Question:
Hello, Endless Pools has given me an advertising budget and I am inquiring what sites everyone is visiting. Let me know and don’t forget to enter to win your FREE Endless Pool. Just email me your mailing info and phone # and I’ll add you to the list. thanks in advance for your help. Steven Harad Endless Pools Inc. http://www.endlesspools.com 1.800.732.8660 Ext. 26
Response:
www.recsporttriathlon.com Naturally 
— Phil Squire www.recsporttriathlon.com The Online Home of RST – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hello, Endless Pools has given me an advertising budget and I am inquiring what sites everyone is visiting. Let me know and don’t forget to enter to win your FREE Endless Pool. Just email me your mailing info and phone # and I’ll add you to the list. thanks in advance for your help. Steven Harad Endless Pools Inc. http://www.endlesspools.com 1.800.732.8660 Ext. 26
Response:
http://www.Triathlete.com naturally =) I also visit (nearly 7 days a week) http://www.TriathlonLive.com
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Hello, Endless Pools has given me an advertising budget and I am inquiring what sites everyone is visiting. Let me know and don’t forget to enter to win your FREE Endless Pool. Just email me your mailing info and phone # and I’ll add you to the list. thanks in advance for your help. Steven Harad Endless Pools Inc. http://www.endlesspools.com 1.800.732.8660 Ext. 26
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http://www.Triathlete.com naturally =) I also visit (nearly 7 days a week) http://www.TriathlonLive.com
www.slowtwitch.com www.insidetriathlon.com
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usatriathlon.org Tom Ziebart – Sport Development – USA Triathlon National Training Center
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www.trinewbies.com www.gordoworld.com www.slowtwitch.com www.ironmanlive.com www.missionbaytriclub.com (hey, I’m the webmaster, what can I say? 
Craig Preston
Response:
http://www.dschreiner.freeservers.com/index.html A tribute to middle of the packers! — http://dschreiner.freeservers.com/
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – www.recsporttriathlon.com Naturally — Phil Squire www.recsporttriathlon.com The Online Home of RST Hello, Endless Pools has given me an advertising budget and I am inquiring what sites everyone is visiting. Let me know and don’t forget to enter to win your FREE Endless Pool. Just email me your mailing info and phone # and I’ll add you to the list. thanks in advance for your help. Steven Harad Endless Pools Inc. http://www.endlesspools.com 1.800.732.8660 Ext. 26
Response:
Steve – I like www.xtri.com BTW, your e-mail reply address boomeranged on that message you sent me. You might want to look into it. Cheers, gordo
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www.ream-reliable.com the only true multisport site – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hello, Endless Pools has given me an advertising budget and I am inquiring what sites everyone is visiting. Let me know and don’t forget to enter to win your FREE Endless Pool. Just email me your mailing info and phone # and I’ll add you to the list. thanks in advance for your help. Steven Harad Endless Pools Inc. http://www.endlesspools.com 1.800.732.8660 Ext. 26
—–= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =—– http://www.newsfeeds.com – The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! —–== Over 80,000 Newsgroups – 16 Different Servers! =—–
Response:
Do you mean http://www.team-reliable.com/? Ken – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -www.ream-reliable.com the only true multisport site Hello, Endless Pools has given me an advertising budget and I am inquiring what sites everyone is visiting. Let me know and don’t forget to enter to win your FREE Endless Pool. Just email me your mailing info and phone # and I’ll add you to the list. thanks in advance for your help. Steven Harad Endless Pools Inc. http://www.endlesspools.com 1.800.732.8660 Ext. 26 —–= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =—– http://www.newsfeeds.com – The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! —–== Over 80,000 Newsgroups – 16 Different Servers! =—–
Ken Parker Runner’s Web A running & triathlon resource site. http://www.runnersweb.com/running.html
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Question:
[snipped, because I want to ask a question] Anders, clear it up for us. Was Salisbury USAT sanctioned? I can’t find my info sheet–I must have left it with my now-missing clear goggles. Rick "Which lets you know how much swimming I’ve done since then" Denney
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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Eric, if you raced in good faith, then don’t convict yourself of cheating on a sketchy impression. *snip* If no official found a reason to DQ you, and you know in your heart that you made every effort to follow the rules, then quit worrying and be happy. Excellent advice. I actually admitted in a note I wrote to the Wildflower race director this week that I crossed the centerline in a situation as stated above. If he chooses to DQ me and remove me from the official results, I respect that. It will in no way detract from the satisfaction I received in my Wildflower PR, though.
