Here I was, standing at the start line with 15 other color-coordinated, leg-shaving, $5,000-bike-riding, muscle-toned Lycra-lovers–about to pedal squares around a transient-filled park in the pissing rain–this was my first road race, and by this point, the butterflies in my stomach had turned to small birds, and the only thing I wanted to do was puke.
If you haven’t read bike-messenger-turned-road-racer Chaz Boutsikaris’s racing article over on RealCyclist, do it. It’s worth your time.
Even though there are some things in the article we don’t understand (WTF is a crit?), it’s nice to get an (almost) outsider’s perspective. We always wondered what those rad dudes in leotards were thinking.
A few morsels:
Needless to say matching kits and power-meters were not a part of my training schedule–more like PBR and dedicated rush filings.
Pick an appropriate spot [in the peloton], and get comfortable. Hell, pick a spot where your girlfriend can see you; at least you’ll have a beautiful girl cheering you on.
You may have averted disaster, but your bottle-dropping ways also made a bunch of spandex jockeys very unhappy as they pick up their mangled $5,000 Pinarellos.
Excuses are in no short supply in the road world, so saying less is always saying more … Drop your buddies next week or have two beers instead of three tonight after dinner.
Clearing [your nose] is necessary and relieving; however, do avoid showering the rider behind you with your nose butter.
Read Chaz’s full article: The Real Race Bible: Tips for First-Time Road Racers.
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Tags: cycling gear, realcyclist, road cycling, road racing