MDcatV

event flyer

carpediemracing 

Wasn't the case before. The way the old "auto upgrade" worked, the auto upgrade meant you couldn't be denied if you requested an upgrade. But no one could arbitrarily upgrade you, at least not based on the auto upgrade thing. I think the "real" auto upgrade thing happened in the past year or two. I'm sure someone can verify this.

One guy, if you counted only his 1st and 2nds, had 257 points in August of one year (he rattled off his top 6 counts and I only remembered 21 wins and 22 second places - the numbers just went up for 3rds, 4ths, 5ths, and 6ths). He was a Nat Crit Champ and Cat 3). He won pretty much every race I entered for a few years. He complained to one person that he couldn't win $1500 every weekend.

In general I think Nat Champs should auto upgrade to Cat 2. Best in the nation and a Cat 3? Devalues the whole category system if Cat 1s and 2s are worse than Cat 3s. (I'll be kind of the opposite - I'll be a 2 that's worse than 3s in general, but in crits I should be reasonable pack fodder).

cdr

*edit* he basically didn't enter road races but he did place in a couple "easier" ones.

Apus^2

Good point. I guess I kinda assumed that an auto upgrade was automatic, especially once your results got so blatant. I didn't think there was a system that brought the numbers up to the local rep--I thought that some sort of tattling (for lack of a better word...I have no issue with tattling )had to be done. I do like the idea of auto upgrades for State and National--especially--national championships.

shovelhd

Back when I raced last, the district rep had the power to upgrade you whether you wanted to or not. Obviously it's different now.

I can see both sides of this "debate". It's a good conversation to have over a couple of cold ones in the dead of winter.

CDR, you're going to be a lot more than pack fodder.

kensuf

Your adopted state is bigger than most countries...

Racer Ex 

Pursuit, not points. Gary Ziegler won the points.

Does he wear the goggles in crits?

The rulebook states that riders with x number of points in any category are mandatory upgraded. When this fails to happen it's because the local rep is not doing their job.

BigSean

Gotta try to get through another MRI today. Apparently for me that is easier said then done.

esammuli

Interesting. With the exception of stage races, the shortest road race I did this year was 80 miles and that was ~7500 ft of climbing. Most of ours seem to be in the 85-90 mile range with the longest at 103 miles. Most of our RR courses are generally shorter (15-20 miles) or way out in the middle of nowhere, which I'd assume allows more flexibility when selecting distances.

WCroadie

Yeah he still wears the goggles. I think he is losing it a little bit, guess age is catching up to him. I've raced against him many times, it seems when the crits are real technical or really fast, he pops. I've seen him just blow up and get shelled just sitting in a M35+ race, though he does do multiple races a day. Winning or not, Pat G gets much respect at the races and it's deserved.

Apus^2

Most of the P/1/2 here in Georgia were 75+, with one being 62 and a few being 90+.

rog

Wow, the old guys are really fast in Georgia, eh?

waterrockets 

Good luck. Having trouble staying still enough for the tech?

BigSean

Apparently Im not fond of small places, only took me 43 years to figure that out. So last time I freaked out and made em stop(twice), second time my wife was holding my hand and I made it about 4 minutes. This time they are gonna medicate me with some sort of sedative. I hope it works because I need to get this done so I can move on with treatment. Ive had MRI's in the past and they never bothered me, but those were all knee and hip stuff.

I never figured lying still for 20 minutes would be such a big deal.

waterrockets 

Phobias suck, because there's no talking you out of it. Your brain just says "umm. BAD!"

Good luck, and good luck with the results too.

Apus^2

I fall asleep in MRIs. For some reason I find the banging strangely relaxing.

kensuf

Oh sweet lord. Hens teeth are easier.

tombailey

I had a brain MRI because I was suffering with claustrophobia, vertigo and anxiety. It is not a fun place for someone with those symptoms.

Sean - I feel for ya.

Enthalpic

Given enough benzos you wont' give a damn about... anything.

ridethecliche

Yeah. I fell asleep in my last one too...

gsteinb

Why do all these women drive super sized SUVs?

kensuf

To make them feel safe when they're busy on their cell phones and rear end other cars.

waterrockets 

They had me holding my breath for the exposures, so sleep wasn't an option for mine. It's funny, I only had to hold my breath for 15s at a time, but it's kind of hard to do on-demand. About 12s into it, I'm like "are they still working on this, 'cause I need some air"

caloso

Because you need big horsepower to haul those yoga mats and venti half-caff lattes.

wens

Something like this.

wens

This has got to be one of the cooler/more dangerous things I've seen lately: