Edge_Design Posted March 13, 2019 Posted March 13, 2019 The "truth" is somewhere between these two extremes .... Way too many people enter a "fun ride", with the intent to "race" - which is not a bad thing, not in the first few groups. Sadly the seeding system does NOT work. "Fun riders" do NOT belong amongst the "racers" ... it is not safe for either. It detracts from the "racers" day. In much the same way, but way more difficult to police, there should not be racers amongst the fun riders ..... Surely in this day and age of electronics and telemetry it SHOULD be easy enough to gauge entry to the "racer groups" based on a given number of similar road races .... no entry here for the occational weekend rider. You wanna mix it with the big boys on the Argus, get out more often and earn your seading. I have a couple of friends that do thousands of kilometers each year, and yet they stay way clear from the Argus .... simply too many incidents .... I love the term highlighted above... Who exactly are "the big boys"? I assume you must be speaking about the top 30 or 40 riders in the elite groups? Surely there aren't any weekend warriors competing with them? If you're referring to someone in 1C turning their self inside out to break 3 hours (I don't know how the groups work any more so the group reference could be incorrect) then I'm sorry but you are just a reasonably fast weekend warrior (I've been there - I think I got to group B on the old seeding system - and would never regard myself as anything more than a weekend warrior). The problem is the guy going for the win regards himself as a racer; the person trying to break 3 hours thinks they're also an incredible racer; the person aiming for sub 4 hours is obviously the best racer out there and everyone should move out of his/her way etc... The reality is there are maybe 50 people at most who are actually racing for the overall win. Everyone else is just a participant competing with themselves (does that make them a racer or a fun rider?).
DieselnDust Posted March 13, 2019 Posted March 13, 2019 There are also intragroup races going on. For most this is where the real race is.
Karooryder Posted March 13, 2019 Posted March 13, 2019 diarrheoa - not an easy word to spell, unless you're American Afrikaans and have to use autocorrect, then diarrhea - there's a bit of useful drivel to you Corrected...you can be glad I did not resort to some easier grammatical alternatives in reference to same...
MudLark Posted March 13, 2019 Posted March 13, 2019 The fact that one may never be on a podium, doesn't necessarily make it any less challenging or less of an event for you or make you less of a hero to your family than the guy comes first. And that's the beauty of it and so many other similar sports.
PygaSchmyga Posted March 13, 2019 Posted March 13, 2019 We had a lekker post race war story sharing circle on Sunday night.Someone summed it up nicely.Basically when the human mind is under stress it starts to shut down senses to limit the overload.In a heavily visual reliant activity like cycling the eyesight is heightened and the hearing, feeling and other senses get shut down to make space for the brain to process all the visuall stimuli. So don;t expect anyone to hear you, feel your angst or even compute what is going on around them other than the basic stimuli required to ensure survival. So it boils down to everyone's "ME". the people who can deal with more senses and don;t overload their brains are in the minority. However, supertucking in a bunch is just plain *&^%$g stupid and selfishdear lord, is that really a thing? Say it ain't so!! does it go with drums and organic kale?
PygaSchmyga Posted March 13, 2019 Posted March 13, 2019 Screaming hold the line at the CTCT is about as useful posting something sensical on the Hub. However, there is a responsibility on all of us when riding in and around others to try to not ride erratically and serve all over the place.i see what you did there!
Chris_ Posted March 13, 2019 Posted March 13, 2019 I might have been called an idiot in the past. Sometimes, by people outside my family. At the risk of this being a very unfortunate question, why do you choose to ride a recumbent bike?
