# Numereous events this weekend in VA/DC



## bas (Jul 30, 2004)

1) World Naked Bike Ride day in DC on June 7 www.wnbr-dc.org.
2) Ride Sally Ride race saturday in sterling http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=6446
3) tour de cure diabetes ride sunday june 8 http://tour.diabetes.org/site/TR/TourdeCure/TDC106528030?pg=entry&fr_id=5011 (some W&OD trail usage I think)
4) waba.org's fun ride around arlington is saturday (AVOID THIS GROUP IF YOU WANT TO KEEP YOUR SANITY ON THE BIKE PATHS) (W&OD, Custis, Mt Vernon) http://waba.org/events/cbr/


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## asnpcwiz (Feb 19, 2008)

The World Naked Bike Ride scares me. The thought of my naked butt crack sitting on my seat just isn't very appealing to me.


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## Coolhand (Jul 28, 2002)

Also the Virginia State Senior Championship Crit Saturday, and the first of the 23 mile Sufffolk TT's on Sunday.


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## cpark (Oct 13, 2004)

The temperature will be near 100 degrees with the heat index of 110.
Hope everyone will stay hydrated....


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## trekkie7 (Mar 23, 2008)

I don't really think they're riding naked - - although I had the same thoughts as you. Say no to crack! Anyway, wouldn't it be a felony or capital offense to ride naked by the White House? It would scare the crap out of the first lady and the first dog, Barney!


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## JohnnyTooBad (Apr 5, 2004)

Bas, thanks for the info. That race in Sterling is about 4-5 miles form my house. I looked up the course. It's a .6mi (1.1k) triangular circuit around a couple of office buildings. I simply can't imagine 100 people making 30 laps of that thing. If it weren't 100 degrees out there, I would have gone and watched some of it. I'm guessing that turnout will be low because of the heat.


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## fabsroman (Jul 14, 2006)

There wasn't a single field in the Ride Sally Ride race with a 100 people in it. I think most of the fields were around 50 racers, and with today's heat a lot of people probably went off the back. Had the same thing happen last year. 60+ riders signed up for a race in Maryland when the heat was in the mid to upper 90's, and by the end of the race there probably wasn't more than 25 racers in the lead group. I put in 30 miles today and thought I was going to melt.


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## bas (Jul 30, 2004)

JohnnyTooBad said:


> Bas, thanks for the info. That race in Sterling is about 4-5 miles form my house. I looked up the course. It's a .6mi (1.1k) triangular circuit around a couple of office buildings. I simply can't imagine 100 people making 30 laps of that thing. If it weren't 100 degrees out there, I would have gone and watched some of it. I'm guessing that turnout will be low because of the heat.



It was a scorcher! But everyone survived.


I lost 6 lbs today!

and I drank like a ton of water all day!


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## bas (Jul 30, 2004)

fabsroman said:


> There wasn't a single field in the Ride Sally Ride race with a 100 people in it. I think most of the fields were around 50 racers, and with today's heat a lot of people probably went off the back. Had the same thing happen last year. 60+ riders signed up for a race in Maryland when the heat was in the mid to upper 90's, and by the end of the race there probably wasn't more than 25 racers in the lead group. I put in 30 miles today and thought I was going to melt.


I'll eventually get a video made of everything I video'd in HD. I got pretty much every lap of the 1/2/3 and all the groups.


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## fabsroman (Jul 14, 2006)

Did you race the Ride Sally Ride race? If you are back to racing, you'll have to introduce yourself at one of the races. I'm doing the Washington County stage race and Reston as of right now, so maybe I'll see you there.


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## bas (Jul 30, 2004)

fabsroman said:


> Did you race the Ride Sally Ride race? If you are back to racing, you'll have to introduce yourself at one of the races. I'm doing the Washington County stage race and Reston as of right now, so maybe I'll see you there.


Yeah, I did the 5, and 35+ 4/5.

I road (as usual) on the back both races. 

It was strange to start out in fog - and finish in sun! In the 5's, with about 5 laps left, 2 guys had about 10-11 seconds for the last several laps on the course. At first I thought it would never stick, but it was sticking. It appeared no teams were working on the front to try to bring it back (doesn't anyone sacrifice themselves?) .. The pack felt slower, A teammate was on the front.. With 5 laps left, it was time to try to bring those 2 back into the fold. so I went up to the front and tried to bring it back. I thought I put the hammer down, but it wasn't coming back.. I cracked.. legs unable to move. The field managed to bring it down to 6 seconds but never caught the 2. Corners were mostly pack wide.. too hard to take good lines when people are on your inside.. and people braking because they couldn't hold their line..and appeared scared to pedal throw the corners when they weren't leaning too far. But they will learn hopefully. It took me a while.
One dude who solo'd earlier crashed out in the corner by himself. Must of hit his pedal on the curb cutting it too close or something? he carried his bike back to the start/finish. 

the 35+ 4/5's was smoother.. Legs felt like crap as the heat was ON. After a few people popped, the corners were easier.. people were better riders.. road the back of the pack (again).. lasted 12 miles of the 20.. getting on it after the corners wasn't too bad.. pack didn't slow up when I needed them too (but did on the next lap).. I tried to give it 2 more goes to get back and then aborted for good as that wasn't happening. 1 bottle wasn't enough.. it was empty.

