Road Bike Racing - A clear sign you suck at bicycle racing.

When you enter the 45+ Tuesday Night race (Augusta, NJ) and there are 15 guys, and it's a struggle for you to get a top 10 result. I think I got 8th or 9th. But we had dropped 4 or 5 guys. Hey, at least I wasn't one of those guys.

Sweet Mother of Merckx I suck so bad at this sport I should be banned from it. What kills me is that I felt I was one of the stronger guys during the race. Tricky corner and uphill left turn just after that dicey corner 200 meters before the final sprint started, so if you blow that transition in the last half mile you're toast. And I F'd it up. I'll go back and try again. I think I know what I have to do next time to avoid a similar fate.

I like racing against fat old idiots. I fit right in. At least I wasn't the fattest guy there. I have that going for me.

But we had dropped 4 or 5 guys.


Then you don't suck.

BTW, one of the hardest races I ever raced had just 15 riders in it. There's nowhere to hide. It's all work

Then you don't suck.

BTW, one of the hardest races I ever raced had just 15 riders in it. There's nowhere to hide. It's all work

Don't F up my Self Loathing.

You know you suck at bicycle racing when you get dropped before UrbanKnight :D

I didn't like the short distance, I would have been better if the race was twice as long (it was only 30 mins or so, mid-week race). I also burned some matches towing the bunch back to 3 separate breakaways (2-3 guys each time) that their team mates were blocking for. 26-30 mph at the front for 1/2 a lap with no help. It was all together at the end, if I hadn't worked to reel in those attacks, one of them may have succeeded. But without a team mate to take advantage of that work, where are you going? Decent intense interval workout however.

I didn't like the short distance, I would have been better if the race was twice as long (it was only 30 mins or so, mid-week race). I also burned some matches towing the bunch back to 3 separate breakaways (2-3 guys each time) that their team mates were blocking for. 26-30 mph at the front for 1/2 a lap with no help. It was all together at the end, if I hadn't worked to reel in those attacks, one of them may have succeeded. But without a team mate to take advantage of that work, where are you going? Decent intense interval workout however.
Good choice. In a pack of 15, if 3-5 go off the front and 5 or more get dropped, anybody not in the break is technically dropped anyway.

Sadly, I bet you would have dropped me before the race was 1/w over . . .

I also tried to launch a couple of times myself to see if anybody would go with me, those went nowhere. That means in an 8 lap race I chased hard on 3 laps and attacked on 2 others. I only sat in completely for 3 of the 8 circuits, so I did feel I got a good workout.

Actually the more I think about that race, the better I feel about it. Now I'm Fing up my own Self Loathing.

If you really want to f up your self loathing, you would stick to racing slower fatter guys like me.

If you really want to f up your self loathing, you would stick to racing slower fatter guys like me.

Guys like you were there, they got shelled. At least they weren't wearing spd sandals with no socks.

Good choice.

Why? No teammates in the field, you should attack and bridge... in ElJ's humble opinion.

Why? No teammates in the field, you should attack and bridge... in ElJ's humble opinion.

Correct.

Easier said than done.

Correct.

Easier said than done.
Restart self loathing here

... But we had dropped 4 or 5 guys. Hey, at least I wasn't one of those guys.

....

Tonite, I was one of those guys.

And am one about 80% of the time.

Same thing happened to me in Houston. 17 riders, 7 from the same team. Everyone else (including me), no teammates. I ended up killing myself for 38 minutes trying to get a break going, until I ran out of gas and had to sit in. Then the break got away.

I got 7th. Small races with experienced racers are very tough.

Guys like you were there, they got shelled. At least they weren't wearing spd sandals with no socks.

Were you wearing your white socks with the Flashdance knee warmers? You are a fashion stud!

Were you wearing your white socks with the Flashdance knee warmers? You are a fashion stud!

I was wearing my pro looking GL kit with Livestrong white cycling socks. I may have sucked in this race, but I looked like a pro. Which is all that really counts, isn't it?

This thread needs more graphs.

This thread needs more graphs.

Pcad's suckage is beyond the scope of a puny PowerTap or SRM.

I was wearing my pro looking GL kit with Livestrong white cycling socks. I may have sucked in this race, but I looked like a pro. Which is all that really counts, isn't it?

You know dear, my father used to say "Fernando, don't be a schnook, it's not how you feel, it's
how
you
look!"

He was maaavolous...but you darling, hmmm, you look maaavolous!
It's better to look good than to feel good!

Why? No teammates in the field, you should attack and bridge... in ElJ's humble opinion.
Did I read it wrong? I took it to mean that he did bridge back up to the breaks, albeit whilst towing others behind him.

Did I read it wrong? I took it to mean that he did bridge back up to the breaks, albeit whilst towing others behind him.

Correct.

Same thing happened to me in Houston. 17 riders, 7 from the same team. Everyone else (including me), no teammates. I ended up killing myself for 38 minutes trying to get a break going, until I ran out of gas and had to sit in. Then the break got away.

I got 7th. Small races with experienced racers are very tough.