For the record, I sent an E-mail confession to Terry Davis, irt my recollection of crossing the center line, noting it was a rule violation. So it’s no longer weighing on my mind. Should I have mentioned that I prefer the gallows to the guillotine? Owning up to this will help make me more conscious of all the bike rules next time. And I want to feel that *I’m* not part of the problem that I was frustrated with. Is it effectively too late to correct results once the officials have gone home and can’t make the call? Just hope I can get my official splits, DQ or not…
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Thanks Darrin, I would extrapolate that FOP could mean Front of Pack; a Utopia that I have yet to visit. Ross – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Please excuse my ignorance, what are MOP and BOP? Middle of Pack Back of Pack — Tri Your Hardest. /O ___o o ~~~~ _ <,_ <| (*)/ (*) / Darrin Bartlett 15 weeks to the inaugural Ironman USA!
Response:
For the record, I sent an E-mail confession to Terry Davis, irt my recollection of crossing the center line, noting it was a rule violation. So it’s no longer weighing on my mind. Should I have mentioned that I prefer the gallows to the guillotine? Owning up to this will help make me more conscious of all the bike rules next time. And I want to feel that *I’m* not part of the problem that I was frustrated with.
From your description, it was caused, in spite of your best efforts at compliance, by people completely ignoring the rules. As anyone here can attest, I’m probably one of the most judgemental SOB’s here, and I just can’t make the stretch to see how this even marginally makes you part of the problem. Your sense of integrity is admirable (ever think of a career in politics?) but there comes a point at which one has to be content with knowing they did their best. Just how common is this level of angst over these issues?
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In article If you completed your passes within 15 seconds, then you were fine. The fellows that blocked me had taken up residence in the left half of the lane and were planting a garden.
Tee hee hee hee hee…. Thank you for that dead-on and very comical visual, Rev. Denney. Well done! Planting a garden. Ha! :) :) :D What never ceases to amaze me is the egotism of people on steep descents who are coasting down sitting up, happily installed on the left side of the lane, utterly oblivious to the possibility that someone else might possibly be going down that hill faster than they are. I nearly killed a guy at WF this year on the descent after the Nasty Grade(tm). Oh, only hit 52mph this year rather than 54, darn it. I think there was a tailwind in ‘98. Heh. — Tri-Baby _ – o ’ – __o – </_ ` ‘ – < – __/ /o_ – (()) (()) - / "Real triathletes don’t draft." http://www.stanford.edu/~brooksie *New to triathlon? Check out Hulaman’s Simple TriTips: http://www.hulaman.com/triathlon/tritips.html
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In article
*snip* Forget the rules. I just wish people would be a bit thoughtful about how their riding is affecting others.
