preriding the course -- any suggestions?

"Monique Y. Mudama" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The race organizers are supposed to announce the course tomorrow, so I
plan to go check things out this weekend. I was going to drag Eric
along, but he has a chest cold, so ... that's doubtful. So it'll
probably just be me (unless anyone wants to meet me at Eldora?)

Anyhoo, my thought is to ride my (beginner's) course slowly once, then a
second time "for real," and hopefully remember enough of the course to
be able to figure out a plan of attack -- when to conserve my energy,
when to give it my all, etc. I also want to check out the advanced
course, just to see how the other half lives.

Any of you folks who've raced before have any preriding tips?

I'd look for areas where you can take it a bit easier and drink/eat, places
where you think you can overtake, places where you want to be in front of
anyone with you e.g. any technical places likely to cause a bottleneck or
specific areas you reckon you'll be strong on.

If you're keen I guess you would be checking course conditions to choose
what tyres to use, how to set your suspension up etc.

My top tip though is to check if theres anywhere the course doubles back on
itself and you can sneak across...

Steve.

Monique sez:

Quoted message said:

Any of you folks who've raced before have any preriding tips?

What Scott said, plus:

Think of places to pass. Be inventive. Think of where everyone else
might take it easy or play it too safe.

Look for where you'll excel and where you'll have difficulty. For
instance, if you're not a good climber, work extra hard to get to hills
earlier than you would otherwise.

Look for places that might be especially difficult while riding in a big
group. It's very different from riding with friends who aren't all over
you.

Look for places where riders are going to get off and carry or walk
their bikes, even though we know *you* would make it. Once one rider
stops in a narrow technical section, you have a traffic jam and you're
likely to have to carry your bike through it.

Take a good look at the start. Find the best line to be in front as it
funnels into a narrower track.

Look for a good place to put a remote control inflatable bear with
growling sounds. The bottle full of fake vomit doesn't work like it did
in the old days.

Think of how much fun it will be!

Quoted message said:

So it'll
probably just be me (unless anyone wants to meet me at Eldora?)

I was planning on coming up this weekend to ride, but it looks like I'm
going to go to Fruita instead. (I'll take pics.)

--
T o m Dillon
Lakewood, CO
Z to S to email

Monique Y. Mudama said:

The race organizers are supposed to announce the course tomorrow, so I
plan to go check things out this weekend. I was going to drag Eric
along, but he has a chest cold, so ... that's doubtful. So it'll
probably just be me (unless anyone wants to meet me at Eldora?)

Anyhoo, my thought is to ride my (beginner's) course slowly once,
then a second time "for real," and hopefully remember enough of the
course to be able to figure out a plan of attack -- when to conserve
my energy, when to give it my all, etc. I also want to check out the
advanced course, just to see how the other half lives.

Any of you folks who've raced before have any preriding tips?

This may sound like a silly question, but it is pertinant to your
preperation.... Are you racing for the sake of racing or are you
racing to win? Many racers in the beginners ranks aren't really racing
to win, they are there for the comradery of racing and to improve their
riding technique..... and, of course, to measure their performance
against fellow riders.

If you are racing primarily to improve your riding and to get to know a
new side of the sport, then preride the course for safety... know the
obstacles and the bottlenecks.... imagine riding the course with other
riders, don't forget that you will be riding in close priximity to a
bunch of other people at high speed, so your attention will likely be
focussed on fellow racers rather than the trail. This can be one of
the most difficult things to get used to in racing.... the transition
between focussing only on the trail and how you are performing, to
focussing on the many aspects of 'in race' conditions while navigating
a treacherous trail... the differences are not subtle. That being
said, during your preride, force yourself to look further up the trail
than you usually might, trust your peripheral vision and let your bike
react to the trail.... fluidity is very important in racing because it
lets you react to the many elements of the race.

