What category question. The post race follow up.
It\'s not a steed
Posts: 15
Thanks to everyone that responded to last weeks thread, I said that I'd post up how I got on and here it is. Sorry it's a bit long winded, that's just how it came out, and I've not really the time to edit it down.
The race:
After the first funnelling corner onto singletrack I was about a three quarters of the way down the field which was pretty much what I'd expected. The first few laps went well and I was able to gradually work my way up the field, passing half a few on the first lap and a couple on the second. At the same time a couple of people overtook me, but I was happy enough that I had taken more people than were taking me.
By the third lap things had settled down a bit and it was getting harder to go past people, I guess the positions had juggled until people of a similar ability were grouped together. I had a couple of targets ahead who I would close up on only for them to put in a bit of a burst and re-establish the gap. At the same time I felt as if I was somebody else’s target and didn't want to overcook my effort giving him a chance to go through. This was competitive and it was fun.
Then it went pear shaped. As we came around to start the fourth lap the sport category was lining up to begin, and it was suggested by the announcer that the riders coming through either ride over to one side of the track or stop to let the next race get underway. We all rode over to one side down the fireroad section but the next race was still at the start by the time we got to the singletrack so on we carried, after all we had our own objectives. Mine was to get past the two riders in front of me that was what i wanted to do before the end of the race, get past and stay past them.
Once the sport category got underway it didn't take long for the much fitter and fresher riders to catch us. Soon I was engulfed by shouts of "Rider", "Coming through", "Right", "Left" and even one "Left-Right" as two people went past at the same time. For the most part everyone at least made a call to tell you they were passing although their idea of a passing point and mine were definitely a bit different, fair enough I'm sure they do this all the time and the last thing I wanted to do was obstruct someone for whom this was 'sport' rather than 'fun'. I'd lost track of my competitors, I could no longer tell who was in my race and as I came around a corner I looked back to see a line of at least thirty riders stretching back along the track. We were on a fairly continuous singletrack section and the faster riders were taking greater risks to overtake.
The idea of racing had evaporated, I couldn't tell who was in my race, and my sole purpose was now to act as a kind of mobile traffic calming measure. I pulled over to let the faster riders through and once a suitable gap appeared I got underway again but my heart rate had dropped, the adrenaline was waning and my focus had gone, effectively my race was over.
I carried on round the circuit occasionally being overtaken by the sports cat stragglers but as I came around to begin my last lap and unable to re-establish any rhythm or purpose, I peeled off the course and handed in my number. I felt I had no place being there, it wasn't a race any more it was just riding around the woods trying not to get in the way. I went out in the afternoon in a different woods to make up for the missing lap. It wasn't as much fun as the first part of the race but it was definitely better than the last.
What did I learn from my first foray into XC racing:
- I quite liked racing, and would like to do more.
- For the time being at least, fun is the right category for me.
- If longer courses exist they might be preferable, hopefully less congestion.
- It would be good to have completed my race before the next category begun. In future if it's a short loop I'll need to look for more staggered start times.
The race:
After the first funnelling corner onto singletrack I was about a three quarters of the way down the field which was pretty much what I'd expected. The first few laps went well and I was able to gradually work my way up the field, passing half a few on the first lap and a couple on the second. At the same time a couple of people overtook me, but I was happy enough that I had taken more people than were taking me.
By the third lap things had settled down a bit and it was getting harder to go past people, I guess the positions had juggled until people of a similar ability were grouped together. I had a couple of targets ahead who I would close up on only for them to put in a bit of a burst and re-establish the gap. At the same time I felt as if I was somebody else’s target and didn't want to overcook my effort giving him a chance to go through. This was competitive and it was fun.
Then it went pear shaped. As we came around to start the fourth lap the sport category was lining up to begin, and it was suggested by the announcer that the riders coming through either ride over to one side of the track or stop to let the next race get underway. We all rode over to one side down the fireroad section but the next race was still at the start by the time we got to the singletrack so on we carried, after all we had our own objectives. Mine was to get past the two riders in front of me that was what i wanted to do before the end of the race, get past and stay past them.
