Ttoc6

It's pretty cool that I don't have to go very far back to see "vintage" cycling video. I look back at some of the early clips of lance, ripped off of VHS tapes, dudes riding with no helmets with downtube shifters and it looks like a different sport almost from where we are now. Aero bikes, helmets, Deep wheels..

mattm

From Sep 2017, one of my favorite wins. I've posted the last lap, but this is the whole race (which some people like so they can watch it on the trainer).

I'll make a "highlights" edit eventually.

Last 3 laps starts at 57:29.

Ygduf

yikes

mattm

why does my victory frighten you

Ygduf

racing is scary.

mattm

Cal Aggie p1/2/3 crit last weekend:



Indeed, it is. I think that's why I love it!

Speaking of that, I was surprised to not eat **** @ 1:07:35 in the last lap..

furiousferret

Solid racing, as usual.

Radish_legs

Do racers in California race more dangerously? I see stuff in these California crits, that should I experience, I would probably quit racing. A guy moved here from California. Cat 1 or 2, and caused a couple of crashes. And immediately became the most hated racer in the entire area. Maybe he had a mindset that his riding style was appropriate, based on his experience? Most of us want to survive and go to work tomorrow and miss all the broken bones part of racing.

mattm

lol - yes we're all terrible people that don't care about hurting ourselves or others.

Watch any pro1/2 video from ToAD or other big races and get back to me.

Anyway, here's an edit of the above video with just the last three laps and some text commentary:

Ygduf

yeah I don't have that thrill-seeking gene

mattm

Ha - that wasn't so much "thrill seeking", more like "get in a good position so the team wins" seeking

rm -rf

In case anyone missed the link in that video page:
The teammate he's leading out! with good commentary and front and back cameras. Huh, interesting to see both racers.

tobukog

Nor Cal racers are pretty middle of the road for aggression. That Aggie video was pretty gentlemanly IMO.

rubiksoval

But you're a cat 4? By the time you get to the point of racing that hard and fast with other people capable of racing that hard and fast, it's really not that big a deal. And when you're in the thick of it, it may not seem anywhere near as extreme as it might on a video from a different vantage point.

mattm

thechemist

Nice leadout Matt. Enjoyed the video.

mattm

Appreciate it!

mattm

You think CA is rough? Check these out:

and this:

Talk about scary! But again I bet it's not as scary as it looks if you're actually there (and at that level of riding, of course).

furiousferret

People love crits here, so there is a lot of crit type riding. Probably every large metro area has a few training crits, and guys do bumping drills going to the ride. It definitely helps, but without fail someone will do something dumb and bump a guy and people will go down.

I haven't done much crits since my last two crashes. My sprint philosophy used to be to try and rip the parts off my bike. That really works to get the power up except when that actually happens and you end up in the ER with a tube going into your lung and the doctor telling your wife there's a chance you may not pull through.

Cypress

That Cal Aggie crit looked downright polite! Great vid! Maybe it was the nature of your race course not allowing for it, but in Oregon we usually end up with 3-5 teams all executing leadout trains in the last 5k or so, Throw a bunch of rogue riders into that mix and you've got a whole lot of shouting, cursing, and physical contact at 35+.

There aren't too many things more exciting than late-braking into the inside of a 90-degree corner 8 wide, then striking your pedal/shoe while trying to get on the power as soon as physically possible.

mattm

We were really the only team there in numbers - later in the season there will certainly be competing leadout trains. Or at least one full "leadout train"

mattm

From this weekend: Folsom Winter crit:


Lapped the (smol) field.

Cypress

"Winter crit" not a knee warmer in sight

Do you ride/race with C. Beall? Pretty sure he's with Terun Elite. Old college acquaintance.

mattm

I'm proud to say we don't really have a winter here in CA.

They just call it that to differentiate this crit from the same crit held in May, which is the "Folsom Spring Crit"

Yes - he's my teammate in this video! He got 2nd.

Great dude.

Ygduf

nice racing and good result for him/the team. Doesn't look cold to the casual observer, but shoe covers = polar vortex, basically.