Road Bike Racing - San Francisco Golden Gate Park Racing?

I posted a similar question in the SSFG Rides and Races forums thinking that the craigslist ad (http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/318327942.html) I saw was some kind of alleycat. But then talking with Greg (aka ConstantRider), he said that every summer a bunch of roadies gather at the track at Golden Gate Park on Tuesdays at 5:30pm to hammer some circuits around JFK and MLK. I'm going to head out there on Tuesday, and I just wondered if anyone here knew any more about it.

I don't think I'm quite ready for racing, I've definitely got some work to do in terms of getting faster and pack riding, but I figure that if this is some sort of training thing then I could at least get my feet wet and learn what to expect in terms of racing before I head out and really embarrass myself. If anything it'd be a place to meet more people who could whip my butt into race shape.

Another question: the NCNCA site lists a San Francisco Twilight Criterium (http://www.ncnca.org/road/) for July 28th - does this happen every year? Anyone done it? I'm thinking this might be a good option for a first race for me, especially if it is so close to home that I won't feel so bad when I get lapped, considering that I'd have to travel an hour or so to get to any other races in the Bay Area (I don't keep a car in the city, so getting our truck from Marin requires forethought).

Another question: the NCNCA site lists a San Francisco Twilight Criterium (http://www.ncnca.org/road/) for July 28th - does this happen every year? Anyone done it?

This is the 1st year for the race but I am not holding my breath that it will happen I don't see any team representing it yet.

This is the 1st year for the race but I am not holding my breath that it will happen I don't see any team representing it yet.

Bummer. SFTwilight.com (http://sftwilight.com/) forwards to Arete Cycling (http://www.areteracing.com/). However, their all flash site is kind of broken for me (Linux and Flash don't always agree), so I can't find any more information about it. Strange that all the teams in the area (CRC, Metromint, Roaring Mouse, etc) wouldn't be chomping at the bit for this to happen (though I'm completely ignorant of this kind of dynamic). Though I usually head North to Marin, I really enjoy some of the riding in the city - it'd be awesome if they could hold more crits here.

I show up for the Tuesday night rides almost every week and they're a great workout.

We get about 30-40 riders and start from the top of the circuit (just past the right turn from JFK to Crossover) at 6PM sharp. 1st lap is a warm-up , then it's on. Some times guys try to break away for fun, but the real competition is for the stop sign line at the top of JFK each lap. We usually do about 6-7 laps (45-50 minutes).

These were my first "organized" group rides I ever did when I started about 2 years ago before I started real racing. At first it was tough for me to hang on the back, but I don't have any problems now.

Just guessing I would say that out of the 40 riders who show up we get about 5-8 Cat 2 (I don't know if any are Cat 1), about 10 Cat 3, 15 Cat 4 and the rest Cat 5 or guys who don't race.

A lot of the guys who get dropped sit out a lap then jump back in. Because it's just a workout no one really cares, though I did put up a $1 Prime for the final lap this week.

If you make it next week, come by and say hi. I'll be the guy in the ZteaM kit and matching Ridley bike.

Shouldn't you be in madera right now PM?

Bummer. SFTwilight.com (http://sftwilight.com/) forwards to Arete Cycling (http://www.areteracing.com/). However, their all flash site is kind of broken for me (Linux and Flash don't always agree), so I can't find any more information about it. Strange that all the teams in the area (CRC, Metromint, Roaring Mouse, etc) wouldn't be chomping at the bit for this to happen (though I'm completely ignorant of this kind of dynamic). Though I usually head North to Marin, I really enjoy some of the riding in the city - it'd be awesome if they could hold more crits here.



I think there is some kind of requirement that USAC has for teams, that they have to host at least one event in their area per year. Somebody probably has better info than I do, they can help me out here. If you look farther down the ncnca calendar, you'll see that metromint already has the giro di san francisco. i dont know about the other clubs.

I think there is some kind of requirement that USAC has for teams, that they have to host at least one event in their area per year. Somebody probably has better info than I do, they can help me out here. If you look farther down the ncnca calendar, you'll see that metromint already has the giro di san francisco. i dont know about the other clubs.

Yeah, I thought that I read something like that before. CRC does the Mt. Tam Hill Climb. Not sure what Roaring Mouse does. There's a handful of other San Francisco teams too.

I show up for the Tuesday night rides almost every week and they're a great workout.

We get about 30-40 riders and start from the top of the circuit (just past the right turn from JFK to Crossover) at 6PM sharp. 1st lap is a warm-up , then it's on. Some times guys try to break away for fun, but the real competition is for the stop sign line at the top of JFK each lap. We usually do about 6-7 laps (45-50 minutes).

These were my first "organized" group rides I ever did when I started about 2 years ago before I started real racing. At first it was tough for me to hang on the back, but I don't have any problems now.