And THIS, my friends, is the real issue. Anyone with a brain in his head who bothered to take 2 seconds to think about this would instantly realize that riding anywhere but on the far right is a) rude and b) dangerous. Forget "against the rules." Clearly, there are a lot of folks out there who either have no brains or have never bothered to take those 2 seconds to think. — Tri-Baby _ – o ’ – __o – </_ ` ‘ – < – __/ /o_ – (()) (()) - / "Real triathletes don’t draft." http://www.stanford.edu/~brooksie *New to triathlon? Check out Hulaman’s Simple TriTips: http://www.hulaman.com/triathlon/tritips.html
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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – <snip He looked surprised. "Oh!" That was at least a better response than an obscene gesture, which by that time I expected, and I have hope that he will be a more aware triathlete next time around. Forget the rules. I just wish people would be a bit thoughtful about how their riding is affecting others. The culprit, of course, <snip I had the quite different experience of moving back through a large pack at the Wildflower Olympic distance race, with about 1700 bikes on course, and the AG waves having set out at 2 minute intervals- there were just so many bikes, and such greatly varying speeds. Inevitably as I would try to pass someone, within the rules, there would be calls of "on your left" from much faster riders. Was I blocking? Literally, I was, though certainly not intentionally. Was I within the rules? I did not stay in the no-no zone for 15 seconds.
If you completed your passes within 15 seconds, then you were fine. The fellows that blocked me had taken up residence in the left half of the lane and were planting a garden. But then there were times when there was no where to go. Bikes thick ahead, to each side, bikes behind. I found myself several times well on the edge of the shoulder trying to stay out of someone’s draft, trying to comply at least in spirit.
I hope officials do not look for ways to penalize people who are clearly trying to stay within the rules. Certainly the ones that hand around here don’t. Rick "Willful violation, even when caused by willful ignorance, is obvious" Denney
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Please excuse my ignorance, what are MOP and BOP?
Middle of Pack Back of Pack — Tri Your Hardest. /O ___o o ~~~~ _ <,_ <| (*)/ (*) / Darrin Bartlett 15 weeks to the inaugural Ironman USA!
Response:
Very well written. anders Salisbury, MD – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – there is no easy answer. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying drafting should be allowed, or faulting the officials or rules, just pointing out that there is an inherent paradox that may never be solved in creating a perfect enforcement method. Exactly. And for those of us in the MOP or BOP, probably the best thing to do is just learn to deal with the frustrations equably, and do our best to race clean, fair, and with personal integrity. Forget what everybody else may or may not be doing, just do your best to stay true to your own convictions in your own race. After all, for most of us MOP & BOP, it’s all about personal achievement anyway, not about placing or hardware or IMH slots. On the other hand, for the fast, competitive folks there are huge concerns. Other people’s ignorance or inconsideration on the bike course can create enormous obstacles to reaching one’s goals. As a 30-34 woman starting in something like the 11th wave at Wildflower, I know that, *if* I were really competitive and gunning for a placing or a slot, plowing my way through the hordes of clueless males in the preceding waves out on the bike course would be enormously frustrating, to say the least. As it was, I found myself either passing on the right or crossing the centerline at least a few times when clueless individuals riding close to the centerline failed or refused to heed my hollers of "On yer left!". Basically, there are a lot of thoughtless, ignorant people out there, and there ain’t a heck of a lot you can do about that. It’s a fact of life, and the sooner we learn to accept it, the lower our blood pressure will remain. I do empathize with the competitive folks, though. And I do think that race directors would do well to STRONGLY EMPHASIZE blocking and position fouls in pre-race literature, since this is the most common rule violation I’m aware of. Eric, if you raced in good faith, then don’t convict yourself of cheating on a sketchy impression. *snip* If no official found a reason to DQ you, and you know in your heart that you made every effort to follow the rules, then quit worrying and be happy. Excellent advice. I actually admitted in a note I wrote to the Wildflower race director this week that I crossed the centerline in a situation as stated above. If he chooses to DQ me and remove me from the official results, I respect that. It will in no way detract from the satisfaction I received in my Wildflower PR, though. Good racing, everyone! — Tri-Baby _ – o ’ – __o – </_ ` ‘ – < – __/ /o_ – (()) (()) - / "Real triathletes don’t draft." http://www.stanford.edu/~brooksie *New to triathlon? Check out Hulaman’s Simple TriTips: http://www.hulaman.com/triathlon/tritips.html
– I doubt, therefore I might be.
