Less-than-inspiring race reports



R

Ryan Cousineau

Guest
With Joseph telling us the tales of his heroic efforts in Norwegian
cycling, I thought I'd tell mine.

20 k TT on Sunday: riding my octospeed Pinarello, finished dead last in
Cat 4. Race report: starter said go, I went really hard, then I pedaled
hard, then I pedaled hard, then the TT ended.

Tonight: WTNC training crit. I did a long and absurdly intense commute
to the crit, then rode the crit, blowing up after 3 laps, then I joined
a chase group of 3, and blew up again just after getting passed by my
pack as the bell rang. Then I rode home, so screwed up that I stopped
for a 700 mL Coke, drank it all in about 2 minutes, then I rode a while,
stopped for an espresso, and then I got home.

I don't ever remember being so mental on a ride. But it was a good,
I-got-a-hard-workout mental feeling.

--
Ryan Cousineau [email protected] http://www.wiredcola.com/
"In other newsgroups, they killfile trolls."
"In rec.bicycles.racing, we coach them."
 
On May 7, 7:05 am, Ryan Cousineau <[email protected]> wrote:
> With Joseph telling us the tales of his heroic efforts in Norwegian
> cycling, I thought I'd tell mine.
>
> 20 k TT on Sunday: riding my octospeed Pinarello, finished dead last in
> Cat 4. Race report: starter said go, I went really hard, then I pedaled
> hard, then I pedaled hard, then the TT ended.
>
> Tonight: WTNC training crit. I did a long and absurdly intense commute
> to the crit, then rode the crit, blowing up after 3 laps, then I joined
> a chase group of 3, and blew up again just after getting passed by my
> pack as the bell rang. Then I rode home, so screwed up that I stopped
> for a 700 mL Coke, drank it all in about 2 minutes, then I rode a while,
> stopped for an espresso, and then I got home.
>
> I don't ever remember being so mental on a ride. But it was a good,
> I-got-a-hard-workout mental feeling.
>


Outstanding!

After perusing the club website, I'm jealous of the fine race
opportunities.

More racing, and more reports!

Joseph
 
Ryan Cousineau wrote:

> Tonight: WTNC training crit. I did a long and absurdly intense commute
> to the crit,


I did that once, too. Either my results were even worse than yours, or
else you've spared us some of the gory details. Seemed like a good idea
at the time.
 
In article
<e0706044-4db9-41fe-a54e-41ccff657357@i76g2000hsf.googlegroups.com>,
"[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote:

> On May 7, 7:05 am, Ryan Cousineau <[email protected]> wrote:
> > With Joseph telling us the tales of his heroic efforts in Norwegian
> > cycling, I thought I'd tell mine.
> >
> > 20 k TT on Sunday: riding my octospeed Pinarello, finished dead last in
> > Cat 4. Race report: starter said go, I went really hard, then I pedaled
> > hard, then I pedaled hard, then the TT ended.
> >
> > Tonight: WTNC training crit. I did a long and absurdly intense commute
> > to the crit, then rode the crit, blowing up after 3 laps, then I joined
> > a chase group of 3, and blew up again just after getting passed by my
> > pack as the bell rang. Then I rode home, so screwed up that I stopped
> > for a 700 mL Coke, drank it all in about 2 minutes, then I rode a while,
> > stopped for an espresso, and then I got home.
> >
> > I don't ever remember being so mental on a ride. But it was a good,
> > I-got-a-hard-workout mental feeling.
> >

>
> Outstanding!
>
> After perusing the club website, I'm jealous of the fine race
> opportunities.
>
> More racing, and more reports!
>
> Joseph


Will do. At present, there are _three_ mid-week crit series within range
of my house. Aside from our Tuesday Nighters, the other big club in town
(Team Coastal [boo!]) runs a Thursday Nighter industrial-park crit, and
there's a Wednesday night racing series at the motorsports park about 30
km from my house.

Alas, last year's weekly TT has not been renewed.

