Hains Point CaBi Races

[jrenaut]

We’ve talked enough – time to make it happen. Feel free to argue about format, but here’s my suggestion.

Meet at the CaBi station at the given time. We’d need a head count so we can make sure we have enough bikes. I think staggered groups of 4 or 5 would head out with a race official on a real bike making sure things are legit. Obey all traffic laws. Foot-down stop at all stop signs. If we have enough people we’d do a winners’ race the next day (it seems cruel to make someone do two five mile laps on those bikes).

Who’s in?

Topic

[Tim Kelley]

Gate to Gate would also provide some spectating opportunities at the start and finish without such a big lull in between.

[jrenaut]

I think the race loses something if you undock, ride to the start, finish, and have to ride back to the dock. Plus you’re in danger of actually paying – riding the five mile loop in 30 minutes is no problem, but getting to the start, getting lined up, finishing, getting back – that’s going to be pushing it. I mean, $1.50 isn’t a huge deal, but in my mind part of the whole point was doing it in under 30 minutes.

[bobco85]

@consularrider 63282 wrote:

But we’re all also cyclists, and therefore by common definition, scofflaws and not to be trusted. :p

Well, in that case, why not have part of it go on the golf courses (both regular and mini) and call it the Haines Point Alley Cat CaBi Race

HPACCBR (pronounced “Heh-pak-brr”) is an acronym that will last!

[jopamora]

Let’s get a date and time on this thing!

[ShawnoftheDread]

@jrenaut 63284 wrote:

I think the race loses something if you undock, ride to the start, finish, and have to ride back to the dock. Plus you’re in danger of actually paying – riding the five mile loop in 30 minutes is no problem, but getting to the start, getting lined up, finishing, getting back – that’s going to be pushing it. I mean, $1.50 isn’t a huge deal, but in my mind part of the whole point was doing it in under 30 minutes.

But the the start and finish could be at the dock station. You start as soon as your bike is pulled out and you’re done when it’s put back.

[Tim Kelley]

@jrenaut 63284 wrote:

I mean, $1.50 isn’t a huge deal.

Think of it as your entry fee, if you aren’t fast enough…

[jopamora]

Is this the course you were thinking? We could make a segment for this on Strava.

[jrenaut]

No, I was thinking the station at Ohio Drive and West Basin, but if we’re not doing a dock-to-dock race it doesn’t really matter.

[rcannon100]

I can see it now!!! It will be like musical chairs!!! You guys will clear a dock of ALL of its bikes and go off to HP. This will send a message to CABI that will then mobilize a truck to rebalance, placing new bikes in the dock. You guys will come back, and half the open docks will be gone. So the slow guys will lose the race by having to go off and find another dock, and probably pay overage fees.

[PotomacCyclist]

If the station is full, you can enter your key or credit card info to get an extra 15 minutes to ride to another station.

I’m a frequent CaBi user but I’m not sure if I’ll do this race. If I do enter, this is my planned race strategy:

[video=vimeo;73094693]https://vimeo.com/73094693[/video]

[ShawnoftheDread]

Your plan is to blow a substantial lead by grandstanding like a DB?

[OneEighth]

And the trash talk begins…

[ShawnoftheDread]

No, I’m just trying to understand the reference to the the linked video. Maybe he meant the shoving part.

[PotomacCyclist]

I was kidding about using that strategy. But I agree that the winner was a total idiot. To be fair, many winners do a similar celebration at the end of long races. Maybe the problem was the tight turn before the finish line, so he couldn’t see the 2nd-place guy approaching until the last moments.

The 2nd-place guy did the sporting thing and slowed up when he saw the leader start to run again. So the shove wasn’t even necessary. If the officials wanted to be strict about enforcing rules, they could have penalized that guy with a time penalty, or even a disqualification, for intentionally interfering with another athlete. It’s clearly interference when you try to grab onto someone else and push them back from crossing the finish line.

In the end, it’s not the worst thing ever done. He made a mistake but he did show himself to be the best competitor that day. He’s receiving well-deserved criticism on the Web, but I think that’s as far as it needs to go.

[bikeeveryday]

@Tim Kelley 63276 wrote:

Too much of a gray area…and no way to enforce it.

What happened to the honor system, people. This isn’t some UCI sanctioned event. Let’s just have fun!

[Author]

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