sarals 

Bill...let me add +2 on getting well!

Do contact USAC. It's worth the call or email.

AzTallRider

Yep. Got word that a teammate got bronze in the 40-44 3K pursuit: 3:42 and something.

VanceMac

I haven't had that kind of experience, but I've noticed an odd dichotomy in my brief track experience. I hesitate to say this, because I don't want it misconstrued as anything but an infrequent and very subtle undercurrent. On the one hand, everyone -- to a person -- has been fantastic. I have not been shy about expressing my fondness for everything track, including the vibes at both Encino and VSC (different as they are).

On the other hand, at times there seems to be a vague, probably unintentional, standoffishness. That's not quite the right word... maybe territorial or protective. Not unlike surfers and their secret spots. Again, everyone has been exceedingly friendly and helpful (which I surely can NOT say about the crit scene)... so it's not so evident on a personal level. Maybe it's a "We'll welcome anyone, but we're not exactly going to shout it from the rooftops" thing.

Hermes

Sara/Vance, Interesting feedback.

The Hellyer Day at the Track is a totally fun, inclusive unique experience that happens only once per year and this year was not on the schedule. In fact, I have only raced once at Hellyer this year which was the district championships where I did the 500, 2K and team pursuit. Hellyer does not offer many time trial events. So the vast majority of the racing is mass start such as points, scratch and miss n out.

So if you pursued track, you would race mass start events. And there are not that many mass start events for women. Of course, the women can race with the cat 5 men. And the really fast women race with the elite 1/2 men.

Besides the beginner sessions, there is not a "good" way to get training unless you go with a coach that shows up at Hellyer and there are a couple of coaches that do that. Open session track is just that. A supervisor is there but racers are on their own to workout - no help or coaching. Contrast that to VSP where Roger runs two open sessions per week with a programmed workout and motor games designed to give racers track time at race pace under more controlled conditions. In essence, Roger's session is a bridge from the beginner to racer.

So depending on what if any racing goals you discussed with the mentor may have caused him to steer you away.

Vance, Great observations. Getting to know people is always difficult. It was a lot easier as kids. A lot of undercurrent is safety. Trackies like to train and race with racers they know and have a track record.

AzTallRider

I feel welcomed into the crit scene here, but it isn't nearly as crowded (nor from what I hear as aggressive) as the SoCal scene.

Cleave

Wow, I take a short vacation in Vegas and get food poisoning or drink bad water (I think it was the water) and all kinds of things happen. I feel more like Racer Ex on the drug issue. As lifelong pack fill, I have wondered about doping in the amateur peloton since the 1980s. I would regularly see people taking "aspirin" before races back then. Even if it was aspirin, it made me believe that if there was something else that they could readily take to enhance their performance, they would. I was never tempted. I agree that money would be better spent on safety than testing. I remember reading a comment or an article saying that Masters who dope write about their victories on their blogs that only their mothers read. Why deprive their mothers of bragging rights?

I wish that everyone shared the philosophy that winning through doping is an empty victory, but that won't ever happen. I do what I think is right and hope that most racers are like me with respect to (not) doping.

Bill, I hope that you do whatever is necessary to maximize your health. Cycling is mostly about being healthy. Sometimes racing isn't. Best wishes for continuing your cycling.

VanceMac, for whatever reason, a lot of bike racing is a lot less friendly than it should be. There are people that I see every week at a race, at the velodrome, etc, who barely make eye contact. I hope it's not because of my overbearing personality. I don't know why this is so, since bike racing is still a fairly minor sport in this country but I guess it's not that different from most other parts of life. On the flip side there are a lot of great people in the sport and I've been lucky to become friends with some of them.

Now I just need to get rid of whatever it is that is messing up my digestive tract.

Racer Ex 

Cleave, may the Maalox be with you.

Racing can often be loaded with cliques. And often folks want to impress newbies about how hard the sport can be rather than how fun; Sara I'm sorry that happened in your case but it's not the first time I've heard that story.

Plus there's always timing. I can get pretty focused at times on the job at hand, which might make me seem aloof at times. And some folks think if you make a joke during a race or practice you're not trying hard enough. I'm not one of them but I'll keep quiet if that's the vibe unless of course I'm crawling into the head of a competitor

Finally, it's a sport that demands you spend a lot of time in your own head.

But I've met a lot of great people through cycling; it's carried me through a bunch of moves where I walked into a new town knowing absolutely nobody and walked out with lifelong friends.

VanceMac

Az, I just meant that I couldn't say 100% of the people I encounter on the crit scene are friendly and helpful, like track. It's still a high number, but there's a small aggro niche that I really want no part of.

Hermes

I have found the track culture to be very good and accepting of new participants. In some respects, it is easier to get to know racers due to the small venue. Since we all share a small space and tiny venue and no brakes, we have to watch out for each other and hence one learns to know what each racer is doing. Sprinters do short hard efforts and then hang out. Endurance racers use more time on the track. Both can be on at the same time doing different things at different speeds.

I can be at the rail winding up for a flying 200 meters and Racer Ex can be in the pole lane doing flying kilos. I can wait until he is done or time my 200 as he goes by. Knowing what other racers are doing and communicating is always a good idea. At Roger's coaching and training sessions, he coordinates all that.

The same is true at Hellyer where the supervisor of the session watches other racers and coordinates the efforts.

AzTallRider

In both disciplines, I think everyone is watching newcomers to see what they are all about, how closely to follow, whether they will close a gap, etc. People are on the lookout for "that guy", the one they have to worry about. Then there are the interpersonal aspects: whether they are open to advice, etc. I just wish I had a memory that would let me recall all that from one ride to the next. Other than my team, I don't have that many other riders in my mental databank. I love it when I have a teammate's wheel, or someone else I know, to follow, that's for sure.

