st3venb

I don't know if this really counts as a race race, but I'm considering it that.

I hope that I can finish it, in time.

https://www.prescottbikeped.org/presc...nge/index.html

hammy56

swing and a miss.

jsutkeepspining

play nice hammy. pretend rkwaki was here.

mkadam68

Umm... sorry: no, you're not.

It doesn't.

So, the only one there who'll be racing will be you.

Regardless, have fun.

mattm

Doesn't sound like a race, but usually there will be some peeps racing it anyway.. or trying to finish 'first' at least.

It might end up being a good warmup to figuring out what it's like to ride in a pack, etc.

Btw here are some real races in your state: https://www.usacycling.org/events/?state=AZ

Creatre

That's a fun race/ride, technically was my first timed event when I started cycling in 2010. Oh how it feels like it was forever ago. I ended up top 15 and was the only guy in the main pack to stop off for some water at an aid station. Very fast and lots of climbing, so be prepared. Definitely not a USAC race though, that's a whole 'nother step up of pain and suffering and speed.

My strava file for that ride:

https://app.strava.com/activities/207627

rkwaki

No insertion so it doesn't count

wanders

However, if there's a dust storm, you do get extra credit.

mugshot

Might not be a race, but you should enjoy it and use it as a base to find out about races you can join in.

aztimm

Tour de Scottsdale counts as a race? How does that count and el Tour de Tucson (or any of the other tours) don't count?

I thought only crits counted as racing.

Homebrew01

Crazy, isn't it ? Did you see that big Tour de France thing, with those guys riding around France day after day ? They make a big deal about the "winner", and give him a special jersey, but not one single criterium the whole time .... jeesh ! And on some days, the guys were just out riding by themselves, and they even had a support car ! I mean, I like riding by myself, but I don't go telling people I raced, and have a support car following me, like I'm gonna crash or something (I know how to fix a flat).

aztimm

You still didn't answer my question. Why would one count and not the others?

Homebrew01

The USAC website says Tour de Scottsdale is a "Road Fun Ride / Tour" ... doesn't say "Road Race"
That link was not race specific. If you select "Results & Rankings Events", that looks more race specific.

aztimm

So I guess el Tour de Tucson is just a stroll through the park since it isn't even listed.

https://www1.perimeterbicycling.com/el-tour-de-tucson/

BTW, I'm doing both, and I certainly do not consider myself a racer. I've also done el Tour de Mesa. Seems like your site just doesn't like Perimeter events, which are the bulk of the bike tours in AZ.

Homebrew01

The Tour de Tuscon may be a difficult ride or tour, but that doesn't make it a race.
USAC is one of several cycling event sanctioning organizations in the U.S.
(I'm in CT, so pretty clueless about the events out west.)

AzTallRider

Here is our AZ sanctioned race schedule: https://www.azcycling.com/calendar

Tour de Scottsdale is considered more of a 'serious race' than some of the others because of its route, who rides it, and the general approach. Hell, they give bikes to the winners. There is a crit associated with it that is sanctioned, though they have them separated schedule-wise now. Tucson involves carrying your bike through a couple of washes, and has so many people that factor influences results to a large degree, so it's not as "clean" a race. But to win either one, you have to beat people like the U.S. M35+ national RR (and crit) champ. NRC men and women ride both, and Tucson gets some international riders.

Let's face it people, road races are getting really hard to organize and permit. One of the ways to make them feasible is by turning them into "charity rides", which helps make the economics and city cooperation work. They may not be sanctioned and give points, but some of them are most definitely races. I don't know how the Prescott ride stacks up as I haven't done it, but the terrain in that area can be really challenging, especially if it's hot.

Psimet2001 

Actually that would be the definition of it not being a race.

Just because something is hard and there are people who try to beat others doesn't make it a race. Otherwise all of the Tuesday night rides around the country would be races....

.....and yes, some think they are....but they're not.

mkadam68

+1 Some of the hardest riding I've done have not been races, but charity rides (Assault on Mt. Mitchell, Breathless Agony, Mulholland Challenge, etc...).

topflightpro

Lots of events are permitted through USAC for insurance reasons. My team hosts a charity ride each fall that we permit through USAC and for which we require USAC licenses. It is NOT a race, though we do declare the first guy back the "winner." Going through USAC assures we are covered in case of any catastrophes or other injuries.

IMO, a lot of the "racing" you see at these cookie rides is a lot more dick measuring than anything else.

rkwaki

And that's why I am the winner...










People feel sorry for my teeny weenie

rbart4506

Rk...You seem to have a fascination with the penis...hmmmmm....

rkwaki

You, my friend, are correct...

AzTallRider

I think that these events become two separate rides. There are folks out there doing the ride, and there are folks out front trying to win. When something is mass start, chip timed, gives awards for placing, and tracks performance over time, I just don't see how it isn't a 'race'. Granted they are different than a USAC sanctioned RR, but there are many sanctioning bodies, and surely USAC isn't the only organization that can make a ride a 'race'.

ljrichar

Do you have to obey traffic laws?

AzTallRider

For the events under discussion, they control the intersections, just as in a sanctioned race, but maybe not for the entire time, which is drawn out more. So, if you get dropped, you may face an intersection where the traffic has been released to control by the lights.

For those of you with a narrow definition of what constitutes a race, precisely what criteria need to be met? If you can't define it, then...