There's an old saying in biking circles. Boldness is likely to prevent oldness. Never be ashamed to slow down when you're unsure of the racecourse conditions, your ability, or lack there of.
Consider this: cyclists are more vulnerable to injury like no other road users, save and small children and animals. Even at slow speeds, any impact whatsoever is likely to see you come off a distant second-best.
Certainly, courage is a necessity at times to cross the line first. We wouldn't ride without it… but often do (at least I do). But when it comes to survival what you really want is an almost streetwise brand of cunning. That is what the inaugural Snow Crit Required… Streetwise cunning. That means being prepared to abandon a manoeuvre as unforeseen factors emerge. When in doubt, defer. Likewise, once you're sure, get on with it promptly and with confidence kick some A**.
Anticipation
Forget the bike and picture yourself inside a car for a moment. (I know this is sacrilege but work with me here) You or the driver busying themselves with the vast array of in-built distractions. No longer just deafening stereos... everything from climate control to DVD players. And don't forget kids, or cell phones, or in my case kids with cell phones.
Now imagine this is the same car making a trip to the west coast not long after your own all-completing 24-hours of 9Mile. Unless you want the story to end there, start building a healthy distrust of everything in a Snow Crit race, including other cyclist, your bike, the race course, pedestrians, and small animals. If you do this you will start to get an idea of what racing in a snow covered Park, on a figure eight loop at Vimy Ridge was like.
Wandering stock:
- No car doors because we were entirely in the park
- Sudden, un-signalled turns were frequently observed
- Obscured clutter buried under the snow
- Insanely slick corner (riding slicks did not help ;)
- Changing course surface
- Pedestrians
- Garbage cans
- Small animals
Note: Assume the worst. Your ability to identify and anticipate potential hazards before they become problems is a vital one in a Snow Crit. Make it your new best friend.
Observation
Cyclocross bikes with drop bars offer advantages over the average hybrid or mountain style bike, allowing you either get back further back over the rear wheel for traction, or into a more aerodynamic position when advantageous. The bike's narrower tiers size also permits the rider to maximize the best possible angles for corners.
Exploit this
Maintain a constant and systematic search for hazards (i.e., other riders, pedestrians, garbage cans, potholes, and small animals) by scanning the course well ahead and to both sides. Next, bolster these efforts by:
- Shoulder check every three to five seconds (determine who is gaining or falling, crashing, or dropping out)
- Checking over your shoulder before passing, changing lanes, or engaging in some other kind of sketching manoeuvre.
- Approach the intersection of the figure 8 at an acute angle to the path you're already on, heads up, unclip one foot and swing through motocross style.
- Don't hesitate to recruit all your senses in the war against complacency.
- Similarly, commonsense suggests if you are continually falling, crashing or swinging wide on every turn you are riding to hard, or just suck.
- Listen to your body.
Road reading
Ride the course as you see it. Always. Not as you would like it to be, or how you remember it was on the last lap. I swear the lines on that course changed every lap.
An instant appraisal of any surface should tell you whether it could be ridden; dry, or icy; has crashed out riders, and or pedestrians and small animals in your way. Ensure the spot-check you make also includes:
- Are there shiny spots where ice has formed?
- Any lampposts, statues or benches etc?
Sign language
Newsflash. There are no speed limits in a race. Nor are there any friendly suggestions of neutral laps, course markers, lap counter, medics, and generally any semblance of rules.
In dry conditions, cornering speed-recommendations might seem conservative, but in the snow they can be pretty accurate. Too fast through a figure 8 intersection and you risk a head-on collision. Speed through a right-hander figure 8 intersection can cause you to run wide on to the side of the path, losing traction, falling on your face and generally embarrassing yourself. In fact, a slower speed is a general recommendation… if you want to be last!
Bailing out
Have an escape route identified ahead of time so you aim for it instinctively in an emergency. The first priority is gaps between solid objects.
That said, your escape route may mean crashing to one side of a bike ahead, so that any other bikes following which fail to stop don't hit you. Once you start braking, shoulder check for other bikes about to run into you, and prepare to use your escape route.À
Riding off the path or into the field is another unnerving prospect, yet may also be the only alternative to the worst type of crash, a head-on collision.
Get priorities straight
Why ride? Each of us has a reason, usually more than one. But you can't have your bike cake and eat it too. The following pop quiz should help encourage balance:
Are you riding primarily to enjoy your bike? If so, don't become so pre-occupied that you fail to scan the course ahead, spending too much time looking down at your nice shiny bike parts instead.
Perhaps you're riding to savour the challenges of the competition? Then concentrate totally on it and ignore the backdrop.
Out to enjoy the scenery? WTF. Travel slowly enough to allow yourself time to alternate between viewing it and any potential hazards. Better yet pull off to the side and go for a nice swing ;)
Under duress yet continuing with the primary aim of completing 20 odd laps? You may be tired, cold, getting lapped... or all of the above. Be careful. Consider whether dropping out would be more sensible. Maturity means knowing when it would be unwise to continue, crash, die etc.
Beat your rush
Few things spoil a race more than getting badly hurt. Realise that speed and haste are not the same thing. You can ride fast without performing actions hastily. So. Allow plenty of time for preparation for the ride itself, as well as at least 20 minutes to dress, and check out the bike before you start, and another ten standing around at the start line freezing your a**.
During any winter race, especially in cold weather, avoid warm ups. It's better too hammer hard first (i.e., warm up), travel at moderate speeds and overtake slower riders when the opportunity arises - than to travel at higher speeds, as the concentration required is very tiring and only creates an increased probability of crashing.
How far is far enough?
Get real when it comes to distances or the number of laps you expect to do. I continually forget that fatigue sets in far quicker in winter racing then in the summer. A lapse in concentration is likely to be far more serious, however, in the summer then the winter since crashing in the snow is (for the most part) actually a hoot. Allowing for variations in rider stamina, conditions and bike types, no more than 60-minutes of actual riding is a good maximum.
When and where
January 8th, 9:30 pm, Vimy Ridge Park. Be there!
Coach Dave
Results Here
Gallery and Perspectives Here, Here and Here
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