Response:
What never ceases to amaze me is the egotism of people on steep descents who are coasting down sitting up, happily installed on the left side of the lane, utterly oblivious to the possibility that someone else might possibly be going down that hill faster than they are.
It’s a long standing problem – same syndrome that causes people to cruise in the passing lane on the freeway. Maybe the solution is a little "triathlon road rage." <g
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Please excuse my ignorance, what are MOP and BOP? Ross – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Exactly. And for those of us in the MOP or BOP, probably the best
Response:
there is no easy answer. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying drafting should be allowed, or faulting the officials or rules, just pointing out that there is an inherent paradox that may never be solved in creating a perfect enforcement method.
Exactly. And for those of us in the MOP or BOP, probably the best thing to do is just learn to deal with the frustrations equably, and do our best to race clean, fair, and with personal integrity. Forget what everybody else may or may not be doing, just do your best to stay true to your own convictions in your own race. After all, for most of us MOP & BOP, it’s all about personal achievement anyway, not about placing or hardware or IMH slots. On the other hand, for the fast, competitive folks there are huge concerns. Other people’s ignorance or inconsideration on the bike course can create enormous obstacles to reaching one’s goals. As a 30-34 woman starting in something like the 11th wave at Wildflower, I know that, *if* I were really competitive and gunning for a placing or a slot, plowing my way through the hordes of clueless males in the preceding waves out on the bike course would be enormously frustrating, to say the least. As it was, I found myself either passing on the right or crossing the centerline at least a few times when clueless individuals riding close to the centerline failed or refused to heed my hollers of "On yer left!". Basically, there are a lot of thoughtless, ignorant people out there, and there ain’t a heck of a lot you can do about that. It’s a fact of life, and the sooner we learn to accept it, the lower our blood pressure will remain. I do empathize with the competitive folks, though. And I do think that race directors would do well to STRONGLY EMPHASIZE blocking and position fouls in pre-race literature, since this is the most common rule violation I’m aware of. Eric, if you raced in good faith, then don’t convict yourself of cheating on a sketchy impression. *snip* If no official found a reason to DQ you, and you know in your heart that you made every effort to follow the rules, then quit worrying and be happy.
Excellent advice. I actually admitted in a note I wrote to the Wildflower race director this week that I crossed the centerline in a situation as stated above. If he chooses to DQ me and remove me from the official results, I respect that. It will in no way detract from the satisfaction I received in my Wildflower PR, though. Good racing, everyone! — Tri-Baby _ – o ’ – __o – </_ ` ‘ – < – __/ /o_ – (()) (()) - / "Real triathletes don’t draft." http://www.stanford.edu/~brooksie *New to triathlon? Check out Hulaman’s Simple TriTips: http://www.hulaman.com/triathlon/tritips.html
Response:
Rick, the Salisbury race wasn’t a USAT sanctioned race, so I don’t know how you want to retool your argument about the one day license being the culprit, but you may need to rethink it. It still applies, just not to this particular race.