Goals for this year: get to 150 pounds by doing ~2 crits and one longish
ride per week. Hit the Yaletown GP on July 1 in something like race
shape. Be monster-strong for CX season. Start in the velodrome in the
Fall.

--
Ryan Cousineau [email protected] http://www.wiredcola.com/
"In other newsgroups, they killfile trolls."
"In rec.bicycles.racing, we coach them."
 
In article <[email protected]>,
Fred Fredburger <[email protected]> wrote:

> Ryan Cousineau wrote:
>
> > Tonight: WTNC training crit. I did a long and absurdly intense commute
> > to the crit,

>
> I did that once, too. Either my results were even worse than yours, or
> else you've spared us some of the gory details. Seemed like a good idea
> at the time.


Well, I went hard on the way to the race, but the race was way harder
than the commute, and the commute was 10 minutes of uphill commuting, 20
minutes of rest on the train, and 13 km of commuting with a pretty big
climb at the end:

<http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Canada+(VCC%2FClark+Stn+Bay+1)&geocode
=7916292696330225697,49.267162,-123.080880&dirflg=&daddr=Thunderbird+Stad
ium&f=d&dq=VCC-Clark&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=36.863178,82.265625&cid=
49267162,-123080880,15007139604673469305&ie=UTF8&z=12>

The climb was fairly intense, but not redline. The crit was two good,
effortless laps, a third harder lap, and then I got dropped and carried
on with a pair of chasers. Three became two, with him leading me up the
hill, and me towing him down (heavy FTW on descents!)

That lasted until we got passed by the pack just before they took the
bell, and I pulled off then.

Results may vary.

--
Ryan Cousineau [email protected] http://www.wiredcola.com/
"In other newsgroups, they killfile trolls."
"In rec.bicycles.racing, we coach them."
 
"Ryan Cousineau" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:rcousine-AD8B1A.18410707052008@[74.223.185.199.nw.nuvox.net]...
> Will do. At present, there are _three_ mid-week crit series within range
> of my house. Aside from our Tuesday Nighters, the other big club in town
> (Team Coastal [boo!]) runs a Thursday Nighter industrial-park crit, and
> there's a Wednesday night racing series at the motorsports park about 30
> km from my house.


I have a choice of three mid week crits, too. The two on Tuesday evenings
are 70 miles and 125 miles away respectively. The one that will begin on
Wednesdays is only 150 miles away. One way.

My weather forecasting skills are improving rapidly.
 
One of the early season races near here is a 16 mile, 4 corner TT.
A big square, 4 miles to a side, held in the near ghost town of
Willard, WI. I say near ghost town because not all the houses are
abandoned yet, but the abandoned rail right-of-way is long enough
gone that it is difficult to tell where it went. It does have a
public structure large enough to host the event, and the fact that
hardly anyone one lives there anymore is a plus for the event.

This is a rural area and one of the defining characteristics of the
race is wind. Regardless of where it is coming from, there is nothing
between there and the course to slow it down.

I have been doing the race on our tandem with my kid. This year I asked
if she wanted to solo. She thought about it awhile, and said she did.

I fitted her mountain bike with aero bars and took her out for a couple
of rides. Riding with her elbows on the pads was disquieting for her
at first, and she worried about not being able to easily reach the
brakes. But she adjusted. She rides with her heels on the pedals and
we've discussed why it is better to ride with the ball of the foot over
the pedal axle blah blah blah. I thought about adding toe clips to limit
the heel pedaling, but decided against it. One must choose one's battles
wisely.

She weighs nothing and I knew she'd have trouble into the wind. We
talked a little about where it is important to be slippery to the wind
and where it is less important and she could ride more upright.

She was a tendency to ride in the biggest gear and slog up hills. We
talked about choosing an easier gear when the riding is hard. I was
tempted to tell her that cadence was a red herring. But I didn't.

