| Title: | Bicycling |
| Notice: | Bicycling for Fun |
| Moderator: | JAMIN::WASSER |
| Created: | Mon Apr 14 1986 |
| Last Modified: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Last Successful Update: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Number of topics: | 3214 |
| Total number of notes: | 31946 |
For those who may be interested, the following is a synopsis of
Sunday's Citizen Kiwanis Road Race in North Andover.
There were about 450 people for the mens race alone. We were broken
into 3 age groups: 16-19, 20-29, 30-39. the groups went off
individually with one minute separating the groups. As you might
guess, the following groups soon caught the preceding group.
It was a rolling 25+ mile course that I covered in 1:11. There
were 6 crashes that I saw and probably several others. I recorded
a top speed of 47 mph on a long downhill while stuck in the middle
of the pack. The route was nice and the roads were in great shape.
As usual the race was a bit disorganized, especially the finish.
The race was similar to Lowell except the lead pack was bigger.
There were about 50 of us who finished together. The reason is
obviously starting the groups so close together. Our group quickly
caught the 19 year olds, and the 30 year and ups quickly overtook
us. Thus, you had one big pack develop.
Personnally it wasn't great for me as I spent most of the day in
the bottom third of the pack. Riding back there is much harder
than up front. every hill or corner where the leaders slow, the
trailers almost have to stop and then sprint to catch up. You're
also at greater risk to crash because the better riders are up front,
and when there is a crash anyone behind them is at risk to go down
as everyone else slows.
I don't know if there were any other DEC riders in the race, but
with such a big field I'm sure there must have been. I'd be curious
to hear there observations.
Dave
| T.R | Title | User | Personal Name | Date | Lines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 727.1 | Citizens racing doesn't HAVE TO be dangerous | CIMNET::MJOHNSON | Carbohydrates are recreational drugs. | Tue Jun 14 1988 14:22 | 9 |
An important fact I forgot to mention from my Italian trip report
was that THERE WASN'T A SINGLE CRASH in the citizens races I
attended. I was amazed at the organization of the event, the
discipline of the riders, and the rational behavior of the
spectators and drivers on the course. Citizens racing has a lot
of maturing to do in America -- there's no excuse for the
"rollerball" situation we have today.
MATT
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| 727.2 | It does get wild out there | IAMOK::WESTER | Wed Jun 15 1988 19:01 | 28 | |
"Rollerball" is an apt description for most citizens races today,
unfortunately. In Sunday's race there was absolutely no attention paid
to the yellow line rule (you're not supposed to cross the yellow
line in the middle of the road to pass). Several times the pack
was spread entirely across the road. This, of course, is very dangerous
if a car is coming the other way, and a blatant disregard of the
rules!
I think it comes down to an attitude of "screw the other guy, I'm
gonna do what it takes to win!" Everyone wants to come in first,
but if you lose sight of common sense (it hurts to hit the pavement
at 25 mph), all sorts of crazy things take place.
The crashes I saw usually were caused by reckless behavior. Making
a jump to the outside when there are two riders already on your
outside but there's a little gap you think you can squeeze through.
Or sprinting with your head down while wandering all over the road.
Part of the reason I finished at the back was I didn't want to try
and get by any of those bozos! When you're near the end of the
pack you get to see all the crashes and wild moves, so it makes you
more cautious.
For me, I'll try to stay up front with the better riders (no problem
at Lowell), and hope for the best. More and more, a USCF license looks
like a good idea.
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