It wasn’t? I remember putting my USAT number down on the application form, and I remember the information sheet talking about USAT rules and one-day licenses. I also remember hurrying my USAT renewal in so that I would not be in arrears for the race. I’ll check when I get back to town. Rick "Haven’t received a Reston info sheet yet so I can’t be confusing it with that race" Denney
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Okay, now that I’ve gotten everyone’s attention, I must say that the only drafting I saw was the result of ignorance. Many of the backmarkers (faster than me in the swim, or in previous waves, but much slower than me on the bike) that I passed were committing position violations, though many of them weren’t really going fast enough for their violation to give them any advantage. I saw nothing of drafting among the leaders who were coming the other way on the out-and-back course. In one case, three riders were too close. As I passed the third, I said, "By the way, you are in *his* draft" and pointed to the second rider. When I passed the second rider, I said "And you are in *her* draft," and pointed to the first rider. The first rider smiled to herself–she was obviously tired of having her wheel sucked. The other riders obviously did not even know what being in someone else’s draft meant, but they backed off anyway. But, as usual, blocking was the biggest problem. This is the problem most noted by better riders. On one occasion, I had to hang back for almost long enough for me to lose to Jason in the race, because of two riders on the left of a series of slower riders. There was plenty of room for them to pull back into the line at the right, but they were unaware that someone behind might want to go faster than they. The certainly didn’t understand the rule about passing within 15 seconds. I called out "Passing left!" and got no response. I tried again, "Gentlemen, I’m coming around on the left, please make way!" I always try to be a little polite, at least at first. No response. Finally, I yelled "Either pass them and pull over or slow down and pull over, but get out of the way!" The two guys moved over, and, as I passed, one guy said "Why didn’t you just pass us over there (pointing to the opposing travel lane) instead of yelling?" My response, "Because crossing the centerline can get me disqualified, just like blocking can get you a penalty." He looked surprised. "Oh!" That was at least a better response than an obscene gesture, which by that time I expected, and I have hope that he will be a more aware triathlete next time around. Forget the rules. I just wish people would be a bit thoughtful about how their riding is affecting others. The culprit, of course, is one-day membership in USAT. They pay their five bucks, but they don’t get any of the goodies, including the rule book. A large number of one-day members, it seems to me, makes a synopsis of the rules, including a detailed description of the commonly violated rules, a necessary packet inclusion. But I’m probably unrealistically optimistic that anyone would read even that. And a long discussion of the matter during a race meeting held while we were all dying of hypothermia at water’s edge would have been unthinkable. Rick "I won’t mention the couple of guys that were drafting the school bus–I passed them and the bus, without crossing the yellow line, taking more than 15 seconds, or getting killed" Denney
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – faster riders. Was I blocking? Literally, I was, though certainly not intentionally. Was I within the rules? I did not stay in the no-no zone for 15 seconds… But then there were times when there was no where to go. Bikes thick ahead, to each side, bikes behind. I found myself several times well on the edge of the shoulder trying to stay out of someone’s draft, trying to comply at least in spirit…. I recall remarking to a collegiate, well-equiped (bike!) gal, as we passed each other, and other bikes, and as we were simlutaneously passed, how it was awfully hard to maintain a fair position. She did not seem to comprehend what I meant. these folks a different case from those of us who know the rules and either slip up in the heat of battle or deliberately violate them… But I believe for many folks, at least in certain races, these rules seem like technicalities, they are not racing for hardware, or getting a better bike split than triahtlete x, or even going for a PR; they are doing the race because it is a challenging endeavor, the scale of which may not be diminished much by ocassionally passing through someone’s draft… As for me, I believe in a miscalculated hasteful moment as I was trying to get around some other riders at a high donwhill speed, I may have crossed the yellow line – I vaguely recall it registering in my mind at the time ("Oh shit"). Should I notify the officials so they can DQ me? I’m BOP and the results I really want out of the experience are some splits to give me metrics on my fitness. Seems a shame to have the results only show DQ, though I certainly understand that the guy behind me in the standings might deserve to be bumped up from 75th in AG to 74th…. Oh, Jeez, I’ve got to tell them to DQ me, don’t I? Wonder if I could somehow get my splits first…
