Road Bike Racing - First race ever. DF2ndL

Today was my first crit in my life at a 1.7 mile racetrack.

Here comes to racerEx version:

cat5/citizens

Wind
Wind
Wind
Line up
Start
suck wheel and stay in pack
Half a lap into the race no more wheels to suck and pack is gone. WTF just happened?
30 min. soloing around the track
DF2ndL


Men 4/5

Wind
Wind
Wind
Line Up
Start
suck wheel and stay in pack
Feel good, pace is surprisingly about the same than my first race. Expected more.
Try to stay in pack this time.
One lap done, still somewhere in the middle of the pack
Halfway into the 2nd lap I'm sucking wheel just fine, race speeds up into the wind, no more wheels to suck. Son of a *****!
Alone for the next 35 min. again, get lapped twice with a 20mph avg. into a brutal 25mph headwind for 2/3rds of the lap.
DFL or DF2ndL don't know yet as I contested my DNF result.


What did I learn today? Racing in a pack is harder than I imagined.
And 5 feet behind the pack with 20mph headwind = pack gone

Thomas

Hey, I was looking for you out there today.
I was the kid in the wheel & sprocket kit.
Don't worry about getting dropped, it happens to most people in their first races.
Did you enjoy it though?

Oh, it was excellent fun when I was riding in the pack. Once I got dropped it became a training ride. :D
But after the 5/4 men race I couldn't sit on my ass for the first 5 minutes it hurt so bad. My butt is still sore.
Other than that, I definitely need to do the Tuesday night crits to learn how to maneuver inside the pack.

I was the dude with the neon/green steely and the bike rack in the cat5/citizens race :lol:
The 4/5 race I used my Trek, which of course made no difference.

Did you see a dark green Minivan, IN license plate, with a Thule bike rack and the neon/purple steel bike in the back? That was me :D

Not that I remember, sorry.
John Wilke was there and he was taking pics all day, so there should be some on there we can look at.
You know, figure out who we are :)

Yep.. I've taken over 150 pics as well. Of the 3/4, p/1/2/3 masters and the womens 4 and 1/2/3 and the last p/1/2/3
I'm going to sent them all to Burnham racing so they can plop them on their website.

I was in the 3/4 too, but I hid in the pack the entire time.
I was #323 I think.
I know recursive, slim 77, and Dr. Who were all there too.
I think you raced with slim 77 in the Citizen/5 race

And 5 feet behind the pack with 20mph headwind = pack gone

+1

I did the Burnham race today as well. Great course, superfast, and aside from the chatter in the first and later corner, very smooth.

If you have any pictures of the P/1/2/3 guys going after primes, I'd like to see some of those. I got pipped twice, got 2nd and 3rd in the two I went for, I believe.

Duke,

what was the bike and the jersey colors you were wearing so I can take a look?
At the start of the race I shot at the finish line but moved to the S-corner in the back later on. So I'm fairly sure I have you on the pics.

Silver CAAD9, Navy/Red/Orange/White team uniform.

Silver CAAD9, Navy/Red/Orange/White team uniform.

This should be you then right after the S-curve.

What did I learn today? Racing in a pack is harder than I imagined.
And 5 feet behind the pack with 20mph headwind = pack gone



Correct.

Welcome to bicycle racing. Having fun yet?

Correct.

Welcome to bicycle racing. Having fun yet?

Yep. I'm ready for the tuesday night crit beatings! This whole thing on Sunday just made me want to train harder :)

got any pics of the South Chicago Wheelmen?

Well I guess I pulled out 10th in the 4/5. Now I'm kinda pissed because I could have actually sprinted, and maybe gotten some upgrade points.

Mayonaise: What were you riding? (bike) Was it the black merckx?

Why did you contest the DNF because you were almost DFL?

Scummer, do you know anyone that has pics of the 5/citizens races? I saw three or four people snapping on each lap and would love to see what I look like racing.

In the race I did on saturday (Mississinewa RR), I gave the camera the thumbs up and then quickly noticed that I coasted up to crossing wheels with the rider in front of me. There ends my "mugging for the camera" career...I'll just pretend to be suffering next time.

Frunkin, nice result.

Why did you contest the DNF because you were almost DFL?

I wanted to see if I finished DFL or at least DF2ndL :)

Scummer, do you know anyone that has pics of the 5/citizens races? I saw three or four people snapping on each lap and would love to see what I look like racing.

In the race I did on saturday (Mississinewa RR), I gave the camera the thumbs up and then quickly noticed that I coasted up to crossing wheels with the rider in front of me. There ends my "mugging for the camera" career...I'll just pretend to be suffering next time.

Frunkin, nice result.

Someone in Turn 2 ( the wide right hand sweeper) took some pics which looked to be a pretty professional camera setup. I actually gave him the peace sign as I was soloing along. I wonder who that was and if he's going to give his pics to the burnham racing team so they can post the pics on their website.

Thomas

What did I learn today? Racing in a pack is harder than I imagined.
And 5 feet behind the pack with 20mph headwind = pack gone


That's 100% true, but it's also close enough that if you grit your teeth and get _real_ mean you can usually get hooked back on. The ultimate trick is to just not get in that position, which is very tough in itself.

That's 100% true, but it's also close enough that if you grit your teeth and get _real_ mean you can usually get hooked back on. The ultimate trick is to just not get in that position, which is very tough in itself.


+1. "If yew ain't movin' up, yer movin' back".

Move up. Always, always move up.

+1. "If yew ain't movin' up, yer movin' back".

Move up. Always, always move up.

I thought about that little line during most of the 3/4 race.
It definitely helped, although I never got close to the front.

That's 100% true, but it's also close enough that if you grit your teeth and get _real_ mean you can usually get hooked back on. The ultimate trick is to just not get in that position, which is very tough in itself.

I tried hooking back on, but it was really difficult with the headwind. It was pretty darn strong in the backstretch. My avg HR during the race was at 160. The engine is just to weak.

Mayonaise: What were you riding? (bike) Was it the black merckx?[/QUOTE]


yep, that was me. black merckx with yellow decals

In my first ever race, citizen's race, I rode away from everyone.

First USCF race, I was lapped twice. Next day I finished in the pack. I continued to race for 12 years ... best finish was 5th (my sprint STUNK!!).

(this is all ancient history)

You'll get it, stick with it.