Race Radios and 2003 USCF rules

[Y2kc0wb0y]

" Tim Mullin" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> "y2kc0wb0y" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...

All, I am trying to pin down the source of the email from usacycling.org that I recieved as a bulk
email about race rule changes and fee changes. I will return with the ruling judgement. In the mean
time, I will say that the original statement said this ruling was to help reduce the number of race
radio crashes in the lower levels.

More to come.... I still would like to know how to protest this rule? Anybody... everybody!!!

> An how, exactly, did you come to this conclusion?

 

[Y2kc0wb0y]

[email protected] (kaiser) wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> The new rule makes about as much practical sense as the old rule mandating black shorts.

I am for the banning of spinergy's. REV it up baby! were do I sign? Y2K Cowboy


> I say the next move they should make would be to ban Spinergy's. I hate looking at the friggin
> annoying things. Too distracting. A cat 5 could crash looking at one of those.

 

[Tom Arsenault]

[email protected] (y2kc0wb0y) wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> [email protected] (kaiser) wrote in message
> news:<[email protected]>...
> > The new rule makes about as much practical sense as the old rule mandating black shorts.
>
> I am for the banning of spinergy's. REV it up baby! were do I sign? Y2K Cowboy
>
>
>
>
>
> > I say the next move they should make would be to ban Spinergy's. I hate looking at the friggin
> > annoying things. Too distracting. A cat 5 could crash looking at one of those.

I hate Spinegy's as well, but...

I think having radios is fine, as long as they don't cause crashes and people to do stupid things.
I've seen it, and it really has no place in a Cat 3-5 race, and actually most Pro 1/2 races that
I've seen either. I've tried it myself, and damn if you can't hear anything anyway. I spent my
entire last race season getting spanked as a Cat 3, and right off hand, I can only remember maybe
3-5 races where there was anything aside from a bunch sprint to finish the race. Why have radios and
increase risk factors when you can see everything going on anyway? If you want to be like the pros,
buy the bikes. That'll help you more than a radio.

Tom

 

[Casey Kerrigan]

In article <[email protected]>, y2kc0wb0y
<[email protected]> wrote:

> " Tim Mullin" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:<[email protected]>...
> > "y2kc0wb0y" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > news:[email protected]...
>
> All, I am trying to pin down the source of the email from usacycling.org that I recieved as a bulk
> email about race rule changes and fee changes. I will return with the ruling judgement. In the
> mean time, I will say that the original statement said this ruling was to help reduce the number
> of race radio crashes in the lower levels.
>
> More to come.... I still would like to know how to protest this rule? Anybody... everybody!!!

Well since the USCF Board of Trustees had to vote to pass the rule I wold guess the best place to
start your protest would be to complain to the board member(s) who represent your region.

As an FYI from my observations ( and the observations of others) the Cat 3s probably have more
accidents where peopel hit the ground and get hurt than any other category. While the Cat 5s and 4s
have more cases of bad riding ( ie people not holding lines, bumping and other things that make
riders nervous) these Cats have less real accidents where people fall and get hurt. For numerous
reasons I think the Cat 3s have a higher rate of accidents. If my observations are ture, and if
banning radios are in part related to safety, then there is good reason to include Cat 3s in the
radio ban.

Casey

 

[Maxwell Laycock]

[email protected] (Tom Arsenault) wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> If this rule was made in conjunction with crashes, then I'd have to agree. I was in several races
> this past season where some dumb ass took his hands off of his bars in a large group to **** with
> his radio and then took several others down with him for being stupid.

I don't have any statistical proof but I would have to guess that most crashes are caused by riders
doing stupid things.

Maybe USAC should ban stupidity?

Or would that mean banning the USOC? ;-)

 

[Carl Sundquist]

"Maxwell Laycock" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> [email protected] (Tom Arsenault) wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> > If this rule was made in conjunction with crashes, then I'd have to agree. I was in several
> > races this past season where some dumb ass took his hands off of his bars in a large group to
> > **** with his radio and then took several others down with him for being stupid.
>
> I don't have any statistical proof but I would have to guess that most crashes are caused by
> riders doing stupid things.
>
> Maybe USAC should ban stupidity?
>

Or women's necks.

 

[McCoughan]

no love for the spinergy's? I'm a lowly 3 and race Rev-X's in the hopes that they'll mezmorize those
trying to pass me in the sprint..

I really hope this was meant sarcastically- this is the dumbest thing I've read today.. "Didn't even
offer to pay for my wrecked and destroyed $1000 wheelset. Sure it's racing, and if I'm riding
expensive stuff and crash and it gets wrecked, that's part of the game right. But if someone
destroys it for me by being stupid, someone needs to cough up some dough."