I went off first and started well. This race uses two start lines and 15
second gaps so there are lots of rabbits to chase. This was a good
spring for skiing, which doesn't mess up my knees like bike riding does.
So I've been shifting some of my exercise time away from the bike. I
think I'd been out for maybe 100 miles total before the race, so I was
in fine FM form. Even so, this is a good course for larger riders. The
hills are rollers and a lot of wind favors guys that can plow through
it. So I reeled in a fair number of earlier starters and didn't see
anyone come past me until past the half way point.

I finished OK, not great, 31st out of 78 starters. I know, I know, I
need to start stocking the fridge with bags of blood. Especially if
I am going to be so reticent about actually riding my bike.

After finishing I turned around and headed back out on the course
looking for my kid. I found her about 4 miles out. This was just
after the worst headwind leg. She had been passed by almost all of
the later starters. I asked her if she was OK and she said she felt
pretty good. She started 15 seconds after me and was probably not
too far past the halfway point when I finished. I think she had a
hell of a time in the headwind. She weighs nothing and, even with
the aero bars, was riding a bike with the aerodynamic efficiency of
a dog turd. But if she had a hard time she wasn't going to let on.

She finished the race and took first place in her age category as
the only entrant. This was her first solo bike race, and she wore
the medal for the rest of the day.

The race had a special prize for the true fatty master. It was for
the most speed/pound. I thought I was a contender for that. But there
was a large guy that had about a 10% advantage in the numerator, which
was enough to overcome my slight advantage in the denominator. So I
went home empty handed. C'est la vie.

Bob Schwartz
 
On May 8, 6:01 am, Bob Schwartz <[email protected]>
wrote:
> One of the early season races near here is a 16 mile, 4 corner TT.
> A big square, 4 miles to a side, held in the near ghost town of
> Willard, WI. I say near ghost town because not all the houses are
> abandoned yet, but the abandoned rail right-of-way is long enough
> gone that it is difficult to tell where it went. It does have a
> public structure large enough to host the event, and the fact that
> hardly anyone one lives there anymore is a plus for the event.
>
> This is a rural area and one of the defining characteristics of the
> race is wind. Regardless of where it is coming from, there is nothing
> between there and the course to slow it down.
>
> I have been doing the race on our tandem with my kid. This year I asked
> if she wanted to solo. She thought about it awhile, and said she did.
>
> I fitted her mountain bike with aero bars and took her out for a couple
> of rides. Riding with her elbows on the pads was disquieting for her
> at first, and she worried about not being able to easily reach the
> brakes. But she adjusted. She rides with her heels on the pedals and
> we've discussed why it is better to ride with the ball of the foot over
> the pedal axle blah blah blah. I thought about adding toe clips to limit
> the heel pedaling, but decided against it. One must choose one's battles
> wisely.
>
> She weighs nothing and I knew she'd have trouble into the wind. We
> talked a little about where it is important to be slippery to the wind
> and where it is less important and she could ride more upright.
>
> She was a tendency to ride in the biggest gear and slog up hills. We
> talked about choosing an easier gear when the riding is hard. I was
> tempted to tell her that cadence was a red herring. But I didn't.
>
> I went off first and started well. This race uses two start lines and 15
> second gaps so there are lots of rabbits to chase. This was a good
> spring for skiing, which doesn't mess up my knees like bike riding does.
> So I've been shifting some of my exercise time away from the bike. I
> think I'd been out for maybe 100 miles total before the race, so I was
> in fine FM form. Even so, this is a good course for larger riders. The
> hills are rollers and a lot of wind favors guys that can plow through
> it. So I reeled in a fair number of earlier starters and didn't see
> anyone come past me until past the half way point.
>
> I finished OK, not great, 31st out of 78 starters. I know, I know, I
> need to start stocking the fridge with bags of blood. Especially if
> I am going to be so reticent about actually riding my bike.
>
> After finishing I turned around and headed back out on the course
> looking for my kid. I found her about 4 miles out. This was just
> after the worst headwind leg. She had been passed by almost all of
> the later starters. I asked her if she was OK and she said she felt
> pretty good. She started 15 seconds after me and was probably not
> too far past the halfway point when I finished. I think she had a
> hell of a time in the headwind. She weighs nothing and, even with
> the aero bars, was riding a bike with the aerodynamic efficiency of
> a dog turd. But if she had a hard time she wasn't going to let on.
>
> She finished the race and took first place in her age category as
> the only entrant. This was her first solo bike race, and she wore
> the medal for the rest of the day.
>
> The race had a special prize for the true fatty master. It was for
> the most speed/pound. I thought I was a contender for that. But there
> was a large guy that had about a 10% advantage in the numerator, which
> was enough to overcome my slight advantage in the denominator. So I
> went home empty handed. C'est la vie.
>
> Bob Schwartz


