Fri May 14 Report

[Plawless]

In case anyone wants to see what I look like when I am inside out: http://connect.garmin.com/player/33236591

On a second note in the sprint I almost had an altercation at speed with the Mighty Chris Fraser that ended with me giving him a big shove out of the way. It was a bit sketchy leading up to me giving him a shove and my shove could have done terrible things as well! I bring this up to note that the best thing that came out of it was Chris gave me a call so that we could talk about how things went down from each of our perspectives and that way we could both learn from what could have been a very bad situation. It was a very cool thing for Chris to do and it will certainly ensure that we are both on the look out for similar situations in the future.

I only bring this up to again emphasize the importance of communication. We are just a bunch of regular folks who love riding our bikes. The high point for me is to go home and brag to Karen about how at one point it looked like (if you closed one eye and cocked your head to the left) I was keeping up with Josh or Bob C! It is not a ride where we actually want to see guys in the ditch (even though Dave likes it there!)

This leads me to think of a couple of rules I will impose on myself that will hopefully help keep everyone safe:

1. I will NEVER move off my line in a sprint or the lead in to the sprint. If I am cooked - I will go straight! Straight is safe. I may stop pedalling and slow down but I will not ever deviate from my line.

2. I will avoid sprinting up the inside if possible. If the sprint is in the middle of the road - so be it but if its not the only guy with the skill to do this right is Lister so since I am not Lister you can look for me on your LEFT! I will always have at least 2 feet between me and the curb!

3. I will be loud! If I think you are crapping out and I want to come by I am going to let you know I am there. I will not sneak up on you and risk surprising you by screaming by 3 inches away when you are totally shagged.

4. If I reach my hand out it will not be in a Herculean effort to push you into the ocean. It will be my way of apologizing for not letting you know I was there a few seconds earlier - and it will always be with love!

5. I will adopt any other rule that leads to keeping this ride safe, friendly and FUN (for everyone).

Peter

[Josh.E]

At about the pond this morning, I found myself moving up the right side, following Shawn, as the main paceline was quite far out to the left of the lane, making passing up that side difficult. When we started there was a lot of room, but then the line started to shift back rightward. As Shawn started to peter out (no pun intended), after a monster lead out, I jumped around him. Right about then, I think Bob started to move to the right as well to start his jump. I remember saying "I'm on your right, Bob" to him. As he jumped around I started to go on his wheel, but it felt like the group continued to shift right, and I started to feel pinched, so I eased up for a second and tucked in behind Peter, regrouped the energy a bit until right before the line and jumped around him for 2nd place behind Bob.

I think that keeping your line, as well as your relative position in the lane as we approach the finish is the most important thing to remember, or if you change lines to jump around someone, make sure you have a quick look over that shoulder first.

[Rolf]

What an Irish moment: a flare of temper -- then confessional and penance.

Glad we can all learn from an incident that could have ended in injury -- but didn't.

I'm a little confused by the "hold your line in the sprint" advice. [This is my novice status shining through, here.] At some point, practically everyone will try to pass the wheel they've been sucking and that means coming out sideways either right or left (ideally left, by the sound of it). If I want to pass my sucker and go for the finish, do I have to give priority to someone coming up from behind who happens to be in the line I want to take? Or am I only responsible for (i.e. must give the right of way to) those riders level with or in front of me? It would make sense that I'd need to do the little check under my arm to make sure my back wheel won't touch someone's front, but if someone is coming up (but isn't yet level with me) can I pull out in front of them, even if it forces them to brake?

[Josh.E]

http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/index ... 74774.html

good discussion here

[Lister Farrar]

It would make sense that I'd need to do the little check under my arm to make sure my back wheel won't touch someone's front, but if someone is coming up (but isn't yet level with me) can I pull out in front of them, even if it forces them to brake?

You're right on here Rolf. You need to know what's behind you before you move. And the under the shoulder (or the 'armpit cam') is the safest way to see, I think, though some riders look over the shoulder. You only need to look down for a split second, and you can see almost a full length behind. That is, once you're used to the upside-down view of the world.

As a point of illustration, on today's Sidney Express, I rode 'doorman', the position that doesn't join the rotation, but allows the rotation in front, (and in team tactics, doesn't allow opposing (ie. blocking) riders into the rotation to slow it down). In my case it was just avoiding work and keeping Mike Lawless from whining... )

Anyway, I noticed it took a bit for some of the locomotive riders to be able to see the gap I was leaving for them to swing into as they joined the forward moving line. After about 10 rotations they got it and moved over to protect me without leaving me in the wind for any longer than necessary- (thanks guys!) So, I think they got used to seeing what looked like the right amount of space from looking down and back, though we didn't talk about it. Maybe they could jump in here (pun intended)?

But it's a very useful skill to be able to see, in many bunch situations.

There is also a hint for us in track sprint racing rules. You're supposed to have a full length lead over an opponent before moving into their path. Ie. no overlap of wheels. It becomes a fine point of space vs speed in high level racing. You can move in front of someone who's moving faster, over who(m?) you still have a lead, but I think we'd want to avoid that.

As for taking your hands off the bars, I think that's a good skill, when used defensively. If you are half a length behind someone and they come across into your 'bars, you pretty much have to protect your bars, or go down. The idea is just to put a hand on the hip in front and keep some space for your steering. I teach this to the high school riders on grass, and they very quickly can handle the most aggressive chop (moving into someone) with ease. Just have to resist the temptation to push, or grab a handful and pull. Needs practice too.

[Quentin]

I teach this to the high school riders on grass, and they very quickly can handle the most aggressive chop (moving into someone) with ease. Just have to resist the temptation to push, or grab a handful and pull. Needs practice too.

Lister: next time you teach one of these sessions, cornering, bike handling, whatever; I would love to join you.