Lone Rider

From what i have seen PPA update their seeding database twice a month. At the beginning of the month and in the middle of the month. I expect to see the shova results in about 2 weeks.

...or just get a racing license and ride with the Vets, then you bypass the seeding fiasco.

Slightly off topic - I've seen that GPS devices are not 100% accurate. The other day I went for a ride with a 310XT on my wrist, and a Edge705 on my bike. At the end of the 90km ride the two devices differed by 800m. I had disable auto-stop/start on both. Maybe that's why most pro's still rely on wheel magnet sensors for their speed/distance stats.

Garmin registered 1460m of ascending for the Shova.

Hey Rob, you were a machine out there. I was on the Scott. Yeah, I'm not sure what happened to the ladies behind us. I hit a pot-hole just before I heard them crash...maybe the pothole was to blame

It doesn't cease to amaze me how when a motorist, especially if it is a fellow cyclist behind the wheel, is shocked at the response he gets from blowing his loud hooter as he drives passed someone on a bicycle. Do you seriously expect a positive reaction?

There are a lot of variables which could affect your 94.7 result...that said, the Elites did the 94.7 in 2:10 last year, almost 10 min quicker than the Shova. That equates to roughly 7%. You can therefore expect a 3:45...but don't let my maths be a limiting factor...aim for a sub 3:30 :-)

Good going, considering that relentless headwind you did well.

It was a tough race. At about the 60km mark, there was a 20 man breakaway in the A group. By the time I noticed, they already had a 40m lead. Pedaled my butt off to bridge the gap, but without success. When i checked behind me, there were 3 of us in no-man's land. We worked together for the next 30km, only to be swallowed up by a 30 man group, with just over 10km to go. Didn't have a lot left in the tank for the final sprint, and finished in the middle of the group in 2:47. I was gunning for 2:45, but considering the headwind for most of the race, i probablyshouldn't complain.

That's a great initiative!

It's like Skubarra stated, your seeding is calculated based on your time in relation to the winner's time, and the difficulty of the route and weather conditions (beta).

On my last ride my average power was 233W, and my NP 253W. The difference between the two is mostly dependent on the route profile. A NP of 257W derived from a average power of 225W, tells me the ride took place where there were quite a few elevation changes...either that or usxorf was doing interval training!

What happen to giving cyclists 1.5m? If you look at where that car is standing, I can guarantee that was not the case! I hope the cyclist didn't get off too badly, and that the driver has countless sleepless nights.

Hmmm...so that's what a R800 seat clamp looks like!

It all depends on how you've been training over these last few months (it's been almost 6 months since either of the events you mentioned). The weather conditions on the 13th will also play a big part. I reckon that if you've maintained your fitness levels, and the wind is your friend on the day, you might just hit a sub 3.

That is quite a drop...in seeding, and in weight. If it's any consolation, last year the C group winning time was 2:46.

I also know someone who rode in IL - he timed himself at 3h58, Racetec shows 4h07. So you seem to have hit the hammer on the nail. This won't be the first time Racetec slips up. They've had timing issues on at least 2 races this year. Sometimes they fix it, other times they don't.

Interesting stuff - thanks DT. Maybe I'll bump into (not literally, I hope) you guys at the cradle sometime. I'll look out for a guy grinding up an incline, at a cadence of 10...

After complaining about my GL seeding (I had 5 consecutive AL group races leading up to this event, all held in 2013), they bumped me up to BL. I must admit that it did cross my mind to sneak into the AL start pen, especially after seeing how many AL riders had decided to drop to BL...but I decided to stay put. The first 30-40km were slow. Though we managed to catch some spent AL guys this early into the race, we also managed to get caught by a couple of strong CL guys. It's then that I decided that I had warmed up enough, got out of the comfort of someone's back wheel and started stirring things up a little. With the winds "help", the group thinned. We had quite a good vibe going in our mixed (AL, BL and CL) bunch. There was a guy with an upside down (he started in a slower group) VA number amongst us who hit play on his music player every time we approached a hill. That awesome soundtrack on the climbs might be one of the reasons I managed a 3:10 All in all a fun event. Just hope next year they get their seeding right.

They seeding for this event can definitely be improved on. Other than that it was well organised. I was glad they were dishing out bananas at one of the water points. As mentioned there were ample refreshments at the finish line. The funky looking medals were also a nice touch

No rain forecast for this weekend....just wind!

So they gave you a EL number and told you to start where you want?

I got bumped up from GL to BL...got told the AL group was already full. Last year the top CL finishers posted faster times than the winners of the BL group...another indication that the seeding for this event leaves something to be desired.