Mike Murray
Adding another class is not so easy as suggested in this note. Even if it
were safe and proper to have unescorted racing fields on the road (it is
generally not) there would also be the issue of total road congestion,
passing fields, increased time and officials requirement, etc. Adding
fields is generally not feasible. Most race organizers want their race
attendance to be as big as possible and they have already put lots of
consideration into what fields that they will have. I agree that there is a
big market for older less experienced and/or slower racers that many races
do not address very well but in order for them to add a field they will
generally have to cut another field.
As for slow blocking, that is not how this stuff works. Going to the front,
going slow and impeding the riders behind you is against the rules (OBRA
rule 11.2). Proper blocking is done by going near the front and then not
pulling through forcing a limited number of riders to take pace. Generally
it will take more effort to block then it would to chase. Effective
blocking will not slow the pace much more than it needs to as keeping the
speed higher keeps people from moving to the front or attempting to bridge.
It is important to note that breaks don't generally succeed because they are
going faster. They generally succeed because they don't slow down. It is
hard to get enough cooperation in a large field to keep things from slowing
occasional. The smaller more cooperative break moves at a more constant
pace and will move ahead during these lulls in speed. They will succeed if
the amount they gain in the lulls exceeds the amount they lose when the
field speeds up. Effective blocking will increase the number of lulls in
speed.
Mike Murray
-----Original Message-----
From: obra-bounces@list.obra.org [mailto:obra-bounces@list.obra.org] On
Behalf Of Don Hanson
Sent: Tuesday, April 01, 2008 09:14 AM
To: obra@list.obra.org
Subject: [OBRA Chat] blocked sprints, etc.
I wasn't there at Piece of Cake but I heard about it from another older
master's racer who was there, racing in the 4-5s. Maybe there could be a
few more events with separate classes for us old racers. I only recall one
last year, the State RR, where there was a separate start for us. Start us
a minute behind another class and leave out the wheel cars, if you must.
That would cut down on the congestion during the sprints.
I was in a race with a bunch from Team Zoka last season. They were 4 wide
and very vocal. They were spending more time looking over their shoulders
than watching ahead. With about a mile to go, they had the pace held at
about 20mph. Was it worth risking an attempt to bust through their
blockade? With about 40 other riders, those held in the rear, depending on
the 'contact riding skills' of whichever rider was 'rammed, slammed,
elbowed, kicked, pushed, whaterver'...in order to get past their rolling
road block?--that kinda makes the racing a bit 'sketchy'. Not worth taking
out the whole pack with a big crash. Tactics like NASCAR or that old
Roller Derby. TV sport?.. A slug-fest on bikes?..hmmm..
Don Hanson
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