We live in one of the most beautiful states in the US and people, especially
bike racers who should appreciate the outdoors are dumping trash on the
road? C'mon guys... throwing anything more than a banana peel in the ditch
(and even that may be bad if there are a bunch, he he get it bunch?) is
well... just LAME.
Richard Randleman
2 things I noted at Cherry Pie today:
1) A fair amount of gel and bar wrappers were tossed on the road. This is a
sure way to make it less likely that we will be able to use venues again.
Race venues are not easy to come by and need to be protected. There is
nothing about being on your bike or being in a bike race that makes
littering OK. It may make you feel all Euro to toss stuff off like you see
the pros doing OLN but it really makes you look like a jerk, not only to
general public but also to the other riders in the peloton. Actually the
pros look like jerks too when they do this but it is tolerated because they
are big important sports stars in Europe. You are not. It is also against
the rules. Just don't do it. If you see someone doing it feel free to give
them flack and to report them to the officials. Penalty is at the
discretion of the Chief Referee.
2) Number placement was sub-optimal. For open road event generally you
should use 2 numbers. One should be on your side facing the camera and
judges. This means that the long axis should be vertical so it can be read
normally as you ride by. The second number should be horizontal on your
back low so that follow vehicles can read it. Numbers should not be up side
down, sideways, folded, on the wrong side, in the middle of the back, etc.
At the start I suggest that everybody look to see if the number placement on
the riders is appropriate. If it is not give them the benefit of your years
of experience. If you think that these things are not really very important
then I suggest you come to the finish some time and watch the officials try
to sort out things when they could not see numbers.
Mike Murray
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