I’m not sure why I’m dwelling on this so much, but I can’t believe how many miles I get and it is still way before I normally even leave to ride. These guys get going too early. But it isn’t too early if you’re racing at 9 am a couple times this week. I’m trying to get on that schedule. It’s not my body’s normal schedule for sure.
We drove over to Rancho Santa Fe and met Don and Sue’s friend, Brad at the bakery. We then rode over Del Dios Hwy. and I turned around after about 10 miles. I went back to the bakery, had a coffee and muffin and then headed over to the coast, a little out of the way North.
It amazes me how many people ride bikes out here on the weekends. I saw 100’s. Multiple 100’s. Individuals, packs of 50. Lots. It is nice being able to tag onto the back of a group any direction that you happen to be heading. I got behind a small group of 10 most the way to the coast. Easy.
I have to put new cleats on my shoes, mount cross tires on my clinchers and get my bike ready for the race tomorrow up in LA. It is going to be nothing like Oregon. This will be a desert race. But, I think I need the intensity that I’ve been so avoiding the past 4 days. I have nearly 350 miles the past 4 days. Like I said before, probably not the best for a short cyclo-x, but that is just too bad.
I heard some interesting news that kind of depresses me. The time trials that they are running up in Bend for Masters at Nationals aren’t being held at the Nationals venue. I haven’t confirmed this, but I assume it’s true. That is so wrong. I was wondering how they were going to close the course down in the morning to run those qualifiers. They aren’t. So, they are holding a 10 minute race on another course to decide how good everyone is to line up at the start of a different course? Maybe they should just do computrainer races instead on a simulated Nationals course. It would be about the same. Who wants to spend time riding a different course the day before their event? Not me. I’m wondering how many people are even going to be pre-riding that course? I thought it would be kind of fun comparing times from the different categories. Not anymore. They need to come up with a better way to do the whole thing.
Wayne Stetina is going to hate reading this, but historically, The USAC Nationals, in most all disciplines, are some of the least thought out, worst run events I go to. That wasn’t the case in Bend last year though and hopefully it won’t be the case this year.
I saw this Mercedes AMG in front of the bakery. I’d never seen one, even in a magazine. It has gullwings and the styling is unbelievable. I looked it up on the internet, 200K. New for 2011. I think you can put your name in for the wait list.
Check out the size of these front brake calipers and rotors. I think the rotors are ceramic?
My little group for the ride back to the coast. Every rider here was on carbon. And not one duplicate frame. Colnago, Specialized, Motobecane, Wilier, Orbea and lots of others. My ti Eriksen was the standout.
Welcome to NASCAR. I think the TT is brilliant and the fairest way of determining the starting position. Moreover, it should apply to everyone–no callups for the previous year’s top 8. Ergo, you earn your position.
Having a separate TT course made the most logistical sense. Think of it as simply introducing a TDF prologue into a CX race. Instead of getting a position on GC, you get your position for the start.
That being said, the ridiculous thing about Nats is how many people are in Masters Mens Categories: 170+ racers in the 40-44 (only a paultry 120+ in our category). One Hundred Seventy. What lap do you think they’re going to start pulling people? One? Two? Hundreds of racers will have spent hundreds/thousands to go to Nats to get pulled on lap 2. That is a pretty sad reality unless the Refs let chip timing do its job and let everyone race the full 40 minutes.
Not only in cross but I have long thought the national road championships are, almost always, run very poorly.
As an example, the 2007 road championships in Seven Springs, Pa. were jus awful.
The course for the elites was far too long (something like 28 miles per lap), there were no concessions for food or anything else, there was NO advertising that a national championship event was taking place, the course was hard to find and far from convenient transportation, and there was no follow up with results other than the normal cycling publications.
Furthermore, I have long felt that when a person is given a badge and a whistle, they become an over-powering jerk. The level of officiating is totally underwhelming.
It seems like the only thing that USAC cares about is making money and not running a quality event.