My First Crit Race by: Kim Bell
I watched my friend race at the oval at the end of last summer. I thought, I really want to do that someday. I was so nervous for the first-time riders. There is definitely a culture down there and even though they're all very supportive and encouraging, it's VERY easy to be intimidated and feel very much like the 'newbie'. This year I committed to joining a few skills sessions down there where women's racing groups would get together to show new riders skills like pace lining, bumping, bike handling, and other tips. I made it to a couple of sessions and met a couple of newbie racers and was amazed by their courage. There is a coach that has a women's team and a women's developmental team that sent out an e-mail last week to her distribution list. She said, 'what's holding you back?' She encouraged everyone that was still sitting on the fence to just get in there and race. It's very difficult to 'train' for this sort of race. There is so much more that goes in to staying with the pack other than endurance and athleticism. You have to be smart, anticipate changes in speed (you're just about 10-12 inches from the wheel in front of you, going at least 20 MPH). You don't want to cross wheels with the person in front of you or you'll end up on the pavement. The best way to learn how to hold on is to race! It's August and the season only lasts until September. I need to get in and try this out!
I showed up about an hour early to get registered, go to the bathroom, etc. Right away I see my guardian angel, Greta. I have watched via Facebook, Greta get faster and have more success at racing this season. I was there last season for her first race and watched her get lapped and lapped. She was very motivational! She told me what I needed and helped me get signed up, then we get on the track for some warm up laps. That ended up being about ½ hour. It was great to meet some of the other riders and I reconnected with a woman who went to one of the skill sessions. It was her first race too...woohoo company! There were some murmurs about 'the kids, the juniors'. The early Tuesday night race is the women and the Jr's race. This apparently has gotten to be a bit of an issue. The jr's. can be very aggressive and inexperienced (not holding their line)...therefore making it dangerous to other riders. Well I would find this out tonight for myself!
We hear the bell ring which means the race is about to start, time to line up. There are some announcements about races coming up and asking if anyone has any race standings from the previous weekend. The organizer tells us to take a couple more laps. Well somehow I got way behind and ended up doing exactly what I did NOT want to do...line up behind the jr's. Being my first race I didn't want to go around them. The first 2 laps are 'neutral' which started off faster than I would call 'neutral'. 2 laps and the bell is ringing and the pace immediately picks up. There is a kid next to me barking orders at another kid telling him to move up...he keeps going way too fast and having to squeeze his VERY squeaky breaks. You really don't want to jam on the breaks in this riding situation; it really freaks the other riders and it's that much harder to get your bike back up to speed. This was not helping my nerves! The kid in front of me is NOT holding his line and I just want to get away from them. By the time I make my move, it's too late. I can't catch the pack and I've lost any 'help' I was getting from the jr's. Shoot, now I'm doing all the work out here by myself. I eventually fall back in as the group comes around but I'm still back with the Jr.'s We all start falling off again and now I just want to work with people that have an ounce of ability! I was very worried about etiquette my first time out as well. There were times I could have caught on to the first part of the pack but we were told that if you get dropped to wait for the end of the field but I didn't know where that was because as the race progresses, there are more and more groups (the pack breaks down to smaller packs). Later to find out it's ok as long as you can keep up with those people and won't slow those down coming up behind. Now I know. Finally Mary and I started to work with each other (the other first timer). But we didn't have much of a rhythm down and we would drop each other. Then Suzanne the cycling coach came up to the side and said let's work with these Jr.'s. It pretty much worked till the end because she would call out orders, tell people when to 'pull' and when to let someone else pull. We had a pretty good paceline going for the last few laps. I think we did about 26 laps in a little over 30 minutes and it's pretty much balls-to-the-wall the entire time. Even if you pop off, you're working hard to get back on. The race was just over 11 miles. I averaged about 20 MPH with max speed about 27 (bike computer was not working).
Next time I know to line up ahead of the kids or at least move around them earlier. I am very proud of myself for getting out there and trying something new. There is no good time to try something new and scary...just go for it! Can't wait for the next one!
