Beginner's perspective Crit #7. Ontario CA. Cat 4/5 , Age 30+
As I sit here writing this latest entry, my hands and arms are bandaged with telfa, conform wrap, and net dressing. I also have a 6x8 telfa and gauze dressing taped to my right outer thigh and a 4x4 of the same behind my left shoulder. No, I didn't have gloves on. I kept telling myself I need em, but kept putting it off. Fortunately the abrasions are not that bad. Ok, now to the tale.
I was very optimistic entering this race. Riding with other beginners age 30+ gave me a little hope that I would have a better chance of keeping up. I was totally right. I also went easy in the beginning to take advantage of the pack. But I have to say, there were a lot of Squirrely riders out there. Many of the other racers were very vocal and complaining about it. The pack slowed at every turn, but mostly by drifting, not by braking... I was able to conserve a lot of energy by shifting to a lighter gear going into the turns and almost immediately shifting to a heavier gear after entering the turn and pedaling through them. Only scraped the inside pedal once.
There are 7 turns in the 1.2 mile course, and none of them sharper than 90 degrees. All very wide too. From the start, it was L, L, L, R, L, L, R. And some of those turns could be managed following a straight line if followed just right.
About the 4th or 5th lap, I got stuck in a bad way between two squirrely riders. We were turning left at turn #1. The inside rider turns wide forcing me to go right to avoid him. Then the outside rider goes sharp and in, coming in from my right. I attempted to slow and clear his wheel but now I'm too squirrely going right and my front wheel drifts into his rear wheel. And that's an automatic losing contest. My front wheel turns hard left, the bike and I fall over to the right and my bike and I skid the pavement. No one else went down I think. I'm kinda ****** off right now. I get up, re-seat my bottle that popped out, lift and spin my wheels (which are still true) and hop back on. A motorcyclist following the pack stops to see that I am all right. He asks if I am going to continue I think, but I can;t really focus on what he is saying other than I am alright. While pedaling, I figure I am going to have to exit the course when another rider comes up besides me. Not sure what happened to him, but he says we get a free lap.
Awesome! SO I am thinking, COOL! I know how to catch the peloton and exactly where I want to do it too. Mind you, my hands are bleeding all over my bars and I'm altering my grip to stay off the sensitive spots.So I continue riding the loop, I complete 2 laps and then see them coming from behind. The other guy is ahead of me some 200 feet. I told him to conserve his energy for the catch. Any how, the group is coming up and some guy in front yells "Stay out of the pack!" Like I was going to try and dive into the front on a free lap rule. Sheesh, I have a little understanding of etiquette. I ride outside and about 1/2 to 2/3rds through, I jump back in. I would have gone to the rear, but there was all this room for me.
Beginning Riders: Note: I made a gross error here. When you fall down, blow a tire, skip your chain, or any number of situations which make you eligible for the free lap rule, YOU MUST stop at the wheel pit and check in. The pit manager will tell you when you can continue. I didn't do that.
So I am back in the group and going pretty strong, albeit a little fatigue is setting in from the solo riding. The riders are still complaining quite vocally about riders slowing, even braking at some really easy turns... but the ride goes on. At 3 laps to go, I am definitely feeling the fatigue setting in. If the peloton had attacked at that point, I would have been done for. But it only sped up a little.
Two laps to go and some riders are struggling to get outside and advance, but there are so many turns in this short course that it is very difficult.
Bell starts ringing, one lap to go. Everyone is speeding up. I'm starting to fall back, but fighting hard to stay in. I decided at the 3rd lap that I can actually finish this thing, and dammit I really want to! At turn 7, most of the group has pulled away, but there are stragglers that I am still passing. I don't know if they blew up, gave up, or what, but hell if I am slowing down. I crossed that finish line, both bloody hands in the drops and split a grin so wide the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland would have been proud.
I finished my recovery lap and pulled into the first ad tent. And with application of cleaning and stuff, not my abrasions hurt. Stuff burns going on!
The results:
I finished 43 out of 47 riders, even with my rule violation.
My Bike:
My bar tape is completely shredded and bloody and will need to be replaced. The handle bar is severely scraped, but not bent or crooked. The side of my right pedal (shimano SPD clip-ins) likewise is scraped silver, but operational. The right side of the saddle is also scuffed, but serviceable. My helmet is completely intact, no cracks, punctures, or depressions. It is a little scraped and dirty though. The wheels are good, but I need to look at them again later just to be sure.
After the race, I drove to the Emergency Room (ER). Since I work for Kaiser, I have great insurance for only $5 copay per visit. I also know many of the staff. The doctor cut off the dressing and evaluated me. All abrasions and bruises. No need for xrays, although my left shoulder hurts now. The ER staff applied topical lidocaine to numb my skin for cleaning. OMG and does the **** burn when it goes on. Ow ow ow ow ow. The doctor wanted to put me off work for 2-weeks. And I told him, "No way." I'll go nuts. Abrasions and bruises.... you're kidding me. I got the nurse to talk him down to 3 days of light duty. I actually like my job. Sheesh.
So the bike is back in the garage, and trying to bathe myself was a real challenge. No, I do not have any help. So I'm grounded for a little while. But I'll tell you, crossing that finish line for the first time was so great. Even haven fallen down, I had so much fun. Crit season is almost over. Now the team members are trying to talk me into cyclocross. I think I amd going to go back to group rides and training for a while after I recover. But I will be back. Sorry this tale was so long, but I had a lot to tell. And please, please, please, beginners, do not let this keep you from racing. It's never a matter of "if you fall", it's a matter of "when". You can call me crazy, but I just love it.
