there are a couple of things I noticed. First, is that it looks like there was a tail wind on the finish leg as the avg speed was 29mph for the last 2 miles. This clearly was not in my favor. Second, we were fast on Hawkins. The 35+ 123 and 45+ 123 groups were only a few seconds faster. Finally, this race was incredibly surgey. No smooth pedaling. Perhaps I need to do more 30/30s or Tabatas.
Overall, I stayed upright, which is the most important thing, and I tried some new things. Looking forward to the hills!
Category: 35+ Masters 4/5
Race: Turlock Lake Road Race
Teammates: None
Field: 70
Weather: 70 and overcast
Report: I am not a sprinter. I have plenty of aerobic power, but I can only do maybe 800W for 10s when I'm rested. Turlock isn't well suited to me, but when family schedules are arranged, you need to make room for some B races and this one fit. Biggest field I have ever raced in. First lap was incredibly tame, with the exception of occasional surges on some rollers. While the entire course is closed, there is a centerline rule in effect in a few spots and all of Keyes road. I was worried about being out of position on Keyes given how narrow it was going to be and this was a good call. In general, I did a good job of maintaining good position the entire day, always staying in the top 5-10 riders but spending little time in the wind.
There were several attacks throughout the day, many of them solo that went nowhere. An attacker would get maybe 20s on the field and then just sit out there and slowly get reeled in even without anybody actively chasing. At one point some guy from Team Revolutions went off the front only to have his own team slowly real him back in... In retrospect I should have seen these as weak riders, but during the race all I thought to myself is that there was no chance for anybody to get away. My original intent had been to attack in the rollers section on Hawkins, but lots of people had the same idea so it turned into a bit of a slugfest there, good racing. I finally decided i\'m going to wait for 1k and then give it everything I\'ve got.
The pace after Hawkins was more subdued with everyone sitting in waiting for the inevitable sprint finish. I saw 3k to go and got ready to make my move. At 1k to go I was 3rd wheel and I hit it hard. Off the front with one guy on my wheel and we had a gap, maybe 30m. I gave it everything I had. Redline. It got quiet. Like I was out riding all by myself. I kept waiting for that inevitable ruhr ruhr sound of the tires as sprinters jump out of the saddle. I saw the finish line, and started to get emotional. 200m to go, and then they came around. I was cooked. I tried to jump again but there was nothing left. I rolled in mid pack.
So, what would I change? If I wanted a top 10 finish, I probably could have just waited and played in the field sprint. No way I could have won, but I would have gotten some upgrade points. Maybe. What if I had taken off earlier at 3k to go instead? What if I had tried to initiate a break on Keyes were the pace was slow? I shouldn\'t have been scared to try this.
Looking at the ride data, there are a couple of things I noticed. First, is that it looks like there was a tail wind on the finish leg as the avg speed was 29mph for the last 2 miles. This clearly was not in my favor. Second, we were fast on Hawkins. The 35+ 123 and 45+ 123 groups were only a few seconds faster. Finally, this race was incredibly surgey. No smooth pedaling. Perhaps I need to do more 30/30s or Tabatas.
Overall, I stayed upright, which is the most important thing, and I tried some new things. Looking forward to the hills!
03-29-14, 11:27 PM
#911
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Alpenrose - Portland
Posts: 361
Bikes: Veloforma for my primary.
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
And nice report, it is always nice to hear how other people saw a race and what they chose to do.
03-29-14, 11:38 PM
#912
Senior Member
Turlock Lake Road Race
Category: 35+ Masters 4/5
Race: Turlock Lake Road Race
Teammates: None
Field: 70
Weather: 70 and overcast
Report: I am not a sprinter. I have plenty of aerobic power, but I can only do maybe 800W for 10s when I'm rested. Turlock isn't well suited to me, but when family schedules are arranged, you need to make room for some B races and this one fit. Biggest field I have ever raced in. First lap was incredibly tame, with the exception of occasional surges on some rollers. While the entire course is closed, there is a centerline rule in effect in a few spots and all of Keyes road. I was worried about being out of position on Keyes given how narrow it was going to be and this was a good call. In general, I did a good job of maintaining good position the entire day, always staying in the top 5-10 riders but spending little time in the wind.