I don't think I'd last too long in reston.. I think the "hill" would kill me.

Most of the team is going to 4's.. I think its time to submit for upgrade to try to help them out. Need to work on more internal and recoverys... I can't keep cracking and not being able to get back in. It does feel like I'm at my limit. I don't have high hopes to win, so helping the team out is the next reasonable thing for existance.


It looked like the guy who crashed during the first laps of 1/2/3 while in the final turn, had his front tire roll off? (unless it was a result of the crash?).. looked like it was one of those glue tires.


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## fabsroman (Jul 14, 2006)

Nice race reports. What team are you racing for? I would guess Evo, but that is only a guess. I'm racing for ABRT and from what I hear we had a guy off the front toward the end of the 35+ cat 4/5 race. I haven't received the official race report from the team yet, so that is unconfirmed. I wish I could have done a lot of races this season. I guess it teaches me a lesson about getting suspended.

I'm racing Cat 4, but I'm going to be looking for my upgrade when I get back to racing. I have 5 upgrade points from the 3 cat 4 races I did last year, and I am dying to get out of that category. I think racing with the 5's was a lot safer than racing with the 4's. When I was in the 5's, I could usually ride at the front, or off the front, the entire race, so I could avoid all the terrible bike handling. With the 4's, it is a little more difficult to ride at the front all the time, especially when I stage in the back of a crit. I spent almost the entire race at last year's Silver Spring Grand Prix bridging gaps and trying to get to the front. As soon as I got there, it was time for the sprint. In that race, I counted 6 crashes around me, and I am sure there were even more. One of them was with 3 corners to go and it was right beside me. The guy had a pedal strike and he went down. I watched him slide right behind my rear wheel. That entire race was scary.

Anyway, I race on a bare aluminum Colnago Arte or a bare aluminum Bianchi FG Lite with Zipp wheels. If you see me in the pack, say hello. It would be cool to meet another person from RBR.


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## JohnnyTooBad (Apr 5, 2004)

When/Where is the Reston race (Reston, dummy!)? Maybe I can come out and cheer on the RBR'ers


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## bas (Jul 30, 2004)

JohnnyTooBad said:


> When/Where is the Reston race (Reston, dummy!)? Maybe I can come out and cheer on the RBR'ers



http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=6665


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## JohnnyTooBad (Apr 5, 2004)

Thanks Bas.

What race are you going to do at the Reston race? The Cat4 or 1/2/3?

I was reading the web page, and it said that for junior riders (including senior races) that gear restrictions would be enforced.....

a) - what are gear restrictions?
b) - How are Junior racers in senior races?

Thanks. Hopefully, I'll get the chance to come watch.

BTW, your PM box is full


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## fabsroman (Jul 14, 2006)

Gear restrictions prevent juniors from using big gears. When I was racing as a junior, the restriction was 52x16 for the 14-15 year olds and 52x15 for the 16-17 year olds. I think they allow somewhat larger gears for juniors today, but I don't think they can use a 53x13 or larger gear. That is the easy explanation. Ultimately, it depends on the rollout. Smaller wheels (e.g., 650c) allow for "larger" gears. This is done to help prevent knee problems in these growing kids and to teach them to spin.

Junior racers are allowed to race up in age as long as they race within their category. Masters are allowed to race down. For instance, a 40 year old Master racer can race a 30+ Masters race and the 40+ Masters race. A 50 year old can race the 30+, 40+, and 50+ races, along with his specific category race.

What I don't understand is why I cannot race up in category. If I am a 4, why can't I race in the 3's race? Probably because those races would be full of unworthy people that get shot off the back, and the other worthy people will be unable to register for the races. That is my thought on that one.

Me, I'll me racing the Cat 3/4 and Cat 4 races at Reston. It should be fun. I'm hoping to see BAS in one or both of them.


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## bas (Jul 30, 2004)

fabsroman said:


> Me, I'll me racing the Cat 3/4 and Cat 4 races at Reston. It should be fun. I'm hoping to see BAS in one or both of them.


Still a 5. 
:mad2:


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## fabsroman (Jul 14, 2006)

Normally, I would just say to get your 10 races in and upgrade, but I am learning. Unless you are already doing well in the 5's, it makes no sense to upgrade. There are just more crashes in the 4's, so you need to be able to stay up front to avoid most of them.


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## bas (Jul 30, 2004)

fabsroman said:


> Normally, I would just say to get your 10 races in and upgrade, but I am learning. Unless you are already doing well in the 5's, it makes no sense to upgrade. There are just more crashes in the 4's, so you need to be able to stay up front to avoid most of them.



More crashes in Cat 4??

So "Crash 5's" just ends up being the idjiots of who turn 4's into "Crash 4's?" lol  

I think this was just my 12th race since 2003. Probably get in 1 other race this year.

I'll up when the couple of other guys I'm riding with go..


