Originally Posted by
big chainring
I never even thought of the restricted gears as being a concern when as a Junior racing with the Seniors. We just pedaled faster.
I raced as a Cat 2 for several years with a 52/14 top gear. Recalled one race at Super Week where they put the sponges in the corners expecting a record pace. We averaged something like 33 mph for the first 10 miles, and covered the 45mile distance in around 1hr 35 minutes.
Ahhhh...."stupid weak"....how I miss thee.
Originally Posted by
shovelhd
If there's one thing that pisses a criterium pit official off, it's Juniors (or Juniors parents) pushing the rollout limit. If I've got a dozen bikes to roll out, some of them for riders that are waiting to line up for the next race, and I have to roll you out three times to be sure, you can bet I'll remember who you are. Don't do it.
HAHAHA...I can't tell you how much I love having to yell "Juniors to rollout" when I'm announcing. The best is having to explain it to a pissed off parent - not the type "A" sort but the one who just thought it might be a good idea to have their kid try a bike race and even though they were well off the back and not pulled the bike they are on has illegal gears and they're DQ'd ...or even told they would be DQ'd if they raced again on it...
3 Second vent - Our sport is really f'd up (choir preaching I know, but seriously). We try to get new people involved. We do a horrible job at recruiting because honestly most int his sport are so self absorbed it's really all about them and their challenges just getting to the races on a week by week basis. Then when we are blessed enough to have a parent bring a local kid to the bike race they read about in the paper (because their weird parent still reads a paper) we confuse the living crap out of them, make them pay all sorts of money for something that seems like it should be everyone getting a medal and a capri sun for doing, then we jump all over them for not pinning a number on correctly or for having a bike that fails rollout - or simply just pulling them out of the race before the finish.
I've seen efforts to help in different areas and at different races over the years but really in general the system is set for immense failure from day 1 if you don't simply have someone on the inside willing to help you out.
It's like a kid showing up to Little League tryouts and being told that the glove they borrowed from their big brother is too big for them to use so they are disqualified. That or if they get to bat and they strike out we put them on the bench with a dunce cap and tell them they are no longer allowed to play or learn and it's for their own and other's safety. I mean we all know why it is the way it is but we to a horrid job of telling the story or delivering the message.