bdcheung

Cat 4's. Can't wait for my early morning jaunt across the river.

RudeSiggy

I'll be there with you cheung.

And I'll be complaining about how early they are starting this race.

The last races start between 1-2pm and we start at 8am? For what? The old farts to go to their kiddies soccer matches? Whatever. Why not just start everyone a bit later? There's plenty of daylight for f*ck's sake. Half of the cyclists in MABRA are gonna wake up at 5am for this one. Not cool.

MDcatV

you come across as really immature and need to put a filter on yourself before you write stuff. grow up and deal with it.

the race is put on so that we minimize the impact to the roads that it is run on by being off of them by mid afternoon. we also put the race on in the a.m. because those that are promoting the race, a very small club with very limited volunteer resources and those volunteers do have kiddies with soccer matches and evening committments dont want to be out there until 9 p.m. so that the immature dopes who cant get their lazy asses out of bed can sleep in. we'll be there all day saturday and from 5 a.m. until 5 p.m. on race day as it is. we also put the cat 4s and 5s on the course 1st thing in the a.m. so that when you guys crash inexplicably into each other the EMTs arent all backed up with other calls.

bdcheung

it's probably a permit issue.

edit: simul-post with MDcatV

bdcheung

i'll never forget last year's Murad.

We were neutralized on an uphill portion (near the s/f line, if i remember correctly). Everyone is unclipped and standing around, when behind me I just hear dominoes falling.

biggest "wtf" moment of my life. If those guys can't even stand up without crashing, what does that say about their bike handling??

gwchem

Wish I could be there. Signed up originally, but the date change coincides with business travel.

And maybe Siggy didn't say it so nicely, but 8 am is way too early. That would mean I'm out of bed by 4:30 in the morning, and I only live 40 minutes away.

Cat 5's and 4's always go early, that's nothing new. In fact, that was the biggest incentive to cat up when racing collegiate, the extra sleep.

bdcheung

Cat5's for Reston Town Center go off at 7:45am. It's just the way permits and stuff work out. We can't close roads forever.

MDcatV

incorrect. if it takes you 3.5 hrs. to get to a race that is 0.75 hrs. away, you need to evaluate your morning routine.

here's a father of MDcatV nugget for you kids out there: "sleep in the night before"

bdcheung

fixed

RudeSiggy

Thanks for the backup, gwchem. And if I have any incentive to Cat up again it's to get away from the bad stereotyping of a Cat 4 and not have to race to register. But the start times for us Cat4s have been ok this year for the most part. Cat 5s quite often get the shaft, along with juniors and women's 4s.

And no, I didn't say it nicely because that's how I feel about it. I'm not discriminating this particular event, obviously. I'm sucking it up and racing it.

Even organizing a race - which I've witnessed and been a part of a few times - there is just as much a burden on organizers to get everything ready at the crack-@$$ of dawn, so there's no excuse there.

I'll give my kudos to every race organizer and I'll support the event by sucking it up for one morning and racing, but I don't understand why early-morning start times are beneficial when the races end early (especially out in the boonies where traffic is always minimal and there will still be races during "church time"). I totally understand if there is a full line-up with races starting through 4PM, but c'mon, even the volunteers, EMTs, cops) don't wanna be there before the coffee is brewed any more than the average MABRA cyclist.

Sorry for the thread-jack cheung.

MDcatV

my heart is bleeding for you sigberto. you'll be done by 10 a.m., maybe you'd like to stick around and volunteer until the end of the day, then you can let me know if you'd like to start later and have races ending at dinnertime so you can clean up water bottles/cones/ and gu packets after it gets dark.

bdcheung

been there, done that.

for Cold Toes, I was at the course before sunrise.

I got home at around 8pm.

Does it suck? Yes. But I gotta ask: do you host the race for the volunteers, or for the racers?

RudeSiggy

I generally stick around to take pictures and watch a few other friends' and teammates' races anyways. Saturdays are good days for enjoying cycling as an athlete and spectator, but I just enjoy doing it at a more leisurely hour, is that really so bad?

...and I pick up road cones and trash for 4 other races in MABRA, one that means I take a day off work to prep the course the day before. It's worth it, no doubt.

bitterken

The sense of entitlement some amateur bike racers have just amazes me sometimes. Rather then being concerned about fellow riders injured in wrecks, there are complaints about their races being cut short. Rather then being grateful that there are enough clubs willing put on road races, there are complaints about start times. Simply amazing.

Anyways, see you guys bright an early Sunday morning. Thank you for racing and supporting our sport and club. I hope you race well, and stay safe.

MDcatV

the size of the wait lists for the early morning races doesnt compel me to the conclusion that an 8 a.m. start time (I refuse to call that early since I get up and am generally doing intervals daily pre-6 a.m.) is problematic except for a few.

who do we host the race for? The Murad family and the honor of their son Michael. Everything else comes after that and since nearly all the volunteers race, the direct answer to your question is both.

if MPM was on saturday, i'd be taking off tomorrow as well. seriously, you're whining about getting out of bed at what, 6? think about that, seriously, that's your "cause"?

I'm done with this discussion as it's really silly. Hope to see everyone on sunday for what looks like great weather and what should be a good day of racing.

RudeSiggy

Bitterkitten - If you're referring to RSR, you can put it on the other thread. The issue was quite the opposite of what you're suggesting (the race was not stopped). Live and learn.

MDCatV - As GWChem said, more like 5AM which sucks but is worth it. And yes, it'll be a fantastic day for a bike race. There's a reason Murad sells out.

RudeSiggy

...back to who's gonna race...

bitterken

Doesn't have to be, but for RSR, replaced "stopped" with "f**ked up" or any other descriptor of your choice. It still doesn't negate that fact that many posters showed little or no regard for the injured junior. (Note that I'm not singling you out - this appears to be a common thing among the many type-A racers.)

But yes, let's get back on topic. As a fellow GW alum, I'd like to see you and BD do well. Good luck.

Lithuania

would you rather have a race at 8am or none at all? Its not necessarily our choice to have the race as early as it is.

threads like this really make me wonder why i am considering putting on an additional race in this area.

RudeSiggy

because you know that cat 5s and cat 4s will show up and sell out, regardless of my personal sleeping habits

heads up!

I can't even believe MDCatV is having to defend himself, his club, or an 8am start time in general.

Siggy, look at it this way: 10 times out of 10, you're going to get beat to the line by a guy (many, really) who didn't b*tch and moan about the start time, no matter what time of day.

Lithuania

when a club is as small as we are you have to put some consideration on when volunteers are going to be available otherwise we wouldnt be able to put the race on at all. we are strapped for volunteers as it is.

aicabsolut

I'd like to say that I'm excited that I get a relatively late 10:10am start for once. I'm usually racing much earlier. I am also glad that said 10:10am start will probably be on a cooler day this year.

bdcheung, what was the catastrophe in your race last year? IIRC, it involved an R-Sys explosion.

aicabsolut

AABC guys, what's your advice for getting to the parking lot coming from River Rd? Drive on the course and hope I don't get stuck behind a field for too long? Drive backwards and hope the massive 8am fields can move out of the way (I saw the "yellow line" enforcement last year--it wasn't so hot except on River)? Or drive all the way around and come down Hughes from by the supermarket?

bitterken

Coming down Hughes would be the safest and cause the least amount of heartburn for those of us working the race as you'll be on the course the shortest possible time and heading against the flow of the race. Of course, this is the longest way if you're coming up River from DC...

Thank you for coming, and best of luck.