shovelhd

He was in the wind, but not in a good way, unless there was a crosswind.

AzTallRider

I thought the same thing when I watched it. It seemed like he always cheated off to the left. The camera was on the right side of the bike, so I don't think it was a camera angle thing. Clockwise course, so maybe he was trying stay outside? When I watch a video like that, I find myself leaning in my chair, trying to steer the guy over and out of the wind. Sort of like pushing your foot into the floorboard when riding with someone you think isn't braking early enough.

shovelhd

Mrs. Shovel does that. She's been banned to the back seat.

Red Rider

Saturday was the Winters Road Race, along roads I ride all the time. I love this race.

I started out feeling strong, went to the front, and pulled for nearly 8 mi. until my teammate came up to help. We traded pulls -- none of the other women helped, they refused absolutely -- and then we hit some rollers. We were then neutralized by a moto ref b/c the P/1/2s were coming passed -- and a sketchy new racer took out my teammate as well as 2 other ladies. I saw her fall, braked, waited for the guys to pass (fortunately no one else crashed, with my friend down in the middle of the road), and ran to help her. She was hurt, her front wheel taco'd, so she SAGged in. I rode another couple miles to the neutral feed zone and called it a day. I was too far behind to contend with my group, so I helped hand out bottles to my other teammates as they climbed.

Yesterday I raced the Vacaville Gran Prix for the first time. I've volunteered as a course marshal, water-deliverer, volunteer coordinator, and until this year had no aspirations to race it. Two of my teammates were riding & so I decided if they could do it, so could I. So much fun! And a top 20 finish to boot. Can't wait to do it next year.

Allegheny Jet

Nice job on Sunday RR. When I'm stuck on the front I ride at a pace that won't hurt me, even if it's 18 mph. I'm a sprinter and getting to the finish fresh is when I like my chances.

AzTallRider

Wheel-sucking sprinter scum...

Way to go with Vacaville, RR, and kudos for helping your teammate. Is she okay?

sarals 

RR, great ride and a huge, huge hug for helping your teammate. Big props also for working the feed zone! I've filed that away for future reference.

Cleave

Red Rider, can't say that in all of my years of racing that I've had an DNF and then helped teammates from the sideline. Good thinking and doing! One time I crashed during the week before the Mammoth Mt stage race so I went up there anyway as team support, but that's as close as I've come to what you did.

Glad you were able to come back in the crit.

Red Rider

Thanks, AJ. As a "seasoned" CAT4 I decided if I kept the pace between 18-22 mph I could keep up. Figured if the youngsters were feeling frisky they'd come to the front and get to work.

They know my teammate and assumed that I'm as strong as she (in my dreams), so I think their strategy was to let us wear ourselves out pulling and they'd attack on the hill.

I wish I'd made the hill; I'd've shown them how age and treachery overcomes youth and skill.

Red Rider

Thanks, AZTR. She has a sore back, a few bruises, a stiff neck, and will be off the bike for a couple weeks. CT & Xrays came back OK.

I'm still thrilled with how much I enjoyed that crit...talk about going to the dark side...

Red Rider

Thanks, Sara!

Handing off bottles & cheering on teammates, friends, random famous riders is a great way to contribute. The races we ride require many volunteers. I like giving back to my cycling community.

Red Rider

Thanks, Cleave. I never forfeited a race before, either, but my instinct was that it was the right thing to do. As her domestique my job was to deliver her to the finish. Failing that, helping her get untangled from her bike and into the SAG vehicle was the least I could do.

Rarely do I enter a race with aspirations of placing. Usually my goals include finishing, improving time, surviving, personal growth, physical challenge, and having fun.

Placing is icing on the cake.

So far racing my bikes has provided me with all that, and more. I feel incredibly fortunate.

Hermes

Nice crit racing RR and wishing your teammate a full recovery.

shovelhd

+1

Racer Ex 

I did that for a teammate a few years ago in Texas. Of course that I was riding poorly at the time made it an easy decision, but I can tell you it's calming to have a friend there when you're picking yourself off the ground.

Red Rider

Thank you.

Thanks, H. She's already planning for a TTT comeback in mid-Sept.

I've had 3 crashes, 2 on the tandem and one on my Diva. I agree, it's very calming & reassuring to have a spouse/friend there when you're really low.

My friend will be fine, and will race another day. Thanks, all, for the good wishes. She appreciates them very much.

VanceMac

Last of the Wed night Summer Series. Raced the A's in a smaller group than usual (12-15).

