RR: Glenvale C-grade Crit, 23-Jan-05

[hippy]

I awoke this morning feeling shabby (apologies to Shabby) and
idled along to Glenvale. Warm weather this morning seems to
have encouraged extra numbers to appear in C grade. 9am we
roll out and right off the bat two riders decide to leave the
"safety" of the bunch. The's no reaction from the rest of the field
initially but soon enough a chase commences. After a few laps(?)
the field is back together. There seems to be a bunch of riders
communicating to each other and working together and when
they go, the rest of the field simply doesn't want to work to
chase them.
Another break goes away and this one does some real damage,
I think, leaving some riders behind. Some riders manage to
bridge the gap, moving up in dribs and drabs, but most of the
field are struggling to chase them down. Your's truly drives the
bunch and then looks over for support.. to find.. a bunch totally
unwilling to work! *******s! I resume the chase and eventually
it all comes back together with some other riders joining in to
chase (thank deity!).
At some point mid-race a guy gets nice and wobbly coming out
of the corner and I lock up a nice new ProRace.. doh! (Sorry
to the dudes behind me ;-))
Basically the bulk of the race involved me spending too much
time in the wind, chasing breaks or repositioning myself - no
mistaking it was a hard race!
With one lap to go, people are smashing pedals into the ground
in a desperate attempt to maintain their speed through the
corners and I'm just waiting for someone to go down near
me/onto me/in front of me. I'm too far back and decide to
surge up near the front to find a leadout wheel. At the same
time as I surge, the peloton gets cagey and riders slow down,
waiting for some sucker to go first and provide a wheel to lock
onto. Oh crap! Guess which sucker just passed the field?
Yeah, muggins here..
It's too late to mess around, slow down and grab someone's
wheel and I've been telling myself all race that I would sprint to
the line no matter how far back in the field I was. So, I go for it,
sucking in huge gasps of air, clicking up a gear every time my
cadence gets high enough to allow it. I see people move up
next to me but fade back again. It's perhaps 200m from the
final corner to the finish line..
More people move close but can't pass. I'm within 10m of the
line and I'm not going to slow down! A split second later I spot
another movement to my right and BAM! a bunch of four riders
sweeps past me to take the first four places, relegating my sorry
arse to the non-paying zone again!! Noooo!!! I spoke to the
winner and he said the average speed was ~42.5, which is up
around B grade averages I think. It definately felt harder!
Debriefing: Even though I missed that elusive win, I was still
relatively happy with the race. I did a lot of unnecessary work
and didn't have anyone for a leadout and I still managed a good
finish after a hard race. In my mind, that's okay, I just have to
try again for the win. Did some B-graders sneak into C-grade
or something?
Stats: To Follow
from: http://thehippy.net/nucleus/index.php?itemid=198

hippy

[flyingdutch]

hippy Wrote:
> I awoke this morning feeling shabby (apologies to Shabby) an
> idled along to Glenvale. Warm weather this morning seems t
> have encouraged extra numbers to appear in C grade. 9am w
> roll out and right off the bat two riders decide to leave th
> "safety" of the bunch. The's no reaction from the rest of the fiel
> initially but soon enough a chase commences. After a few laps(?
> the field is back together. There seems to be a bunch of rider
> communicating to each other and working together and whe
> they go, the rest of the field simply doesn't want to work t
> chase them
> Another break goes away and this one does some real damage
> I think, leaving some riders behind. Some riders manage t
> bridge the gap, moving up in dribs and drabs, but most of th
> field are struggling to chase them down. Your's truly drives th
> bunch and then looks over for support.. to find.. a bunch totall
> unwilling to work! *******s! I resume the chase and eventuall
> it all comes back together with some other riders joining in t
> chase (thank deity!)
> At some point mid-race a guy gets nice and wobbly coming ou
> of the corner and I lock up a nice new ProRace.. doh! (Sorr
> to the dudes behind me ;-)
> Basically the bulk of the race involved me spending too muc
> time in the wind, chasing breaks or repositioning myself - n
> mistaking it was a hard race
> With one lap to go, people are smashing pedals into the groun
> in a desperate attempt to maintain their speed through th
> corners and I'm just waiting for someone to go down nea
> me/onto me/in front of me. I'm too far back and decide t
> surge up near the front to find a leadout wheel. At the sam
> time as I surge, the peloton gets cagey and riders slow down
> waiting for some sucker to go first and provide a wheel to loc
> onto. Oh crap! Guess which sucker just passed the field
> Yeah, muggins here.
> It's too late to mess around, slow down and grab someone'
> wheel and I've been telling myself all race that I would sprint t
> the line no matter how far back in the field I was. So, I go for it
> sucking in huge gasps of air, clicking up a gear every time m
> cadence gets high enough to allow it. I see people move u
> next to me but fade back again. It's perhaps 200m from th
> final corner to the finish line.
> More people move close but can't pass. I'm within 10m of th
> line and I'm not going to slow down! A split second later I spo
> another movement to my right and BAM! a bunch of four rider
> sweeps past me to take the first four places, relegating my sorr
> arse to the non-paying zone again!! Noooo!!! I spoke to th
> winner and he said the average speed was ~42.5, which is u
> around B grade averages I think. It definately felt harder
> Debriefing: Even though I missed that elusive win, I was stil
> relatively happy with the race. I did a lot of unnecessary wor
> and didn't have anyone for a leadout and I still managed a goo
> finish after a hard race. In my mind, that's okay, I just have t
> try again for the win. Did some B-graders sneak into C-grad
> or something
> Stats: To Follo
> from: http://thehippy.net/nucleus/index.php?itemid=19
>
> hippy
damn! that sounds hard.
knowing the average speed at least gives you a feeling of being 'up fo
it'!
I seem to be stuck in the same average speed groundhog day gettin
about 10-20m closer every race but havent ha to do hard yards like yo
describe.
Next time, Hipsta, next time...

