rick81721
Lothar
What's 100 percent different? Just saying climbing dutchzion is harder than Grandview-Pin Oak
Jshort’s bike thread
- Thread starter jShort
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What's 100 percent different? Just saying climbing dutchzion is harder than Grandview-Pin Oak
Pearl
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
Agreed it’s a harder climb, but the grand view climb is hard enough in a race that’s for sure!
I’d totally do that race again if I could.
Also like how Germs blog is being overtaken with roadie stuff lulz
echappy
Active Member
I think the OP was referring to the descending dynamics. Only takes one or two riders to really bomb it, and the rest can just follow at a high speed
It's mostly moot in a race. Whatever will split the field for one would split the field on the other. The Grandview side has a nasty kicker of ~a minute at 10%, whereas Dutchtown side is more gradual (and has better pavement)
This is good stuff though. Maybe I'll do this race
The Kalmyk
Well-Known Member
I’ve done than loop sooo many times! My parents Home is at the top of grandview on east ridge road since ‘93. Very good recommendation.
You said about hitting 42, with a group can probably top 50.
Climbing with groups is different too.
rick81721
Lothar
Ah I was wondering how guys are going much faster on that downhill. I go as low as I can, pedal on the less steep part and don't touch the brakes. Heavier probably goes faster too?
100% fun first. That is want influenced me registering in the first place. I just wanted to try it. I spoke to Ken and he said Somerville is an easy cookie cutter race, I wouldn't have a problem, and would be fine for a first timer.
Of course, once we took off I was all in and trying to do well. I just didn't really have a clue what to do and when to do it.
I'd definitely like to do more, as long as they dont conflict with MTB.
Pearl
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
sort of, here is my file from the race in 2015. the downhill people really just scrambled to not get dropped. the corner at the end of dutchtown people just coasted through and geared up for the climb up grandview again. it was really the safest sort of circuit i ever did (i only ever did this and battenkill btw lolz)
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rick81721
Lothar
Wow what category was that? I'd be DFL for sure
U still gotz dat beer bruh?
Pearl
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
Cat 5, dont look into average speed because in a group 20mph is rather easy. If the PFW ride still goes out of Cranbury, give that a shot first, I think it was Tuesdays?
i wonder if we lost that in the great power outage of 2015
Ok I will give you my advice then, based on my experience. When I was hot & heavy racing on the road, it was basically a training tool. Did I get caught up with winning? Not really. I wanted to win as much as the next guy but I wasn't going to make some sacrifices to make that happen. So what I am going to say will raise objections from every roadie prick ever, and then some people who are not roadie pricks.
Here are the 2 safest places in a road race:
1. Off the front
2. Sitting at the back
These 2 places are not to be confused with "the smartest place to be in a road race". But keep in mind that the "smartest" and "most likely to crash and break something considerable" are exactly the same spot.
The advantage to my 2 safe places of road racing is that a) these will make you get that absolute most out of training and b) they will push you like you have never been pushed before. The next time you do a road race, say fuck it and go out solo in front. Maybe someone tries to join, maybe not. I have done that countless times and twice it stuck. Usually someone follows and being in a pack of 3-5 people trying to stay away is exhilarating. Cat 4/5 races are usually full of people who don't want to work, so those breaks can stick when the pack won't chase, but they may also break apart when most/all of the people with you refuse to pull.
When you get caught and then have to push yourself to stay on, that will push you more than you are used to. It'll hurt, you may even get dropped, but you'll get stronger.
Sitting in the back has obvious training benefits.
It wouldn't hurt to work on your 2 minute power. This isn't really super crucial with MTB racing but you know, it doesn't hurt. And when the pack gets to that last half mile or so, it's going to be good to have a solid CP2 to keep yourself in that mix.
Just don't be stupid. There are a lot of assholes in these 4/5 races. You got a wife and kids. Because of that, remember those 2 safe places.
This is pretty much where I was the whole time. I would move up to catch a break here and there. And I would get ambitious and jump to the front ish but I wouldn't stay aggressive and drift backwards. Not because I didn't have the legs...I'm pretty sure I had better legs than 80% of the people in the race, but more because I was just there for the experience.
I totally understand what you're saying and that strategy has already been resonated in me for the most part.
Mountain Bike Mike
Well-Known Member
Did you shave?
No, the thought did cross my mind though
echappy
Active Member
Both are correct. Because I have some fancy titanium hardware in my mouth due to a crash in the last km of a race, this was exactly my approach to finishing races: either OTF or to take a trip to Offthebackistan (after being brought back). Nothing is as scary as the barging that goes on in the final few km of a race.
That said, this approach doesn't address what one should do for most of the race. Specifically, the big questions are for point 1) where do you go before going OTF and for point 2) how do you go from sitting at the back to being OTF? One more caveat for the former is that having the right parents helps tremendously for the former, and this doesn't work well for the fast-twitch inclined (though this is less likely an issue for good MTB racers). FWIW, I'm a big believer of going OTF, and almost all of my upgrade points are obtained this way. However, even in the two races where I managed to spend more than 30% of the race OTF, I still had to spend a lot of time at "the smartest place to be in a road race" anticipating attacks or launching my own attack. I was never strong enough to be the type to stay away for more than 50% or the race, but some guile and racecraft allowed me to get OTF when it mattered and avoid the chaos behind.
Somewhat ironic that we are talking about this in the context of the Jersey Devil, as it was the last road race I did. The winner from the race @pearl participated was in my race, and he launched an attack with 4 laps to go, and I hopped on b/c I was on the front, anticipating an attack. I mentioned upthread how the descent down felt sketchy; well, in a break, the descent certainly felt a lot safer (though the speed I hit was 45-46 instead of 48-49). But OTOH, b/c I wasn't at the front of the race earlier, a few people apparently attacked quite a few laps earlier, and I didn't even know that they were gone...