Once the sport category got underway it didn't take long for the much fitter and fresher riders to catch us. Soon I was engulfed by shouts of "Rider", "Coming through", "Right", "Left" and even one "Left-Right" as two people went past at the same time. For the most part everyone at least made a call to tell you they were passing although their idea of a passing point and mine were definitely a bit different, fair enough I'm sure they do this all the time and the last thing I wanted to do was obstruct someone for whom this was 'sport' rather than 'fun'. I'd lost track of my competitors, I could no longer tell who was in my race and as I came around a corner I looked back to see a line of at least thirty riders stretching back along the track. We were on a fairly continuous singletrack section and the faster riders were taking greater risks to overtake.
The idea of racing had evaporated, I couldn't tell who was in my race, and my sole purpose was now to act as a kind of mobile traffic calming measure. I pulled over to let the faster riders through and once a suitable gap appeared I got underway again but my heart rate had dropped, the adrenaline was waning and my focus had gone, effectively my race was over.
I carried on round the circuit occasionally being overtaken by the sports cat stragglers but as I came around to begin my last lap and unable to re-establish any rhythm or purpose, I peeled off the course and handed in my number. I felt I had no place being there, it wasn't a race any more it was just riding around the woods trying not to get in the way. I went out in the afternoon in a different woods to make up for the missing lap. It wasn't as much fun as the first part of the race but it was definitely better than the last.
What did I learn from my first foray into XC racing:
- I quite liked racing, and would like to do more.
- For the time being at least, fun is the right category for me.
- If longer courses exist they might be preferable, hopefully less congestion.
- It would be good to have completed my race before the next category begun. In future if it's a short loop I'll need to look for more staggered start times.
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Comments
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Know the feeling
One of the reason I switched to Fun in Gorrick was to avoid the faster race coming through syndrome. From your account of the race up to that point sounds like you would enjoy it. 0 -
Good report bud, it all sounds a bit of a mare to me...i've never entered a race in my life but would have felt the same as you I reckon. When cycling my trails at my pace I love the guys who come up and zoom past-just looking at the back of their head you can sense the smugness. The last tim,e someone zoomed past and out of sight I caught up with him five minutes later whilst he was splattered on the floor from hitting a tree stump, I shouldn't have giggled but......0
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It took me about four or five races before I got over "I'm just getting in the way" and "Am I fast enough to warrant doing these races?" syndrome. It does pass, but you'll need to persevere. Getting out of the way is fine until you get the feel for these races, it's what I did to start with and makes sense if you feel that you might cause an accident because a much faster rider is behind you...just make sure you let them know you are going to pull in to let him past and when and where you're going to do it...he'll probably look at your stopping place as a place to pass which could end in tears. If he tells you he is going to pass...be careful not to move in the direction of where he is passing, if he says left, don't go left...it's very easily done and I've done it and see it happen from time to time. I tend to move aside a little to give them more room or just stay on course and then at least they're not expecting any sudden movements from me which could result in us coming together.
Keep doing the races. These feelings will pass and you'll feel more like you have an equal right to be out there, you'll get fitter, faster and more technically able allowing you to stay in front of a rider who is applying pressure without feeling like you're going to stack through concentrating on the rider behind rather than the trail in front...when you're feeling like this, then passing you has to be earnt!
Most of all enjoy it...when you get faster and try to get in the top 25% or maybe get on the podium you'll still enjoy it, but it will bring a lot more discomfort so enjoy the "easier" races while they last! Some of the UK's top riders blast round these race courses with a big grin on their faces so it shows that you can still really enjoy yourself without losing the fun side of what, after all, is just an expensive hobby Lap by lap analysis, videos, photos, race reports and a map of race locations www.xcenduro.co.uk0 -
we have thought about these problems and we think we've got it covered (in part)
we are giving riders a wristband for the seatpost that will indicate category to the rider behind we may even give out numbers for the back f riders doing the same
we are starting the faster riders first to tire them out a bit
we are short cutting part of the circuit for our bottom category to keep things safe/ moving and to keep their lap time down
trying to make passing point obvious
its not going to be perfect but its a start
www.brownbacksracing.co.uk0
