Eric Aldinger

I talked to a few Women As after the race, who generally had the following
excellent advice:
Announce yourself, before you pass, please.
Make enough room to be safe during passes, please.

I want to add the one extra observation. Under no circumstance should you,
failing to pass any racer on the straight away, curse loudly when she takes
the inside line. This makes people like myself think less of you. A lot
less. Like you are a horrible person. But we all make mistakes.

On Thu, Sep 19, 2013 at 3:52 PM, Suzy Renn wrote:

> Beginner men.
> It seems you did not understand the officials when they explained that you
> should let folks know as you pass. A simple "on your left", "on the inside"
> or if you are out of breath a simple "left" will actually save you some
> time, avoid collisions and make the evening at blind date a lot more fun
> for everyone.
>
> I realize that some of you begin to catch the B women after a lap or two
> and you want to make your way through our field. It will be easier (and
> safer) for us to allow you to pass if you let us know you are approaching.
> I was passed by several of you and only one (thank you) gave any warning.
>
> In the same note, I'd like to thank the SS men of the grand prix for
> (nearly) always being gentlemen and giving plenty of warning when they pass
> us SS women out there. It is a pleasure to ride with such amazingly
> talented and polite cyclists. I hope some of the beginner men follow your
> example.
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--
Eric Aldinger

Stewart Campbell

I was not there on Wednesday so I'm not speaking up to defend Suzy.  However, I am a fairly experienced road racer and this is going into my second year racing cx as a beginner (even though I should upgrade.)
I notice that since the beginners, in any of the racing disciplines, are new and nervous.  This tends to create a lot of silence out there, that should not be the case.  Be loud, communicate, let people know what is going on.  This helps to relieve a lot of the chaos out there and could probably help avoid some crashes.  It's also understood that we are racing and out of breath, so anything you say sounds like your shouting or being demanding, that's expected.  However, don't be a jerk about it, like name calling.  Sure we might shoulder each other a bit but that does not mean run someone into a tree.
In other words, fellow beginners, be loud, be aggressive, but also be polite.  I personally congratulated the guy that cut me off with style in one cx race at the end of the race.
And if you have no idea what I'm talking about, listen out for me at Zandercross, I'm the one that is usually cracking bad jokes while were waiting for the start to help ease our newbie tension.

-Stewart

________________________________
From: Suzy Renn
To: obra@list.obra.org
Sent: Thursday, September 19, 2013 3:52 PM
Subject: [OBRA Chat] CX beginner men

Beginner men.
It seems you did not understand the officials when they explained that you should let folks know as you pass. A simple "on your left", "on the inside" or if you are out of breath a simple "left" will actually save you some time, avoid collisions and make the evening at blind date a lot more fun for everyone.

I realize that some of you begin to catch the B women after a lap or two and you want to make your way through our field. It will be easier (and safer) for us to allow you to pass if you let us know you are approaching. I was passed by several of you and only one (thank you) gave any warning.

In the same note, I'd like to thank the SS men of the grand prix for (nearly) always being gentlemen and giving plenty of warning when they pass us SS women out there. It is a pleasure to ride with such amazingly talented and polite cyclists. I hope some of the beginner men follow your example.
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Suzy Renn

Beginner men.
It seems you did not understand the officials when they explained that you should let folks know as you pass. A simple "on your left", "on the inside" or if you are out of breath a simple "left" will actually save you some time, avoid collisions and make the evening at blind date a lot more fun for everyone.

I realize that some of you begin to catch the B women after a lap or two and you want to make your way through our field. It will be easier (and safer) for us to allow you to pass if you let us know you are approaching. I was passed by several of you and only one (thank you) gave any warning.

In the same note, I'd like to thank the SS men of the grand prix for (nearly) always being gentlemen and giving plenty of warning when they pass us SS women out there. It is a pleasure to ride with such amazingly talented and polite cyclists. I hope some of the beginner men follow your example.