NinjaTurtle's Racing Diary: Center Line Rule is Effective

Pro 1/2/3 riders coming through

Race name: 2009 Fort Cherry Road Race

Date and start time: 06/21/2009; 09:00 am

Location: McDonald, PA

Type/distance: Mostly rolling hills - Hill 1 at 1-mile mark from the start and Hill 2 at 7-mile mark from the start; 4X8 mile-loop; 33 miles in total

Competitors to watch: Edward King-Smith (Ted) - The coolest kid in Pitt

Weather: Lower 60s at the beginning; around 70s in the middle of the race

Course condition: Mainly two-lane country roads. Sand in the corner of Ft. Cherry Rd/Walnut Rd and Walnut Rd/Waterdam Rd. Dead squirrel in the middle of the road near the last 1 mile of the loop

Race goal: Stay near the front till the end

Race strategy: Stay near the front from the start to the 1st hill at 1-mile mark. Expect people passing me at the downhill section right after. Look for gaps to advance to regain foward position. Attack or expect attck at the 7-mile mark where the course climbs back up to the start. Repeat the process four times and work hard for the last 0.8 mile to the finish line

Pre-race meal:
0500 - Pancakes with syrup (420 kcal); 1 glass of soy milk
0800 - 1 Hammer gel, 20 oz water with 4 scoops of Cytomax

Mid-race meal :
5 Hammer gels (450 kcal)
16 oz of water with 4 scoops of GU powder in one bottle

Warm-up description:
1 3-min Power Interval
Endurance ride (150-200 Watt) for the rest of the time
Total 22 min

Start-line arousal level(1-5): 4

Results: Pending

Power files start/end point: 23"23/1'55"52

What I did well:
1. Getting a good position from the first 1 mile
2. Bring arm warmer even though weather forecast said it's going to be in 70s

What I need to improve:
1. Descending skill - especially the ability to descend with the pack
2. Aggression of advancing forward
3. Pack riding skills - I've got to do more Oval training criteriums

Aches/pains/problems afterwards: None

Comments on or description of how race developed:
The day started in 60s. Several people, including my racing partner, Kevin, did not bring any extra clothing. I was glad I thought of that and prepared for it, otherwise I would suffer from the cold like during Mingo Creek race in the early spring. The course had little traffic, so I did my warm-up on the course instead of the trainer. Due to delays in setting things up, I only had about 30 minutes to warm-up. I think I should leave about one and half hour for all the preparation stuff for the next race.

The race started from the parking lot of the Ft Cherry highschool and was neutralized for the first 1.8 miles, or until the first hill on the course. I got a pretty good position, about 4 riders from the front, at the beginning, but once the race was on, quite a few people surged from the left and took over the lead. At the downhill section that immediately followed, I got passed by more people. One of the West Liberty Cycle guy went off the road to the left when making a right hand turn, which made me tensed up even more. There was a flat and straight section about 1 mile long at the bottom, but I couldn't find any gap to move forward. I saw a Trek of Pittsburgh guy tried to advance one position by riding right on the center line, but when he gestured, the rider in front of him wouldn't let him cut in line, so he returned to his former position.

At about 3-mile mark, we turned right from the Walnut Road onto Waterdam Road. I could see from the back that the front riders slowed to make the turn, but the riders behind slowed even more, so when I made the turn, I really had to accelerate hard to catch up. This is the reason that staying near the front is always a good idea. Similarly, there's no room to advance on the Waterdam Road, and when we turned right onto the Cherry Valley Road, I had to waste more energy to accelerate and catch up.

When we arrived at the first hill on the course on the second lap, I was so far behind in the group that even though I hammered up the hill as hard as I could, I fell behind about 100 feet, and that distance kept growing after the downhill section. I joined up with another rider from West Liberty Cycling about halfway through the 2nd lap.

At the beginning of the 3rd lap, we were told we were one and a half minute down from the main group. About halfway through the 3rd lap, we were joined by 3 more riders, but we didn't work together very well, and didn't really make up any time lost. The chasing group broke up near the end, and I was with two West Liberty Cycling guys.

At the beginning of the 4th lap, we were told we were 3 minutes down from the main group. When we arrived at the top of first hill on the course, I was dropped by the West Liberty Cycling guys. I tried to catch up but didn't make it. About halfway through the course, I was joined by one West Liberty and one Procycling guy. I asked them if they would help me chase the two riders up front, but they refused. So I figured I might as well ride easily behind them since I wouldn't go any faster without help. And we did ride very easily - the average power of this section was about 175 Watts.

When we arrived at the place where the loop started and ended, there was a 0.8 mile climb up to the finish line, which was in the school parking lot. I tried to attack, but the West Liberty Cycling guy outclimbed me at the end. I am not happy about the results at all.

I feel the outcome of this race was dictated by the rider's position in the pack and how well he held the position. In my past experience, I couldn't hold on to my position very well, but I could always advance near the center line, and sometimes just off the center line to the other lane a little bit, to regain my position. In Section 3B1 in USA Cycling rule book, it says: "If a course is not closed to traffic, all competitors must keep to the right of the center line or enforcement line, but may pass on either side of another rider [warning for accidental crossing of the center line with no advance in position; relegation or disqualification for advancing position; 10 day suspension for a flagrantly dangerous attack]." We also have similar rule in Taiwan, but I saw quite a few instances where people broke it to advance to the front. I wasn't sure about how this rule is enforced in US, but seeing how a bunch of riders crossed the center line to get to the front in the first lap, I think it can be done if the marshal is not watching and the rider is not constantly doing that. So the bottom line is that if I were to do the race again, I would advance forward using the center line at the bottom of the hill on the Walnut Road. But on the other hand, I need to work on my descending skill and pack riding skill. For the latter, I will try to do every Oval race in the next couple of weeks.

# Samson said the best place to advance in this race is at the the power climb at the 1-mile mark.