If you are racing to win, study the trail... know where you need to
settle into a pace and know where you need to hammer.... there is no
such fable as the tortoise and the hare in racing... the faster riders
who are able to get the most speed out of the course are the ones who
win. The first thing you have to do in a race is outrun the pack to
the first bottleneck. If you don't do this, you will probably not
win... you will get stuck in the pack and the leaders will pull off a
huge lead, never to be seen again. The second thing you need to do is,
having studied the course and chosen your lines, to stick to your race
plan.... if your race plan is good, and you are giving 110%, you will
race well (unless you crash). The most important preride aspect of
racing to win, is to preride as aggresively as you possibly can....
really simulate race conditions for yourself so that you don't get
caught too off guard when the race comes.

As for racing itself... don't forget to have fun, and ride the hell
itself is chomping at your chainstays.

Good Luck

PaulW

..

Monique Y. Mudama said:

The race organizers are supposed to announce the course tomorrow, so I
plan to go check things out this weekend. I was going to drag Eric
along, but he has a chest cold, so ... that's doubtful. So it'll
probably just be me (unless anyone wants to meet me at Eldora?)

Anyhoo, my thought is to ride my (beginner's) course slowly once, then a
second time "for real," and hopefully remember enough of the course to
be able to figure out a plan of attack -- when to conserve my energy,
when to give it my all, etc. I also want to check out the advanced
course, just to see how the other half lives.

Any of you folks who've raced before have any preriding tips?

Be sure to look for fun spots that might be tough to see ahead of time.
Small drops are the easiest to miss, look for roots that you can pop
off of for a little air, watch for those rough sections that can be
smoothed out with speed, a long smooth slight uphill is a good place to
throw a wheelie as a diversion from all the hard work, and figure out
where you *really* have to shave speed on downhills.

The single most important thing to do is make sure you can clean
everything; nothing breaks the chi worse than a dab, and no gel, bar, or
miricle juice comes close to the boost of cleaning a tough section that
everyone eles is having trouble with.

"Monique Y. Mudama" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Any of you folks who've raced before have any preriding tips?

Yeah, enjoy the trail while it's not crowded.

JD

On 2004-08-06, JD penned:

Quoted message said:

"Monique Y. Mudama" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Any of you folks who've raced before have any preriding tips?

Yeah, enjoy the trail while it's not crowded.

Yeah, I'm looking forward to spending the weekend noodling around on the
course. Unfortunately, all the other competitors may have the same
idea.

To be honest, I don't even know if the Eldora nordic area is even open
for riding normally ...

--
monique

"Get a bicycle. You will not regret it, if you live."
-- Mark Twain

On 2004-08-06, spademan o---[) * penned:

Quoted message said:

I'd look for areas where you can take it a bit easier and drink/eat,
places where you think you can overtake, places where you want to be
in front of anyone with you e.g. any technical places likely to cause
a bottleneck or specific areas you reckon you'll be strong on.

Sound like good ideas.

Quoted message said:

If you're keen I guess you would be checking course conditions to
choose what tyres to use, how to set your suspension up etc.

I'm not to the point of fiddling with things to that extent, yet. Once
I find a setup that seems to work, I try to stick with it.

Quoted message said:

My top tip though is to check if theres anywhere the course doubles
back on itself and you can sneak across...

Heh. Not part of my plan ...

--
monique

"Get a bicycle. You will not regret it, if you live."
-- Mark Twain

On 2004-08-06, PaulW penned:

Quoted message said:

This may sound like a silly question, but it is pertinant to your
preperation.... Are you racing for the sake of racing or are you
racing to win? Many racers in the beginners ranks aren't really
racing to win, they are there for the comradery of racing and to
improve their riding technique..... and, of course, to measure their
performance against fellow riders.

Doesn't sound like a silly question to me ... I'm mostly racing for the
sake of racing, all the reasons you list. That being said, if it seems
like I have a chance at doing better than last place, I'll work hard to
make that happen. Honestly, I'm such a slow rider compared to almost
everyone I've ever ridden with that I expect I'll be last. But maybe
I'll surprise myself ...