Our 50+ strongman can come across as aloof and unhelpful, but in reality he is just a quiet, off by himself sort of guy, with a set routine for race-days that doesn't include chatting.

shovelhd

I don't ride on a team, so I don't have to deal with any of the team dynamics, positive or negative. Before a race, I have to cut any deal I can with whoever will listen. This has been mostly unsuccessful. And so it goes. Riding with the club is a mixed bag. Everyone knows who I am, and some people feel the need to try and prove something at every opportunity. Strava has only made this worse. I go on non-hammerfest club rides to enjoy riding, and maybe have a little friendly competition at known points on the route. If it's going to be one segment attack after another, I don't want anything to do with it. So maybe this comes across as being arrogant, I don't know.

There are a lot of dbags in this sport, although I don't think the ratio is higher than any other demanding, competitive sport. The majority of the people I know and have earned my trust are great people, the kind of people I would gladly get together with off of the bike.

AzTallRider

Hanging and chatting with teammates at a race has been really enjoyable for me. It's a great group of guys, with the usual friendly teasing. Once you get in with the right group, it's easier to not have to deal with dbags. I do some invitation-only group riding (like this past weekend in the mountains), and if someone acts like a dbag, they just don't get any more invitations. The group will accept lesser strength, but not bad attitudes/karma.

sarals 

The experiences I've had with other (women) racers at the events I've been this year have been as expected. Most of the women in those events have been young, and I know how cliquey young women are. They did not disappoint. "Ignored" is the operative word here, but I can do that too - I have a "cold shoulder" when I need to use it. That said, I have had some very pleasant interactions with gals close to my age, and that's almost universal.

Ex, I am one to make light of a tense situation. It helps relax me, I could give a flip what other people think. That's just me.

Hermes, you cleared up some of the vibe I got at the track that day. I had a suspicion there was more to the story than I had heard. Also, you reminded me that the mentor did tell me that most races at Hellyer were mass start races. I recall that he was concerned for my safety, let's say, in those events.

By and large cycling has been one of the most universally open and friendly undertakings I've ever been involved with (try aviation on for size). Racing? I suppose competitive people behave a certain way no matter the discipline. Some call it focus, and it is, some call it posturing, and it is, and some call it territorial, and it is. I call it people. And they are!

Racer Ex 

I threw some actual real statistics at the less than stellar poster on Dudel's apology thread, which I thought was well done.

While for my own sanity I've given up on caring if the guy who beats me at XYZ is using EPO, I'm really effing tired of the results of people's hard work and sacrifice being put down to drug use.

qcpmsame 

Amen Racer Ex, well said, in 100% agreement with you on this point. Your reply was very good and in this case timely. Dudel made an honest, well written apology and the person had to drag things down into the gutter. Thank you for your reply.

Bill

Allegheny Jet

If you ignore them they might say you've got an attitude. Respond and you end up on the defensive. I believe that most of the folks are in the middle and support and understand the work and sacrifices most racers put in. Some people cheat in the Tue night golf league, that doesn't mean everyone who has great scores cheats.

shovelhd

I saw his comments. I know what he was insinuating. Come spend a few weeks with me and see for yourself (not this week, it's a rest week).

AzTallRider

My sentiments, exactly.

chasm54

Olympics fever in full swing over here, though less evident in real life than the media might have you believe. I'm always happy to watch sports, sometimes especially sports I don't know much about. A South Korean archer broke a world record today, and he's registered blind - how does that happen? However, I have to say I cannot get excited about opening ceremonies and all the accompanying hoopla.

Our absurdly parochial press have more or less decided that Cavendish is a shoo-in for the first gold medal of the games in tomorrow's road race. Obviously, with that team behind him he has a chance. It's unpredictable, though, because for me the issue is less the climbs than the very tight, narrow roads in the middle section of the course. Everyone will be wanting to be near the front so there's plenty of scope for carnage. Looking forward to it, and even more so to the women's event. The major point of interest here is whether Nicole Cooke, the current olympic champion, will be willing to work for Lizzie Armitstead, our team leader. They had a fabulous public bust-up after the worlds, when Armitstead accused Cooke of abandoning her at the finish and riding for herself. It'll be handbags at dawn if anything similar happens again.

AzTallRider

Let me apologize on behalf of our Presidential candidate, who clearly isn't very good at it himself. Rather than apologize, he is trying to represent himself as the world's foremost expert on security. Politicians and the joining of feet and mouths... it's a natural occurrence.

Really looking forward to watching a few of the sports, and am glad NBC provides online coverage of everything, so long as you get their signal on your home TV.

chasm54

Hey, don't worry. I don't want to stray into P&R territory, but it's profoundly reassuring when American politicians sound even more crass than our home-grown variety. Makes us feel that things could be worse...

qcpmsame 

Counting the minutes until 0350 tomorrow morning so I can watch the Men's road race live, thank goodness. Got the free live feed registered today and counting on watching the great bicycle racing there.

Bill

shovelhd

I'll be racing, and won't be able to watch the men's road race live. I need to check the DVR to make sure that I record what breadcrumbs of coverage they'll give us. I'm also going to set up streaming on my laptop.

Hermes

I pulled the trigger on a Kindle Touch and used it for the first time last night. I am reading Chris Hoy's Autobiography. I like the technology and I seem to read faster. I can adjust the font to suit and a swipe of my finger turns the page instantly and my eyes pick up the next word. Plus it has all the cool annotation bookmarking features.

So far Hoy has talked about puking a lot but how to do it secretly.

Hermes

Me too.