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pest2
Joined: 01 Jun 2005
Location: Vancouver, Canada
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 Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2007 6:21 am Post subject: Having trouble designing a bike race finish? |
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This year, more or less, is the first year Koreans have started having bike races. For this race,.... well, it doesnt take an experienced racer to see the problems with the design...
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Kimchi Cowboy
Joined: 17 Sep 2006
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| Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2007 6:45 am Post subject: |
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If you look closely at the first photo, you can see that trouble's already started behind the inflatable gate; check out the two riders, 3rd and 6th from the right - they're already looking to their right at someone who's just gone down. (In the 2nd pic, they're the only ones up front following the action - good way to take yourself out of a race, incidentally...) Back to the 1st photo, middle, blue jersey & blue helmet, he's all squirrelly and well on his way to the tarmac.
Not sure if I'd blame the gate itself for the mess, but it sure looked like it was spectacular - I'd love to see some video! |
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pest2
Joined: 01 Jun 2005
Location: Vancouver, Canada
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| Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2007 6:52 am Post subject: |
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| Kimchi Cowboy wrote: |
If you look closely at the first photo, you can see that trouble's already started behind the inflatable gate; check out the two riders, 3rd and 6th from the right - they're already looking to their right at someone who's just gone down. (In the 2nd pic, they're the only ones up front following the action - good way to take yourself out of a race, incidentally...) Back to the 1st photo, middle, blue jersey & blue helmet, he's all squirrelly and well on his way to the tarmac.
Not sure if I'd blame the gate itself for the mess, but it sure looked like it was spectacular - I'd love to see some video! |
Yeah, the inflatable gate was part of the problem. It consumes 1/4 of the road. On top of that, they were using these timing chips that required those other poles you see aft of the inflatable gate... and those take up 1/3 of the road. So, we were sprinting along, eyes 1/2 closed, 35mph, for a finish line that would not fit all of us.
In other places that have more experience with bike racing, they have gates leading up to the start finish to gradually herd the race in and make the inflatable gate cease to be an obstacle... And of course those silly poles would be the first thing to go...
Can't really blame em since its their first year... but it would be nice if they'd been advised by someone who had actually seen a bike race before (which would, of course, require taking orders from someone who would be a foreigner and probably younger; whats the chance that'd happen??)
One of the bike club websites has a video... but everything after the first riders cross the finish line is deleted.... ie the crash... Maybe to avoid making the organizers lose face? |
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Optimus Prime
Joined: 05 Jul 2007
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| Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2007 8:05 am Post subject: |
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Hehe, look closely, and you can see a rider about to inadvertently toss another guys salad as the rider in front of him is launched into the air. |
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kiwiduncan
Joined: 18 Jun 2007
Location: New Zealand
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| Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2007 8:08 am Post subject: |
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Interesting combination of bike race and bouncy castle  |
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pest2
Joined: 01 Jun 2005
Location: Vancouver, Canada
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| Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2007 1:15 pm Post subject: |
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| kiwiduncan wrote: |
| Interesting combination of bike race and bouncy castle |
maybe it'll become a new sport in korea... |
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jaganath69
Joined: 17 Jul 2003
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| Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2007 1:58 pm Post subject: |
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| So you had no problem competing in this one, unlike the other debacle you posted about earlier? I'm taking it that this one was not organized by the racists who denied you the right to participate. |
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pest2
Joined: 01 Jun 2005
Location: Vancouver, Canada
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| Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2007 4:53 pm Post subject: |
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| jaganath69 wrote: |
| So you had no problem competing in this one, unlike the other debacle you posted about earlier? I'm taking it that this one was not organized by the racists who denied you the right to participate. |
Yeah, true. These guys were OK. The race was promoted by the company that builds the go-soks (expressways) in korea. They had the race on a brand new, yet-unopened expressway. I think they probably had different goals than those of the Korean Cycle Federation... such that the national face issue wasnt such a factor..
Quite nice, actually...
