Road Bike Racing - Tour of Walkersville question

Will a small ring be necessary for this race? I haven't done this race before so I have no idea. I know that's a tough one to answer, but my left brifter is toast (shimano) and I can't get a new one right now. I might be able to dig up a downtube shifter in the parts bin.

nice to have as an option, but not necessary.

thanks. i'll PM a mod to delete this now.

b

New Guy: Where in NOVA are you located? I've got an Ultegra left brifter you can use.

New Guy: Where in NOVA are you located? I've got an Ultegra left brifter you can use.

you sold me some wheels a while ago... ;)

o snap really? well, if you need it, it's here. Bring your old hardware though, as the little barrel that the brake cable gets threaded through is absent on my shifter.

btw, no refunds. how have the wheels been treating you?

I looked thru the pictures I took at last years race and if you look at the riders going thru the Ramsberger Road rollers, it seems that some do use the small ring and some dont. Doenst seem to matter what Cat. the race is, it would seem its a personal preference.

http://jkrawczyk.powweb.com/galleries/WALKERSVILLE%202007.htm

I'm happy to be finally racing this, but sad that I wont be taking pictures this year.

those are some ginormous pics.

o snap really? well, if you need it, it's here. Bring your old hardware though, as the little barrel that the brake cable gets threaded through is absent on my shifter.

btw, no refunds. how have the wheels been treating you?

the wheels have been alright. broke 2 spokes before i decided to just de-tension and start from scratch on the rear wheel.

you broke two spokes?! that's impressive...

those are some ginormous pics.

Sorry man. I keep forgetting that not everyone has a 24" widescreen monitor.

you broke two spokes?! that's impressive...

i'm sure they weren't properly tensioned from the factory. those damn robots are lazy.

In case anybody wants one. Here is a Race Map with notes pertinant to the 35+ 4/5 race at 12:45pm. Looks like im gonna be racing in the dry. (knock on wood). sorry for the chicken scratch, i only have Paint here at work.

http://johnkrawczyk.powweb.com//Walkersville_Race_Bible_M35plus.jpg

are those hills right before turns?

Yes. they're not steep. they're gradual inclines. Its all big ring, even the short steep stuff on Ramsburger Rd. (Big ring for you flyweight guys anyway). The ones that hurt the most are the r/t on to Old Fredrick and the whoopededoos on Ramsburger. The rest of them you will not notice.

Where's the barn?

i would think a good place for stong people to weed out the week would be to pick up the pace for a few minutes after that turn after that one climb. I wonder if it will happen.

Where's the barn?

Right where the letter 'd' is in Ramsburger Rd that is circled and labled hills. Theres 3 short steep humps there with no recovery untill you hit the top of the inclince about 200 yds past the barn. The it goes downhill. If you get caught out here, you might be able to catch back on. When i rode the course last week the wind was blowing hard from the NE. Tommorrow is supposed to be NNW. Meaning the wind shouldnt be in our faces on Ramsburger. If anything its a slight tail wind.

I think the best place to break will be into the wind on Devilbliss Rd on the inclines past Lenert Rd. If you can get around the corner onto Frederick Rd with a gap, tear ass into the crosswind, thru Uttica, and cement your lead on Ramsburger Rd.

I can tell you right now if i dont get dropped I will not be doing one iota of work until the very end when the inevitable sprint happens.

This is tomorrow, eh? I suppose I should stop pounding the chili and rice. I don't recommend getting on my wheel tomorrow... pheweee.

This is tomorrow, eh? I suppose I should stop pounding the chili and rice. I don't recommend getting on my wheel tomorrow... pheweee.

I was getting ready to have a California Tortilla Havana Chicken burrito and a side of Black Beans for lunch. Or some combination fried rice from my favorite Chinese place. Yummy.