tetonrider

i happened to be lined up on the 1st row at that time because i wanted to stand out in the sun the longest. fair, i was next to the official when she was calling out names. i didn't see a single rider move up to the front with a bicycle. they either came to the front without a bicycle or just indicated they were present.

the same guys who were to my left and right as well as behind me before this process were the ones who were there after it. maybe someone moved up a row....but that all changed a bit when the call-ups were finished and we all moved up.

now, maybe the riders you saw didn't drift all the way to the back, but they sure didn't stay at the front.

hack

Ah...I was further back and guys were moving up a bit, but I guess not all the way up. Once we rolled to the start, it was a big reshuffle in the back half anyway.

aaronmcd

How on earth does one forget to sign in? One only does it at every race, week after week, year after year.

mattm

I totally forgot to sign in for the Cascade crit this year, for the first time ever. Was too focused on lining up well and when a few guys were like "oh **** forgot to sign in" and went to go sign in as we surged for the start line, I realized I'd forgotten too and decided F it, I'll just pay the $20 fine, and tried to get a good start spot.

They just called our names out, nobody moved up from it, nobody got fined.

Anyway it's easier to forget at stage races since you already have a number & have already paid for the whole thing, so the sign in step is extra (except the TT, where you don't need to sign in).

mattm

Took a wheel to the LBS this morning for a quick truing, mechanic said they could get it done by the end of the month.. I thought he was joking at first, but he wasn't! They're understaffed & overbooked I guess.

After chatting a bit more he decided to take a look and do it anyway, only took about 10 mins. Sweet!

This is why it helps to have an LBS; Amazon never wants to true my wheels...

Fwiw I have trued wheels before, but I'm not very good at it, and the bladed spokes on my 404s always mess me up - even when the little bladed spoke holder thingy. One day I'll figure it out.

furiousferret

We have a shop like that, the shortest time they'll give you is 8 days.

Our mechanic at the team shop gets my stuff done fast. Probably has something to do with the excessive amount of $20 tips.

hack

My LBS has a 48 hour turn around guarantee. I've never had them quote me anything less than 5 days for the smallest of jobs. I drive a little further for the less than local, but my preferred shop. Preferred shop also has a lot less staff turn over and I FEEL like the attention to detail is better.

echappist

#rant

late season races always seem to bring out all the sandbaggers. There's one dude with 45 points from this year alone and still signing up for cat-3 races, and there's another dude who got 3rd at GMSR 2 years ago and 1st last year, but the dude doesn't race enough so he never accumulates more than 40 a year...

/rant

tetonrider

i nearly forgot to sign in (as in the first guys were starting to stage and i remembered.)

ran there and back. 2' after i returned there were 5, 6 rows of riders lined up.

it definitely happens.

i can't recall amateurs getting fined for it, unless it is a second offense in a stage race.

tetonrider

well..... few people are doing stage races weekly.

at most 1-day races, you pick up the # and that is your sign-in. i've done 5 or 6 stage races this year and had a 'whoops!' moment. there's also not really (so rare as i've never seen it) a consequence -- they'll do a role call on the line or possibly call it out in a communique. that's not an excuse, but the lack of a penalty certainly doesn't encourage people to pay more attention.

topflightpro

The LBS I use for repairs usually fits me in pretty quickly. I've been going to them since I moved here, and the used to sponsor my old team. Several years ago, I crashed out of a RR on a Saturday morning, and bent two spokes on my Ksyriums. The replaced the spokes and trued the wheel within a couple hours so I could race on it on Sunday.

For most repairs though, they have a huge backlog during the summer for any repairs, and when people bring their bikes in, they usually do a quick check, determine what is needed, then schedule the repair. If they know they can't get to it for two or three weeks, they offer to keep the bike or have the person bring it back at their scheduled time. And if you decide to wait, they'll even call to remind you. I need to have my CK hubs serviced and the 11-speed upgrade kit installed and wheel redished. They told me they could turn it around in a day or so. I just need to drop it off.

But they always take care of me, and I try to reciprocate. We frequently stop by with baked goods. After they hooked me up last summer, I had pizza delivered there. I sometimes stop by to chat and use their parking lot to hit the burrito joint across the street, and I always ask the owner if he wants anything - on me. We even send them a Christmas card every year.

topflightpro

When I did Masters nationals this year, I signed in for the RR to get my number and stuff. But for the crit, I didn't need to sign it. It seemed a bit weird. I assumed I would need to, but they said I didn't.

While that wasn't a stage race, it was a big national event - probably the biggest race I've ever done. So, the different requirements at races could throw some people off.

rankin116

I have so much stuff to do both at work and out that it's overwhelming to even think about where to start.

I have two promising interviews (just about) scheduled for faculty positions at top institutions, and that is a serious source of anxiety, as is the idea of putting together a talk for one of the interviews. Never really expected opportunities like these and they both somewhat fell in my lap. So much to do to prepare for these.