Just guessing I would say that out of the 40 riders who show up we get about 5-8 Cat 2 (I don't know if any are Cat 1), about 10 Cat 3, 15 Cat 4 and the rest Cat 5 or guys who don't race.

A lot of the guys who get dropped sit out a lap then jump back in. Because it's just a workout no one really cares, though I did put up a $1 Prime for the final lap this week.

If you make it next week, come by and say hi. I'll be the guy in the ZteaM kit and matching Ridley bike.

Great, thanks for the info. Greg (ConstantRider) had mentioned you specifically (I was pretty impressed that you went from a Cat 5 to Cat 2 in a year :eek: )

I'll try to be there next week and hang on as long as I can before I totally blow up. I'll be one of the "guys who don't race" (yet) on a black and blue Lemond.

I'm sure it'll be pretty hard to miss 40 riders buzzing through the park, but just to confirm, does everyone gather at the Polo Field at 5:30pm, or just at JFK and Transverse (http://local.google.com/maps/ms?f=q&layer=&ie=UTF8&hl=en&z=19&om=1&msid=106794665090069482404.000001123442739cf1058&msa=0) (on the right side at 6:00pm)? You said Crossover, but that's the road that is the overcrossing and forms that little bridge separating the newly paved East portion of the park from the West, right?

Great, thanks for the info. Greg (ConstantRider) had mentioned you specifically (I was pretty impressed that you went from a Cat 5 to Cat 2 in a year :eek: )

I'll try to be there next week and hang on as long as I can before I totally blow up. I'll be one of the "guys who don't race" (yet) on a black and blue Lemond.

I'm sure it'll be pretty hard to miss 40 riders buzzing through the park, but just to confirm, does everyone gather at the Polo Field at 5:30pm, or just at JFK and Transverse (http://local.google.com/maps/ms?f=q&layer=&ie=UTF8&hl=en&z=19&om=1&msid=106794665090069482404.000001123442739cf1058&msa=0) (on the right side at 6:00pm)? You said Crossover, but that's the road that is the overcrossing and forms that little bridge separating the newly paved East portion of the park from the West, right?

Doing this ride every week really helped me improve my fitness.

Some guys may meet at 5:30 to warm up, but the big group meets at 6PM to start the actual ride. We only do a 1 lap (3 mile) warm-up, so it's best to be as warmed up as you can by 6PM.

Sorry, it's not Crossover, but it's the corner Transverse and Overlook where we meet at 6PM.
We're a big group, you can't miss us.

Doing this ride every week really helped me improve my fitness.

Some guys may meet at 5:30 to warm up, but the big group meets at 6PM to start the actual ride. We only do a 1 lap (3 mile) warm-up, so it's best to be as warmed up as you can by 6PM.

Sorry, it's not Crossover, but it's the corner Transverse and Overlook where we meet at 6PM.
We're a big group, you can't miss us.
I was really bummed this week that I couldn't make it out (work) and I can't make it next Tuesday either (school). I heard that there might be something similar on Thursday nights, know anything about it?

I'm sure I'll be out a week from Tuesday. Thanks for all the info Pizza Man - by the way I think I saw you pulling off the Mill Valley bike path toward Tiburon on Monday (ZTeam, matching Ridley) around 1:00 or so with a couple of other ZTeaM guys.

I was really bummed this week that I couldn't make it out (work) and I can't make it next Tuesday either (school). I heard that there might be something similar on Thursday nights, know anything about it?

I'm sure I'll be out a week from Tuesday. Thanks for all the info Pizza Man - by the way I think I saw you pulling off the Mill Valley bike path toward Tiburon on Monday (ZTeam, matching Ridley) around 1:00 or so with a couple of other ZTeaM guys.

Yep, that was me.

I was out at GG Park on Tuesday too.

There is also a group on Thursday at 6PM. It's much smaller (6-12 riders) and not as fast. The Thursday group also takes a real easy 6 mile warm up before starting, and the meeting place is about 1/2 mile down JFK at the entrance to the Polo Fields.

I'll be there Thursday too, but will be going easy since I'm racing on Saturday.

Are you guys still doing these? On Tuesday and Thursday nights it looks like?

Is this the route you guys do?
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1045389

Hope to see you guys there.

We're still there every Tuesday, usually 20-40 riders.

Thursday is a much smaller group, and sometimes is so small that the 3 - 5 riders who show up go off and do their own thing.

Your map is not the route, although the Thursday group does a lot of that route as a warm-up before we start going. The Tuesday group does a much shorter warm up of 1 lap on the course.

The "racers" route starts at JFK & Transverse and does a clockwise loop (all right turns) of the following roads: Transverse, Middle Drive West, MLK Dr., Chain of Lakes Dr., JFK drive.

I'll be there tomorrow night. The meeting place on Thursday is about 1 mile west of the Tuesday night meeting place and is on JFK at GG Park Stadium entrance. (It's on your map)

Hope to see you there!