Park race tonight

Iseran

They're stuck for marshals for the race tonight, if any of you are going along to watch you might get yourself some brownie points by giving them a dig out.

http://www.irishroadclub.com/index.php?news=170

ba

mmm brownies. Mr. Skeefington would agree.

yeah, good race. the vets, ladies, juniors and c's were all lumped into one group, with the a's and b's chasing. they never caught us.

the pace was awesome. that lad stephen mcnally does it again, after a fine solo effort from way out. this guy can sprint (see sundays results) and ride :eek:

i punctured on the first corner of the last lap. what a bummer.

biker_joe

hey Ba
did anyone from your group try and get across to him ? .... i'd say his new number must be in the post soon !!

Biker Joe

Chips Lovell

He's a vet.

Raam

hard luck BA. It looked like good fun, although not for the guys who were shelled off the back on the very first lap. Pace must be very high. I heard a lot of strange straining noises coming out of people as they went by.

biker_joe

el tonto wrote: »

He's a vet.

yea is he ... Savage what ??? is he a new Super Vet recently developed in the Dundrum lab ?

bunnygreen

Hey Raam,i was shelled out the back on the second lap last night, at the first park race i went out the back on the first lap,so maybe at the end of the season i might get to stay in all the way around.I,m a Vet and seeing what Stephen is doing this year is mind boggling and quite inspiring.

Raam

bunnygreen wrote: »

Hey Raam,i was shelled out the back on the second lap last night, at the first park race i went out the back on the first lap,so maybe at the end of the season i might get to stay in all the way around.I,m a Vet and seeing what Stephen is doing this year is mind boggling and quite inspiring.

What is the turn at the bottom of the hill like in the bunch? The left hander back up through Kyhber Pass?

ba

jaysus it was a line out from the start. the pace was mad. yeah, coming by people i could hear their breathing, it was very hard for some. forgot to turn on the polar, so i got no stats on speed, distance etc.

not sure if anyone tried to bridge across to the supervet.

bunnygreen

The only time i did it in the bunch was the first time around,its a little hairy,i just tried to really keep my line,if your at the back the amount of work you have to do to get back on is ridiculous,i,m not a very experienced Crit rider,the rest of the time i was either on my own or with a couple of lads.The Park races are great,your always learning and it,s great high end training,by the time i got home i had 78km done,more ego bashing and sore legs,what a way to spend Tuesday night.I,m sure there are other more experienced racers on the boards who could give us a little advice on Crit type racing.

stmochtas

Cleared the road of a barricade some nice scum bags had created for ye on the hill before the khyber turn. Got a few rocks thrown at me and abuse flung but I just hate the sh1t they get up to on competition nights and how dangerous is that considering the speed ye were moving at.

I do a lot of running and have been hit by many a football in my time.

short circuit

Do you need to be a club member for these .... or can I just show up, pay the registration and give it a go ... Can I get a CI license on the spot for the day ...

How are the groups decided ... vets, ladies and youth seem easy enough splits ... but how do they decide A,B or C for on the spot registration

blorg

Raam wrote: »

What is the turn at the bottom of the hill like in the bunch? The left hander back up through Kyhber Pass?

I did it in the first race- first turn or two I was off the front and it was fine, took it fast, but then got steadily sucked back on the remaining laps.

Around the third lap I think I was at the front but in the bunch, around one line of riders in front of me and others to my left and right. That was the scariest bit as we were still taking the corner very fast but with lots of people around. I'm afraid I completely faffed it that time, moved out a bit too far, braked a bit and got yelled at, rightly so.

This did in my confidence and I moved further back in the group where due to the concertina effect we were slowed down by the time the corner came up- this made the corner easy but obviously made it a lot tougher to hang on as you had to sprint back up to speed after the corner.

I didn't have any problems with any of the other corners in the bunch, it was just that one. I was quite happy with getting around the others, just need more experience with bunch cornering fast and following the line of the guy in front of you. I had a similar experience with a corner in the Cycleways Cup, at the front of the group going around the second lap, steep descent and a sharp left, actually skidded my rear wheel a bit. I think ideally you would not use your brakes at all on these, maybe someone could confirm.

Caroline_ie

I think some of the Vets are too good to be vets. I think it's unfair to have a former S1 - S2 starting to race in the vets as soon as he turns 35 ( or whatever age Vets start- 35 is still very very young so people who are 35 don't take it the wrong way as i realkly have no idea what age vet starts) -

smithslist

ba wrote: »

jaysus it was a line out from the start. the pace was mad. yeah, coming by people i could hear their breathing, it was very hard for some.

very big bunch at the start but was quickly slimmed down after a few laps, the speed keep high all the time and alot of guys got dropped out the back.

must say i enjoy the night and was happy enough to finish that was a hard nite's crit race.