Need a new suit(s) as I'm swimming in my old ones, and they're only a little over a year old.

And tonight starts 4 days of crits about an 2 hours from home, so I have to leave work early today and tomorrow.

In through the nose, out through the mouth.

echappist

good luck with the interviews

revchuck 

Ditto!

topflightpro

Noooo!

And I am feeling the same stress about the crits the next four nights. I'm not stressed about racing, just managing my schedule.

furiousferret

Went down to the new weekly crit a few miles from my house, and snapped photos. My wife got a really nice camera (EOS 7D Mark II) that has been collecting dust since I haven't raced. I was sure to show my massive bruise to everyone that asked why I wasn't racing (as if I needed validation). Things I noticed as a photographer:

• Prior to the race cyclists don't pay attention and you have to watch for their shifters hitting your lens.
• The shots laying down on the sidewalk while the peloton is cornering towards you is a tad scary the first few times.
• While the wide shot with the peloton, 8k foot mountains, and the US Flag look good, I don't think any individual racer actually likes them.
• If I knew the settings of the camera they would have been better.

Pretty nice turnout for a weekday race; its getting a ton of support from the community, I'm just not sure how profitable it is for the promoter. There's just so much unnecessary overhead for these events now.

Oh, here's the 3's race at least the first few laps. My teammates are in white with the black stripe with Don's in center.
https://goo.gl/photos/HkT84DVgQWG2DU3S7

Edit again: good luck @rankin116
Edit again: I really need proofread before submitting.

himespau 

Best of luck. I always tried to put too much into my job talks to sound more impressive and then had to talk very fast (I'm at a southern institution where everyone talks slow naturally so it was doubly extreme). Don't be me. Just relax and I'm sure you'll do fine.

shovelhd

Good luck Rankin.

carpediemracing 

Flash fill
Zoom a lot
Pan

Also I have no idea about your camera but I figure it must have a burst-shot kind of thing. Do that while holding the camera low, you never know what you'll get from it.

Focus on one rider, fill the frame with the rider, try to take a couple hundred shots per race. You can delete the ones that don't come out. I gave my camera to someone at one race, I told the person in no uncertain terms that every time they thought they had a shot I wanted them to take at least three shots, they returned it after the day of racing (I was working the race). The person took 1500 pictures. That was a bit much, and they weren't knowledgeable about photography (but was married to someone working the race so by default was stuck there all day so therefore got the camera). I generally take 200-300 pictures at a race, if I bring my camera, and that's over the course of maybe 3 races. I also try to participate rather than just take pictures, so I'll spend laps not taking pictures and cheering or whatever.

I have the basic DSLR from Nikon. I got a telephoto lens for it, the one that they offer. 55-200, I had to look. When I'm taking pictures I'm usually at 200 because I want to feel like I'm standing in the middle of the course, right next to them. 200 is not very zoomy for a telephoto.

This was one of a series of shots (held the button down kind of thing) I took of the final sprint of a race. I was about 100m from the finish so the riders were 100% in their sprint (better than not sprinting at the line because the race is done). I was unzooming slightly as they approached so the riders wouldn't get beheaded then zoomed as they passed me. I focused on one rider, the rider that I thought would win, and a rider that I'm a fan of anyway. I chose the side thinking he'd sprint up that side. If he sprinted on the other side I'd have chosen someone on my side to follow. The shots before this were pretty poor but did illustrate how the sprint started out. The shots after it only confirmed how strong the black/green guy was (he was my pick). But this shot below was my favorite. It ended up on road-result.com. The thing is that the shot is a great shot of the rider. He could have been sprinting for 20th place but it's still a good shot. I think that's the key, getting a good shot of a rider, regardless of what's happening.

On an aside that course looks like it would be a great crit course, at least for someone like me who is used to one park, one industrial park, and one parking lot crit. I'd want to see bigger fields myself but simply to have the option is awesome.

tetonrider

just got some news about a racer who will be lining up at a race i'm doing on saturday. pretty much freaking out and had to say something, even if vague. if it happens, i'll win the internet (or at least bike forums) that day.

something tells me i won't repeat last year's victory.

cryptic, i know, but only because i'm not believing it until we're on the start line....even though the RD is saying it is fact.

hack

not vague at all

tetonrider

you've got some nice framing!

it actually takes a whole bunch of work to get good photos. a good camera and lens help, but it's not everything. if you don't know the camera it is hard to get crisp shots out of that one by just having it set to Program mode (which is maybe what you had it set to if you are unfamiliar with it). picking your shutter speed -- if you are going for crisp photos of riders (which is not always the goal) -- tends to result in the sharpest images.

also....AF expansion, and generally how your AF works, is a huge deal in sports photography.

i've done photography work for newspapers (local) before and have shot a fair bit of sports. love love love high frame rate (14fps on my current camera), esp when trying to catch a friend in a high-speed race with a big field.

tetonrider

more details will emerge in ~36h.

rankin116

Thanks all, appreciate the support!