ahpook

So I've ridden with a few people in recent weeks who have recommended the Tuesday evening Crit series put on by SJBC. So today I took the plunge and signed up for the club (and USAC - license #297415, woot!) with the intent of starting next week, June 9, which happens to be my birthday.

Any other BF folk doing/done these races? Anything I should be aware of?

https://teamsanjose.org/twilights/

BlastRadius

I hear great things about the SJBC Tues crits.

velocycling

Tues night Crits are a blast. A,B,C There is a hill (100 ft) and turn 2 on the downhill. Great place to get a workout. About 100 people showup.

ahpook

Ride report:

I got there way early and rode the course a couple of times until people showed up. The downhill turn onto hellyer seemed sketchy since it's blind to oncoming traffic, after the downhill, and into the headwind, so I just tried to figure out a line into it before things got hectic. I also marked a spot about halfway up that leg where there was a little shelter from the wind

Back at the registration desk everybody was super friendly. I ran into Pete, the SJBC member I'd met last week whose "yeah join up it's awesome" comment convinced me to go for it. He was riding C group too and so I resolved to stick near him. We did a couple more laps at a relaxed pace to stay warmed up.

Eventually it was time to form up; people were milling around unsure where the start/finish line was until Jon Racine hollered to come up by him - it ended up being about halfway up the hill on the back side of Piercy, next to the goat farm. The As formed up first, then Bs about 2 minutes later then it was our turn. The first couple of laps around I did terrible at not staying out in front. I was feeling good and forgot about my 'strategery' to just sit in and ride easy. At the velogirls clinic my practice teammate (the amazing Emily) saw me about to move up front unnecessarily and said "Eric just hang back!" Well, she wasn't there today and nobody else was going to stop me from being stupid so out I went.

The headwind up the Hellyer leg was indeed brutal though and tended to slow everybody down -- this would prove to be my undoing, as on laps 3 5 7 I found myself about mid-pack, nicely sheltered, and the folks in front of me would slow down and bunch up, so I went around them and then I'd be alone out front really working for the second half of the upwind leg. This is the point in the trace where you see HR bump 176, which is as hard as my ol' ticker can go. I eased up but the damage was done. To be fair most of the laps I was pretty happy about how things went -- I would finish the climb at mid-pack, move up after the downhill section, and stay on or near the front for the back 2 turns.

I had a weird moment on lap 10 where I was all alone and a pack came up past me, I jumped on thinking I was getting shot through the back of my own group but couldn't hang. After half a lap I fell through the back and thought "crap, I'm done for" -- I think I accidentally jumped on with the B group for a bit without realizing it. Whups. You can see it in my trace as the WHUMP jump in speed. When we got passed as a group later on, they were really good about yelling 'neutralize, move right' but perhaps since I was solo there was less vocalization, or maybe I was really out of it. 2 turns later Paul and the rest of the actual C group came up at my pace, so I'm pretty sure I didn't get lapped. Weird nonetheless-- the result of not paying enough attention.

Then just past the start line, with two laps to go, I started cramping up both my hamstring and into glutes. I had never cramped like that before, because I normally get punished for climbing too much and it's adductor or calf cramps. I was really gassed and watched my group gain a turn, then two on me; then with one lap to go (for me) the A and B group came in to the finish. I resolved to finish my laps though and just kind of tootled around for the last one. There was one more gassed-out C guy just in front of me (in Primal Wear no less!) but I couldn't catch him either.

The rest of the group were up by the finish line by the time I came around: yep, DFL. But not DNF, and I had a great time, except for the pain. Pete ended up winning our group and then gave me a ride back to town -- what a stud!

Lessons learned:
1. don't get out front. even if it seems like a good idea. especially if it seems like a good idea.
2. pay attention to where the group is at. it's hard to keep situational awareness when you're pushing physically, but it's essential.
3. respect the LT and back off early to save some for the end. 14 laps means an hour+ of riding, not 45 minutes, so plan energy expenditure accordingly

I'll definitely be back for more. Great group of riders, lots of interesting mental and physical challenges, and I've got only one way to go from here...

silentben

Thanks for posting your report even if it didn't go as well as you might have hoped. Sounds like you learned a lot though!

velogirls

hey Eric! congratulations on your first race. call me if you want to chat about the experience. I'm happy to share some thoughts with you.

Lorri

velocycling

Here is a link to some pics from last night
https://www.flickr.com/photos/rhanke/...7619529260538/

The wind on the backside was pretty strong

uspspro

Eric,

Being out in front has its perks... pictures!

uspspro

PS Thanks for posting this!

I work in downtown San Jose, and might be down for doing this after work.

It's a 9 mile ride from my work to the registration area.