That story gave me a BIG smile. 16 miles is long for kids. How old is
she? And just out of curiosity, what was the winning FM quotient?

Joseph
 
On May 8, 3:41 am, Ryan Cousineau <[email protected]> wrote:
> In article
> <e0706044-4db9-41fe-a54e-41ccff657...@i76g2000hsf.googlegroups.com>,
>
>
>
>  "[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote:
> > On May 7, 7:05 am, Ryan Cousineau <[email protected]> wrote:
> > > With Joseph telling us the tales of his heroic efforts in Norwegian
> > > cycling, I thought I'd tell mine.

>
> > > 20 k TT on Sunday: riding my octospeed Pinarello, finished dead last in
> > > Cat 4. Race report: starter said go, I went really hard, then I pedaled
> > > hard, then I pedaled hard, then the TT ended.

>
> > > Tonight: WTNC training crit. I did a long and absurdly intense commute
> > > to the crit, then rode the crit, blowing up after 3 laps, then I joined
> > > a chase group of 3, and blew up again just after getting passed by my
> > > pack as the bell rang. Then I rode home, so screwed up that I stopped
> > > for a 700 mL Coke, drank it all in about 2 minutes, then I rode a while,
> > > stopped for an espresso, and then I got home.

>
> > > I don't ever remember being so mental on a ride. But it was a good,
> > > I-got-a-hard-workout mental feeling.

>
> > Outstanding!

>
> > After perusing the club website, I'm jealous of the fine race
> > opportunities.

>
> > More racing, and more reports!

>
> > Joseph

>
> Will do. At present, there are _three_ mid-week crit series within range
> of my house. Aside from our Tuesday Nighters, the other big club in town
> (Team Coastal [boo!]) runs a Thursday Nighter industrial-park crit, and
> there's a Wednesday night racing series at the motorsports park about 30
> km from my house.
>
> Alas, last year's weekly TT has not been renewed.
>
> Goals for this year: get to 150 pounds by doing ~2 crits and one longish
> ride per week. Hit the Yaletown GP on July 1 in something like race
> shape. Be monster-strong for CX season. Start in the velodrome in the
> Fall.
>


Sure, rub it in. 3 weekly races AND a velodrome??!!?

