Is this a Lance effect? (Long)

"psycholist" wrote in message
...

For me, taking 6 or 7 hours to do a century at 17 mph is mind-numbingly
dull
and boring (ass-numbingly dull and boring, too). But getting a small
group of riders to work together and bang out a sustained high pace is
very fun. It's what I really love about the sport. But it's not racing.
Not at all. It's a cooperative thing.



It sounds like you might enjoy racing, and might love participating in team
time trials. A lot of the fun for most people who race is being part of a
team. They love to train together, travel together, race together, and even
lie together. On a team you don't have to look for similar riders at an
event, you have a lot of the things that you seem to like already.

"RWM" wrote in message
...

"psycholist" wrote in message
...

For me, taking 6 or 7 hours to do a century at 17 mph is mind-numbingly
dull
and boring (ass-numbingly dull and boring, too). But getting a small
group of riders to work together and bang out a sustained high pace is
very fun. It's what I really love about the sport. But it's not racing.
Not at all. It's a cooperative thing.



It sounds like you might enjoy racing, and might love participating in
team time trials. A lot of the fun for most people who race is being part
of a team. They love to train together, travel together, race together,
and even lie together. On a team you don't have to look for similar
riders at an event, you have a lot of the things that you seem to like
already.


Unfortunately, I live in a very rural area where there aren't any clubs ...
much less any teams. What I've seen of racing in this area is mostly crits
and I don't have the desire at age (48) to fight my way through Cat. 5
crashfests -- and I know the masters would kick my ass.

Bob C.

psycholist wrote:
:: One thing that comes to mind from what I've read here is that there
:: seem to be a lot of people who equate riding fast with racing and/or
:: who believe riding fast is some sort of unpardonable sin. There
:: also seem to be lots of people who think that the only valid reason
:: to ride is to socialize and to enjoy rest stops, etc. I have a farm
:: and I live in a very rural area. My wife doesn't ride. I ride
:: because I enjoy riding. I have friends who don't ride and I have
:: plenty to keep me busy besides riding. When I ride, I like to do
:: it, get it done, then it's on to whatever else I have to do -- and
:: that's always plenty. And I always have a long drive home. That's
:: just me.
::
:: For me, taking 6 or 7 hours to do a century at 17 mph is
:: mind-numbingly dull and boring (ass-numbingly dull and boring, too).
:: But getting a small group of riders to work together and bang out a
:: sustained high pace is very fun. It's what I really love about the
:: sport. But it's not racing. Not at all. It's a cooperative thing.
::
:: But I'm always being told by people that I shouldn't ride that way
:: for this or that reason. I don't try to tell those people how they
:: should ride.

:: It's ridiculous for people to say that 15 or 17 is a
:: valid speed, but 22 or 23 isn't. Probably the only reason they
:: don't ride 22 or 23 is that they can't. Well, some riders can.

I don't understand why someone would tell you not to go as fast as you can
while doing a century? As far as I know, nearly everyone would rather
finish it asap. What is the advantage of taking 8 hours to finish if you
can do so in 6 hours or in 4.5?

As for the paceline thing, the only issue I have with that is how closely
the riders pass and cut in front of slower riders. In my limited experience
with this, I've noticed that those at the front of a large group (peloton
type) of paceliner pass well, but those pulling up the rear of the pack
don't. At the rear, the riders seem to bunch up while at the front they
seem to be more in a line. Those in the front easily leave a wide gap to
your left and don't cut so close in front of your front wheel. Those in the
rear, because they are bunched up and trying to share a lane, come very
close to your left shoulder and cut sharply in front of your wheel. My guess
is that the experience level and capability of those participating varies
quite a bit.

OTOH, those riding in smaller groups (like 5 to 10) are a joy to watch, if
you ask me. They pass well, imo.

::
:: And who's endangering who? The centuries in our area all have mass
:: starts. Riders of lesser experience or lesser ability often leave
:: ahead of the mass start. The group from the mass start overtakes
:: them and often they're riding 2 or 3 abreast, meandering all over
:: the road. They don't know how to respond when they're told "passing
:: on your left" or "riders back." It's not the riders who are
:: overtaking who can't see what's going on, it's the riders who left
:: earlier who ride without sufficient regard for what's coming up
:: behind them.

I agree with this. If you're going to be out there ahead, then you need to
be aware that faster riders will need to get by. Hence, you get the hell
out of the way. But, then again, cars move faster too, so you need to get
the hell out of their way too. So it seems to be that the riders to which
you are referring simply don't realize that they must share the road with
others. Some education on sharing the road would be a good idea. In fact,
a tip sheet given to ride participants advising them of the different types
of riders likely to be present and what to do in a given situation would be
helpful.


I've tried to tell the organizers of our centuries
:: that, if they want to make them safer, they need to discourage the
:: folks who leave early.

:: Make the mass start earlier and tell the
:: others to leave afterward.

I agree with this notion. I've always left early because I feel the mass
start time end up wasting valuable daylight and cooler temps (in the SC
that's an issue)...and I too want to get done as early as possible, since I
have other things I want to do too.

:: But don't do away with the mass start.
:: That's what allows groups of riders who don't know each other to
:: find each other and settle in together.
::
:: Bob C.

Roger Zoul wrote:

I don't understand why someone would tell you not to go as fast as you can
while doing a century? As far as I know, nearly everyone would rather
finish it asap. What is the advantage of taking 8 hours to finish if you
can do so in 6 hours or in 4.5?

I usually don't ride centuries very quickly. They're social rides
for me and a good excuse to put in some easy zone 2 training.
There's also the rest stops. Some of them are pretty nice.

I just did the Horrible Hundred in Bakersfield last Saturday with a
couple of friends. It had about 7500 ft. of climbing, with nice rest
stops. My favorite was the Deadhead theme stop at a real cemetary.
Everyone was wearing tie-dye, and The Grateful Dead were playing on
a generator-powered stereo. I walked up to the table and said "I
need a miracle." They didn't get it. Saddle time: 6:25, total time:
about 8 hours.
--
terry morse Palo Alto, CA http://bike.terrymorse.com/

"psycholist" wrote in message
...

"RWM" wrote in message
...

"psycholist" wrote in message
...

For me, taking 6 or 7 hours to do a century at 17 mph is mind-numbingly
dull
and boring (ass-numbingly dull and boring, too). But getting a small
group of riders to work together and bang out a sustained high pace is
very fun. It's what I really love about the sport. But it's not racing.
Not at all. It's a cooperative thing.



It sounds like you might enjoy racing, and might love participating in
team time trials. A lot of the fun for most people who race is being part
of a team. They love to train together, travel together, race together,
and even lie together. On a team you don't have to look for similar
riders at an event, you have a lot of the things that you seem to like
already.


Unfortunately, I live in a very rural area where there aren't any clubs
... much less any teams. What I've seen of racing in this area is mostly
crits and I don't have the desire at age (48) to fight my way through Cat.
5 crashfests -- and I know the masters would kick my ass.



It is too bad that there isn't a racing club in your area.