He was in the wind, but not in a good way, unless there was a crosswind.
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Originally Posted by shovelhd
(Post 14644781)
He was in the wind, but not in a good way, unless there was a crosswind.
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Originally Posted by AzTallRider
(Post 14645463)
Sort of like pushing your foot into the floorboard when riding with someone you think isn't braking early enough.
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Saturday was the Winters Road Race, along roads I ride all the time. I love this race.
I started out feeling strong, went to the front, and pulled for nearly 8 mi. until my teammate came up to help. We traded pulls -- none of the other women helped, they refused absolutely -- and then we hit some rollers. We were then neutralized by a moto ref b/c the P/1/2s were coming passed -- and a sketchy new racer took out my teammate as well as 2 other ladies. I saw her fall, braked, waited for the guys to pass (fortunately no one else crashed, with my friend down in the middle of the road), and ran to help her. She was hurt, her front wheel taco'd, so she SAGged in. I rode another couple miles to the neutral feed zone and called it a day. I was too far behind to contend with my group, so I helped hand out bottles to my other teammates as they climbed. Yesterday I raced the Vacaville Gran Prix for the first time. I've volunteered as a course marshal, water-deliverer, volunteer coordinator, and until this year had no aspirations to race it. Two of my teammates were riding & so I decided if they could do it, so could I. So much fun! And a top 20 finish to boot. Can't wait to do it next year. |
Nice job on Sunday RR. When I'm stuck on the front I ride at a pace that won't hurt me, even if it's 18 mph. I'm a sprinter and getting to the finish fresh is when I like my chances.
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Originally Posted by Allegheny Jet
(Post 14658280)
Nice job on Sunday RR. When I'm stuck on the front I ride at a pace that won't hurt me, even if it's 18 mph. I'm a sprinter and getting to the finish fresh is when I like my chances.
Way to go with Vacaville, RR, and kudos for helping your teammate. Is she okay? |
RR, great ride and a huge, huge hug for helping your teammate. Big props also for working the feed zone! I've filed that away for future reference. :thumb:
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Red Rider, can't say that in all of my years of racing that I've had an DNF and then helped teammates from the sideline. Good thinking and doing! One time I crashed during the week before the Mammoth Mt stage race so I went up there anyway as team support, but that's as close as I've come to what you did.
Glad you were able to come back in the crit. |
Originally Posted by Allegheny Jet
(Post 14658280)
Nice job on Sunday RR. When I'm stuck on the front I ride at a pace that won't hurt me, even if it's 18 mph. I'm a sprinter and getting to the finish fresh is when I like my chances.
They know my teammate and assumed that I'm as strong as she (in my dreams), so I think their strategy was to let us wear ourselves out pulling and they'd attack on the hill. I wish I'd made the hill; I'd've shown them how age and treachery overcomes youth and skill. :lol: |
Originally Posted by AzTallRider
(Post 14658342)
Wheel-sucking sprinter scum... ;)
Way to go with Vacaville, RR, and kudos for helping your teammate. Is she okay? I'm still thrilled with how much I enjoyed that crit...talk about going to the dark side...:rolleyes: |
Originally Posted by sarals
(Post 14659012)
RR, great ride and a huge, huge hug for helping your teammate. Big props also for working the feed zone! I've filed that away for future reference. :thumb:
Handing off bottles & cheering on teammates, friends, random famous riders is a great way to contribute. The races we ride require many volunteers. I like giving back to my cycling community. |
Originally Posted by Cleave
(Post 14660278)
Red Rider, can't say that in all of my years of racing that I've had an DNF and then helped teammates from the sideline. Good thinking and doing! One time I crashed during the week before the Mammoth Mt stage race so I went up there anyway as team support, but that's as close as I've come to what you did.
Glad you were able to come back in the crit. Rarely do I enter a race with aspirations of placing. Usually my goals include finishing, improving time, surviving, personal growth, physical challenge, and having fun. Placing is icing on the cake. So far racing my bikes has provided me with all that, and more. I feel incredibly fortunate. |
Nice crit racing RR and wishing your teammate a full recovery.
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Originally Posted by Hermes
(Post 14661276)
Nice crit racing RR and wishing your teammate a full recovery.
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Originally Posted by Red Rider
(Post 14661260)
Thanks, Cleave. I never forfeited a race before, either, but my instinct was that it was the right thing to do. As her domestique my job was to deliver her to the finish. Failing that, helping her get untangled from her bike and into the SAG vehicle was the least I could do.
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Originally Posted by shovelhd
(Post 14661845)
+1
Originally Posted by Hermes
(Post 14661276)
Nice crit racing RR and wishing your teammate a full recovery.
