carpediemracing 

I last rode Mar 19, when I thought I was getting over my cold. Before that it was Mar 7, when I thought I was getting over my cold that probably started at the beginning of March.

I skipped riding on Tuesday when I had time because I slept instead. I skipped today because I was exhausted, even though I wasn't working.

My bike riding has really taken a dive.

mattm

Dealer update, asked the guy today about the mileage discrepancy when I was there getting the detailing done. I don't thing it was nefarious per se but i was really curious, why the extra 15?? He said he got it mixed up with other car basically.

He also apologized profusely for having us drive down yesterday for one price then offering another. Call me naive, but I believe him.

So for locals, DGDG is legit is far as I'm concerned! When I go buy an electric Golf in a few years, it'll be from them.

mattm

In other news, I'm headed back to 'bama on Saturday for the 3rd time in like 2 months.. and there aren't even any races in the area until May!!

Hopefully for just a week or two.

revchuck 

Did you check Pensacola too?

topflightpro

Sunny King is April 8. It's a bit of a drive, but it is a huge race.

Also, there's a velodrome in Baton Rouge, again a decent drive, but you could get on the track.

rubiksoval

Sunny King and Ft. McClellan PRTs are in two weeks in Anniston. Noticed some of the California teams are lining up this year.

And on April 1,2 near Nashville we have an awesome road race and then crit. Probably our best weekend of racing of the year.

Bring your bike if possible. Two of the best weekends of the year coming up.

topflightpro

Nashville is kind of a long drive from Mobile.

mattm

Ah, Sunny King! I did forget about that.. I'm bringing the bike for local riding, and would totally make the trek over to Anniston if I'm still there when it happens.

Ah **** just looked up Anniston, I thought it was closer to Enterprise, maybe 2.5 hours away. A hefty 4 hours away but I know that's a huge race so we'll see.

topflightpro

I think Sunny King is big enough to justify a 4-hour drive.

mattm

How long is the drive for you, and why aren't you doing it??

topflightpro

It's two states away and over 7 hours afor me. And I'm not eligible for the Sunday race.

rubiksoval

It's a bit of a shame they don't offer the RR for other categories. It's a beast. Main finishing climb is about 5 mins long and is like 15% +. Pure grinding in a 39x28. Really need a 36x28 for that one. I set a 5 min lifetime pr while getting dropped on that climb. On the first lap.

62 mph descent straight after, then some long flattish sections, another lesser grade five minute climb and then you start all over again.

It's... tough. It just shatters after the second or third lap. Maybe it'll stick together a bit more this year. Hincapie went 1-4 or something ridiculous last year.

Bonus MattM: if you register for the RR and the Crit, it's only 70 bucks for the pair, versus like $50 each if you only do one or the other.

big john

As a larger rider, I tend to attract wheelsuckers, which I don't mind so much until they start telling me what to do. Yesterday one tells me to "close that gap". You've been sitting on all day, you close the gap, dick.

Anybody watch Supercross? John Tomac's son Eli looks great this year.

mattm

Thanks for the tip - but I'm highly doubting I'll do the race, even if I was still down here when it happens.

It's one thing to show up for a 'big' crit as a 2/3/4/5 or masters, but a weekend warrior cat 1 like me showing up to a BIG p/1 race like Sunny King?! lol

Maybe I'll work up the balls to do that or Manhattan Beach/Dana Point some day.. maybe.

miyata man

Took a few hours for anyone to make a comment yesterday. Apparently my neck would list to starboard every so often. Claimed I must have slept wrong to avoid a tiresome and lengthy conversation. This morning I'm still reaching for the perfect crosswind/crossfit comeback to turn the tables on not being able to shut up about it.

Wylde06

Picked up a rental car while my car is in the body shop getting fixed.


This Corolla I will be driving is going to make my Maxima feel like a damned race car when I get it back

grolby

All the Southern hot shots show up to Sunny King. Sure, they almost all eventually get dropped and pulled, but it's an experience, and if you're just hanging on at the back you won't cause too much trouble.

I did Sunny King as a 3 a few years ago and had an utterly atrocious race for a few reasons, but it's a fantastic event. Well worth attending. Not quite as good as Athens Twilight (for one thing, there's a lot more to do in Athens before the race), but pretty damn close.

topflightpro

Did you race Athens?

I went to grad school there, so I was among the many spectators for the race. But I didn't really ride bikes then. I keep saying I'm going to go back and race, but things always seem to come up.

I want to do Roswell too, considering I grew up 15 min. from the course.

Enthalpic

An auspicious zephyr will free you from the shackles of nautical torticollis within a fortnight.

Doge

Puppy Doge gets back tonight for Spring break. I had to borrow alloy cllinchers (need 20mm) from mom's bike for his training rides through the SoCal gutters (to be fair - natural thorns too). Wow they are heavy. Mom just noticed that when we changed the wheels.

mattm

That's what I'm saying though - doing a night time p/1 big money crit, on the front or the back, might not be worth "the experience" if you're not prepared to crash. It's just not the same as doing a "big" crit as a 2/3/4/5 or masters, at all. (Granted, I haven't done a p/1 NRC crit, but have done elite nationals and San Dimas P/1)

Tailgunning something like that seems like a recipe to get caught behind (if not part of) each and every crash that would happen in the race.. and it's at night.. and UHC is on the front..

But yes I agree it would be fun, assuming one could survive something like that.

TheKillerPenguin

I agree...having done a night crit which was technically open to 2's but was mostly p/1 bros prepping for the following day's NCC race, you really need to throw the idea of self preservation out the window. I was OTB with the other sane bros pretty quickly and it was a fairly standard 4 corner affair. You really can't just surf in the back and expect to survive, dive bombers create gaps, watched dudes go flying into the metal fencing, dudes clipping pedals every lap, yadda yadda...

An NCC level twilight crit has to be beyond bonkers.

mike868y

i thought they disbanded their crit team for this season?

globecanvas

Paging @Racer Ex... I seem to recall a story about tailgunning Tulsa P/1 on Friday night.

hack

One of the few memories I have from my one twilight crit (Tour de Nez) was seeing the sparks fly when the rider in front of me clipped his pedal en route to crashing and breaking his hip.