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## Coolhand (Jul 28, 2002)

4's are much more dangerous then 5's. Bigger fields, more negative racing (aka chase, catch, slow down, big crash, rinse and repeat), not much more skill. 

Reston is a great race to watch, but a very dangerous crit to race. It was one of my favorites but was just too dangerous, and I stopped going.


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## fabsroman (Jul 14, 2006)

Coolhand,

Didn't know that you are from the area. Reston is pretty dangerous since it has 8 corners and a bunch of those are on downhill sections. If you aren't in the front for that section, things can get ugly. The worst crit I did last year, as far as crashes are concerned, was the Grand Prix of Silver Spring. I counted 6 crashes around me in that race, and passed some others that were already on the ground. On top of that, the guy in front of me rubbed his front wheel on the rear wheel in front of him going through a corner. Luckily, he managed to stay upright.

Bas,

The 4's are much more dangerous than the 5's because the 5's field is usually limited to 50 riders and a lot of those guys are out of shape and they get dropped almost immediately. So, the field becomes much smaller. They still ride pretty poorly (e.g., my brake pads were actually burning in the Cat 5 Davis Phinney race in Chantilly last year), but there are just a lot less of them.

The difference between a Masters race and a Cat 4 race is like night and day. I did the Masters 35+ at Turkey Day and the Cat 4 race, and the difference in brake usage between the two of them was just incredible.

I'm hoping to move up to the 3's by the end of this year, but I hear they aren't too much better than the 4's.

According to the MABRA report I read, there are the most crashes in Cat 4 races, followed by the 5's, and then the 3's, so being in the 3's has got to help somewhat. I used to be a 3 before I went to law school and decided to stop renewing my license because I was poor as could be.


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## Coolhand (Jul 28, 2002)

Yeah I race the Virginia Cycling (and not MABRA) BAR schedule.

Reston is pretty dangerous, but the worst corner is the downhill high-speed 3 lanes into one, sharp 90 degree turn, with a massive curb. Lots a crashes there, usually bad ones. 

Masters racing is safer, but painfully faster then the 4's. Most of the top guys also race Cat 1,2 events as well.


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## bas (Jul 30, 2004)

fabsroman said:


> Coolhand,


fabsroman:

hunny bop has opened in suitland, md

on bikereg


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## fabsroman (Jul 14, 2006)

I registered for the 3/4 and 30/40 races yesterday for Hunny Bop (f/k/a Bunny Hop). Giro di Coppi opens this evening at 9:00 pm and I'll be registering for the cat 4 race in that one since it is the MABRA Senior Championship race. The course is pretty close to my house and I ride a portion of it at least once a week. It should be a fun race.

Coolhand,

Maybe I'll see you around at some of the races. When there isn't a MABRA event going on, I don't hesitate to drive to VA, PA, DE for races. Did the Bryan Park Circuit Race last year in Richmond, and almost did the Turn Left, Go Fast Races but found things closer to home instead.


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## bas (Jul 30, 2004)

fabsroman said:


> I registered for the 3/4 and 30/40 races yesterday for Hunny Bop (f/k/a Bunny Hop). Giro di Coppi opens this evening at 9:00 pm and I'll be registering for the cat 4 race in that one since it is the MABRA Senior Championship race. The course is pretty close to my house and I ride a portion of it at least once a week. It should be a fun race.
> 
> Coolhand,
> 
> Maybe I'll see you around at some of the races. When there isn't a MABRA event going on, I don't hesitate to drive to VA, PA, DE for races. Did the Bryan Park Circuit Race last year in Richmond, and almost did the Turn Left, Go Fast Races but found things closer to home instead.


Bryan Park - I did it a few years ago (06?) when it was Rowelette's? I saw some bad crashes in that one. Guys not able to hold onto their bikes after hitting the bumps on the back end taking out a few people. Another guy found the pothole in the gutter heading towards the start/finish line and flipped. ouch.


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## fabsroman (Jul 14, 2006)

The course wasn't any better last year. Luckily, I was in the front of the Cat 5 group most of the day, so I could pick and choose my lines. This year, the race falls on the same day as Giro di Coppi or Hunny Bop, so I'll be passing it up. Maybe in 2009.


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## Coolhand (Jul 28, 2002)

Yeah, I call it the goat path crit. Bleh. I may pass on it this year. 

Lots of good other races this year though. 

Doing my first track race and first fixie ride ever this weekend at the Langley Speedway race. 

Just have to remember to keep pedaling. . .


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## fabsroman (Jul 14, 2006)

The whole "keep pedaling" thing is the reason I don't ride a fixie or race on the track. Oh yeah, then there are the missing gears. What fun is a bike with no shifters, derailleurs, or multiple cogs and chainrings? LOL


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## bas (Jul 30, 2004)

fabsroman said:


> The whole "keep pedaling" thing is the reason I don't ride a fixie or race on the track. Oh yeah, then there are the missing gears. What fun is a bike with no shifters, derailleurs, or multiple cogs and chainrings? LOL


I can't say I've done it ..but I think having to learn to spin full circles is a challenge and translates well back to the road bike.

You also don't need brakes  lol


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