Raam

bunnygreen says he got 78km including trip home. How long would the hour of circuits be along with the final few laps?

blorg

short circuit wrote: »

Do you need to be a club member for these .... or can I just show up, pay the registration and give it a go ... Can I get a CI license on the spot for the day ...

How are the groups decided ... vets, ladies and youth seem easy enough splits ... but how do they decide A,B or C for on the spot registration

You don't have to be a club member, you can get a one day license, but to be honest this sort of race is not a good one to start with, you would be far better off joining a club and doing the club league to get used to racing- it is a very different sort of group riding than you might do out on a Saturday spin. Even most "normal" road races would be a better place to start than a criterium, where it is all about corners.

If you are getting a one day presuming you are 18-40 and not female you will go into the C category.

eggie

blorg wrote: »

You don't have to be a club member, you can get a one day license, but to be honest this sort of race is not a good one to start with, you would be far better off joining a club and doing the club league to get used to racing- it is a very different sort of group riding than you might do out on a Saturday spin. Even most "normal" road races would be a better place to start than a criterium, where it is all about corners.

If you are getting a one day presuming you are 18-40 and not female you will go into the C category.

Are there any clubs to be recommended near Dublin city centre? Do they still accept new members during the summer or is there certain dates you need to apply before.

petethedrummer

Here are some pics I took at that corner. They're quite blurry. I dunno If I'm on the wrong setting or the camera is just not able for action shots. The first few were the parade lap. So the peloton looks quite large.

SuperVet was out on his own for the last 2 laps at least. There were two lads from the scratch group hell bent on chasing the front group down and were closing lap by lap but didn't get there. They seemed to be busting an absolute gut.

petethedrummer

A few more (still blurred).

biker_joe

Caroline_ie wrote: »

I think some of the Vets are too good to be vets. I think it's unfair to have a former S1 - S2 starting to race in the vets as soon as he turns 35 ( or whatever age Vets start- 35 is still very very young so people who are 35 don't take it the wrong way as i realkly have no idea what age vet starts) -

Vets are 40 and over !! I can't wait till I have served the rest of my time to get the few minutes head start ! Rather than chasing for the last eternity !

Some Vets though have still ridden in their previous categories into their mid Forties ! Sean Bracken, Philip Cassidy and Sean Lally to name a few !! Goes to show that lads can still do it in their 40's !

Biker Joe.

DirkVoodoo

40 is a vet?? Yikes, I'm starting to feel old. Even 30 i seeming quite young to me now

zzzzzzzz

petethedrummer wrote: »

Here are some pics I took at that corner. They're quite blurry. I dunno If I'm on the wrong setting or the camera is just not able for action shots.

The trick to photographing something moving is to pan with it, i.e. move the camera with the bunch as it passes and you are taking the shot. Start moving before you take the shot and keep moving after.

It's tricky but once you master it you'll get some great shots. Blurred background and sharp subject.

blorg

I think I see smithslist in pic 2 and 3- Lucan kit.

petethedrummer

aidan.offbeat wrote: »

It's tricky but once you master it you'll get some great shots. Blurred background and sharp subject.

Makes sense, I'll give it a go. Thanks.

smithslist

blorg wrote: »

I think I see smithslist in pic 2 and 3- Lucan kit.

fair play to yeah for pickin me out in the bunch, i survived it and finished in bunch.

It was a good race and great weather for it, despite the wind - even thou Blorg wind to us matters no more after TOI ;-)

scottreynolds

smithslist wrote: »

fair play to yeah for pickin me out in the bunch, i survived it and finished in bunch.

It was a good race and great weather for it, despite the wind - even thou Blorg wind to us matters no more after TOI ;-)

At least it wasn't raining.... Good to see you have fully recovered . I guess the ride back to Lucan was enough recovery for the hard men.

Gavin

petethedrummer wrote: »

Makes sense, I'll give it a go. Thanks.

Off topic, a nice way I find to do this is to use shutter priority and go for a speed just slightly slower than is needed. Then just keep your finger on the trigger and follow the motion as aidan says. At least one of the shots will probably come out ok.

ba

guy from my club was out there with a camera.

http://picasaweb.google.com/heeryjohn/ParkRace120509#

Gavin

Those EPIC guys sure do get around

Raam

Cool shots