There were several attacks throughout the day, many of them solo that went nowhere. An attacker would get maybe 20s on the field and then just sit out there and slowly get reeled in even without anybody actively chasing. At one point some guy from Team Revolutions went off the front only to have his own team slowly real him back in... In retrospect I should have seen these as weak riders, but during the race all I thought to myself is that there was no chance for anybody to get away. My original intent had been to attack in the rollers section on Hawkins, but lots of people had the same idea so it turned into a bit of a slugfest there, good racing. I finally decided i\'m going to wait for 1k and then give it everything I\'ve got.
The pace after Hawkins was more subdued with everyone sitting in waiting for the inevitable sprint finish. I saw 3k to go and got ready to make my move. At 1k to go I was 3rd wheel and I hit it hard. Off the front with one guy on my wheel and we had a gap, maybe 30m. I gave it everything I had. Redline. It got quiet. Like I was out riding all by myself. I kept waiting for that inevitable ruhr ruhr sound of the tires as sprinters jump out of the saddle. I saw the finish line, and started to get emotional. 200m to go, and then they came around. I was cooked. I tried to jump again but there was nothing left. I rolled in mid pack.
So, what would I change? If I wanted a top 10 finish, I probably could have just waited and played in the field sprint. No way I could have won, but I would have gotten some upgrade points. Maybe. What if I had taken off earlier at 3k to go instead? What if I had tried to initiate a break on Keyes were the pace was slow? I shouldn\'t have been scared to try this.
Looking at the ride data, there are a couple of things I noticed. First, is that it looks like there was a tail wind on the finish leg as the avg speed was 29mph for the last 2 miles. This clearly was not in my favor. Second, we were fast on Hawkins. The 35+ 123 and 45+ 123 groups were only a few seconds faster. Finally, this race was incredibly surgey. No smooth pedaling. Perhaps I need to do more 30/30s or Tabatas.
Overall, I stayed upright, which is the most important thing, and I tried some new things. Looking forward to the hills!
Category: 35+ Masters 4/5
Race: Turlock Lake Road Race
Teammates: None
Field: 70
Weather: 70 and overcast
Report: I am not a sprinter. I have plenty of aerobic power, but I can only do maybe 800W for 10s when I'm rested. Turlock isn't well suited to me, but when family schedules are arranged, you need to make room for some B races and this one fit. Biggest field I have ever raced in. First lap was incredibly tame, with the exception of occasional surges on some rollers. While the entire course is closed, there is a centerline rule in effect in a few spots and all of Keyes road. I was worried about being out of position on Keyes given how narrow it was going to be and this was a good call. In general, I did a good job of maintaining good position the entire day, always staying in the top 5-10 riders but spending little time in the wind.
There were several attacks throughout the day, many of them solo that went nowhere. An attacker would get maybe 20s on the field and then just sit out there and slowly get reeled in even without anybody actively chasing. At one point some guy from Team Revolutions went off the front only to have his own team slowly real him back in... In retrospect I should have seen these as weak riders, but during the race all I thought to myself is that there was no chance for anybody to get away. My original intent had been to attack in the rollers section on Hawkins, but lots of people had the same idea so it turned into a bit of a slugfest there, good racing. I finally decided i\'m going to wait for 1k and then give it everything I\'ve got.
The pace after Hawkins was more subdued with everyone sitting in waiting for the inevitable sprint finish. I saw 3k to go and got ready to make my move. At 1k to go I was 3rd wheel and I hit it hard. Off the front with one guy on my wheel and we had a gap, maybe 30m. I gave it everything I had. Redline. It got quiet. Like I was out riding all by myself. I kept waiting for that inevitable ruhr ruhr sound of the tires as sprinters jump out of the saddle. I saw the finish line, and started to get emotional. 200m to go, and then they came around. I was cooked. I tried to jump again but there was nothing left. I rolled in mid pack.
So, what would I change? If I wanted a top 10 finish, I probably could have just waited and played in the field sprint. No way I could have won, but I would have gotten some upgrade points. Maybe. What if I had taken off earlier at 3k to go instead? What if I had tried to initiate a break on Keyes were the pace was slow? I shouldn\'t have been scared to try this.