Quoted message said:

If you are racing primarily to improve your riding and to get to know
a new side of the sport, then preride the course for safety... know
the obstacles and the bottlenecks.... imagine riding the course with
other riders, don't forget that you will be riding in close priximity
to a bunch of other people at high speed, so your attention will
likely be focussed on fellow racers rather than the trail.

Yeah, I don't deal with other people well -- I figure that's one of the
many things I can work on by racing.

Quoted message said:

This can be one of the most difficult things to get used to in
racing.... the transition between focussing only on the trail and how
you are performing, to focussing on the many aspects of 'in race'
conditions while navigating a treacherous trail... the differences are
not subtle. That being said, during your preride, force yourself to
look further up the trail than you usually might, trust your
peripheral vision and let your bike react to the trail.... fluidity is
very important in racing because it lets you react to the many
elements of the race.

I had thought of the "lots of people are scary" aspect, but not about
how that would mask the terrain. This could be good or bad -- could
send me flying, or could allow me to ride through sections that would
normally scare me because I'm too distracted to notice 'em.

Quoted message said:

If you are racing to win, study the trail... know where you need to
settle into a pace and know where you need to hammer.... there is no
such fable as the tortoise and the hare in racing... the faster riders
who are able to get the most speed out of the course are the ones who
win. The first thing you have to do in a race is outrun the pack to
the first bottleneck. If you don't do this, you will probably not
win... you will get stuck in the pack and the leaders will pull off a
huge lead, never to be seen again. The second thing you need to do
is, having studied the course and chosen your lines, to stick to your
race plan.... if your race plan is good, and you are giving 110%, you
will race well (unless you crash). The most important preride aspect
of racing to win, is to preride as aggresively as you possibly can....
really simulate race conditions for yourself so that you don't get
caught too off guard when the race comes.

Sadly, I really doubt I'll have any chance of getting out front and
staying there. But who knows ... I mean, I just don't know if the other
"beginners" will be mountain bikers with years of experience just
starting to race ... or triatheletes slumming ... or what. If they're
other women of about my ability level, I would expect to be less fit
than them, but more willing to ride technical stuff. Part of preriding
the course is finding out if there *is* any technical stuff, or if it's
just a dirt road or something.

Quoted message said:

As for racing itself... don't forget to have fun, and ride the hell
itself is chomping at your chainstays.

I wouldn't do it if I didn't think I'd have any fun =) I hope it gets
my ass in gear in a way that my usual rides just don't seem to manage.

--
monique

"Get a bicycle. You will not regret it, if you live."
-- Mark Twain

On 2004-08-06, kantspel penned:

Quoted message said:

Be sure to look for fun spots that might be tough to see ahead of
time. Small drops are the easiest to miss, look for roots that you
can pop off of for a little air, watch for those rough sections that
can be smoothed out with speed, a long smooth slight uphill is a good
place to throw a wheelie as a diversion from all the hard work, and
figure out where you *really* have to shave speed on downhills.

While air is fun, isn't it counterproductive in racing? Like downhill
skiers who try to avoid getting air?

Quoted message said:

The single most important thing to do is make sure you can clean
everything; nothing breaks the chi worse than a dab, and no gel, bar,
or miricle juice comes close to the boost of cleaning a tough section
that everyone eles is having trouble with.

That sounds like a good goal, but on most trails, dabbing is just a fact
of life for me.

--
monique

"Get a bicycle. You will not regret it, if you live."
-- Mark Twain

On 2004-08-06, Sunastar penned:

Quoted message said:

Monique sez:

Quoted message said:

Any of you folks who've raced before have any preriding tips?

What Scott said, plus:

Think of places to pass. Be inventive. Think of where everyone else
might take it easy or play it too safe.

.... and then pretend that I'll have the guts to pass there? *wry grin*

Quoted message said:

Look for where you'll excel and where you'll have difficulty. For
instance, if you're not a good climber, work extra hard to get to
hills earlier than you would otherwise.