It really was fascinating, because suddenly I realized the immense value, even on this pissant level of racing, of having a bunch of team mates with you in a race. Or the disadvantage of not having any when others do. Every time one of those guys gets in a break he has team mates to sit on the front and stall the chase, every time a break gets away they can work together to bring it back. A solo guy however is on his own. The only hope you have in that situation is sitting in and setting up right for the sprint, or getting in a move that includes guys from the represented teams - so their team mates wind up blocking for you too. I spent half that race going around guys who were sitting on the front as 3 man moves increased their gap, I had to jump to chase or one of them might have been gone. I guess I knew all this but this particular little race seemed like a rather poignant demonstration of the principle.

Sometimes you don't need "signs." Sometimes you just know.

Sometimes you don't need "signs."

Sometimes you get them anyway.

http://www.silywily.com/images/signs.jpg

did you do the A race as well?

Did I read it wrong? I took it to mean that he did bridge back up to the breaks, albeit whilst towing others behind him.

Hence the need for attacking before the towing.

Don't F up my Self Loathing.

Statistically I still suck worse than you and play in a smaller pond. :innocent:

Did I read it wrong? I took it to mean that he did bridge back up to the breaks, albeit whilst towing others behind him.

Yea... the idea is to not tow people. You are doing all the work anyway, so why are you giving others a free ride?

I was wearing my pro looking GL kit with Livestrong white cycling socks. I may have sucked in this race, but I looked like a pro. Which is all that really counts, isn't it?

Sorry, white socks are not pro. Especially with black shoes.

When you enter the 45+ Tuesday Night race (Augusta, NJ) and there are 15 guys, and it's a struggle for you to get a top 10 result. I think I got 8th or 9th. But we had dropped 4 or 5 guys. Hey, at least I wasn't one of those guys.

Sweet Mother of Merckx I suck so bad at this sport I should be banned from it. What kills me is that I felt I was one of the stronger guys during the race. Tricky corner and uphill left turn just after that dicey corner 200 meters before the final sprint started, so if you blow that transition in the last half mile you're toast. And I F'd it up. I'll go back and try again. I think I know what I have to do next time to avoid a similar fate.

I like racing against fat old idiots. I fit right in. At least I wasn't the fattest guy there. I have that going for me.

Hi

How about not being able to do much in regular races all season and then going to a race with 13 riders (let's say 9 real racers) and then winning one of the only field sprints of your long and illustrious career to take third?

Which sucks more? ;)

More details later.

Statistically I still suck worse than you and play in a smaller pond. :innocent:

How can a bike racing pond get smaller than a field of 15 riders?

How can a bike racing pond get smaller than a field of 15 riders?

Man, some of the crit's I did this spring had combined fields of <15. You could see tumbleweed rolling through the course. Front, back, middle? Who knew?

"A clear sign you suck at bicycle racing?".

I sign up for a mountain bike race in sport class a couple Sunday's ago. First race in a couple years. I finish dead last.

Never rode the route before, but it turned out to be as easy as MTB courses get. But that just meant it was easier and faster for everyone else there far better than I already. I got dropped early and rode alone. Still had a lot of fun.

"A clear sign you suck at bicycle racing?".

I sign up for a mountain bike race in sport class a couple Sunday's ago. First race in a couple years. I finish dead last.

Never rode the route before, but it turned out to be as easy as MTB courses get. But that just meant it was easier and faster for everyone else there far better than I already. I got dropped early and rode alone. Still had a lot of fun.

Fun? There's no fun in bike racing.

MTB racing? Why not throw yourself out of a 8th floor window and impale yourself on an iron fence. Isn't that quicker and less frightening?

Geez PCad, you even suck at whining about how you suck. Get it straight dood.

.

Geez PCad, you even suck at whining about how you suck. Get it straight dood.

I'm a Cat 2 Whiner pal. I out-whined all the Cat 5s in my first month on BF and never looked back.

Maybe I'll turn pro, but that would involve starting my own Talk Radio show.

I cant finish better than mid pack... sigh



Well the world needs pack fodder too!


http://thestockmasters.com/images/judge-smails-hat.gif

I just spit a cherry across the room.:roflmao2:

Yea... the idea is to not tow people. You are doing all the work anyway, so why are you giving others a free ride?
Ahh I got it. So still bridge, but not take anybody else with you. It's a strategy I don't use often because the only way I bridge to a break is by going off the back and getting lapped.

Ahh I got it. So still bridge, but not take anybody else with you. It's a strategy I don't use often because the only way I bridge to a break is by going off the back and getting lapped.

That works for me too. I don't get why these guys do things the hard way. :D

I will go there next Tuesday and TT away from them like Dr. W.

you should do the handicap race. more bodies to hide behind and you can probably start with the B field.

you should do the handicap race. more bodies to hide behind and you can probably start with the B field.

I kind of liked the 45+ race actually. But if Chipcom shows up with those spd sandals I may have to reconsider and race with the Big Boys.

most of the 45+ guys do both races, don't they?

most of the 45+ guys do both races, don't they?

Perhaps.

look at what you're missing....there's a score of juniors in there to increase the self loathing factor.

In my last race, I was clinging to the back of the pack with a junior rider before I got shelled just before 5 to go. Taking a seat to watch the last few laps, I then see the junior who was with me initiating a break and holding it until 1 to go.
1) What a sandbagger
2) He still needs to learn when to go and when to wait
3) Youth is wasted on the young

I don't have to chase anybody when I'm in Goosepond Mtn Park on my Fly Ti MTB. Man that ride was friggin AWESOME today. There was so much Zen it was overwhelming.

You stupid Road Nazis.