PS maybe you should form a gang to 'communicate' with and load th
field..

--
flyingdutc

[hippy]

"flyingdutch"
>> from: http://thehippy.net/nucleus/index.php?itemid=198
> damn! that sounds hard.

You could say that :-)

> knowing the average speed at least gives you a feeling of being 'up for
> it'!

This race had a lot more surges than normal. The breaks were much
more effective, not half-assed, caught 20 seconds later attempts.
That's why it felt like there were some B-graders in the field. B-grade
races tend to have more and more effective breaks.

> I seem to be stuck in the same average speed groundhog day getting
> about 10-20m closer every race but havent ha to do hard yards like
> you describe.

Different course man and I wouldn't worry about the average speed.
You might dawdle around at the back all race and then shoot up the
front on the last lap for the win - low average speed, but you won.
It depends on the other racers and the weather a lot too.

> Next time, Hipsta, next time...

I keep telling myself that.. don't know how long I'll believe it!

> PS maybe you should form a gang to 'communicate' with and
> load the field...

Everyone I knew has moved up or to other racing.. I'm going to
win this frickin' race and I'm going to win it without teamwork..
But, if you're free Sunday morning and wanna lead out or block
for me.. that'd be cool :-)

I reckon I'll start racing at Sandown to give myself twice the
chance of a humiliating defeat each week..

hippy

[TimC]

On Mon, 24 Jan 2005 at 05:52 GMT, hippy (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:
> I awoke this morning feeling shabby (apologies to Shabby) and
> idled along to Glenvale. Warm weather this morning seems to
> have encouraged extra numbers to appear in C grade. 9am we

What's with you wackos and warm weather?


Still debating whether I want to do that full moon MTB ride tomorrow
night. Could be a bit hot.

--
TimC -- http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/staff/tconnors/
 *** System shutdown message from root ***
System going down in 60 seconds

[hippy]

"TimC"
> On Mon, 24 Jan 2005 at 05:52 GMT, hippy (aka Bruce)
>> I awoke this morning feeling shabby (apologies to Shabby) and
>> idled along to Glenvale. Warm weather this morning seems to
>> have encouraged extra numbers to appear in C grade. 9am we
>
> What's with you wackos and warm weather?

What's with you and cold weather?! :-P
Move to England if you don't appreciate this fine, warm
land. oh.. um.. nothing!

> Still debating whether I want to do that full moon MTB ride tomorrow
> night. Could be a bit hot.

Pfft! It makes the post-ride beer taste that much better..

hippy

[flyingdutch]

hippy Wrote:
>
> Everyone I knew has moved up or to other racing.. I'm going to
> win this frickin' race and I'm going to win it without teamwork..
> But, if you're free Sunday morning and wanna lead out or block
> for me.. that'd be cool :-)
>
> I reckon I'll start racing at Sandown to give myself twice the
> chance of a humiliating defeat each week..
>
> hippy

aaah. see Im working on the theory that every dog has his/her day an
the faster ones get booted u and if I keep racin' and standin' in lin
my day will come. yers too, no doubt.

