Santaria

So I finished a 40 minute crit today. It was a little disorganized, which was fine. I love the clubs and people involved and thought it was amazing that they got 50 riders to turn out. I mentioned it earlier this week, and people wanted to know how it went.


I'm fat. 25 pounds overweight is still 25 pounds overweight. There is no substitute, no amount of bike adjustment that can accommodate that fact. Fat isn't fast.

40 minutes, 14 miles. My cateye indicated I was averaging somewhere near 18.9 mph. Unfortunately for me, within a few minutes of my heat starting, the winds we had predicted arrived. In the form of 20-30 MPH SSE winds. What this evolved into was that on the back section, I was getting upwards of 24 MPH initially. Into the wind I was fighting to keep a 16-18 MPH push.

Stupid things I noticed post-race, and they were obvious. The initial start had me in fourth wheel. I was on the back of a rider I'm very good friends with, and we are comfortable riding with each other. I was able to hang through the first lap, and then something happened. They attacked quick, and I fell off the pack. And then I panicked. I couldn't gain a footing in the passing horde of riders that were cutting on the inside of me. So I thought I'll drop into the back of the group and catch a wheel.

Unfortunately, that wheel came and went. I was hacking up phlegm which made it even worse at that point. I have been recovering from a cold for 3 days, and figured I was okay, but apparently not. Any time I pushed harder than a minimal effort, I started coughing and wheezing. So I'm going to head over to the doctor's tomorrow and see if I've developed some kind of upper respiratory infection.

End result, I came in far to the back of my grouping. I think there were 20-25 people in the intermediate division, and I came in 18th or something like that. I'm not happy with my performance. I've no excuses, because even sick I shouldn't be so pathetic.

On the high side: My good friend who was in the race far ahead of me caught up with me (read that as lapped) and he gassed within a few hundred meters in front of me. I was able to sprint up to him, and pull him around for 2-3 laps until he got his legs back and he was able to push back up into the top 8. So I found out I have some until now, unrevealed quality as a better group rider for my club than I assumed.

If you scrolled past the long-winded part - this is the short version:

I'm fat. I need to be less fat. Too much fat comes in 18th in a field of 25. I need to be less fat. And probably trainer for speed as much as I do for distance in the future.

patentcad

It's like the guy is doing Search Engine Optimization for a fat website.

dstrong 

Neither fat nor coming off a cold is a good way to race (this coming from a non-racer). Sounds like it may have been motivating.

Santaria

pcad, you might be right. I never thought about that. Now when people search for fat, they'll find me WIN!


I think I'm more bummed that the only people I beat were either wearing jeans, on vintage bikes or in t-shirts and track gear. I was dead last in the "came dressed to play the role of racer" category.

Kind of Blued

Just consider yourself the domestique who used his superior wind-blocking ability to selflessly keep your buddy in the running.

Silvercivic27

Hey man, at least you had the ballz to show up! I haven't even entered a race yet, so consider yourself ahead of me as well as many other people in that regard.

shrinkboy

just keep signing up to race, and keep training. you will learn something in each race, get the training that only a race can give you, and have no expectations whatever except to go hard and stay with whoever you can stay with. you will gain experience and over time get fit. give it a year and report back

Santaria

On an aside: I was shocked at the number of quality riders who quit. This was only a 40 minute ride and many of them (I'd say 8+ that I saw) folded up and DNF'd and then just sat around as if they hadn't raced yet. So I have to give the guy in jeans riding the hi10 from the mid80s credit, he at least stayed in until the bell lap.

vision646

+1

I've given racing a thought but haven't pulled the trigger yet, so you finished ahead of me as well.

KendallF

If you race a crit that isn't a practice race, you will find that dropped riders are pulled by the race officials before they're lapped, for safety. It's fine to keep going if they don't pull you for a practice race, but it's not like triathlon, for example, where there's a "finish however slow" mentality.

GirlAnachronism

Nice job just getting out there and giving it a shot! Crits are tricky--they can often be as much about positioning, skills, and tactics as they are about fitness. DFL>DNF>DNS.

Psimet2001 

Watch helping a teammate in that situation. You can not provide help in that manner if you're lapped. Roughly.

Congrats on getting out there. In general - everyone gets dropped. You can't train into shape to race without actually racing - there is no way to push yourself that hard without actually seeing what it is really like to begin with. Without racing there is just no frame of reference.


