keno
06-02-2004, 06:28 AM
Unfortunately the weatherman was right. It began to rain just about noon, as the men's cat 2 race was going on, and the rain kept getter worse and it got colder. My two reasons for going over were to see the women and the pros. So, now I've done it. I only stayed for 2 laps of the pros, just to see Nothstein, Vogels, Rapenski (who won the Pro race, BTW) and a few other names. Man the bastards are fast, all 150 of them in the Pro race, and they cause their tires and spokes to make sounds I will never hear on a ride unless some linebacker passes me. I couldn't pick out one racer from another when in motion. The highlight of the day for me was hearing Nothstein, as he rolled out of the Navigators area (on his Colnago with wheels that have to be about the cost of my Concours frame, with communications equipment rivaling that worn by the bouncers in any upscale men's club in Manhattan and wearing various layers of Navigators apparel by Armani) into the heavy rain muttering to no one in particular "I've got no sense at all." I thought, at least he's going for a bike ride and maybe will make a few bucks, what kind of fool does that make me? Anyhow, their outfits are cool, each is like a Nascar squeezed to human size, and why any sponsor would spend a nickel is way beyond my understanding. The next time I'm in the olive oil section of Shop Rite and I see a housewife going for the Colavita extra virgin and telling her friend, "I like it because of the bike racers' tushies", I'll consider otherwise. Let's face it, West Main Street in Somerville, NJ ain't exactly Times Square. Besides which, the lettering is too small; those suckers are like an eyechart for the truly visually gifted.
Anyhow, could somebody explain the attraction of watching a crit or a road race if you're not eating and drinking quality food and drink with fun folks and it's warm and sunny? At least in a track race you can see what's going on in the whole race. A crit may be fun to do, that I can see. Fun to watch, let alone in the rain, I dunno.
My other conclusion, I never did, I never will, I never could have. What those boys and girls are up to has absolutely nothing to do with me or anyone I know. I couldn't inflate the tires of the worst of them on my best day. Rather than being inspired, I'm hungover. Help!
BTW, I learned that most of the pros don't even warm up; that's what the first 3 or 4 laps, of 44 or so, are for one of them told me. An interesting tidbit of no use to me.
For any pretenders out there, if you scroll down on the following website, you will see the women's and pro's results and the average speeds of the winners on what was a wet, treacherous course in races held in real rain.
http://www.bike.com/template.asp?date=5%2F31%2F2004+6%3A47%3A11+PM&lsectionnumber=24&display=True
keno
Anyhow, could somebody explain the attraction of watching a crit or a road race if you're not eating and drinking quality food and drink with fun folks and it's warm and sunny? At least in a track race you can see what's going on in the whole race. A crit may be fun to do, that I can see. Fun to watch, let alone in the rain, I dunno.
My other conclusion, I never did, I never will, I never could have. What those boys and girls are up to has absolutely nothing to do with me or anyone I know. I couldn't inflate the tires of the worst of them on my best day. Rather than being inspired, I'm hungover. Help!
BTW, I learned that most of the pros don't even warm up; that's what the first 3 or 4 laps, of 44 or so, are for one of them told me. An interesting tidbit of no use to me.
For any pretenders out there, if you scroll down on the following website, you will see the women's and pro's results and the average speeds of the winners on what was a wet, treacherous course in races held in real rain.
http://www.bike.com/template.asp?date=5%2F31%2F2004+6%3A47%3A11+PM&lsectionnumber=24&display=True
keno