F"racin like a dawg"Dutc

--
flyingdutch

[mfhor]

hippy Wrote:
> I awoke this morning feeling shabby (apologies to Shabby) an
> idled along to Glenvale. Warm weather this morning seems t
> have encouraged extra numbers to appear in C grade. 9am w
> roll out and right off the bat two riders decide to leave th
> "safety" of the bunch. The's no reaction from the rest of the fiel
> initially but soon enough a chase commences. After a few laps(?
> the field is back together. There seems to be a bunch of rider
> communicating to each other and working together and whe
> they go, the rest of the field simply doesn't want to work t
> chase them
> Another break goes away and this one does some real damage
> I think, leaving some riders behind. Some riders manage t
> bridge the gap, moving up in dribs and drabs, but most of th
> field are struggling to chase them down. Your's truly drives th
> bunch and then looks over for support.. to find.. a bunch totall
> unwilling to work! *******s! I resume the chase and eventuall
> it all comes back together with some other riders joining in t
> chase (thank deity!)
> At some point mid-race a guy gets nice and wobbly coming ou
> of the corner and I lock up a nice new ProRace.. doh! (Sorr
> to the dudes behind me ;-)
> Basically the bulk of the race involved me spending too muc
> time in the wind, chasing breaks or repositioning myself - n
> mistaking it was a hard race
> With one lap to go, people are smashing pedals into the groun
> in a desperate attempt to maintain their speed through th
> corners and I'm just waiting for someone to go down nea
> me/onto me/in front of me. I'm too far back and decide t
> surge up near the front to find a leadout wheel. At the sam
> time as I surge, the peloton gets cagey and riders slow down
> waiting for some sucker to go first and provide a wheel to loc
> onto. Oh crap! Guess which sucker just passed the field
> Yeah, muggins here.
> It's too late to mess around, slow down and grab someone'
> wheel and I've been telling myself all race that I would sprint t
> the line no matter how far back in the field I was. So, I go for it
> sucking in huge gasps of air, clicking up a gear every time m
> cadence gets high enough to allow it. I see people move u
> next to me but fade back again. It's perhaps 200m from th
> final corner to the finish line.
> More people move close but can't pass. I'm within 10m of th
> line and I'm not going to slow down! A split second later I spo
> another movement to my right and BAM! a bunch of four rider
> sweeps past me to take the first four places, relegating my sorr
> arse to the non-paying zone again!! Noooo!!! I spoke to th
> winner and he said the average speed was ~42.5, which is u
> around B grade averages I think. It definately felt harder
> Debriefing: Even though I missed that elusive win, I was stil
> relatively happy with the race. I did a lot of unnecessary wor
> and didn't have anyone for a leadout and I still managed a goo
> finish after a hard race. In my mind, that's okay, I just have t
> try again for the win. Did some B-graders sneak into C-grad
> or something
> Stats: To Follo
> from: http://thehippy.net/nucleus/index.php?itemid=19
>
> hippy
Can we call you 'Pou-Pou' yet? ;)

(Raymond Poulidor - no botty references intended)

M "c'mon Hippy, we KNOW you have an A-Grade wheelsucker in you!"

--
mfhor

[TimC]

On Mon, 24 Jan 2005 at 10:47 GMT, hippy (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:
> "TimC"
>> Still debating whether I want to do that full moon MTB ride tomorrow
>> night. Could be a bit hot.
>
> Pfft! It makes the post-ride beer taste that much better..

I'm not taking beer with me on the panniers!


Not like <insert forgotten name here> who took a bottle of wine, and a
6 pack to the weekend trip. He also took his tent and full camping
gear, despite us staying at a fellow riders house with lots of floor
space. He had front and back panniers loaded, and a huge roll of
*something* over the rack. I never did fully ascertain what it was.

I don't think this guy passed me up the hills.

--
TimC -- http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/staff/tconnors/
"I wish there was a knob on the TV to turn up the intelligence. There's a
knob called `brightness', but it doesn't work." -- Gallagher

[hippy]

"mfhor"
> Can we call you 'Pou-Pou' yet? ;)
> (Raymond Poulidor - no botty references intended)

I had to look him up.. but, yeah, like the French
version of Jan Ullrich..

I'd be more like l'Eternal Cinque.. eternally fifth ;-)

> M "c'mon Hippy, we KNOW you have an A-Grade
> wheelsucker in you!" H

Oh, if only that were the case! It amazes me how
much faster "everyone else" is!
I mean.. I didn't even drink on Saturday night!!

hippy
"We regret to inform, the sacrifice required is too great."