"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - Race(s) report

i did cat 5 yesterday and today at the greenville spring series. 21 miles, rolling hills. Yesterday, i was riding well, very nice weather, and on the last of three laps i was caught behind an eight or nine man crash, had to dismount to get around, and got dropped. The weather was 10 to 15 degrees colder today, all cloudy, and the forecast called for lots of rain. I went anyways, and rode strong again. after almost causing a big crash because the guy in front of me hit his brakes and my wheel caught his, i worked my way up to the front on the final hill and sprinted across the line as a nasty crash happened. i got 3rd place by about half a bike length to first and second. The guy beside me caught my team mate's wheel and swerved over and crashed into the camera scaffolding. there were 105 cat 5's sat. and between 50 and 70 today. Exciting start to my first season

You did a very good job. As you learned over the weekend, there are many crashes in the 5s. This is where you learn to ride your bike safely around others. Hopefully the others will learn the same lesson.

Keep up the good work. It sounds like you thoroughly enjoyed yourself. That's what bike racing is about, having fun.

the cat5 race was only 21 miles long? jesus thats short

Yeah.. all the races today were short. It's called the "Greenville Spring Training Race" although, I'm not sure why they call it a "spring" race. It's freaking cold.

no kidding. it was 40 to 45 all day. freakin cold

haha 40 "freakin cold".
shut the hell up,

sincerely, your new england 'frozen water bottle' bretheren.
;)

Is that greenville NC? if so I hope my buddy was not in one of those crashes. Wow what a mess that sounds like.

greenville SC. well, normally i ride in 35 to 40 without any problems, but the 7 mile loop ia around an old air base so it is wide open. winds were 20 to 30 mph average. also, no sun today. it was supposed to rain, but just stayed cloudy until late in the day. This was all coming from 60 degrees yesterday. racing in the 40 degree weather wasn't bad, my body was warm. it was blocking traffic off the roads for 3 hours afterwards for the other races that got to me. sitting in the cold wind after i was all sweaty just sucked.

Yeah. It felt like a direct headwind on that second-to-last big climb (about 3 miles out from the finish).

I guess if I hadn't been dropped, then it wouldn't have been so noticeable. Would it were so.

Yes I ment SC. It has been a wierd winter in these parts. One day 60 deg F the next ice storms! I had to bag my first team ride today because I got sick :(

Stay safe and race hard...

Please do not say crash in CAT 5... :eek:

105 cat 5's
Now, that's just scary! ;)

the cat5 race was only 21 miles long? jesus thats short

most of the cat5 races in my area are this short or shorter. we have some 12 mile races here! i did two 17 mile races last season.

March 6??? You there in Central Park??? I do have a problem. I have to get up at 4:30am. Head out at 5. Be at the park at little past 6. Of course, I will probably get less than 6 hours of sleep. Have to work on Sat.


most of the cat5 races in my area are this short or shorter. we have some 12 mile races here! i did two 17 mile races last season.

March 6??? You there in Central Park??? I do have a problem. I have to get up at 4:30am. Head out at 5. Be at the park at little past 6. Of course, I will probably get less than 6 hours of sleep. Have to work on Sat.

i'm not ready to race yet, so next weekend is out for me. i'm aiming to be ready to race in april. i might (big might) try to make it up to the park to watch the race though. it is soooooo early though. :(

But is a training race and short. Just think of it a fast group ride with a sprint finish. :) You know what happen in April right? The race lenght will be 4x longer.


i'm not ready to race yet, so next weekend is out for me. i'm aiming to be ready to race in april. i might (big might) try to make it up to the park to watch the race though. it is soooooo early though. :(

Anyone doing the Parkside crit on March 6th in Kenosha, Wisconsin? The weather looks well dodgy for the 6th which'll suck because I've planned that as the first race of the season. Unless there is a blizzard, I'm going up there. Hopefully, I'll be the only one on the start line :D