It gets better and it is easier if you are less fat. (says the wheel builder with the donut habit).

KDTX

x 1,000,0000!

I have yet to match my race efforts ever in a training situation (well sometimes on Saturday a.m. rides but neither for the distance or duration).

Keep lining up.....you will get better.....(and melt a few pounds away in the process)!

mmmdonuts

Now you're ready for the next one. And it's OK to be fat as long as you are fast too. Weight doesn't matter so much on short fast crits. Speed does so work on that.

thump55

The agony you are trying to express is not lost on me.

aham23

congrats to the OP. racing is tough.

however, one can properly perpare for a first race or the start of their racing "career" AND NOT get dropped. everyone gets dropped, sure, but not everyone gets dropped in their first race. buy into that if you want, but i dont. later.

Creakyknees

It's normal to hack up phlegm after a cold like that. Sometimes I'll cough up a tough little chunk, almost a nodule, weeks after having been sick.

zigmeister

Really? Not in any of the Crits I have been in, that includes Tamp Twilight, PP Circuit, Gearlink etc..and a few others. Never see them pulling anybody in those races.

Most wrecks I've seen are usually group/packed involved, never involves a lapped rider.

rbart4506

You hit the nail on the head...

I was doing 2x20 over/unders on the trainer last night and forcing myself to stay in the pain cave was so difficult compared to racing. When racing you push yourself to hold that wheel, bridge that gap, because you know there is a reward...recovery...During training that extra motivation just isn't there...

Psimet2001 

Yes, really.

I call it the "Superweek Salute" - we have a great official up here who has a very subtle way of yanking you that I have nicknamed the Superweek Salute.

I can't begin to tell you the number of times I have seen issues arise from lapped traffic.

1. They are often new racers and are not aware of where it is they should be riding when a pack comes on them to lap them. Hint: not on the racing line. GTFO of the way.

2. They are often going at a much slower rate of travel than the pack. They are not drafting or working with anyone and are presumably blown up anyway. This leads to a large speed differential. If they are in the wrong position (read #1) then they can end up shooting backwards through the pack as they are swarmed while being lapped. This can result in guy #18 running right up the lapped rider's ass because he was far enough back that he never saw the lapped rider shooting back through the pack.

3. Lapping a lapped rider on the last lap or two just adds to the effects caused in #1 an #2. I commonly tell newer racers to realize that in the last couple of laps they will be hitting those corners at higher speeds than they have ever hit those corners before because they are going faster in the last couple of laps than they have gone all race. It results in people ending up coming out of corners and handling the corners differently than they have for the last 40 minutes. Errors in judgement and reactions mean that even if they see a lapped rider they may still end up smacking them.

4. If you're lapped - you are not contesting the finish or the money. The beauty of road racing (crits and road races) is that there is no special award for finishing. If you want that then go become a "try"athlete. All that means is that once you know how to race and you find you're out of contention - it's OK to pack it in. Then again it is generally considered - DFL>DNF>DNS...but when you realize that at this point DFL and DNF will be the same result then .....it becomes a little easier to make the bad men stop hurting you.

5. Lapped riders have upset the scoring of probably 50% or more of the races I have participated in. There is nothing like watching a guy lose his temper when he realizes that there was a lapped rider that they scored in front of him - kicking him off the podium and putting the lapped rider on it. I think it's wonderful the embarrassment level that the lapped rider has to endure when they feel compelling to inform the official that they were in fact lapped especially when it is usually as the fitter actual podium places stands next to them in a state of shear anger with a look on their face like, "you think this overweight SOB would have actually beat me or even contested a finish in this race." It only stings because it's true.

Because of these reasons riders are pulled frequently from the races in this area. No one in general wants to ever see anyone get pulled. You paid your $$ and you toe'd the line - you should finish your race. With that in mind most officials will turn an eye when you eat a lemon as long as they get some impression from you that you know how to watch for the race and know where you should and shouldn't be.

Luckily around here all of the officials know me well. Unfortunately that means they also like to watch me suffer. This results in a few, "I'm not pulling you Rob. You have to race this one out. Get back out there and stay off the groove. If you don't hurry I'll go tell the announcer to let everyone know that you're recovering from a great illness and they should all cheer for you each time you complete a lap."

*wipes away tear* - I love this sport.

Trucker Dan

+1
If you're off the back you might as well pack it in and watch the finish. No point getting in the way.