Looking at the ride data, there are a couple of things I noticed. First, is that it looks like there was a tail wind on the finish leg as the avg speed was 29mph for the last 2 miles. This clearly was not in my favor. Second, we were fast on Hawkins. The 35+ 123 and 45+ 123 groups were only a few seconds faster. Finally, this race was incredibly surgey. No smooth pedaling. Perhaps I need to do more 30/30s or Tabatas.
Overall, I stayed upright, which is the most important thing, and I tried some new things. Looking forward to the hills!
Last edited by aaronmcd; 03-30-14 at 06:50 AM.
03-30-14, 12:17 AM
#913
Resident Alien
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Location, location.
Posts: 13,089
Mentioned: 158 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 349 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 10 Times
in
6 Posts
san dimas cat 2 stage race so far: improved my tt time by almost a minute over last year, still got 80th lol. (out of 86 total)
road race today went much better - last year I went otb the last time up the climb; this year I was in the top 10 over it on the last lap. didn't position well for the sprint and got maybe 20th. I was at least there to see the sprint, so maybe I can actually play a part in it next year.
crit tomorrow, that's what I'm really here for!
road race today went much better - last year I went otb the last time up the climb; this year I was in the top 10 over it on the last lap. didn't position well for the sprint and got maybe 20th. I was at least there to see the sprint, so maybe I can actually play a part in it next year.
crit tomorrow, that's what I'm really here for!
03-30-14, 02:11 AM
#914
fuggitivo solitario
suggested reading for your summer. or not.
i wouldn't use as harsh of words, but his snide remarks was rude and uncouth
?
03-30-14, 02:18 AM
#915
fuggitivo solitario
I don't remember if i posted my result, but 6th in the mid-ohio circuit thingy race. Nothing special, let the winning break go, didn't commit when i was close enough, and sprinted too early. #racingdumb
03-30-14, 07:30 AM
#916
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Mount Joy, PA
Posts: 315
Bikes: CAAD10 & Slice RS Black Inc
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Salisury RR Cat 4/5
8th/50
Got to love PA dutch country roads. Yellow line rule applies and the roads are already half the size and littered with horse crap, amish buggies and tons of pot holes. The race organizer told us at the beginning that he debated cancelling because of the road condition, now add in that it was the first day of trout season, it was about to rain and the course had to be changed because of a amish funeral meant this race was probably a recipe for disaster. 6 laps on a 4.5 mile rolling loop. Started pretty much at the back and the race was uneventful till the rain started to fall and then all chaos broke loose. Because of the condition of the roads, bottles were flying off bikes and were land mines waiting to happen. People we braking into turns and back wheels sliding out. A solo rider went off the front and after a crash I made my way to the front of the field with 2 to go. Made an effort to bridge, but the guy that came with me was on the same team as the rider up the road and obviously was not going to do any work, so I slowed down and let the field catch back up. Was in good position coming to the slight uphill finish and the wind was coming from the left so I knew if I stayed to the right I would be shielded as most people would go left since the yellow line wasn't in effect the last 200m. As we came to the finish there were 2 riders on the right on the course who were warming up for their race. As we came up on the I was ready to open of my sprint, but had to hit the brakes in order not to hit the rider and lost a lot of momentum. I was able to pass a couple people at the line for 8th. I'm happy with that considering the circumstances and I had a hard week of training. I'll post video in that race video section.
8th/50
Got to love PA dutch country roads. Yellow line rule applies and the roads are already half the size and littered with horse crap, amish buggies and tons of pot holes. The race organizer told us at the beginning that he debated cancelling because of the road condition, now add in that it was the first day of trout season, it was about to rain and the course had to be changed because of a amish funeral meant this race was probably a recipe for disaster. 6 laps on a 4.5 mile rolling loop. Started pretty much at the back and the race was uneventful till the rain started to fall and then all chaos broke loose. Because of the condition of the roads, bottles were flying off bikes and were land mines waiting to happen. People we braking into turns and back wheels sliding out. A solo rider went off the front and after a crash I made my way to the front of the field with 2 to go. Made an effort to bridge, but the guy that came with me was on the same team as the rider up the road and obviously was not going to do any work, so I slowed down and let the field catch back up. Was in good position coming to the slight uphill finish and the wind was coming from the left so I knew if I stayed to the right I would be shielded as most people would go left since the yellow line wasn't in effect the last 200m. As we came to the finish there were 2 riders on the right on the course who were warming up for their race. As we came up on the I was ready to open of my sprint, but had to hit the brakes in order not to hit the rider and lost a lot of momentum. I was able to pass a couple people at the line for 8th. I'm happy with that considering the circumstances and I had a hard week of training. I'll post video in that race video section.
