Friday, March 14, 2008

Why I asked

The following a line and overlap wheel question.

First, yep people wreck on dirt, i have had and seen some good ones 2004'ish, Nova Desert Classic expensive shoulder dislocating otb. Ended up having a great season after that. 2005 Solitude, Cannondale low bottom bracket, trying to catch up with Sly on the DH, nose wheelie, lucky scrub oak landing, bent pedal axle, no major wounds.

But, unless you are T2 on the DH, you generally are not going 30mph, in a tight pack, where the slightest miscalculation can take you and many others out. Risk vs reward for me. I will say the RMR was excellent training, when i had the cahones to do it.

But i like dirt. Cause even if I am Off The Back, I can still have fun. Not so much when I have been dropped in a crit, which was often, cause I am dumb, impatient and scared.

But my point is, that shit happens in Crits, yeah Fox will say we attract it to us, or some shit like that, but shit happens. I know pack etiquette is to follow a line, point shit out and don't overlap the wheel of the person in front of you, but, to me, in a dynamic, high mph Crit, those things seem a bit more fluid, but i could be wrong, that is why i asked for veteran opinion.

I still don't understand how the RMR can be someone's focus, have large numbers and some of the weekend road races don't. But that is another discussion, well worn out one at that.

But, the Solitude Tuesday night series is back this year, with an even larger payout than last year, good raffle swag and hell i got 3rd in the series and won a couple hundred bucks.

Rico, Turbo come on out, get yer climb on, and listen to Alex carry on a conversation, behind you while you are dizzy from Hypoxia

5 comments:

Team Rico said...

Bob- I cant wait for Solitude. I'll be there for sure. I'm over RMR for the most part and that will give me my racing fix for Tuesday night. But I imagine it will be a while before that is rollin.
What happened to me last week was a lack of attention on anothers part and nothing more. Shit happens I'm all healed up and ready to kick some ass.

KanyonKris said...

I've thought of trying a crit - just to experience every type of cycling. But I've heard about too many wrecks and I'm too old to get busted up. Looks interesting, but not worth the risk for me. I've got no acceleration anyway.

Andy H. said...

To futher pimp the Solitude series not only did Bob take 3rd in the series and win coin but I took 3rd in the sport class and won coin as well. Bob winning cash is not suprising, he's fast. Me winning cash shows that everybody and anybody no matter how slow can come out and win some coin.

Team Rico said...

That's how the Canyon weekly dirt series used to be in Draper back in the day. I'm excited

Daren said...

Bob - I share the concern on crits, but somehow get myself out there 10 to 15 times a year. When we get close to cross season, it is the best training available. It made a huge difference for me last year. I think the risk is a bit over-blown. While there are a number of crashes each year, the number is surprisingly low given the number of racers, races and the speed. All that being said, I went down 6 years ago at RMR and ended up with a sweet Ti screw in my shoulder and 8 weeks without riding outdoors. I think I'll be at Solutide to get worked by the climbers a few times this year.