I rode my first sanctioned road race today. It was a lot faster than I expected. I had fun. I wrote about it on my blog.
http://montrealmessenger.blogspot.com/2009/05/first-crit-race.html
I get so nervous racing that even reading that description made me tense up.
You need to learn how to properly use a quick release, Jacques.
I do. My cassette was acting up so I replaced my wheel with my girlfriend’s at the last minute right before leaving the house. Didn’t do a very good job.
i’m doing one this thursday. not uci or anything official. and since i only have an ss, i’ll be losing in style.
i’ve done one crit: the boston beanpot, in the rain. a considerable amount of my skin is on winthrop street to this day i am sure.
I read that Trans Iowa report right before I read this.
They were opposite sides of the spectrum.
Finally, a new episode of Jacques Talk!
So I guess vertical dropouts aren’t all bad. Jacques, I’m pretty sure you would have been fine had your qr been pointing to the rear like it’s supposed to 
When I read “I was doing 48 on a slight uphill” I was freaked out till I remembered you’re from non-america. Then I converted and was still pretty impressed.
What was the time limit on this race?
Does CAT3 mean the same thing in Canada as it does here?
Didn’t put that together. Just assumed he was a beast, which he still is.
Unsure, I know that most of our A’s in collegiate race cat 4, and they generally average like 30-34 mph in their crits.
30mph is still a lot faster than I can sustain for more than a very short time. Good job, jacques.
Due to the limited field size, most races in Canada omit cat4 and 5, although I think that’s up to the provincial associations to decide.
The race was ~ an hour. After fifty minutes or so, an announcement is made that there are three laps remaining.
The experience was quite rad and anyone who’s into riding bikes fast should try it. There’s nothing quite like going as fast as you can on a bike surrounded by a few dozen others, rubbing elbows around right angle turns. I’ve raced mtb’s before and ridden a bunch of alleycats, even won a few but this was a totally different game. No traffic, navigation, etc, just flat out bike riding.
I plan on racing track and cross by the end of summer.
likewise, I have trouble keeping up with the D’s at like, 21mph for 25 minutes.
The weekly crit series in Richmond started last week. One of the Team Invisible Bike guys shot some video of the A race last night.
Tuesday Night at Bryan Park from CJ Congrove on Vimeo.
Carytown kit is so cool.`
Carytown kit is so cool.`[/quote]
Thanks… wait til you see the new new one that comes out in another week.
Carytown kit is so cool.`[/quote]
Thanks… wait til you see the new new one that comes out in another week.[/quote]