Joseph
 
Bob Schwartz wrote:
> One of the early season races near here is a 16 mile, 4 corner TT.
> A big square, 4 miles to a side, held in the near ghost town of
> Willard, WI. I say near ghost town because not all the houses are
> abandoned yet, but the abandoned rail right-of-way is long enough
> gone that it is difficult to tell where it went. It does have a
> public structure large enough to host the event, and the fact that
> hardly anyone one lives there anymore is a plus for the event.
>
> This is a rural area and one of the defining characteristics of the
> race is wind. Regardless of where it is coming from, there is nothing
> between there and the course to slow it down.
>
> I have been doing the race on our tandem with my kid. This year I asked
> if she wanted to solo. She thought about it awhile, and said she did.
>
> I fitted her mountain bike with aero bars and took her out for a couple
> of rides. Riding with her elbows on the pads was disquieting for her
> at first, and she worried about not being able to easily reach the
> brakes. But she adjusted. She rides with her heels on the pedals and
> we've discussed why it is better to ride with the ball of the foot over
> the pedal axle blah blah blah. I thought about adding toe clips to limit
> the heel pedaling, but decided against it. One must choose one's battles
> wisely.
>
> She weighs nothing and I knew she'd have trouble into the wind. We
> talked a little about where it is important to be slippery to the wind
> and where it is less important and she could ride more upright.
>
> She was a tendency to ride in the biggest gear and slog up hills. We
> talked about choosing an easier gear when the riding is hard. I was
> tempted to tell her that cadence was a red herring. But I didn't.
>
> I went off first and started well. This race uses two start lines and 15
> second gaps so there are lots of rabbits to chase. This was a good
> spring for skiing, which doesn't mess up my knees like bike riding does.
> So I've been shifting some of my exercise time away from the bike. I
> think I'd been out for maybe 100 miles total before the race, so I was
> in fine FM form. Even so, this is a good course for larger riders. The
> hills are rollers and a lot of wind favors guys that can plow through
> it. So I reeled in a fair number of earlier starters and didn't see
> anyone come past me until past the half way point.
>
> I finished OK, not great, 31st out of 78 starters. I know, I know, I
> need to start stocking the fridge with bags of blood. Especially if
> I am going to be so reticent about actually riding my bike.
>
> After finishing I turned around and headed back out on the course
> looking for my kid. I found her about 4 miles out. This was just
> after the worst headwind leg. She had been passed by almost all of
> the later starters. I asked her if she was OK and she said she felt
> pretty good. She started 15 seconds after me and was probably not
> too far past the halfway point when I finished. I think she had a
> hell of a time in the headwind. She weighs nothing and, even with
> the aero bars, was riding a bike with the aerodynamic efficiency of
> a dog turd. But if she had a hard time she wasn't going to let on.
>
> She finished the race and took first place in her age category as
> the only entrant. This was her first solo bike race, and she wore
> the medal for the rest of the day.
>
> The race had a special prize for the true fatty master. It was for
> the most speed/pound. I thought I was a contender for that. But there
> was a large guy that had about a 10% advantage in the numerator, which
> was enough to overcome my slight advantage in the denominator. So I
> went home empty handed. C'est la vie.
>

Wait a second, this thread was for less-than-inspiring race reports.
That was inspiring. Congratulations for your kid. Now you can sell the
tandem.
 
[email protected] wrote:
> That story gave me a BIG smile. 16 miles is long for kids. How old is
> she? And just out of curiosity, what was the winning FM quotient?


She's 13. She has a cousin that is the same height and has
a road bike, we tired it out last summer and it was too
different from what she had grown up with. Also, she's been
in this freakish growth phase. I've been waiting for that
to level off a bit before dumping money into gear. Maybe
this summer she gets her first road bike.

They didn't list the numbers in the FM results. I may have
been confused about the units in the calculation, but I was
at 5358 pound miles/hour.

Bob Schwartz
 
In article
<[email protected]>,
"[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote:

> On May 8, 3:41 am, Ryan Cousineau <[email protected]> wrote:
> > In article
> > <e0706044-4db9-41fe-a54e-41ccff657...@i76g2000hsf.googlegroups.com>,
> >
> >
> >
> >  "[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote:
> > > On May 7, 7:05 am, Ryan Cousineau <[email protected]> wrote:
> > > > With Joseph telling us the tales of his heroic efforts in Norwegian
> > > > cycling, I thought I'd tell mine.

> >
> > > > 20 k TT on Sunday: riding my octospeed Pinarello, finished dead last in
> > > > Cat 4. Race report: starter said go, I went really hard, then I pedaled
> > > > hard, then I pedaled hard, then the TT ended.

> >
> > > > Tonight: WTNC training crit. I did a long and absurdly intense commute
> > > > to the crit, then rode the crit, blowing up after 3 laps, then I joined
> > > > a chase group of 3, and blew up again just after getting passed by my
> > > > pack as the bell rang. Then I rode home, so screwed up that I stopped
> > > > for a 700 mL Coke, drank it all in about 2 minutes, then I rode a while,
> > > > stopped for an espresso, and then I got home.