Herein lies what I think is the main quandary of the drafting controversy. The danger of high speed packs, and the insidious nature of collusion are problems most people readily acknowlege. Yet, to prevent these problems, while at the same time maintaining an objective and consistent standard of rules and enforcement, creates situations like this, where a conscientious, honest competitor is losing sleep over whether he inadvertantly might have broken a rule. He "VAGUELY BELIEVES he MAY have miscalculated" and he’s agonizing over whether to DQ himself. It reminds me of a fellow Catholic friend when I was young, who having had Jello on a Friday in Lent, spent the entire evening worrying himself sick when I informed him Jello was made from beef marrow (it no longer is.) I always knew drafting was illegal, and never tried to do it. I knew what drafting was in the sense that I could tell you if I was drafting or being drafted, but had never thought about a quantitative definition. It wasn’t until about my fourth race that I actually saw a printed definition of the drafting rules, with all the distances and passing time limits. The bike stage was pure hell, with planning every approach and pass like it was a military exercise, every time I pulled out too pass, going "one-one thousand, two-one thousand…" I had absolutely no fun and had the slowest average speed I have ever had on the bike. There really is no perfect way to enforce drafting rules. On one end of the spectrum, you could tell your officials to DQ anyone they see creating a safety hazard or knowingly hampering fair competition, but then it becomes very subjective, and since the officials are human, their judgement will be constantly challenged. On the other end, you can mandate imaginary boxes around bikes, and an imaginary passing clock, and so on, and have people work themselves into a lather fretting over the proper reading of the past pluperfect subjunctive form of the verb "to draft." Maybe we need a laser device attached to every bike that projects a box around it on the road surface, and tell people that whenever two boxes intersect, the bike to the rear is in violation. All the different posts about this, on both sides of every sub-issue, show that there is no easy answer. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying drafting should be allowed, or faulting the officials or rules, just pointing out that there is an inherent paradox that may never be solved in creating a perfect enforcement method. There has to be some accommodation of people who race in good faith without giving a cheater a loophole to exploit. The federal government has written a tax code a bajillion pages long, and they STILL haven’t achieved that. The best we can hope to do is continually improve it. Eric, if you raced in good faith, then don’t convict yourself of cheating on a sketchy impression. In this country, the law considers us innocent until proven guilty. You should not be any harsher on yourself than that. If no official found a reason to DQ you, and you know in your heart that you made every effort to follow the rules, then quit worrying and be happy. When I drive home tonight, I’m not going to think "Oh jeez, did I may have forgotten to signal that turn two miles ago; I have to go to the police station and ask for a ticket."
Response:
Rick, the Salisbury race wasn’t a USAT sanctioned race, so I don’t know how you want to retool your argument about the one day license being the culprit, but you may need to rethink it. It still applies, just not to this particular race. I have to be honest. I was drafting the school bus. I was for about a hundred yards until I came to the "hill" and it pulled away from me. But that bus was moving quickly when I passed it and I could never have passed it as you did. I was really only drafting it because it was the only way to get around the crowd you were referring to. I come out of the water in a way slower spot than my bike riding allows so I get the opportunity to be constantly passing riders. I was passed by 5 cyclists. I’m convinced that 2 of them were working together, because they were moving very fast and they were within a bike length of each other. The coincidence would be just a bit too remarkable. The thing that really bites me is that one of them had on a yellow Prospeed jersey (my "team") I didn’t recognize the guy. Mike "School bus" Schwing
t… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Okay, now that I’ve gotten everyone’s attention, I must say that the only drafting I saw was the result of ignorance. Many of the backmarkers (faster than me in the swim, or in previous waves, but much slower than me on the bike) that I passed were committing position violations, though many of them weren’t really going fast enough for their violation to give them any advantage. I saw nothing of drafting among the leaders who were coming the other way on the out-and-back course. In one case, three riders were too close. As I passed the third, I said, "By the way, you are in *his* draft" and pointed to the second rider. When I passed the second rider, I said "And you are in *her* draft," and pointed to the first rider. The first rider smiled to herself–she was obviously tired of having her wheel sucked. The other riders obviously did not even know what being in someone else’s draft meant, but they backed off anyway. But, as usual, blocking was the biggest problem. This is the problem most noted by better riders. On one