• Point-a-lap (x12). After the usual rush for people to get a point the first couple laps, the pace backed off a notch, and I took that as a queue to open it up. Got maybe 1/4 lap gap and was able to hold it for 4 laps before popping.
• Win-n-out (6+). I was still pretty cooked (wicked case of track hack!). A couple laps in, I fell off the pace and almost decided to punt. But pace backed off and I was able to latch back on. It then backed off again, and I used the daylight to jump off the front again. Created a small gap, but one of the big sprinters came with me, and nipped me at the line for the win. Unfortunately, that gassed me, and I went from "so close" to "no points"... as is often the case with Win-n-Outs.
• Scratch (x20). Everyone was feeling a bit taxed I think, because the pace was slow enough that we were getting chided by the onlookers. At lap 7 I took a flyer and stayed away for 3 laps, but then came back and recovered. Two others got away and stayed away until the last lap. We caught them, and although I was chopped by someone coming into the sprinter's lane, managed 4th.

I quite enjoy the diversity (both mental and physical) of the omnium format. Very pleased to see a Fall Series scheduled at VSC.

Hermes

Nice Vance and welcome back from your vacation up north.

Cleave

Vance, glad that you're having a ton of fun on the track.

nacler22

Nats. MTB Marathon in Bend 9/15


The course was 54 miles with 6000' of climbing. It had a good mix of fireroad/double track for passing and lots of twisting singletrack, with lots of rocky technical sections. It also had bag-loads of deep sand and in places(usually tight corners and the bottom of decents), 3-8" of talc-like fluff. From what I was told, the organizer's intended to made the course much tougher this year; mission accomplished.

This was my fifth Mtb race, and first marathon, so I really didn't have illusions of being a factor. As some of you had encouraged, my goal was to beat the race predictor, and to learn as much as possible about pacing a 50+ mile Mtb race. My plan was to let the fast guys go early, and then pick-off the rabbits later on. This plan went great for the for the first 25 miles. (mostly)

From the the gun, the fast guys were off like a cross hole-shot shootout. By mile two or so, we turned on a long straight fire-road, and the lead group was way up the road. I settled into at a very comfortable pace and waited for the first steep climb to see how my legs were really feeling. First climb came and went, then the next, and so on; all systems check. By about mile 15, I was ready to start pressing a little harder going up, and going down. This was my first mistake. On a mild, but very soft decent, my front wheel went out from under me, and I disappeared in cloud of Moon Dust. Got up, shook the dust and pain off, and pressed on. I must have tweeked my right cleat in the crash, because after awhile, I noticed that it was loose on the next long climb. I figured that I'd check it out at the nx aid station, and started to press for time again. One mile out of the aid station/feed drop, I lost the front wheel in a tight, loose corner, and another mini Moon dust explosion ensued.

Mile 24 was the the first feed drop and I rolled in covered in dust, and bleeding from my chin and legs. I really wish someone had taken a picture. While I was loading up with food and water, someone from neutral-tech tightened my cleat down. Despite my looks, I was feeling good, and took off to try and pull some more guys back. Less then a mile later, I hit a fast and rocky section, and my right foot came out of the pedal. When I tried to clip back in, no joy. I had ripped the cleat from the shoe, and still had 29+ miles to go. Oh well, no time to pout-up and whine about my bad luck, so took off again as best I could.

The rest of the race could be summed up like this: pedal, pedal, pedal, slip, expletive, pedal...............

Even though my cleat was gone, I found a sweet spot on the pedal (eggbeater) were I could sort of pedal with some power. This would work for maybe 20-40 strokes, then my foot would slip off and sometimes smack my Achilles tendon or inside ankle. The hardest part was on the bumpy decents, and I be screaming (literally) downhill with my right leg flapping about. Despite all this, I was still feeling good, and although I only passed one or two racers I know of, I was only passed by one in a younger category. I don't know how many spots I could have raced back if my cleat hadn't snapped-off, but to be honest, I really don't care. It sure wouldn't have been enough to get anywhere near the podium, and as pollyanna it may sound, I had the best race that I can remember in a long time. I learned more in this one race, then any five others combined. Plus, as implausible as it may sound, I had just as much fun.

Enough of the rah-rah, I did it, narcissistic, two day later afterglow. Time for the facts:

Pre-race Predictor 26/26

Final results 21/29 (3 late entries) 5 DNF's

Hope it was entertaining reading.

Cross starts in 12 days. My season will really, finally, begin.........yippie!

shovelhd

Way to gut it out on the big stage, nacler.

nacler22

Thank you sir, it was a better experience than my Nats. Mtb XC race.

Racer Ex 

I'll call this "Slaying the Race Predictor"

Way to grit it out. FWIW I lost my right cleat 5 miles into the first 80 mile stage of Tour De Gila. My shin was black and blue when it was over. Gotta be tougher on the MTB.

nacler22

I think that might be the new game for mid-packers like me. "The hell with the podium, I'm shooting for 8 spots on the R/P.

As much as I was cussing, I'm quite sure I'd rather not have to race one-legged in a pack going 30+

shovelhd

I can't imagine doing a crit with a broken cleat. the opposite leg would be toast for days.