03-30-14, 10:52 AM
#920
Senior Member
Turlock Lake Roller Coaster - I mean road race.
E3/4, pack finish, maybe 20 or 30 out of 100
68 miles, 3 laps. Almost completely rollers (except for a few miles around the start/finish).
First lap rode a bit off the back, coasting downhill and partway up til I hit the pack, then pedal.
Second lap similar, but moved up near the end and started looking for break opportunities. Got in a break of 10-12 guys, thought for sure some other guys' teammates would be able to block. One guy in the break with a teammate also in the break attacked, people were riding here and there, hard work but not organized enough. Reeled in after a few miles.
Last lap, stayed near the front. One guy went up the road and everyone agreed he wasn't a threat. A Squadra guy later followed, and his teammate sat second wheel just to do nothing. Then another guy went up and 2 teams came to the front to block. A third team (OTF) came up to pull, but it wasn't working. I was waiting for an OTF guy to go up the road but I was shuffled back a bit before it happened. Moved up and saw OTF dude up the road with another guy on a 4th big team. Now 4 teams were at the front blocking. I casually mentioned this to a few guys but they seemed uninterested, so I moved up and attacked. Shut down by said 4 teams. I rested a minute and attacked again. Shut down again. Repeat a 3rd time and maybe a 4th, I don't remember. By now the break was so close I figured it wouldn't last (and it didn't - caught about a mile or 2 from the finish).
Rested p, then tried to hold a good position, but it's damn hard with lines of guys coming up the side and very difficult to force myself in somewhere to move up. Then 1k to go pace goes up to maybe 32-33. I'm trying to find wheels that aren't exploding which is difficult. A few hundred to go, we pass a crash from another field on the right. We are yelled at to slow down which causes nearly everyone to hesitate or tap brakes before resuming the finish. Combination positioning issues and finishline crash, I couldn't move up.
68 miles, average speed 25 mph even with 2500 ft of climbing!
Oh, and crashfest. Wind, echelon, guy 2 in front of me to the right swerves into guy's wheel in front of me. He manages to hold it up, and is bumped almost into my front wheel.
Later I heard there was a crash in the field while I was up the road in the break.
Then last lap I felt something hit my left leg kinda behind me and heard crashing bikes.
Someone mentioned there was also a 3rd crash somewhere.
E3/4, pack finish, maybe 20 or 30 out of 100
68 miles, 3 laps. Almost completely rollers (except for a few miles around the start/finish).
First lap rode a bit off the back, coasting downhill and partway up til I hit the pack, then pedal.
Second lap similar, but moved up near the end and started looking for break opportunities. Got in a break of 10-12 guys, thought for sure some other guys' teammates would be able to block. One guy in the break with a teammate also in the break attacked, people were riding here and there, hard work but not organized enough. Reeled in after a few miles.
Last lap, stayed near the front. One guy went up the road and everyone agreed he wasn't a threat. A Squadra guy later followed, and his teammate sat second wheel just to do nothing. Then another guy went up and 2 teams came to the front to block. A third team (OTF) came up to pull, but it wasn't working. I was waiting for an OTF guy to go up the road but I was shuffled back a bit before it happened. Moved up and saw OTF dude up the road with another guy on a 4th big team. Now 4 teams were at the front blocking. I casually mentioned this to a few guys but they seemed uninterested, so I moved up and attacked. Shut down by said 4 teams. I rested a minute and attacked again. Shut down again. Repeat a 3rd time and maybe a 4th, I don't remember. By now the break was so close I figured it wouldn't last (and it didn't - caught about a mile or 2 from the finish).