As I sit here writing this latest entry, my hands and arms are bandaged with telfa, conform wrap, and net dressing. I also have a 6x8 telfa and gauze dressing taped to my right outer thigh and a 4x4 of the same behind my left shoulder. No, I didn't have gloves on. I kept telling myself I need em, but kept putting it off. Fortunately the abrasions are not that bad. Ok, now to the tale.
I was very optimistic entering this race. Riding with other beginners age 30+ gave me a little hope that I would have a better chance of keeping up. I was totally right. I also went easy in the beginning to take advantage of the pack. But I have to say, there were a lot of Squirrely riders out there. Many of the other racers were very vocal and complaining about it. The pack slowed at every turn, but mostly by drifting, not by braking... I was able to conserve a lot of energy by shifting to a lighter gear going into the turns and almost immediately shifting to a heavier gear after entering the turn and pedaling through them. Only scraped the inside pedal once.
There are 7 turns in the 1.2 mile course, and none of them sharper than 90 degrees. All very wide too. From the start, it was L, L, L, R, L, L, R. And some of those turns could be managed following a straight line if followed just right.
About the 4th or 5th lap, I got stuck in a bad way between two squirrely riders. We were turning left at turn #1. The inside rider turns wide forcing me to go right to avoid him. Then the outside rider goes sharp and in, coming in from my right. I attempted to slow and clear his wheel but now I'm too squirrely going right and my front wheel drifts into his rear wheel. And that's an automatic losing contest. My front wheel turns hard left, the bike and I fall over to the right and my bike and I skid the pavement. No one else went down I think. I'm kinda ****** off right now. I get up, re-seat my bottle that popped out, lift and spin my wheels (which are still true) and hop back on. A motorcyclist following the pack stops to see that I am all right. He asks if I am going to continue I think, but I can;t really focus on what he is saying other than I am alright. While pedaling, I figure I am going to have to exit the course when another rider comes up besides me. Not sure what happened to him, but he says we get a free lap.
Awesome! SO I am thinking, COOL! I know how to catch the peloton and exactly where I want to do it too. Mind you, my hands are bleeding all over my bars and I'm altering my grip to stay off the sensitive spots.So I continue riding the loop, I complete 2 laps and then see them coming from behind. The other guy is ahead of me some 200 feet. I told him to conserve his energy for the catch. Any how, the group is coming up and some guy in front yells "Stay out of the pack!" Like I was going to try and dive into the front on a free lap rule. Sheesh, I have a little understanding of etiquette. I ride outside and about 1/2 to 2/3rds through, I jump back in. I would have gone to the rear, but there was all this room for me.
Beginning Riders: Note: I made a gross error here. When you fall down, blow a tire, skip your chain, or any number of situations which make you eligible for the free lap rule, YOU MUST stop at the wheel pit and check in. The pit manager will tell you when you can continue. I didn't do that.
So I am back in the group and going pretty strong, albeit a little fatigue is setting in from the solo riding. The riders are still complaining quite vocally about riders slowing, even braking at some really easy turns... but the ride goes on. At 3 laps to go, I am definitely feeling the fatigue setting in. If the peloton had attacked at that point, I would have been done for. But it only sped up a little.
Two laps to go and some riders are struggling to get outside and advance, but there are so many turns in this short course that it is very difficult.
Bell starts ringing, one lap to go. Everyone is speeding up. I'm starting to fall back, but fighting hard to stay in. I decided at the 3rd lap that I can actually finish this thing, and dammit I really want to! At turn 7, most of the group has pulled away, but there are stragglers that I am still passing. I don't know if they blew up, gave up, or what, but hell if I am slowing down. I crossed that finish line, both bloody hands in the drops and split a grin so wide the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland would have been proud.
I finished my recovery lap and pulled into the first ad tent. And with application of cleaning and stuff, not my abrasions hurt. Stuff burns going on!
The results:
I finished 43 out of 47 riders, even with my rule violation.
My Bike:
My bar tape is completely shredded and bloody and will need to be replaced. The handle bar is severely scraped, but not bent or crooked. The side of my right pedal (shimano SPD clip-ins) likewise is scraped silver, but operational. The right side of the saddle is also scuffed, but serviceable. My helmet is completely intact, no cracks, punctures, or depressions. It is a little scraped and dirty though. The wheels are good, but I need to look at them again later just to be sure.
After the race, I drove to the Emergency Room (ER). Since I work for Kaiser, I have great insurance for only $5 copay per visit. I also know many of the staff. The doctor cut off the dressing and evaluated me. All abrasions and bruises. No need for xrays, although my left shoulder hurts now. The ER staff applied topical lidocaine to numb my skin for cleaning. OMG and does the **** burn when it goes on. Ow ow ow ow ow. The doctor wanted to put me off work for 2-weeks. And I told him, "No way." I'll go nuts. Abrasions and bruises.... you're kidding me. I got the nurse to talk him down to 3 days of light duty. I actually like my job. Sheesh.
So the bike is back in the garage, and trying to bathe myself was a real challenge. No, I do not have any help. So I'm grounded for a little while. But I'll tell you, crossing that finish line for the first time was so great. Even haven fallen down, I had so much fun. Crit season is almost over. Now the team members are trying to talk me into cyclocross. I think I amd going to go back to group rides and training for a while after I recover. But I will be back. Sorry this tale was so long, but I had a lot to tell. And please, please, please, beginners, do not let this keep you from racing. It's never a matter of "if you fall", it's a matter of "when". You can call me crazy, but I just love it.