> >
> > > > I don't ever remember being so mental on a ride. But it was a good,
> > > > I-got-a-hard-workout mental feeling.

> >
> > > Outstanding!

> >
> > > After perusing the club website, I'm jealous of the fine race
> > > opportunities.

> >
> > > More racing, and more reports!

> >
> > > Joseph

> >
> > Will do. At present, there are _three_ mid-week crit series within range
> > of my house. Aside from our Tuesday Nighters, the other big club in town
> > (Team Coastal [boo!]) runs a Thursday Nighter industrial-park crit, and
> > there's a Wednesday night racing series at the motorsports park about 30
> > km from my house.
> >
> > Alas, last year's weekly TT has not been renewed.
> >
> > Goals for this year: get to 150 pounds by doing ~2 crits and one longish
> > ride per week. Hit the Yaletown GP on July 1 in something like race
> > shape. Be monster-strong for CX season. Start in the velodrome in the
> > Fall.
> >

>
> Sure, rub it in. 3 weekly races AND a velodrome??!!?
>
> Joseph


An _indoor_ velodrome. It's 10 km from my house:

http://burnabyvelodrome.ca

--
Ryan Cousineau [email protected] http://www.wiredcola.com/
"In other newsgroups, they killfile trolls."
"In rec.bicycles.racing, we coach them."
 
In article <[email protected]>,
Bob Schwartz <[email protected]> wrote:

> [email protected] wrote:
> > That story gave me a BIG smile. 16 miles is long for kids. How old is
> > she? And just out of curiosity, what was the winning FM quotient?

>
> She's 13. She has a cousin that is the same height and has
> a road bike, we tired it out last summer and it was too
> different from what she had grown up with. Also, she's been
> in this freakish growth phase. I've been waiting for that
> to level off a bit before dumping money into gear. Maybe
> this summer she gets her first road bike.


With the caution that you'd be better off with her riding a bad bike she
likes than a road bike she dislikes, you might consider a tiny CX bike,
if only for the top-mount brake levers.

A hyper-enthusiastic 10-yo of my acquaintance desperately desired a road
bike, and her father and I built a bizarro CX bike out of a 20" MTB
frame, a rigid fork, and various other cast-off parts (one
irreproducible find: a teeny tiny women-specific handlebar for cheap at
a close-out sale).

http://flickr.com/photos/ttcopley/sets/72157594551105230/

And notably:

http://flickr.com/photos/ttcopley/419361041/in/set-72157594551105230/

A similar thing can be done to 24" and 26"-wheeled bikes, too.

An inspiring story. I hope the kid had fun.

--
Ryan Cousineau [email protected] http://www.wiredcola.com/
"In other newsgroups, they killfile trolls."
"In rec.bicycles.racing, we coach them."
 
On Thu, 08 May 2008 19:49:35 GMT, Ryan Cousineau <[email protected]>
wrote:


>With the caution that you'd be better off with her riding a bad bike she
>likes than a road bike she dislikes, you might consider a tiny CX bike,
>if only for the top-mount brake levers.
>
>A hyper-enthusiastic 10-yo of my acquaintance desperately desired a road
>bike, and her father and I built a bizarro CX bike out of a 20" MTB
>frame, a rigid fork, and various other cast-off parts (one
>irreproducible find: a teeny tiny women-specific handlebar for cheap at
>a close-out sale).
>
>http://flickr.com/photos/ttcopley/sets/72157594551105230/
>
>And notably:
>
>http://flickr.com/photos/ttcopley/419361041/in/set-72157594551105230/


Drills it! That bike rocks. Cute photo and rider.
 