Originally Posted by Racer Ex
(Post 14662803)
I did that for a teammate a few years ago in Texas. Of course that I was riding poorly at the time made it an easy decision, but I can tell you it's calming to have a friend there when you're picking yourself off the ground.
My friend will be fine, and will race another day. Thanks, all, for the good wishes. She appreciates them very much. |
Last of the Wed night Summer Series. Raced the A's in a smaller group than usual (12-15).
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Nice Vance and welcome back from your vacation up north.
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Vance, glad that you're having a ton of fun on the track.
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Nats. MTB Marathon in Bend 9/15
The course was 54 miles with 6000' of climbing. It had a good mix of fireroad/double track for passing and lots of twisting singletrack, with lots of rocky technical sections. It also had bag-loads of deep sand and in places(usually tight corners and the bottom of decents), 3-8" of talc-like fluff. From what I was told, the organizer's intended to made the course much tougher this year; mission accomplished. This was my fifth Mtb race, and first marathon, so I really didn't have illusions of being a factor. As some of you had encouraged, my goal was to beat the race predictor, and to learn as much as possible about pacing a 50+ mile Mtb race. My plan was to let the fast guys go early, and then pick-off the rabbits later on. This plan went great for the for the first 25 miles. (mostly) From the the gun, the fast guys were off like a cross hole-shot shootout. By mile two or so, we turned on a long straight fire-road, and the lead group was way up the road. I settled into at a very comfortable pace and waited for the first steep climb to see how my legs were really feeling. First climb came and went, then the next, and so on; all systems check. By about mile 15, I was ready to start pressing a little harder going up, and going down. This was my first mistake. On a mild, but very soft decent, my front wheel went out from under me, and I disappeared in cloud of Moon Dust. Got up, shook the dust and pain off, and pressed on. I must have tweeked my right cleat in the crash, because after awhile, I noticed that it was loose on the next long climb. I figured that I'd check it out at the nx aid station, and started to press for time again. One mile out of the aid station/feed drop, I lost the front wheel in a tight, loose corner, and another mini Moon dust explosion ensued. Mile 24 was the the first feed drop and I rolled in covered in dust, and bleeding from my chin and legs. I really wish someone had taken a picture. While I was loading up with food and water, someone from neutral-tech tightened my cleat down. Despite my looks, I was feeling good, and took off to try and pull some more guys back. Less then a mile later, I hit a fast and rocky section, and my right foot came out of the pedal. When I tried to clip back in, no joy. I had ripped the cleat from the shoe, and still had 29+ miles to go. Oh well, no time to pout-up and whine about my bad luck, so took off again as best I could. The rest of the race could be summed up like this: pedal, pedal, pedal, slip, expletive, pedal............... Even though my cleat was gone, I found a sweet spot on the pedal (eggbeater) were I could sort of pedal with some power. This would work for maybe 20-40 strokes, then my foot would slip off and sometimes smack my Achilles tendon or inside ankle. The hardest part was on the bumpy decents, and I be screaming (literally) downhill with my right leg flapping about. Despite all this, I was still feeling good, and although I only passed one or two racers I know of, I was only passed by one in a younger category. I don't know how many spots I could have raced back if my cleat hadn't snapped-off, but to be honest, I really don't care. It sure wouldn't have been enough to get anywhere near the podium, and as pollyanna it may sound, I had the best race that I can remember in a long time. I learned more in this one race, then any five others combined. Plus, as implausible as it may sound, I had just as much fun. Enough of the rah-rah, I did it, narcissistic, two day later afterglow. Time for the facts: Pre-race Predictor 26/26 Final results 21/29 (3 late entries) 5 DNF's Hope it was entertaining reading. Cross starts in 12 days. My season will really, finally, begin.........yippie! |
Way to gut it out on the big stage, nacler.
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Originally Posted by shovelhd
(Post 14743736)
Way to gut it out on the big stage, nacler.
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I'll call this "Slaying the Race Predictor"
Way to grit it out. FWIW I lost my right cleat 5 miles into the first 80 mile stage of Tour De Gila. My shin was black and blue when it was over. Gotta be tougher on the MTB. |
Originally Posted by Racer Ex
(Post 14743779)
I'll call this "Slaying the Race Predictor"
Way to grit it out. FWIW I lost my right cleat 5 miles into the first 80 mile stage of Tour De Gila. My shin was black and blue when it was over. Gotta be tougher on the MTB. As much as I was cussing, I'm quite sure I'd rather not have to race one-legged in a pack going 30+ :D |
I can't imagine doing a crit with a broken cleat. the opposite leg would be toast for days.
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