Assuming it was unintentional to crash, I totally agree that the radio-wearing idiot should have
apologized to whoever he took out, but thats racing- its silly to then say that he is financially
responsible. if someone actually feels this way, they shouldnt ride $1000 wheelsets in races- save
them for TTs or showing off on some stupid-ass club ride..

radios in low level amatuer races are a waste of resources. I know several clubs that have them
and while they do talk during races, I dont think that its dramatically improved their results-
it helped some, but then hindered others. that said, they can be fun and do allow people to feel
more 'pro'..

Sean

[email protected] (Tom Arsenault) wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> [email protected] (y2kc0wb0y) wrote in message
> news:<[email protected]>...
> > [email protected] (kaiser) wrote in message
> > news:<[email protected]>...
> > > The new rule makes about as much practical sense as the old rule mandating black shorts.
> >
> > I am for the banning of spinergy's. REV it up baby! were do I sign? Y2K Cowboy
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > > I say the next move they should make would be to ban Spinergy's. I hate looking at the friggin
> > > annoying things. Too distracting. A cat 5 could crash looking at one of those.
>
> I hate Spinegy's as well, but...
>
> I think having radios is fine, as long as they don't cause crashes and people to do stupid things.
> I've seen it, and it really has no place in a Cat 3-5 race, and actually most Pro 1/2 races that
> I've seen either. I've tried it myself, and damn if you can't hear anything anyway. I spent my
> entire last race season getting spanked as a Cat 3, and right off hand, I can only remember maybe
> 3-5 races where there was anything aside from a bunch sprint to finish the race. Why have radios
> and increase risk factors when you can see everything going on anyway? If you want to be like the
> pros, buy the bikes. That'll help you more than a radio.
>
> Tom

 

[Tom Arsenault]

[email protected] (McCoughan) wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> no love for the spinergy's? I'm a lowly 3 and race Rev-X's in the hopes that they'll mezmorize
> those trying to pass me in the sprint..
>
> I really hope this was meant sarcastically- this is the dumbest thing I've read today.. "Didn't
> even offer to pay for my wrecked and destroyed $1000 wheelset. Sure it's racing, and if I'm riding
> expensive stuff and crash and it gets wrecked, that's part of the game right. But if someone
> destroys it for me by being stupid, someone needs to cough up some dough."
>
> Assuming it was unintentional to crash, I totally agree that the radio-wearing idiot should have
> apologized to whoever he took out, but thats racing- its silly to then say that he is financially
> responsible. if someone actually feels this way, they shouldnt ride $1000 wheelsets in races- save
> them for TTs or showing off on some stupid-ass club ride..
>
> radios in low level amatuer races are a waste of resources. I know several clubs that have them
> and while they do talk during races, I dont think that its dramatically improved their results-
> it helped some, but then hindered others. that said, they can be fun and do allow people to feel
> more 'pro'..
>
> Sean

See Sean, I'm sure that this guy's intention was NOT to crash. Does anyone really want to crash? Not
really, well, except Tyler Hamilton maybe, he just can't seem to get away from it. But the guy that
ran into me while fiddling with this radio and destroyed my wheels (which ran me $200 to get
repaired) should have at the very least, apologized to me. Which he didn't. His teammates, whom I am
friends with, said that he should at least help to pay for the wheels in which he wrecked. He
didn't. If I even thought for one second that it was just another racing accident, I wouldn't even
have thought about asking him for some cash. But since it wasn't just another racing accident, it
was directly caused by him taking his hands off of his bars in the middle of a large group, going
towards the yellow line, ****ing around with his radio earpiece and transmitter, hitting a road
reflector, and then smashing into me (and others). That's not normal, nor needed. Had his hands been
on his bars, as they should be in a large group, then he wouldn't have run into me or the others.
And don't even tell me for a second that if someone had made a boneheaded move such as that, and
wrecked your nice wheels, that you wouldn't expect some money in helping for the repair? I think
that would just be common courtesy. But then again, I guess people aren't nice anymore. I know if I
had done something as stupid as what he did, I'd help pay for the repairs. I'm just that nice of a
guy. Instead this guy moved to Colorado (not part of his plan to not get me money, he was moving
there anyway), and I'll never hear from him again. Oh well, which is why I work I suppose to support
myself and this sport that I compete in. If I couldn't have afforded the wheels to begin with, then
I shouldn't have been riding them.

Tom

 

[Bbc3]

" Tim Mullin" wrote:
> I am not discussing safety. I am talking about practicality. Are there really that many (any?)
> races a 3 or 4 can compete in that radios will really make a difference in? How many teams in
> those races are organized and/or strong enough to take advantage of radios? Damn few, from the
> races I've been in or watched.

OK, fine. Race radios might be a distraction to some riders, but you could argue the same for
downtube shifters and the like. Where does legislation end and the riding begin? Race radios may not
be much of an advantage for many Cat 5 - 3 riders, however the same rules should apply to all
categories.

What I really want to know is: are there any rules prohibiting a rider from carrying a gun in a
race. Now that could get interesting. I can just see guns being brandished to establish rider
position before the sprint.

--
Bill