In article <[email protected]>,
John Forrest Tomlinson <[email protected]> wrote:

> On Thu, 08 May 2008 19:49:35 GMT, Ryan Cousineau <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
>
> >With the caution that you'd be better off with her riding a bad bike she
> >likes than a road bike she dislikes, you might consider a tiny CX bike,
> >if only for the top-mount brake levers.
> >
> >A hyper-enthusiastic 10-yo of my acquaintance desperately desired a road
> >bike, and her father and I built a bizarro CX bike out of a 20" MTB
> >frame, a rigid fork, and various other cast-off parts (one
> >irreproducible find: a teeny tiny women-specific handlebar for cheap at
> >a close-out sale).
> >
> >http://flickr.com/photos/ttcopley/sets/72157594551105230/
> >
> >And notably:
> >
> >http://flickr.com/photos/ttcopley/419361041/in/set-72157594551105230/

>
> Drills it! That bike rocks. Cute photo and rider.


The kid is cycling crazy. She wanted a road bike bad, so she could be
just like her hero, Mandy Poitras (late of the now-defunct Symmetrics
women's team).

A few years ago, Mandy gave her that Symmetrics jersey, which then
became the main top little M. would wear on almost every occasion.

That kid once crashed the bike on a descent at over 30 km/h. She was
unfazed. She rides with grim intensity, and loves it. Not sure how soon
before she'll be old enough to do the 25 km/h dEVo rides, but not that
long.

Oh, one other tip for building kiddie road-bikes: Sora and R600 or 700
(variant Ultegra-grade) levers have a reach adjustment, which is really
practical for small hands.

--
Ryan Cousineau [email protected] http://www.wiredcola.com/
"In other newsgroups, they killfile trolls."
"In rec.bicycles.racing, we coach them."
 
In article <[email protected]>,
Bob Schwartz <[email protected]> wrote:

> After finishing I turned around and headed back out on the course
> looking for my kid. I found her about 4 miles out. This was just
> after the worst headwind leg. She had been passed by almost all of
> the later starters. I asked her if she was OK and she said she felt
> pretty good. She started 15 seconds after me and was probably not
> too far past the halfway point when I finished. I think she had a
> hell of a time in the headwind. She weighs nothing and, even with
> the aero bars, was riding a bike with the aerodynamic efficiency of
> a dog turd. But if she had a hard time she wasn't going to let on.
>
> She finished the race and took first place in her age category as
> the only entrant. This was her first solo bike race, and she wore
> the medal for the rest of the day.


I think it's really pretty cool that you were able to do thhis with your daughter
and that she persevered to the end. She should be stoked (you too, of course).

> The race had a special prize for the true fatty master. It was for
> the most speed/pound. I thought I was a contender for that. But there
> was a large guy that had about a 10% advantage in the numerator, which
> was enough to overcome my slight advantage in the denominator. So I
> went home empty handed. C'est la vie.


For a better effort in this event (speed/pound) in the future, remember these
words the next time you sit down to eat: "It's better with butter."

--
tanx,
Howard

Whatever happened to
Leon Trotsky?
He got an icepick
That made his ears burn.

remove YOUR SHOES to reply, ok?
 
On May 7, 9:01 pm, Bob Schwartz <[email protected]>
wrote:

> After finishing I turned around and headed back out on the course
> looking for my kid. I found her about 4 miles out. This was just
> after the worst headwind leg. She had been passed by almost all of
> the later starters. I asked her if she was OK and she said she felt
> pretty good. She started 15 seconds after me and was probably not
> too far past the halfway point when I finished. I think she had a
> hell of a time in the headwind. She weighs nothing and, even with
> the aero bars, was riding a bike with the aerodynamic efficiency of
> a dog turd. But if she had a hard time she wasn't going to let on.
>
> She finished the race and took first place in her age category as
> the only entrant. This was her first solo bike race, and she wore
> the medal for the rest of the day.


That's very cool.

My club in California ran a monthly informal TT (timed,
no fee, unsanctioned). There was a guy from over the
hill who would bring his daughter and sons. The daughter
(13 or so) would ride it by herself and the dad would ride
along behind the 10-y.o. son to keep an eye on and
encourage him. He had a mini Cannondale
road bike that dad had managed to find somewhere.
This is on low traffic roads but a hard TT -
5.5 miles out with a 1 mile climb, then back. As the kids
got bigger the 2nd could ride by himself and dad could
ride with the 3rd. After the TT we'd go back to a pizza
place in town and tell the bike equivalent of fish
stories. All seemed to enjoy themselves and
went on to fairly active racing in Norcal juniors.

