Apologies

[crank-yanker]

Monahan & drv31t
I watched F grade & thought the young guys rode pretty tidily. Lee K was on the back keeping an eye on proceedings until the whistle blew & he would have come down on any ragged riding. Maybe you guys were a bit tentative riding with more confident youngsters. Just my $0.02.

[Metro Commuter]

HJ, I agree with you but there are many who would not.

[dr_rob]

Ferret,
I don't want to weigh into this KOCC vs HDCC argument, but I do take your point about respect. There's just not enough around these days. It's a nice course, I'd like to ride it more often.

[drv31t]

I agree, the more of the the event that can be ran from the outside of the course, the better. It will limit the issue of the disgruntled workshop owner/ user, & will keep the risk of unneeded riders from being on the course.

[Aidro]

Same here. It is to good a course not to be used regularly. I wonder if they intend to put street lighting in there??

[Robbo]

Lets just say that if anyone attached to the racing at Steel River is caught urinating in a public place over there (again), we will all be kicked off there and never to return. There is the BP servo as well as the baseball fields nearby, please use them folks otherwise we will lose yet another course.

Also, dont lean your bikes up against someones property, we all know it wont hurt the property, but if we get too many complaints racing will be off! Also I have been informed that if riders continue to congregate in the driveways of the businesses there or walk on their gardens even though they are basically non existent, we will be hit with more serious complaints.

We dont have to agree with these people, we just have to try to not get complaints. Its not hard, so lets do what we can at this weekends races to get the business owners on side.

[Gai M]

Monahan & drv31t
I watched F grade & thought the young guys rode pretty tidily. Lee K was on the back keeping an eye on proceedings until the whistle blew & he would have come down on any ragged riding. Maybe you guys were a bit tentative riding with more confident youngsters. Just my $0.02.

Crank-yanker

Did you watch the race from the "footpath" i.e. a static viewing point, or did you follow the race literally (on a bike).  A static viewing point does not allow vision of the entire race. 

I have no complaints  about Lee's supervision of the race.  I have not seen this done in a crit before; it was a good idea and done competently.  However, Lee was not at the back at all times, he needed to move up to the middle ranks from time to time to give advice etc. so some of the riders were behind him (out of sight) some of the time.  The  incident I mentioned occurred "behind play" i.e. behind the "umpire's" back. 
And as I mentioned before, the rider involved has tried to cross paths with me (coming from behind) in a crit at Steel River before.  I am utterly surprised that he thinks I am a threat to him. 

As for the comment about confidence: I have raced a number of crits at Steel River and Central Coast.  I could have cornered faster in the F grade race last Saturday provided I had some space around me and I can trust other riders to hold their line.   

The difference between me and the youngsters is that my maximum and maximum cruising speed are lower than theirs.  (as alluded to by Metro Commuter)  They also don't really care about having a fall- they will recover quickly- and don't have responsibilities to uphold if incapacitated for a time.

FYI: I am not just a road-rider.  I do track (very few women do - and I compete in all disciplines- unlike a number of senior women I don't restrict  myself to just TT and pursuit)

[Daddy Walrus]

Poor riding techniques:
**** happens.
Let the rider know. Whether they get denfensive or not they will still take it in. They should be more embarrassed than anything else.
If it happens twice  then you have an issue.
If you don't let them know then it's your problem.

Here is a list is my misdemeaners over 2 years of racing, I have been grateful for being told my errors:
I have been told before not to overtake up the inside.
I got reported once for veering into a rider before a sprint ending.
I have been told to hold the line around corners.
I have been told not to go over double yellow lines around a corner at Kooragang.
I know you are supposed to turn into the wind. Sometimes I don't know where the wind is coming from. Can you forgive me MC?

[Metro Commuter]

DW,

Indeed I can forgive. 

I no longer tell people which way to swing in C grade, as no one listens to me anyway.  I also no longer tell people to stop dogging turns, as no one listens to me.  The only time I tell anyone what to do is when they are a direct danger to me.

MC

[The Ferret]

DW,

Are you sure you're not with the ADF? They don't know where the wind is blowing from either. Too bad if they ever go to war and someone says, "Attack from the east", they're stuffed.

Your friend

The Ferret

[Daddy Walrus]

Ever been dropped from the pack? MC you don't need to answer.
It sucks.  It has hapenned to me about 4 times. Once in my first race, twice in handicaps and once on a Friday night. Usually just after I have taken a turn at the front. Just after you've realised you can't catch them and you are 40m away they seeem to slow down to mock you.

How rough is the road befrore the bridge - It shakes the hell out of the bike.

These accidents are not good.
Giant rock and now this. She is a new rider as well.

[2ndwheel]

DW

We all share your pain at being dropped during a race and the the guilt that you pulled the pin a little early as the bunch seems to slow.

We are all sadened when a rider has a bad fall, there have been to many over the last 12 months, the latest may have been due to a pulled foot in the sprint and we  aware that it can be a dangerous sport and things can go wrong very quickly.

[The Ferret]

DW,

I've woken up with a muscle strain in bed before, and that was prior to going for a ride. **** does happen. You mentioned you've been dropped 4 times. How many starts have you had?.............4  ?? Do turns, get harder, understand where the wind is blowing from enabling you to potentially hurt your competition when you pull a turn. If no one rolls through, put it in the gutter so no one gets relief from your draft and light it up. Shalom

Your friend

The Ferret

[Daddy Walrus]

I should be good at keeping it in the gutter.
You too from that watch comment you made.

[Robbo]

Ferret,

If you dont let yourself get over excited your 'muscle' wont suffer from an excessive pull.

If my mail is correct (and we all know the answer to that) you have been known to give your muscle a pull in public too.

Your friend.

Robbo