VegaVixen

Congrats, Shemp, wherever you are! (Yet another BF'er who's too shy to give some idea of location. )

Bobby Lex

...you forgot to mention Michael Rasmussen and his infamous 3-crash TT a couple of years ago at the TDF.

Bob

Winter76

+1 to this one.

substructure

I had to take a mental break. Going to races, getting creamed, then driving home alone to dwell on my mistakes, kinda took it out of me.

Really, I did need some time off. But, I'm getting back into it in July.

asherlighn

I would like to race next season. This summer I am too busy with martial arts, and probably will be next summer too, but I always like to think it will happen! If I started training for bike racing I would probably stop my martial arts training, and I dont think Im ready for that. For now I will just be happy riding ~220m a week.

Edit- also I dont like riding in groups. Having my well being depend on everyone else handling their bikes correctly always makes me paranoid (I know, this is pretty unjustified but I ams what I ams).

VegaVixen

Asheville? Maybe I'll see ya there! Good to see you getting back into it, sub!

my58vw

Doctors say no

AGGRO

Took 5 years off due to being doored at 26mph. ACL surgery this winter.

crtreedude 

With who? Cows?

banerjek

Thought about racing, but probably never will because I don't like drafting. Not for safety reasons, but because I don't consider speeds or distances achieved while drafting to be "real" because you can cover more ground much quicker. Also, I'm not particularly interested in trashing my equipment.

indygreg

This weekend is my first Tri (having run many race). I will see if I like it, and if so I will do it some more. From what I have gathered here I doubt I will ever race in a bike race. Sounds too tense and too dangerous. I prefer to only be battling with me.

Either way, I will always run 5k's to half marathon and will swim in a few master's meets each year.

velocity

Racin as a domestique is like being a parent of a new born baby.
V

Rolling15

"If you are an ardent road cyclist but you don't race I'd like to know why you choose not to."

The operative term in your question is “ardent road cyclist.” If by ardent you mean someone who loves riding a bike then the answer is fairly simple. Ardent bikers love to be on a bicycle. An ardent cyclist may choose to race if their love of biking extends to competition. Being competitive does not necessarily make you an ardent road cyclist but rather a competitive person who chooses to compete on a bike. You can of course love biking and racing but I don’t think that they are always mutually exclusive. Now an ardent road racer would be another kettle of fish.

DXchulo

What about a recumbent? Isn't that a huge aero advantage? Recumbent miles aren't "real".

KingTermite 

Ardent doesn't mean you have the desire to go as fast as you can and/or compete about it.

I just want to ride for pleasure. I want to increase my speed, but not to a competitive level, just to where I'm comfortable for the length/times I want to ride at.

patentcad

If I ever crash in a solo TT I will give up cycling. You heard it here.

Pcad is neither spastic enough nor does he travel at velocities that would cause such a Fredtastrophe. That plus the local USCF TT courses aren't nearly as technical or dicey as the ones in the UCI. 30+mph + cobblestones/tricky high speed urban Euro turns + B. Julich = Crash. 25mph + Pcad + mellow NY/NJ courses = Low Crash Probability.

Informed sources tell me B. Julich's crashes were caused by his Camelbak. The Hand of God smote him through an arrangement with the Sisters of the Our Lady of Dura Achee Chapel who do not approve of Fredstrosities like Camelbaks fouling the pristine waters of UCI cycling.

indygreg

I find this an odd point of view to be honest. If one does not like drafting for reasons such as; safety, not fun do to such concentration, does not like being social, does not like being yelled at; etc than that is cool. To me covering more ground in a given space of time really does not make a difference, except that you see more of the world per hour. I mean, lets say you put out XXX watts over 1 hour on your own or the same XXX over 1 hour in a group, what is the difference? A few MPH but really little else.

More power to you, to each their own, etc - just find it odd.

chipcom 

But how do we know if you've crashed or not? With that mug of yours it looks like crashing is a daily occurance. I think we'll need some kind of independent verification....maybe our own Pcaddy daily photo comparison committee.

ratebeer

What about your screaming, bag-toting fans just getting too ebullient as you're coming around turns?

Also, watch out when people begin to say stuff like, "Pcad is aero. WAaaay aero. Maybe even TOO aero." It might mean you're riding with your head too far down. Or you have your elbows way too close in. Or are taking elective surgery to new lows.


Reading pcad's language excuses me from seeking out real literature. It's really that good.

genejockey 

Why don't I race? Because I prefer my illusions unshattered.

patentcad

I make no beauty claims CC, but if I had your Hunchback of Notre Dame kisser, I'd shut the F up and crawl back under my Fred Rock.

If I crashed in a solo TT, do you think I'd ever 'fess up to it here after all this trash talk?

Never.

chipcom 

You'd tell me, because you got a crush on me. You try hard to hide it, your fingers say 'F off', but your eyes say 'Do me like Ned Beatty in Deliverance!'. Squeal for me babe.

2Tired2Shift

"Man cannot bear much reality" - T.S. Elliot

Will G

I race between a couple jobs, a couple kids, and a wife who enjoys spending time with me. Go figure. Plus, I have little or no control over my schedule so I work a lot of weekends. In summation, I do race but it is a rat race and the rats are winning.

substructure

Yup. Ville de Ashe.