Rested p, then tried to hold a good position, but it's damn hard with lines of guys coming up the side and very difficult to force myself in somewhere to move up. Then 1k to go pace goes up to maybe 32-33. I'm trying to find wheels that aren't exploding which is difficult. A few hundred to go, we pass a crash from another field on the right. We are yelled at to slow down which causes nearly everyone to hesitate or tap brakes before resuming the finish. Combination positioning issues and finishline crash, I couldn't move up.
68 miles, average speed 25 mph even with 2500 ft of climbing!
Oh, and crashfest. Wind, echelon, guy 2 in front of me to the right swerves into guy's wheel in front of me. He manages to hold it up, and is bumped almost into my front wheel.
Later I heard there was a crash in the field while I was up the road in the break.
Then last lap I felt something hit my left leg kinda behind me and heard crashing bikes.
Someone mentioned there was also a 3rd crash somewhere.
03-30-14, 12:56 PM
#921
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Folsom, CA
Posts: 3,888
Mentioned: 32 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 417 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 3 Times
in
3 Posts
Good racing with you yesterday. Glad to hear you didn't get involved in any of the crashes. That finish was something else. I can understand yelling "stay left" at the sprint, but yelling "slow down" with 200m to go was dumb. A few people slowed down while everyone else hammered on, so then there were more obstacles to dodge. I think I finished near you, official result was 28th which I'm happy with for my first 3/4 race, and teammates managed 2nd and 11th. Our average was pretty fast too, my Strava says 25.6 for the 68 miles. Whew. It was a tough race (for me at least...).
03-30-14, 12:58 PM
#922
Senior Member
Santa Cruz Classic Criterium
E4/5, field of ~50 or more
Tough course and loose saddle issues.
They gave me number 251, which happened to be the same number I had yesterday, and still pinned to my Jersey.
0.8 mile course with bad pavement, tight u turn to a straight descent, and a sprinty hill before the finishing straight.
Lined up at the front, but it takes me a few minutes to get in the groove so I got shuffled back and sat there for a few laps. Steadily moved up by slingshotting past people after the downhill. I go to sit down after the hill with 4 laps to go and find my reversible seatpost bolt had shaken loose and my saddle had swiveled around. ****! I turn it around but by that time I'm slightly off the back. Latch on again, and repeat 4 more laps.
End up near the back of the pack, but probably top 50% due to all the dropped/crashed riders. 3 crashes again today - 2 at the u turn and another guy just rode into the curb and tipped over.
AP = 262, NP = 312
Hurt like hell, especially after yesterdays race.
E4/5, field of ~50 or more
Tough course and loose saddle issues.
They gave me number 251, which happened to be the same number I had yesterday, and still pinned to my Jersey.
0.8 mile course with bad pavement, tight u turn to a straight descent, and a sprinty hill before the finishing straight.
Lined up at the front, but it takes me a few minutes to get in the groove so I got shuffled back and sat there for a few laps. Steadily moved up by slingshotting past people after the downhill. I go to sit down after the hill with 4 laps to go and find my reversible seatpost bolt had shaken loose and my saddle had swiveled around. ****! I turn it around but by that time I'm slightly off the back. Latch on again, and repeat 4 more laps.
End up near the back of the pack, but probably top 50% due to all the dropped/crashed riders. 3 crashes again today - 2 at the u turn and another guy just rode into the curb and tipped over.
AP = 262, NP = 312
Hurt like hell, especially after yesterdays race.
03-30-14, 01:00 PM
#923
Senior Member
Sounded like an interesting race. I was on the fence regarding driving down to race and ultimately glad I didn't...needed a rest day/weekend. I heard that there were a lot of DQs for centerline infractions even though they weren't really infractions (not improving position) and quite a few crashes. Seems the big field, wet weather, narrow road, and high pace made for some excitement.
03-30-14, 01:37 PM
#925
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Sacramento, California, USA
Posts: 40,865
Bikes: Specialized Tarmac, Canyon Exceed, Specialized Transition, Ellsworth Roots, Ridley Excalibur
Mentioned: 68 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2952 Post(s)
Liked 3,106 Times
in
1,417 Posts
Sounded like an interesting race. I was on the fence regarding driving down to race and ultimately glad I didn't...needed a rest day/weekend. I heard that there were a lot of DQs for centerline infractions even though they weren't really infractions (not improving position) and quite a few crashes. Seems the big field, wet weather, narrow road, and high pace made for some excitement.