Around what time was everything finished?

powpow

Hey Eric, nice write-up. So, that climb looks to be about 80 ft. vertical. What is the % grade if you had to guess?

The crit looks like fun, I'd like to get down there for one sometime. I'm still intimidated by crits.

pelikan

Good stuff mang, you'll get em next time!

It's been on my list to check it out, but Tuesdays@Hellyer rock and for some dumb reason having to join SJBC rubs me the wrong way. Gotta check out the course before the race race.

ahpook

lorri -- cool i'll give you a ring this afternoon, i appreciate the feedback

marco -- you can tell that one was early on..here's me towards the end.



we finished up about 8, then people hung out BSed a bit.

powpow the first 100m is 4-5% then theres a little bump of 30m or so at 7%. IMO the C group is great experience. i guess things are fiercer in the B/A groups but our bunch worked together pretty well and the mentor/marshals riding w/ us did a good job of keeping an eye on everyone.

pelikan thx

BlastRadius

Good job Eric. I pretty addicting eh? Here's more crack: https://www.ncnca.org/road/
Too bad the Burlingame crit doesn't have a Cat 5 race.

UmneyDurak

So this is only fro SJBC members?

UD

Ty.S

Eric, nice report.

This makes me rather curious as I have done that exact loop and thought.. hey this would make a nice course.

You going to race again? If so I'll swing out and document you on my new camera .

pelikan Friday@Hellyer is fun too :-P

ahpook

UD you have to be a current member, so it's $40 to join SJBC. But there were ppl riding who were from lots of different clubs like LGBRC, 5 or 6 christian cyclists(?) a big and strong team from TBS/trek (i mean both there were lots of them and the guys were big! https://www.flickr.com/photos/rhanke/3612649953/ )

Fine for me since I was looking to join already but I can see pelikan's point.

Ty yep I'm gonna try and go back next week. Call it masochism

Ty.S

Nice, I'll try and get out and get some good action shots, not to mention I'm really curious about the series itself. Call it a win win..

BTW.. thats me following you on twitter yesterday :-P

Maaku

Thanks for posting this, I will be going next week. I've been looking for a local race event/series to race in this summer.

-Marc

ahpook

Bump for tonight, I'll hang by the reg table until 6:15, come say hi. Will be dressed and mounted as above.

mellowyellowCJ7

Hi all,
I'm new here and this is my first post so I'll make it a long one.
I'm "Paul" in Eric's thread, but really I'm Pete, where the heck is Mary?
Eric is a strong rider in the C group he just works too hard. Eric lead the pack more than any other rider in group C. At the time I was thinking, this guy is probably too strong for this group. Each time I passed Eric and every time he went by I'd joke about the fact that he was working too hard.
I started riding with the SJBC in September or October in their winter series, which was kicked off by a riding clinic. That is a great way to get familiar with crits before you hit the real thing. I highly recommend it and it works out to be almost free for new club members.
I would also not call these Tuesday Night Crits the real thing, if you are worried about crits being too aggressive. The C group is very laid back and a moderate pace (if you don't keep riding off the front ERIC!) If you are not a strong rider, you would not be the only rider with the goal of hanging onto the pack as long as possible, so get in there, pick up the draft and sit there. Don’t be the work horse if you are not ready yet.
$40 to join the club is less than a fancy tire and each night is only $10, so yes the first ride is $50, but that is about the same as one USA C crit with a one day license.
The USA Cycling has cats 1 through 5 (1 = almost pro)
The SJBC winter series has 1 through 5 (1 = fastest in the club around USAC cat 2 I think, but I don't know I'm not that fast)
The SJBC Tuesday night has groups A, B, C (A=winter series 1,2,3; B=WS 4, 5; and C = fit people that want to give racing a try)

I sit around USAC Cat5, SJBC Winter Series Cat 4 and Tuesday Night Group B and mtn XC Cat 2/Sport.
I could give my race report as that was my first Crit win, but this is Eric’s thread. My prediction is that Eric hangs out behind those two guys that were 6 foot 4 inches and Eric will be in the top 3 at the sprint.
Good luck tonight Eric! I don’t think I’ll be there.

ahpook

Duh! Sorry I got your name wrong, I even had your email ... fixed in the post

Maaku

I just came back from the race and it was awesome. Glad to be part of the club. Rode with the B group, i think I finished around 5th of the main pack, unless there was a breakaway i'm not aware of. I had a few scary moments on the decent turns but once i get over the fear i can focus more on the fun..

ahpook

I won C's

Ty.S

Nice going, sorry I didn't make it in time to say hi before the start, I got a few good shots, I can send them your way if you want them.

Looks like a lot of fun, and even though the experience levels on course are varied, it looked like a pretty safe race overall.

BlastRadius

Great job! Are you trying the Bs next week?