cleavel
02-13-2008, 03:06 AM
Hi,
Rode the 45+ and 50+ races at Roger Millikan Merorial Criterium in Brea, CA this past weekend. Sunny skies and 80 degree temperatures were very nice. ;) Also, it was my first time racing on the "new" course.
For me, the 45+ field was huge (75 riders) for this kind of course. I had four teammates in this race and got the first lap incident report from one of them. I was back a bit at the start and coming down the hill between turns 1 and 2 I heard a loud bang. Got to turn 2 and a single rider was on the ground. According to my teammate, this guy had a blowout between the turns but then continued at pack speed into the corner on the flat -- hmmm.
Had to work a bit to get myself on to the back of the pack as there was a gap. After that I just stayed at or near the back since I'm not very good moving up in a fast, large field on a somewhat technical course. Finished with the pack in a race that averaged 27 MPH. :cool:
Then I waited over 2 hours for the 50+ race. This time I was the only Lightning Velo guy in the race and the field was much smaller (50 racers) and I was able to move around reasonable in the pack. Unfortunately, there was a lot of the usual lack of work at the front of the pack. Too many people read these articles that say stay in the top ten but don't work. You getting a bunch of guys fighting you for a wheel but not wanting to actually go to the front to pull through. :mad:
I'm comfortably in the pack as we're counting down the last laps but I'm not a field sprinter (too chicken). Coming towards turn 3 with 4 laps to go, I see a few guys starting to off the front. I go after them and we get through 3 and up the hill towards 4 off the front when they start slowing down. I come up the left side looking at them to see if anyone wants to go and then I hammer out of the turn. Couldn't catch this one guy who was about 10 seconds ahead. Basically I blew up going through turn 4 just before we get 2 laps to go. I can't get back on and ride the last 2 laps by myself. :( I finished DFL and averaged a bit over 24 MPH.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Anyway a decent way to start the year. I finished both races upright. :)
The Attack felt pretty good. I've done a long road race race (80 miles) and a hilly (5,000 feet of climbing) 50 mile training ride on the bike and I've been very happy with how it "disappears" under me. In these criteriums, it didn't seems to change directions quite as quickly as my Look (same wheels, different tires), but it felt very "secure" in the corners. Also, I was very surprised with how good it felt hammering up the short hill on each lap -- very solid bottom bracket. I'll probably be doing another crit on a very familiar course this coming weekend so I may have some different impressions after that.
Here's some shots of me from the 50+ race:
http://www.pbase.com/cleavel/image/92902675/original.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/cleavel/image/92902676/original.jpg
Rode the 45+ and 50+ races at Roger Millikan Merorial Criterium in Brea, CA this past weekend. Sunny skies and 80 degree temperatures were very nice. ;) Also, it was my first time racing on the "new" course.
For me, the 45+ field was huge (75 riders) for this kind of course. I had four teammates in this race and got the first lap incident report from one of them. I was back a bit at the start and coming down the hill between turns 1 and 2 I heard a loud bang. Got to turn 2 and a single rider was on the ground. According to my teammate, this guy had a blowout between the turns but then continued at pack speed into the corner on the flat -- hmmm.
Had to work a bit to get myself on to the back of the pack as there was a gap. After that I just stayed at or near the back since I'm not very good moving up in a fast, large field on a somewhat technical course. Finished with the pack in a race that averaged 27 MPH. :cool:
Then I waited over 2 hours for the 50+ race. This time I was the only Lightning Velo guy in the race and the field was much smaller (50 racers) and I was able to move around reasonable in the pack. Unfortunately, there was a lot of the usual lack of work at the front of the pack. Too many people read these articles that say stay in the top ten but don't work. You getting a bunch of guys fighting you for a wheel but not wanting to actually go to the front to pull through. :mad:
I'm comfortably in the pack as we're counting down the last laps but I'm not a field sprinter (too chicken). Coming towards turn 3 with 4 laps to go, I see a few guys starting to off the front. I go after them and we get through 3 and up the hill towards 4 off the front when they start slowing down. I come up the left side looking at them to see if anyone wants to go and then I hammer out of the turn. Couldn't catch this one guy who was about 10 seconds ahead. Basically I blew up going through turn 4 just before we get 2 laps to go. I can't get back on and ride the last 2 laps by myself. :( I finished DFL and averaged a bit over 24 MPH.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Anyway a decent way to start the year. I finished both races upright. :)
The Attack felt pretty good. I've done a long road race race (80 miles) and a hilly (5,000 feet of climbing) 50 mile training ride on the bike and I've been very happy with how it "disappears" under me. In these criteriums, it didn't seems to change directions quite as quickly as my Look (same wheels, different tires), but it felt very "secure" in the corners. Also, I was very surprised with how good it felt hammering up the short hill on each lap -- very solid bottom bracket. I'll probably be doing another crit on a very familiar course this coming weekend so I may have some different impressions after that.
Here's some shots of me from the 50+ race:
http://www.pbase.com/cleavel/image/92902675/original.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/cleavel/image/92902676/original.jpg