Actually, unknown to me while I was at the race, I won this prize for "the fastest time". I didnt cross the finish line first, but I started almost last (which normally doesnt matter in a mass start road race but again, they haven't figured out how the sport works yet, so...) so I had the lowest time.
They actually mailed me the prize to my home address! It was a couple of trophies and a big box of some different expensive rices. |
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cruisemonkey
Joined: 04 Jul 2005
Location: Hopefully, the same place as my luggage.
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| Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2007 5:06 pm Post subject: |
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I've designed a bike race finish - stand on the sidelines... just before the winner crosses the finish line, run out and shove a 2x4 in the spokes of his front wheel.
Holy flying spandex Batman!  |
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kiwiduncan
Joined: 18 Jun 2007
Location: New Zealand
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| Posted: Sat Oct 13, 2007 12:15 am Post subject: |
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| My friend won a huge bag of top quality organic race in an mtb race a couple of years ago. He was 4th, I was ahead of him by 30 seconds. I got a tacky plastic trophy. Wish i'd got the rice but glad to beat him |
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Bailsibub
Joined: 22 Dec 2006
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| Posted: Sat Oct 13, 2007 2:19 am Post subject: |
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Ha ha ha,
Dude, I didn't see all of these pics. You only sent me those two before. Let me just say that they are pretty awesome. They are like all of the crashes of the Tour de France in one convenient little package.
And the guy in the pink shirt. Dude's still holding onto the bars...like he's still going to ride it out. Fighting!!!!
And we wonder why road racing isn't really taking off in this country. Maybe it's because anyone who does a race ends up needing years of physical therapy as a result.
He11, I raced whole seasons back home with no accidents, and in my first race here I was in one (of course in a wet chicane consisting of a bridge with steel seams on each side). And when the promoters saw that hazard they didn't think to put the finish before it. They were like, "Let's put the finish line 100 meters after it so they can sprint into it." Maybe next year they will start incorporating gauntlets, fire and/or wooden jumps every 50 meters before the finish line.
Racing mountain bikes here is looking better each minute. How much can the promoters here f0ck up a mountain bike race? Oh wait...I need to use Klogic |
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pest2
Joined: 01 Jun 2005
Location: Vancouver, Canada
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| Posted: Sat Oct 13, 2007 8:09 am Post subject: |
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| kiwiduncan wrote: |
| My friend won a huge bag of top quality organic race in an mtb race a couple of years ago. He was 4th, I was ahead of him by 30 seconds. I got a tacky plastic trophy. Wish i'd got the rice but glad to beat him |
nananana I got the trophy, too.... and it was a real glass/crystal one.
Actually, I have about 4 or 5 trophies I've won here (not braggin or nothin) from this year. I have to send all my *beep* to Australia. I cant see spending the money for the trophies' delivery to Melbourne... anyone wanna have some free trophies?
You can use em to impress any K girls you invite over to your place or whatever... |
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pest2
Joined: 01 Jun 2005
Location: Vancouver, Canada
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| Posted: Sat Oct 13, 2007 8:18 am Post subject: |
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| Bailsibub wrote: |
And the guy in the pink shirt. Dude's still holding onto the bars...like he's still going to ride it out. Fighting!!!!
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HAHAHHAHA! Yep, its as if going down is all part of the experience as it should be for a bike race.
Yeah man, get an MTB. You can keep your road bike and use it to ride when there's no MTB race to stay fit on the climbs (the way you were just a few weeks ago laying waste to everyone)... I am pretty sure if you get that fit again and get used to racing off road as well no one will be able to beat you in your age group and you will win every Korean MTB race you enter (remember, all the good guys in Korea are under 30. After that, the SHOULD get married and have a kid and stop being professional bikers blah blah blah... it is only later after one has worked at Samsung for 20 years and retired that he can become an older racer). Remember your time at that hillclimb race where all the MTB pros of Korea showed up wasnt to far off the best of them... But, if you start winning every race you enter, the Koreans might ban all foreigners from competing and actually that would suck because there's a pretty big group of expats here who are into MTB racing... |
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