First alleycat - anything I should know?
 

I'm thinking I'm going to race in one of these upcoming alleycats in Boston. Not to win or anything, just for the fun of it.

So, this being my first time (insert cheap joke here!) I was wondering if there's anything I should be aware of. I don't know, is there an unwritten book of alleycat etiquette? I searched for a similar thread on the forums but didn't really find anything...

don't do anything stupid if you're riding in a group. if you can't stop as well as you should be able to, don't follow to close behind anyone. be careful. keep your head up. ride with a friend. have fun.

sounds like good advice. thanks!

helmets are good too

I've only done one, but I was surpised at how little being fast mattered. It was more about choosing a smart route and picking the right people to follow/ride with.

I opted to ride a geared bike for it, and I'm glad I did.

^excellent point. +3

not doing it...when you race, you race to win.

XVX

hahaah. i love you jon. it's true.

haha. I supposed I should've expected a response like that.

Ride fast, faster if there is someone in front. If you're gonna go down, make sure only you go down. Wear your brain bucket. AND HAVE FUN!!!!!!!

Follow someone that knows where they're going.

No matter how cold you are before a race, only wear a short sleeve jersey whe you go to race. I learned this to my peril when during a winter alleycat I wore my raincoat and nearly melted while cycling. Had to take the thing off or I wouldn't have finished the race.

Don't believe what other racers tell you. While this racing thing is mainly for fun, you can't trust anyone!! People will try to throw you off the scent to gain a few seconds on you, which is fair enough, if you don't know where you're going, that's your tough luck, hence point 1, follow someone who knows where they're going.

Piss before you race. Squeez it out of you!! Nothing worse than those few pre race beers catching up with you mid race and cramping you up.

Carry a map. **** street cred. I've been doing this job over 10 years and I still carry a map, 'cos you never know when that blank is gonna come screaming on you and a place you visit 20 times a day could be on another planet for all you can remember.

Lights, helmet, pen. While I don't use a helmet in work, I also don't take the risks I do when I'm in an alleycat. Adrenaline I guess, but you can pay for that ****, so better safe than sorry. You can always take it off for the post race photos... While lights aren't gonna stop a crash, at least you can comfort yourself with the fact that 'I had lights, I can't believe he didn't see me!!!' Pen, well you never know what these checkpoints are going to throw up, and if you don't have a pen... well you're not gonna get much work done if you're a messenger, so you may lose out in a messenger style race.

Have fun. When all is said and done, all this **** is about having fun. It's why we ride our bikes, it's why we're on this forum. Ride fast, ride safe. some of the greatest stories of my life have come from alleycats and i want that trend to continue, for me and everyone else that takes part.

Oh, and in case I didn't stress it enough, follow someone who knows where they're going... and then outsprint those dumbasses in the final straight...
Enjoy!!!

And i apologise for all my heavily editied profanities, they were unintentional but just spewed forth from my overzealous fingerbobs.
Keep it rubber side down...

I only raced in one alleycat, as a total rookie rank-amateur courier (wanted to sort of proove my mettle in the bike-handling department) and I was blown away at how competitive it was. I wasn't the slowest rider, but riders that I'd seen ride prudently and cautiously working went like a bat out of hell for the prize, while it was raining cats and dogs. Crash right off the bat with someone spraining a wrist, and when I ended up right behind the leading riders, one of them lost control dismounting his bike at like 30km/h and rammed his shoulder into a post when he hit a curb and flew over the bars.

Everyone dropped what they were doing to attend to this dude writinging in pain with an obviously either dislocated shoulder or broken collarbone, and he was screaming at them - to ignore him and get back to the race! I thought they'd all taken off to get an ambulance or something, so when I was the last to come check on him, and everyone was gone, he was like "dammit, go! Get out of here! I'm fine! Win the race!"

I dunno whether that's standard issue or not, and that was my first and last.

Winning isn't everything, but losing sucks the big one. Ya if he's awake and screamin for ppl to GO GO GO then you book! :p

claim dfl off the bat. it's cool. and don't claim victory unless you're gonna win. that said, i'm getting first out of town at mmi5.

in the words of C4FL, my housemate, "my plan for this race is to pick the shortest route and ride faster than everybody else"

HAHA, if it was only that easy

With strategy like that you can't lose.... :lmao:

Yo xthug.... DFL?

also, if ya wanna keep your bike, depending on how nasty the organisera are, bring your lock...

dead ****in' last

thank-ya

Bring a bag you can access fast.

Fanny pack rules for pen, map, and manifest.

Bring a patch kit and CO2 cartridge.
Changing tubes and handpumping can really suck during race.

If you can try to visualize your route. Write major intersection and or checkpoints on your hand or cheat sheet if your brain needs backup.

Think about the route in terms of hills, wind, etc too.

Don't get stressed out at the start. Take your time to make sure you know where you are going or as others suggested stick to a back wheel

Listen to Slayer.

Enjoy!

You'll learn a lot about what works and doesn't work for you once you get out there and actually do it. There's a million things I am going to do different when I do my next alleycat.

out of town yes, not over all. hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah

XVX

i've only done one, but those are two good suggestions. that, and make sure you know where you're going. i was almost DFL at the one i did, because i didn't ride with anyone. at all, after the start, i was going solo the whole way. which included several miles of very unnecessary riding, and then doing the several miles again, on my way back.

then again, i may have gotten a crappy finish, but everyone at the afterparty knew me as "that dude who rode all the way out to harris ranch".

Holy hell, good advice. Also, bring a couple tubes and a handpump too. Sometimes just getting home can be a challenge, and redundant safety measures can't hurt.

If you're not in it to win it (I'm sure not) don't be a dick. It's just not necessary.

If your pride can handle it, (and it's not monstertrack) run a brake. You can ride more aggressively with one.