Flatballer

Yeah, I totally do that. I've never lived on one, but when visiting someone on a cul-de-sac (in the before times), I go directly to their driveway usually. Only if I'm just turning around do I stay to the right and do the full circle.

himespau 

If there's no divider, I'll often go directly if I'm going to their driveway (I usually park on the curb and if they live in the cul de sac park either just before or after it so I'm not screwing someone's radius as I for some reason am weird about parking in people's driveways).

If there is an island (my road has one), I go the full way around.

What gets me is that I was taught that you have to park on the side of the street in the direction of traffic (not a big deal with all the cul de sacs in subdivisions around here making it easy to turn around), but it seems like that wasn't taught here. Chaos with people parking both directions all over the place.

furiousferret

Not for the club leaderboards; just miles, elevation and average speed.

burnthesheep

They're driving around it clockwise. They cross center on the straight road before even arriving at the cul de sac also.

Hermes

I now have Tron bike envy.

gsteinb

Not in the least, honestly.

But zwift has bigger plans.

https://www.outsideonline.com/240300...g-olympics-UCI

burnthesheep

I feel like there's a population of Zwift that feels to me at least got there because they don't care for the IRL racing environment. I don't mean the people in your race. I just mean the whole "what it takes" to even make it to a lot of races places in the US. The US is a big country with lots of land and not a ton of bike racers. Meaning distance, time, weird times of year for some races, etc......

I mean, folks who race Zwift......if you get shelled you can give up and try again tomorrow. There's so many races, for free, you never have to wakeup at 3am to eat, drive 2 hours somewhere, and then race at dawn at freezing temperatures for your one or two local road races per year. Or beg to get off work early to drive 2 hrs west to the warm weather crit series.

Real life racing takes some more commitment. I mean, duh.

There is a bit of a risk/reward ratio with your time commitment for IRL racing. You could prep for that race for months and get a flat and be walking a few miles or waiting forever on a ride to your car. Zwift.........try again and again, etc...

I'd rather eat it and do the limited amount of real life stuff I do and be happy with it. Zwift racing I tried and am just "meh". A real TT there's just the sense of flying over the ground. Like, down a little grade at over 30mph on your own power alone. Cool looking machines and kit. Win, lose, new PR, not new PR.........I still felt like I was flying at some point in the ride.

Flatballer

Yeah, that's nuts.

TheKillerPenguin

Zwift keeps my toes warm. That alone is worth the $15ish/mo. Everesting on 0% trainer difficulty is merely the icing on top.

TMonk

E-sports on an Olympic level? Hmm, not so sure about that haha.

Psimet2001 

Eh. Zwift is Zwift. Trying to compare any part of it to real racing is like trying to compare regular tennis vs table tennis. They are both something and people like one or the other or both but they're definitely not the same. Personally I like real racing.....err...racing IRL. eSports racing hold absolutely Zero appeal to me.

That said - no one is losing sleep over the fact that I don't dig eSports.

rubiksoval

That sounds bizarre.

How many people watch actual, real-life bike races? In the U.S.? It can't be that many. Isn't the channel that broadcasts bike racing closing this year?

And they think people will want to watch virtual bike racing with avatars?

I watch just about every bike race on Tizcycling, but I watched a life stream of a Zwift race for all of about 3 minutes before I had to turn it off because it was so uninteresting.

I can't imagine it would have a substantial viewing audience.

gsteinb

I actually watched the livestream of a local (NYC) race. It was interesting, but it was more of the gee whiz factor and that I actually knew the people racing.

gsteinb

Enthalpic

My partner zwift races and watches zwift races.... so not only am I watching virtual racing, I'm watching low-level women's fields.

Not something I ever thought I would be doing.

burnthesheep

I'm going to throw out one here that given how big betting on Keirin is in Japan, maybe Zwift has an equivalent in other countries with the betting. Makes me wonder sometimes.

burnthesheep

I like this version of the gif better.......given that my grandfather's name was also Kowalski and he also lived in that part of Michigan early in life.

Psimet2001 

I'd just be happy with more velodromes in the US and sport book betting allowed at them.

OK I'd be happy with an indoor velodrome in Chicago with legal gambling on the races now that it was legalized in Illinois....

burnthesheep

I would do all track things not full on sprint event if we had one closer than Rock Hill. That's just a lot of investment in something to only do once a year begging for time at a birthday or something. Maybe once kids are a bit older in HS or something.

There's a local paved car track that's really short in our county but bet the pavement would be too crap to do track racing on. Plus, no "lines" obviously.

We have the bans on sports betting and possibly prohibition (does the timing line up there?) also to thank for the failure of American track cycling. Madison was named for well........Madison Sq. Gardens. Known more at the time for track cycling than basket ball.

What a damned shame it went that way instead. Could you imagine?

If I won the lotto........

TMonk

Track rules. I'm a member of SDVA and have had some track time since the pandemic started, mostly pursuit work testing out my new bars b4 I put them on my TT rig. Some time on the motor going fast to get used to them (coach's hours). I really look forward to routine Tuesday night racing starting again, whenever that is...

I would also like to get into some IP and TP stuff eventually too, but I'd need some better gear to do that for states. I'm sure I could borrow equipment for it at least.

topflightpro

I tried watching the Zwift World Championship a few weeks (months?) ago. I did not find it engaging at all. It was very anticlimactic. The race was just over. I didn't even realize they were on the final sprint.

topflightpro

Track is awesome. It's worth the drive.

Psimet2001 

We're starting up timed events this season. I am hoping it meshes back into some mass start by early fall but based on the feedback from the committee I am not confident that will happen. They're switching back to ATRA for this year mostly. USA Cycling is too expensive they say.

We took a trip to Detroit a few years back after Lexus opened. It was my son's first time on a track bike and on a track and it was Lexus. I prepped him for about 20 minutes before the trip. great dad I know. When Dale Hughes was teaching him via a clinic it was going well. Then Dale got a call and I wasn't exactly paying attention. by the time I realized what was going on Dale was running and yelling "PEDAL PEDAL PEDAL!"
3 year anniversary of that was yesterday. Showed my son a picture. "Remember Detroit?" "Yeah. I really left my MARK on that track. Literally."

"You want to go back sometime when all this settles out a bit?" "N------ well...may-Sure. That'd actually be fun."

gsteinb

I love track. I agree it's totally worth the drive. I just find it's not worth all the standing around.

topflightpro

Behind or in front?

Riding behind is easy and fun. But it's an entirely different experience when you're in front and the moto driver has his hand on your back and is pushing you up to speed.

That's why I sit.