What's the theory here? To give myself extra time before the hordes
descend? er, ascend.

Quoted message said:

Look for places that might be especially difficult while riding in a
big group. It's very different from riding with friends who aren't all
over you.

Yeah, that part scares me, but I think that dealing with it will make me
a better rider.

Quoted message said:

Look for places where riders are going to get off and carry or walk
their bikes, even though we know *you* would make it. Once one rider
stops in a narrow technical section, you have a traffic jam and you're
likely to have to carry your bike through it.

Bleh. A lot of times, carrying can be faster than riding, though, no?
.... which sucks ... I mean, it's a mountain biking race, not a hike a
bike race!

Quoted message said:

Take a good look at the start. Find the best line to be in front as it
funnels into a narrower track.

Sounds like deep mojo ...

Quoted message said:

Look for a good place to put a remote control inflatable bear with
growling sounds. The bottle full of fake vomit doesn't work like it
did in the old days.

Hah!

Quoted message said:

Think of how much fun it will be!

That's the plan. I can be competitive in seriously non-productive ways,
like seeing a pro mtber do something and then getting [censored] at myself
for not being able to do the same thing. As often as I say that I'm
just trying to finish, I know that I'll be [censored] at myself when
everyone leaves me in the dust, even though I *know* how slow I am. I
just hope that that frustration will drive me to pedal harder rather
than to give up.

Quoted message said:

I was planning on coming up this weekend to ride, but it looks like
I'm going to go to Fruita instead. (I'll take pics.)

Please do. I've been contemplating a trip to Fruita for a while now,
but this year has just been so busy ... I have a trail book, though,
just to whet the appetite.

--
monique

"Get a bicycle. You will not regret it, if you live."
-- Mark Twain

Monique sez:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Look for where you'll excel and where you'll have difficulty. For
instance, if you're not a good climber, work extra hard to get to
hills earlier than you would otherwise.

What's the theory here? To give myself extra time before the hordes
descend? er, ascend.

More position than time. If you're in front of better climbers, they'll
have to work more to pass than just to climb.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Look for places that might be especially difficult while riding in a
big group. It's very different from riding with friends who aren't all
over you.

Yeah, that part scares me, but I think that dealing with it will make me
a better rider.

It's not that bad, really. The crowd moves slower than you would by
yourself, so you're not likely to be riding like the wind and get blown
over by a fart. You'll be surprised how much time you spend *not* in a
crowd, but they do tend to congregate at technical parts.

Quoted message said:

Bleh. A lot of times, carrying can be faster than riding, though, no?
... which sucks ... I mean, it's a mountain biking race, not a hike a
bike race!

Yeah, I agree, but unlike on a ride, you don't get to (or want to) try
to redo the little technical section you couldn't clean the first time.
If you can't make it over something or someone carry your bike over it.
Which reminds me, make sure you can get on your bike and get started
FAST. None of this, "Hmmm... Is this the pedal I should clip in first? I
need to look both ways and ring my horn twice before starting. I wonder
if my makeup looks fresh enough for the finish line pics."

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Take a good look at the start. Find the best line to be in front as it
funnels into a narrower track.

Sounds like deep mojo ...

Nah, just get to the starting line early so you're not at the back of
the pack and pick a good line and realize that you may not get to ride
the line you pick because of all the other riders.

Quoted message said:

I
just hope that that frustration will drive me to pedal harder rather
than to give up.

You won't. I promise.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I was planning on coming up this weekend to ride, but it looks like
I'm going to go to Fruita instead. (I'll take pics.)

Please do. I've been contemplating a trip to Fruita for a while now,
but this year has just been so busy ... I have a trail book, though,
just to whet the appetite.

There are some from our last trip in April. They were from the Book
Cliffs area. <http://www.sunastar.com/Areas/Biking/Biking.html>

We'll be on the other side of I-70 this time. We haven't decided what to
do yet though. We're heading out in a few hours so we have the drive to
figure it out.