ChrisF Posted March 13, 2019 Posted March 13, 2019 I love the term highlighted above... Who exactly are "the big boys"? I assume you must be speaking about the top 30 or 40 riders in the elite groups? Surely there aren't any weekend warriors competing with them? If you're referring to someone in 1C turning their self inside out to break 3 hours (I don't know how the groups work any more so the group reference could be incorrect) then I'm sorry but you are just a reasonably fast weekend warrior (I've been there - I think I got to group B on the old seeding system - and would never regard myself as anything more than a weekend warrior). The problem is the guy going for the win regards himself as a racer; the person trying to break 3 hours thinks they're also an incredible racer; the person aiming for sub 4 hours is obviously the best racer out there and everyone should move out of his/her way etc... The reality is there are maybe 50 people at most who are actually racing for the overall win. Everyone else is just a participant competing with themselves (does that make them a racer or a fun rider?). Edge I think the answer is in your post .... Those "top 30" are in a race of their own, and all respect to them for reaching that level. The sub-3-hour crowd certainly dont need all the concertina stuff that was reported this weekend ..... One could even justify a sub-4-hour group ..... IF the seeding was done properly, based on similar road events then each group would ride with "like-minded", or is that "like-skilled" riders ..... And the number of catchers may just be less, more importantly, the number dropped from their group would significantly reduce. In THEORY a proper seeding system really should improve safety all round, and make for a much more enjoyable ride for ALL "classes" .... now if only it was half as easy as that in real life ....
ChrisF Posted March 13, 2019 Posted March 13, 2019 The fact that one may never be on a podium, doesn't necessarily make it any less challenging or less of an event for you or make you less of a hero to your family than the guy comes first. And that's the beauty of it and so many other similar sports. WELL SAID !! THIS is what we are trying to teach Maritz. This is what is so nice about the many fun rides. A batch up front for those at the sharp end of their field, and then multiple groups about to enjoy their day in the sun.
Skubarra Posted March 13, 2019 Posted March 13, 2019 IF the seeding was done properly, based on similar road events then each group would ride with "like-minded", or is that "like-skilled" riders ..... And the number of catchers may just be less, more importantly, the number dropped from their group would significantly reduce. I can't agree that the seeding for the CTCT is not done properly. (if that is what you are meaning) One can criticize some of methodology and stuff like bumping up PPA members but I think at a high level the seeding system works well. You are never going to have a perfect system for 30K riders with the limited data available.
DieselnDust Posted March 13, 2019 Posted March 13, 2019 dear lord, is that really a thing? Say it ain't so!! does it go with drums and organic kale? Hops, water, a dash of yeast, a pot and a sprinkling of patience fueled by the 5 leaf herb
DieselnDust Posted March 13, 2019 Posted March 13, 2019 I can't agree that the seeding for the CTCT is not done properly. (if that is what you are meaning) One can criticize some of methodology and stuff like bumping up PPA members but I think at a high level the seeding system works well. You are never going to have a perfect system for 30K riders with the limited data available. No true,.....but how is it possible to seed a rider off one event better than a rider who has ridden 10x as many over the same period and use only the best result?In the end the result was a 19min deficit of the rider seeded off the one event to the rider who has a years history.the system may not be perfect but surely the people managing it shouldn't be stupid...
Odinson Posted March 13, 2019 Posted March 13, 2019 At the risk of this being a very unfortunate question, why do you choose to ride a recumbent bike? via Imgflip Meme Generator
Skubarra Posted March 13, 2019 Posted March 13, 2019 No true,.....but how is it possible to seed a rider off one event better than a rider who has ridden 10x as many over the same period and use only the best result?In the end the result was a 19min deficit of the rider seeded off the one event to the rider who has a years history.the system may not be perfect but surely the people managing it shouldn't be stupid... I would say that falls under my "You can criticize some of the methodology" disclaimer... There is definitely room for improvement. But what I like about the system is that I can fairly easily figure out how well I need to do in certain races to qualify for the group I would like to ride in. Once you know your seeding index the rest is not a mystery. Can't say that for any other seeding system in the country.
Tim Brink Posted March 13, 2019 Posted March 13, 2019 At the risk of this being a very unfortunate question, why do you choose to ride a recumbent bike?Simply? I get to ride Cycle Tour on my own, not in a massive bunch of 'idiots'.
Patchelicious Posted March 13, 2019 Posted March 13, 2019 dear lord, is that really a thing? Say it ain't so!! does it go with drums and organic kale?Requires a top knot too. No meat allowed.
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