The $22 Group Ride - Things to do...

Racing can be funny at times. You always arrive expecting a really hard effort and almost always get that hard effort. Racing in the Cat 3s is typically also that middle ground category where you will also get some team tactics in play, and sometimes it is executed well. In the spring you also expect to battle wind, rain, snow, gravel, and whatever else is left over from the winter.

But today was one of those days where very few of these items applied. I did put in a hard effort and spent some time in one break where my brain was engaged but my legs weren't as engaged, but for the most part today was a group ride. Appeared to be about 60 of us rolling around the Warren County roads do our best impression of a 5 year old soccer team swarming the ball at all times.

The first thing you know in a race like this is that the finish is going to be stressful. All 40+ remaining souls will be riding 30+ mph, grabbing whatever sliver of pavement they can get their tire into, trying to find a way to finish as close to the front as possible. So, to pass the time and get to the end there are a few activities you can do within  the peloton to prevent your brain from thinking about the inevitable mass sprint finish that will complete the day.

Calculate Total Bike Cost

One thing we all know about the Cat 3 group is that there is some cash rolling around. This is not a slam on any of the Cat 3 riders, but with a large number being in their 30's and 40's and having real jobs there is some bling rolling around the course. From the nearly all-white Ridley Noah to the brand new Floyd Landis intended Kuota and everywhere in between. To do this you have to think in retail and MSRP only. you could try to figure out who got a deal and who paid retail, but that is distracting you from the real task - adding up the bling. Today it appeared that there was close to $250,000 worth of bikes in the Cat 3s alone, though wheels are harder to quickly estimate than frames and components. Zipps and Mavics are easy, but the rest becomes more difficult. The best part of this game is that it forces you to move through the pack and learn how to navigate through, building your skills for crit and cyclocross season.

Estimate the Finish

About the fourth lap of the race it was pretty well reasoned that this race would be a sprint finish. There was very little wind, no hills of a substantial nature, and no dominant attacking team tearing things apart. At this point you start to think about who is good in a sprint, who has a team to get them to the sprint, and who you remember getting beaten by in a sprint. The goal is to translate this into identifying the top 3 for the race on the day. Given that I personally am not a sprinter, this is a game I can play without impacting my results. Today I didn't get to play this game, I was busy adding up bike costs. But I fancy this game at the Georgetown race as that seems like an ideal candidate for another $22 Group Ride.

There are more peloton games that can be played in a race such as this or just a group ride. We will discuss those a bit later. I enjoyed today's ride, but these aren't really the races I prefer. I realize, of course, that I only have myself to blame for not being in the condition I need to be to have Cat 3 breakaway speed. As a result a $22 Group Ride is pretty good training for me right now.