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Old 03-24-13, 09:18 PM
  #151  
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Must have lost a bet.
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Old 03-24-13, 11:11 PM
  #152  
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Originally Posted by AzTallRider
.....believe it or not, a guy rode one of these in the 50+ crit today (after discussion/inspection by the ref), and did just fine, but it sure freaked us out cornering next to him:


^^^^^

No!
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Old 03-24-13, 11:13 PM
  #153  
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I'm loving your race reports, AzT. You're sounding more and more like Shovel, and that's a very good thing!
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Old 03-25-13, 04:30 AM
  #154  
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8th is not pack fodder.
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Old 03-25-13, 04:39 AM
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Well done AzT.

The Bike Friday thing is interesting. Now I have no idea how a Bike Friday handles, but racing on a small-wheels bike isn't necessarily a silly idea. The thing that kills most people (well, kills me, anyway) is the repeated accelerations, amd small wheels spin up easier than big ones. A genuinely performance-oriented small-wheeled bike, like the top-of-the-range-Moultons, or the Airnimal chameleon Ultima might be a really interesting proposition.

EDIT: i found this review of the most expensive Moulton of all. Interesting how complimentary they are about handling and grip. Wouldn't mind racing that, if someone would spend the $8000 to buy it for me...

Last edited by chasm54; 03-25-13 at 05:03 AM.
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Old 03-25-13, 08:11 AM
  #156  
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Crits with Spider bikes? Now you're talkin'!
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Old 03-25-13, 10:35 AM
  #157  
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Keep it up.
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Old 04-13-13, 01:44 PM
  #158  
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2013-04-13 AZ Criterium Championships

M55-59:
I almost bowed out of this race, not because I'm on my backup bike, but because I started finally succumbing to a head cold exposure on Thursday. But I worked from home Friday, hydrating like mad, and appear to have fought it off. So I raced in what, for many of the 55+ crowd, became a lesson in "be careful what you ask for". We were scheduled to start with the 50-54 pack, but there were enough guys asking for a delayed start, and claiming (falsely) that it had been done last year, that the officials agreed and delayed us for 30". Laps on that course run ~1:45 to 2:00. They kept our start close to the 50's, no doubt to try to delay them lapping us. No doubt that seemed reasonable to the officials at the time.

We start, and almost immediately a couple of guys are pushing the pace. My HR quickly gets up into rare territory. It's windy, which is typical for that course this time of year, but the direction is a bit different. It's in our faces on the short section leading to the home straight, and on that start-finish leg (uphill) as well. It makes that uphill leg a real challenge, and I am hanging on by my fingernails after only a few laps of it. A couple of 55 guys go OTB, and we are passing a few that fell off the larger the 50 pack. The make-or-break point comes as we are getting close to the 50 pack on the uphill stretch. Someone decides to crank it up the hill, and I fall back to where I'm pushing some air. We head down towards a fast turn, with me working to close the gap I gave up on the hill, and hit the 50 pack right after the turn. At first, it looks like the 55 guys have backed off, but as I get there and check numbers I realize they are already past, and I crank it to get around the 50's. I'm just off the back of my pack as we hit the hill again, and am unable to hold on. After a few futile solo laps, I'm out.

As the race plays out, only three 55 guys are left on the lead lap, avoiding a 2 man break from the 50's. The five of them do a good job of avoiding drafting each other. One 55 crashes, gets his bike squared away in the pit, and rejoins the other two. He tries to take the sprinter out of his game at the finish, but to no avail. The sprinter goes from ~300m out, and it is no contest as he coasts over the line. Deserving win for him. The 2 50's are never threatened, and it is a pack sprint for third in the 50's. Pretty sure only the three from our 55 pack got a finish. Small field, splintered by running into the 50's and by a strong wind... kablooey.