Ben
 
Ryan Cousineau wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>,
> Bob Schwartz <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> [email protected] wrote:
>>> That story gave me a BIG smile. 16 miles is long for kids. How old is
>>> she? And just out of curiosity, what was the winning FM quotient?

>> She's 13. She has a cousin that is the same height and has
>> a road bike, we tired it out last summer and it was too
>> different from what she had grown up with. Also, she's been
>> in this freakish growth phase. I've been waiting for that
>> to level off a bit before dumping money into gear. Maybe
>> this summer she gets her first road bike.

>
> With the caution that you'd be better off with her riding a bad bike she
> likes than a road bike she dislikes, you might consider a tiny CX bike,
> if only for the top-mount brake levers.


That's a very cool bike.

At 13 my kid is well into adult sizes, she's as tall as her
mom. I didn't push road bikes with her cousin's bike because
her cousin is older and has stopped growing, so it wasn't
something she's going to grow out of. And at the time my
kid was doing this alien growth thing, so any bike she got
was not going to fit for long.

I am hoping that the growth curve is starting to level off.
I think a road bike will be like the aero bars in that it
won't take more than a few miles of cruising more easily
on pavement for her to 'get it'.

But we'll see. We've got a number of items on the toy list.
Like roller skis. I've been avoiding the issue of skate
boots because she's been changing sizes at an alarming rate
and because properties in a ski boot that are important to
a 200 lb guy with low body fat tend not to be an issue for
a skinny kid that weighs nothing. But roller skis will make
that unavoidable.

Based on the reaction I got to the Gent 6 Day last fall I
think there is a fixed gear bike in her future. But that's
further out.

But at some point this summer a road bike will appear. It's
time, and she's ready.

Bob Schwartz
 
In article <[email protected]>,
Bob Schwartz <[email protected]> wrote:

> Ryan Cousineau wrote:
> > In article <[email protected]>,
> > Bob Schwartz <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> >> [email protected] wrote:
> >>> That story gave me a BIG smile. 16 miles is long for kids. How old is
> >>> she? And just out of curiosity, what was the winning FM quotient?
> >> She's 13. She has a cousin that is the same height and has
> >> a road bike, we tired it out last summer and it was too
> >> different from what she had grown up with. Also, she's been
> >> in this freakish growth phase. I've been waiting for that
> >> to level off a bit before dumping money into gear. Maybe
> >> this summer she gets her first road bike.

> >
> > With the caution that you'd be better off with her riding a bad bike she
> > likes than a road bike she dislikes, you might consider a tiny CX bike,
> > if only for the top-mount brake levers.

>
> That's a very cool bike.
>
> At 13 my kid is well into adult sizes, she's as tall as her
> mom. I didn't push road bikes with her cousin's bike because
> her cousin is older and has stopped growing, so it wasn't
> something she's going to grow out of. And at the time my
> kid was doing this alien growth thing, so any bike she got
> was not going to fit for long.


Compact geometry is your friend!

> But at some point this summer a road bike will appear. It's
> time, and she's ready.


Good on ya. Like I say, it may not hurt to go with top-mounts.

--
Ryan Cousineau [email protected] http://www.wiredcola.com/
"In other newsgroups, they killfile trolls."
"In rec.bicycles.racing, we coach them."
 
On May 7, 9:01 pm, Bob Schwartz <[email protected]>
wrote:
> One of the early season races near here is a 16 mile, 4 corner TT.
> A big square, 4 miles to a side, held in the near ghost town of
> Willard, WI.


Dumbass,

Nice story.

I like it that the hills nearby are called "South Mound", "North
Mound", and, um, oh yeah, "Middle Mound".
 

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