Grumble Grouse

About 50 people from my local club are going up to the Guangzhou
Shimano Bikers' Festival.

Last night we had a party where they announced who had done well enough
in the club specific races to get a complete free ride, registration,
admission, bus fare, bike transport, meals, and hotel and who had done
well enough for half fare and started handing out the registration
forms and talking who was going to be in what race and how people were
going to be divided up for the team race since the teams are four
people only.

As a speed reader in English it bugs me how ridiculously slow I am
reading even simple Chinese texts like the one describing everything
that will be going on in Guangzhou. Not that I was particularly helped
by the number of guys coming by to toast me (I'm going half fare) or
the woman across the table from me who kept trying to get me to talk
English to her daughter.

I'm catching a general feeling of grumblies in the room over whats on
the paper I'm trying to read. Whaddya mean the men's advanced is only
going to be 30km? Geez, seniors are having a 5km race? Do I have to
enter seniors? I've only been riding for a year but I don't want to
ride beginners, can I enter advanced? And stuff like that.

I keep stumbling my way through the text. Whaddya mean the women's
advanced road is 10km?!?

At least I'll get to be in the team competition (20km) but for this
being some big impressive southern China thing with huge publicity all
over the place I can't believe that the _advanced_ women's race is only
10 kilometers.

Feh!
-M

Dear Marian:
Hi! Does this mean you've been Voted Off the Island? At least at
half-fare, anyway. Not bad for someone who's been actively racing for
less than a year. Go get 'em! As for 10km racing, there may be
constrains on how long the organisers can make the race.....

Robert Leone
wrote:
About 50 people from my local club are going up to the Guangzhou
Shimano Bikers' Festival.

Last night we had a party where they announced who had done well enough
in the club specific races to get a complete free ride, registration,
admission, bus fare, bike transport, meals, and hotel and who had done
well enough for half fare and started handing out the registration
forms and talking who was going to be in what race and how people were
going to be divided up for the team race since the teams are four
people only.

As a speed reader in English it bugs me how ridiculously slow I am
reading even simple Chinese texts like the one describing everything
that will be going on in Guangzhou. Not that I was particularly helped
by the number of guys coming by to toast me (I'm going half fare) or
the woman across the table from me who kept trying to get me to talk
English to her daughter.

I'm catching a general feeling of grumblies in the room over whats on
the paper I'm trying to read. Whaddya mean the men's advanced is only
going to be 30km? Geez, seniors are having a 5km race? Do I have to
enter seniors? I've only been riding for a year but I don't want to
ride beginners, can I enter advanced? And stuff like that.

I keep stumbling my way through the text. Whaddya mean the women's
advanced road is 10km?!?

At least I'll get to be in the team competition (20km) but for this
being some big impressive southern China thing with huge publicity all
over the place I can't believe that the _advanced_ women's race is only
10 kilometers.

Feh!
-M

OK, so _only_ 10K

I'd suggest you do a _really_ good warm up first. This way you can be
smokin' right from the start.

Lewis.

****


wrote:
About 50 people from my local club are going up to the Guangzhou
Shimano Bikers' Festival.

Last night we had a party where they announced who had done well enough
in the club specific races to get a complete free ride, registration,
admission, bus fare, bike transport, meals, and hotel and who had done
well enough for half fare and started handing out the registration
forms and talking who was going to be in what race and how people were
going to be divided up for the team race since the teams are four
people only.

As a speed reader in English it bugs me how ridiculously slow I am
reading even simple Chinese texts like the one describing everything
that will be going on in Guangzhou. Not that I was particularly helped
by the number of guys coming by to toast me (I'm going half fare) or
the woman across the table from me who kept trying to get me to talk
English to her daughter.

I'm catching a general feeling of grumblies in the room over whats on
the paper I'm trying to read. Whaddya mean the men's advanced is only
going to be 30km? Geez, seniors are having a 5km race? Do I have to
enter seniors? I've only been riding for a year but I don't want to
ride beginners, can I enter advanced? And stuff like that.

I keep stumbling my way through the text. Whaddya mean the women's
advanced road is 10km?!?

At least I'll get to be in the team competition (20km) but for this
being some big impressive southern China thing with huge publicity all
over the place I can't believe that the _advanced_ women's race is only
10 kilometers.

Feh!
-M

wrote:
::
:: At least I'll get to be in the team competition (20km) but for this
:: being some big impressive southern China thing with huge publicity
:: all over the place I can't believe that the _advanced_ women's race
:: is only 10 kilometers.

Doesn't that really mean it's a sprint to the finish?

wrote:
Dear Marian:
Hi! Does this mean you've been Voted Off the Island? At least at
half-fare, anyway.

Aaagh, puns

Not bad for someone who's been actively racing for
less than a year.

Actively racing for less than 3 months.
Actively _riding_ for less than a year (I think 364 days now since I
bought the road bike before this one).

Go get 'em! As for 10km racing, there may be
constrains on how long the organisers can make the race.....

Men can choose from 10km (less than 1 year), 20km (less than 2 years),
or 30km (more than 2 years) road race, a seniors' 5km race, and an 8km
mountain bike race.

Women get a 10km road race simply designated as "advanced", a 3km
seniors' race, and a 4km mountain bike race.

The mountain bike team race (3 men and 1 woman) is 6km.

The team road (4 people any gender) is 20km.

-M

Dear Marian:
Want to get more riding in? Practice deviousness. And bad
handwriting. And check the start times, so that you're not busy doing
the "Advanced" women's race when "Mario" Rosenberg gets called up for
the 20 km Men's Race.... On the other hand, this might send the race
organizers round the bend.
Keep in mind your fellow Hainan roadies seem to be dismayed at the
short distances, too. It may be there's room for revision of the race
length once you get to the mainland.

Robert Leone



wrote:
SNIP
Men can choose from 10km (less than 1 year), 20km (less than 2 years),
or 30km (more than 2 years) road race, a seniors' 5km race, and an 8km
mountain bike race.

Women get a 10km road race simply designated as "advanced", a 3km
seniors' race, and a 4km mountain bike race.

The mountain bike team race (3 men and 1 woman) is 6km.

The team road (4 people any gender) is 20km.

-M

wrote:
Dear Marian:
Want to get more riding in? Practice deviousness. And bad
handwriting. And check the start times, so that you're not busy doing
the "Advanced" women's race when "Mario" Rosenberg gets called up for
the 20 km Men's Race.... On the other hand, this might send the race
organizers round the bend.

There were four of us who wanted to do the men's 26 at the race two
weeks ago and they wouldn't let us sign up for that, so, since the
forms are being sent in by the same people who organized that one, I
don't think they'll let me get away with that.

Besides which, I'll be registering in Chinese and there is no way a
Chinese boy would be named Mountain Flower (岳玫瑰).

Keep in mind your fellow Hainan roadies seem to be dismayed at the
short distances, too. It may be there's room for revision of the race
length once you get to the mainland.

I hope so. Cause even if I know the best I can possibly do under any
circumstances is 3rd, it hardly seems worth the trouble of umpteen
hours by bus for 10 relatively flat kilometers (it's in Guangzhou, so
the terrain can't be very bumpy).

-M