--
T o m Dillon
Lakewood, CO
Z to S to email

Quoted message said:

Anyhoo, my thought is to ride my (beginner's) course slowly once, then a
second time "for real," and hopefully remember enough of the course to
be able to figure out a plan of attack -- when to conserve my energy,
when to give it my all, etc.

Look sections that might give you trouble or have multiple lines. Then
watch how other pre-racers are doing it. Then practice that section till
you memorize it.

I watched a race a couple weeks ago where nobody crashed in this gnarly
section during practice. The actual race was a different story. Only
serious injury was a broken thumb. OUCH!!!!!!

"spademan o---[) *"
<[email hidden]> wrote in
message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Monique Y. Mudama" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The race organizers are supposed to announce the course tomorrow, so I
plan to go check things out this weekend. I was going to drag Eric
along, but he has a chest cold, so ... that's doubtful. So it'll
probably just be me (unless anyone wants to meet me at Eldora?)

Anyhoo, my thought is to ride my (beginner's) course slowly once, then a
second time "for real," and hopefully remember enough of the course to
be able to figure out a plan of attack -- when to conserve my energy,
when to give it my all, etc. I also want to check out the advanced
course, just to see how the other half lives.

Any of you folks who've raced before have any preriding tips?

I'd look for areas where you can take it a bit easier and drink/eat,

places

Quoted message said:

where you think you can overtake, places where you want to be in front of
anyone with you e.g. any technical places likely to cause a bottleneck or
specific areas you reckon you'll be strong on.

If you're keen I guess you would be checking course conditions to choose
what tyres to use, how to set your suspension up etc.

My top tip though is to check if theres anywhere the course doubles back

on

Quoted message said:

itself and you can sneak across...

Steve.

Hmm, reminds me of that race last year (where I just missed the top 10 out
of about 30 or 40) where I passed two guys from another team riding
together... at least 3 times. And I think at least one of them "beat" me in
the standings.

But at least I had the satisfaction of flying by them a bunch anyway!

Jon Bond

Well, I did two loops of the course today. Most of the climbing happens
right at the start, so I figure all of the advice on making sure I stay
out front and whatnot is wasted -- I'm gonna get smoked in the first
half mile! After that I should be okay, though, for whatever that's
worth.

The first time around, I didn't notice the branch-off point for the
beginner and expert sections, so I definitely worried about how long I'd
been riding -- till I realized I was back at the starting point already!

There were two truly massive puddles. Opaque water, too. I tried to
ride through the second one, only to get stopped in water so deep it got
on my rotors. Blech! Fortunately, I was right on the edge and managed
to put a foot out on firm ground rather than getting a mouthful of foul
water. I spoke to a guy who tried the first puddle with similar
results. I hope that will have dried out a bit by next weekend.

There's one technical, steep climb that I plan on walking -- it's just
not going to happen at this point in my abilities. Unless I turn into
super-aggressive-racer-creature on race day or something. Okay, I'll
try it tomorrow. But no promises.

I did have a good little "ahah" moment. For the first time ever (I
don't know why I've never done this, and I don't know why I started
today -- it wasn't so much a decision as something I found myself
doing), I got off the seat on some climbs. This was cool, but on one
such climb, my rear wheel lost traction and I came to an abrupt halt. I
blamed it on the loose soil. A few miles later, the thought came to me:
"You unweighted your rear wheel too much. Put yourself just a little
less forward, and you'll make it up that climb." And I did, the next
time around. That was cool.

One really weird thing -- I did two laps with maybe a minute's break
between them. Each lap was 6.5 miles. I decided to pack it in for the
day after the two laps, but I still felt relatively fine. I ate a
peanut butter and apple butter sandwich on the drive down Canyon.
Anyway, around the time I hit Boulder, I felt *so* tired -- it was a
real effort to keep driving and not close my eyes on the way home. Like
a post-ride bonk. It just seemed really weird, since I felt fine at the
end of the ride.