I watched my friend race at the oval at the end of last summer. I thought, I really want to do that someday. I was so nervous for the first-time riders. There is definitely a culture down there and even though they're all very supportive and encouraging, it's VERY easy to be intimidated and feel very much like the 'newbie'. This year I committed to joining a few skills sessions down there where women's racing groups would get together to show new riders skills like pace lining, bumping, bike handling, and other tips. I made it to a couple of sessions and met a couple of newbie racers and was amazed by their courage. There is a coach that has a women's team and a women's developmental team that sent out an e-mail last week to her distribution list. She said, 'what's holding you back?' She encouraged everyone that was still sitting on the fence to just get in there and race. It's very difficult to 'train' for this sort of race. There is so much more that goes in to staying with the pack other than endurance and athleticism. You have to be smart, anticipate changes in speed (you're just about 10-12 inches from the wheel in front of you, going at least 20 MPH). You don't want to cross wheels with the person in front of you or you'll end up on the pavement. The best way to learn how to hold on is to race! It's August and the season only lasts until September. I need to get in and try this out!
I showed up about an hour early to get registered, go to the bathroom, etc. Right away I see my guardian angel, Greta. I have watched via Facebook, Greta get faster and have more success at racing this season. I was there last season for her first race and watched her get lapped and lapped. She was very motivational! She told me what I needed and helped me get signed up, then we get on the track for some warm up laps. That ended up being about ½ hour. It was great to meet some of the other riders and I reconnected with a woman who went to one of the skill sessions. It was her first race too...woohoo company! There were some murmurs about 'the kids, the juniors'. The early Tuesday night race is the women and the Jr's race. This apparently has gotten to be a bit of an issue. The jr's. can be very aggressive and inexperienced (not holding their line)...therefore making it dangerous to other riders. Well I would find this out tonight for myself!
We hear the bell ring which means the race is about to start, time to line up. There are some announcements about races coming up and asking if anyone has any race standings from the previous weekend. The organizer tells us to take a couple more laps. Well somehow I got way behind and ended up doing exactly what I did NOT want to do...line up behind the jr's. Being my first race I didn't want to go around them. The first 2 laps are 'neutral' which started off faster than I would call 'neutral'. 2 laps and the bell is ringing and the pace immediately picks up. There is a kid next to me barking orders at another kid telling him to move up...he keeps going way too fast and having to squeeze his VERY squeaky breaks. You really don't want to jam on the breaks in this riding situation; it really freaks the other riders and it's that much harder to get your bike back up to speed. This was not helping my nerves! The kid in front of me is NOT holding his line and I just want to get away from them. By the time I make my move, it's too late. I can't catch the pack and I've lost any 'help' I was getting from the jr's. Shoot, now I'm doing all the work out here by myself. I eventually fall back in as the group comes around but I'm still back with the Jr.'s We all start falling off again and now I just want to work with people that have an ounce of ability! I was very worried about etiquette my first time out as well. There were times I could have caught on to the first part of the pack but we were told that if you get dropped to wait for the end of the field but I didn't know where that was because as the race progresses, there are more and more groups (the pack breaks down to smaller packs). Later to find out it's ok as long as you can keep up with those people and won't slow those down coming up behind. Now I know. Finally Mary and I started to work with each other (the other first timer). But we didn't have much of a rhythm down and we would drop each other. Then Suzanne the cycling coach came up to the side and said let's work with these Jr.'s. It pretty much worked till the end because she would call out orders, tell people when to 'pull' and when to let someone else pull. We had a pretty good paceline going for the last few laps. I think we did about 26 laps in a little over 30 minutes and it's pretty much balls-to-the-wall the entire time. Even if you pop off, you're working hard to get back on. The race was just over 11 miles. I averaged about 20 MPH with max speed about 27 (bike computer was not working).
Next time I know to line up ahead of the kids or at least move around them earlier. I am very proud of myself for getting out there and trying something new. There is no good time to try something new and scary...just go for it! Can't wait for the next one!