So, a bit of a cluster, but the really good guys showed their stuff and handled it well.
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Old 04-13-13, 04:40 PM
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Brutal sounding race, AzT. Good job on the fortitude and hanging on. Wow.
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Old 04-13-13, 06:51 PM
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Good job, AZT. Our championships were combined last year as well. Makes things doubly difficult.
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Old 04-13-13, 07:17 PM
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Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Good for you for going for it.

Interesting that they put the 55+ guys with the 50+ guys. We're facing a similar problem but on the other end of the age spectrum; 55+/60+. We've never had mixed age championships before and this year's promoter wants to mix us. Our SoCal 55+/60+ "mafia" has been working over the promoter and our regional officials. I think at a minimum they will start the 60+ guys just after the 55+ field. You should come out with your new bike on June 23rd and do our race.
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Old 04-13-13, 11:18 PM
  #162  
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Originally Posted by Cleave
You should come out with your new bike on June 23rd and do our race.
I would, but that's my son's wedding day. :-)
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Old 04-13-13, 11:50 PM
  #163  
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Originally Posted by AzTallRider
I would, but that's my son's wedding day. :-)
Worrying sense of priorities...
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Old 04-14-13, 12:49 AM
  #164  
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Originally Posted by chasm54
Worrying sense of priorities...
Brilliant, LoL.

AzTR,

Considering your recent (and not so recent) trials and tribulations, I'd second Sara, and award you an Intestinal Fortitude award.
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Old 05-11-13, 11:42 AM
  #165  
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2013-05-11 South Mountain ITT (HC); M50+

I guess there is a big difference between the Giant and the Gunnar, since I popped a significant wheelie at the start of the TT. Glanced down and I was over 500w. Dialed it back, glanced down, and I was ~400. Geared down and finally got the power in a reasonable range about a minute in. After that it was just grind it out, keep my HR up near the danger zone, and try to regain something the few times it dipped down. Passed someone, so I knew I wasn't DFL, but a guy had blown past me before that, so I also knew I wasn't running first. The end is of course is the hardest since, well, it's at the end, but in this case it also tilts up. Lots of encouragement at key spots from the promoting club, which did a great job. Most guys went without a water bottle. The organizers were handing out cold water just after you crossed the line, plus also making sure you didn't just fall over and hurt yourself. Nice touch. Next time I'll leave my bottle at the bottom.

As I was with my teammates waiting for our last guy to finish before riding back down, one of them asked me if my chain was long enough.
I looked down, and I was cross-chained in the big ring and the big cassette. No wonder I wasn't on top of the gear in the final (and steepest) section. Doh! That cost me some time, but the guy ahead beat me by over a minute, and I did the same for the guy behind me, so it didn't affect my finish.

I was 5th of 9, in 24:27, beating my previous best by 23".

I'll take that.
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Old 05-11-13, 11:48 AM
  #166  
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Easy fix for that.



And congrats.
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Old 05-11-13, 12:05 PM
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Nice work, AzT!! +1 on the wheelie bar!
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Old 05-11-13, 05:10 PM
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Originally Posted by AzTallRider


I was 5th of 9, in 24:27, beating my previous best by 23".

I'll take that.
I would. Nice improvement!
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Old 05-11-13, 10:53 PM
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Congrats on the HC and improvement.
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Old 05-12-13, 06:07 AM
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Originally Posted by VanceMac
Easy fix for that.



And congrats.
From personal experiance..., don't tie your drag parachute to the loop at the back of the seat.

Nice improvement AZTR!
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Old 05-12-13, 07:01 AM
  #171  
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PRs are always good!
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Old 05-12-13, 10:04 AM
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23 seconds in a 24 minute race is a boatload of time. Congratulations. Nice work.
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Old 05-13-13, 08:34 PM
  #173  
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Old 05-13-13, 09:10 PM
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For all the seat-bar drop you have, you don't seem to be bent over that much. And judging by your gearing, that must've been a pretty steep bugger of a hill!
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Old 05-13-13, 11:32 PM
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Great shots!
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