occasion, I had to hang back for almost long enough for me to lose to Jason in the race, because of two riders on the left of a series of slower riders. There was plenty of room for them to pull back into the line at the right, but they were unaware that someone behind might want to go faster than they. The certainly didn’t understand the rule about passing within 15 seconds. I called out "Passing left!" and got no response. I tried again, "Gentlemen, I’m coming around on the left, please make way!" I always try to be a little polite, at least at first. No response. Finally, I yelled "Either pass them and pull over or slow down and pull over, but get out of the way!" The two guys moved over, and, as I passed, one guy said "Why didn’t you just pass us over there (pointing to the opposing travel lane) instead of yelling?" My response, "Because crossing the centerline can get me disqualified, just like blocking can get you a penalty." He looked surprised. "Oh!" That was at least a better response than an obscene gesture, which by that time I expected, and I have hope that he will be a more aware triathlete next time around. Forget the rules. I just wish people would be a bit thoughtful about how their riding is affecting others. The culprit, of course, is one-day membership in USAT. They pay their five bucks, but they don’t get any of the goodies, including the rule book. A large number of one-day members, it seems to me, makes a synopsis of the rules, including a detailed description of the commonly violated rules, a necessary packet inclusion. But I’m probably unrealistically optimistic that anyone would read even that. And a long discussion of the matter during a race meeting held while we were all dying of hypothermia at water’s edge would have been unthinkable. Rick "I won’t mention the couple of guys that were drafting the school bus–I passed them and the bus, without crossing the yellow line, taking more than 15 seconds, or getting killed" Denney
Response:
<snip He looked surprised. "Oh!" That was at least a better response than an obscene gesture, which by that time I expected, and I have hope that he will be a more aware triathlete next time around. Forget the rules. I just wish people would be a bit thoughtful about how their riding is affecting others. The culprit, of course, <snip
I had the quite different experience of moving back through a large pack at the Wildflower Olympic distance race, with about 1700 bikes on course, and the AG waves having set out at 2 minute intervals- there were just so many bikes, and such greatly varying speeds. Inevitably as I would try to pass someone, within the rules, there would be calls of "on your left" from much faster riders. Was I blocking? Literally, I was, though certainly not intentionally. Was I within the rules? I did not stay in the no-no zone for 15 seconds. But then there were times when there was no where to go. Bikes thick ahead, to each side, bikes behind. I found myself several times well on the edge of the shoulder trying to stay out of someone’s draft, trying to comply at least in spirit. I recall remarking to a collegiate, well-equiped (bike!) gal, as we passed each other, and other bikes, and as we were simlutaneously passed, how it was awfully hard to maintain a fair position. She did not seem to comprehend what I meant. And I’ll bet that a vast number of the riders had a similar lack of understanding of the rules on bike position – just kind of unindoctrinated – these folks a different case from those of us who know the rules and either slip up in the heat of battle or deliberately violate them. But I believe for many folks, at least in certain races, these rules seem like technicalities, they are not racing for hardware, or getting a better bike split than triahtlete x, or even going for a PR; they are doing the race because it is a challenging endeavor, the scale of which may not be diminished much by ocassionally passing through someone’s draft. As for me, I believe in a miscalculated hasteful moment as I was trying to get around some other riders at a high donwhill speed, I may have crossed the yellow line – I vaguely recall it registering in my mind at the time ("Oh shit"). Should I notify the officials so they can DQ me? I’m BOP and the results I really want out of the experience are some splits to give me metrics on my fitness. Seems a shame to have the results only show DQ, though I certainly understand that the guy behind me in the standings might deserve to be bumped up from 75th in AG to 74th. Oh, Jeez, I’ve got to tell them to DQ me, don’t I? Wonder if I could somehow get my splits first… — Eric Pederson "You mean there’s a difference between ‘long, slow distance’ and ’race pace’?"
Response:
One aspect in which Rick differs a lot from other programs is in periodization. He doesn’t do much in the way of seasonal periodization, such as concentrating on LSD base-building during the off-season and such. Since we’re constantly working on aerobic threshold the speed and effort bursts are always there, but long runs and/rides are added in preparation for longer events. Rick also likes to rotate sport focus, so for example a bike focus would have five bike workouts in a week, with two maintenance workouts in the other two sports for a total of nine workouts in one week. Write me directly if you have any questions. Best, David in Taipei, Taiwan