There were very few people out today -- I saw maybe ten on my first lap,
and none on my second -- so I didn't really feel comfortable going "all
out" on my runs, especially the downhills. I kept imagining getting
hurt and having no one find me for a day or so. I hope Eric will be
feeling well enough tomorrow to join me on the ride.

--
monique

"Get a bicycle. You will not regret it, if you live."
-- Mark Twain

Monique Y. Mudama said:

There were two truly massive puddles. Opaque water, too. I tried to
ride through the second one, only to get stopped in water so deep it got
on my rotors. Blech!

All I can say is "Two Options"

A: http://www.wpcusrgrp.org/~rogerbuchanan/images/AGASSIZ3.jpg

B: http://www.wpcusrgrp.org/~rogerbuchanan/images/AGASSIZ6.jpg

GD&R'ing...

Preriding is a good idea though. It gives you a good idea of what you
are up against, and also let's you know how you are gonna fare. With me
though, the last time I raced, it didn't matter, as they changed the
course at the last minute to account for a herd of cows out in a new
pasture...<sigh>

What do you mean "we ride UP the Downhill"?!?!?!?
--
- Rog

http://www.wpcusrgrp.org/~rogerbuchanan/index.html

NOTE: to Reply to this, remove the phrase "NOSPAM"
from my "Reply To:" address, or it will be returned.

Quoted message said:

Hmm, reminds me of that race last year (where I just missed the top 10 out
of about 30 or 40) where I passed two guys from another team riding
together... at least 3 times. And I think at least one of them "beat" me

in

Quoted message said:

the standings.

But at least I had the satisfaction of flying by them a bunch anyway!

The worst is when there's a rogue turd-flinger on a dirt bike going through
the course and reversing all the signs with arrows pointing in the direction
to go. Pretty much everyone was having a twilight zone moment.

Jon were you racing collegiate? A, B, or C?

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

"Monique Y. Mudama" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On 2004-08-06, kantspel penned:

Quoted message said:

Be sure to look for fun spots that might be tough to see ahead of
time. Small drops are the easiest to miss, look for roots that you
can pop off of for a little air, watch for those rough sections that
can be smoothed out with speed, a long smooth slight uphill is a good
place to throw a wheelie as a diversion from all the hard work, and
figure out where you *really* have to shave speed on downhills.

While air is fun, isn't it counterproductive in racing? Like downhill
skiers who try to avoid getting air?

Yes, it is counterproductive. You can't go faster, nor do you have traction
in the air.

Even in dual slalom courses, you want to be planted as much as possible so
that you can pedal at ALL times. I was at a race this past spring, and as I
was riding through some of the dirt jumps, I stopped pedaling, and everyone
watching was screaming "KEEP PEDALING!!!" They kinda had a point 😉

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

"justen" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Roger Buchanan said:

All I can say is "Two Options"
A: http://www.wpcusrgrp.org/~rogerbuchanan/images/AGASSIZ3.jpg
B: http://www.wpcusrgrp.org/~rogerbuchanan/images/AGASSIZ6.jpg

You can't post those pics without a story!

Flash flood/deluge and ensuing really bright sky.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

"ZeeExSixAre" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Hmm, reminds me of that race last year (where I just missed the top 10

out

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

of about 30 or 40) where I passed two guys from another team riding
together... at least 3 times. And I think at least one of them "beat"

me

Quoted message said:

in

Quoted message said:

the standings.

But at least I had the satisfaction of flying by them a bunch anyway!

The worst is when there's a rogue turd-flinger on a dirt bike going

through

Quoted message said:

the course and reversing all the signs with arrows pointing in the

direction

Quoted message said:

to go. Pretty much everyone was having a twilight zone moment.

Jon were you racing collegiate? A, B, or C?

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

Started freshman year racing D. Moved up to C last year. I might start at
D this year (I'm way out of shape), and move up to C.

Jon