Some Great Cat 6 Racing This Morning: 7/28 Race Recap

[Tim Kelley]

In case you were wondering what “Cat 6” racing is, here’s the background.

So this morning I was just enjoying the weather, minding my own business on the ride into work. Then in Clarendon near the metro station a middle aged guy on a red road bike in khakis with one leg rolled up, and a polo shirt pulled up quite close beside me at the stop light. And then he was off in a sprint when the light changed.

Fine. I’ll let him go. He must be in a hurry to get somewhere.

Then as I am coming up by Whole Foods, I hear an “On your left” as I get passed in the bike lane by an orange jersey/ tight bike shorts rider who looks like he’s sweating quite a bit.

Wow, that’s two in a row. Glad to see everyone out on their bikes this morning. The BikeArlington outreach must really be working!

Then as I am coming up near Courthouse, another MAMIL speeds by me. He’s on a shiny black commuter with flat handlebars and skinny road tires and suddenly it’s on!

Well, I’m on a mountain bike…and I know I’m wearing flip-flops….and I do have an empty baby seat on the back of the bike…but being passed three times in 3 minutes is too much!

The first guy in Khakis is out of sight, but I know he has a few stop lights up ahead that may work to my advantage. Orange jersey blows the light before Courthouse while Number 3 waits patiently. I coast in behind him and punch it while rounding the corner and swing past him just as the light changes. I can see that Khakis and Orange Jersey are through the next stoplight by the metro station, but will have to wait at Courthouse Road for the light to change because there is always car traffic there.

The light goes green and they are off. I still have some momentum built up and swing in to draft behind a minivan on the downhill to Rhodes Street. I pass Orange Jersey and take the lane with my head down and shift into my biggest gear. The road is clear and I see Khakis up ahead so I really lay down the power–even though I don’t have a Powertap on this bike, I’m probably putting out 1000+ watts for a stretch of a few seconds here.

I pull up neck and neck with him and look over just as he starts to fade. I can see the imaginary finish line of Pierce Street where I have to turn off for my building up ahead, and I know I’ve won the Clarendon-Rosslyn Cat 6 race!

So…that being said. Was that any of you wonderful Forum users that I saw out there today?

And remember, it’s not a race until it becomes one.

Topic

[Dirt]

So what you’re saying is that winning the final sprint in the Virginia State Inspections and Emissions Classic should NOT be something upon which I base my self esteem?

[americancyclo]

@Tim Kelley 6509 wrote:

–even though I don’t have a Powertap on this bike, I’m probably putting out 1000+ watts for a stretch of a few seconds here.

hilarium!

fun reading while I wait for today’s BSNYC post… Before the 4th of July, I drafted behind a caravan of port-a-potties on independence ave.
Cat 6 smelloton….

[eminva]

Awesome, Tim!

I usually let them go by without a second thought. I prefer to contribute to their self-esteem so they can brag at the office about how many people they “dropped” on their way in this morning. Never mind that one was a middle aged lady.:o

I do have one rule though — I get passed a lot at traffic lights and big downhills. Sometimes I catch up and pass those guys a little further down the road because they are going slower than me. If the same rider passes me again at an intersection or on a big downhill, and I have the misfortune to catch up with them again, then goodbye, I do my MALIL version of what Tim did, and so far, I’ve never seen one of those guys a third time.

So yeah, I guess I do engage in some Cat 6 racing from time to time. Sorry.

Liz

[5555624]

Like eminva , I tend to just let them pass. In the afternoon, I’m usually not n any hurry and don’t care. (No one passes me in the morning, since CCrew, is riding north of me.) The exception is when someone blows past me and runs a red light. I’ll often go after them.

[KLizotte]

I had to look up the definition of MAMIL and came across this very funny article about them:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-10965608

I’m aiming to become a MAWIL!

[DismalScientist]

Hey Tim, that was me in the khakis. I saw you catch up to me turning at Pierce Street. I was surprised that you caught me given the wide tires and the baby seat on the back. Next time I should blow the light at Courthouse as advocated in other fora… (Just kidding.)

BTW, sorry I pulled up to you so close. I wasn’t expecting you to pull a track stand in Clarendon with that rig. If you had dropped a foot, there would have been plenty of room.

[OneEighth]

@Dirt 6513 wrote:

So what you’re saying is that winning the final sprint in the Virginia State Inspections and Emissions Classic should NOT be something upon which I base my self esteem?

Nah, man—once you got that, can’t nobody take it away!

[acc]

I believe in peace, love, and understanding on the trails. I have not a single ounce of competitive blood left in these tired bones. That’s why it would never occur to me to blow past the jackass Mamil who cut me off twice at intersections where I stopped and he didn’t. And I would never dream of calling out “Suck-kahh” or standing up and wiggling my butt at him as I whizzed by. No, it would never happen. Not once, twice, or even three times.

ann

[Dirt]

@OneEighth 6528 wrote:

Nah, man—once you got that, can’t nobody take it away!

Good to hear. I’m pretty proud of that win. It is on my Resume on Linked-in… right under my high score on the Dig Dug machine in the Newport Beach Arcade. Whoda thunk that I’d get high score on the first quarter after not having played the game in almost 30 years?????

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yo-_Y4aL1uo

Sorry. I had to post that. Remi Dominates.

[eminva]

@KLizotte 6525 wrote:

I had to look up the definition of MAMIL and came across this very funny article about them:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-10965608

I’m aiming to become a MAWIL!

Uh oh, upon further review, I miss the upper end of the age cutoff. Please amend my earlier response to substitute “old lady” for “middle aged lady” everywhere it appears.

I don’t know if this make me more smug or more ridiculous for my limited role in the morning and afternoon races.

Liz

[DismalScientist]

http://www.itsnotarace.org
In my defense, my FCN (Food Chain Number) was quite a bit higher than Tim’s other victims. But, Tim’s FCN was god-like high.

[Tim Kelley]

@DismalScientist 6527 wrote:

Hey Tim, that was me in the khakis. I saw you catch up to me turning at Pierce Street. I was surprised that you caught me given the wide tires and the baby seat on the back. Next time I should blow the light at Courthouse as advocated in other fora… (Just kidding.)

BTW, sorry I pulled up to you so close. I wasn’t expecting you to pull a track stand in Clarendon with that rig. If you had dropped a foot, there would have been plenty of room.

I thought I recognized a familiar face from the meet-up at Jay’s last month–you were moving pretty well today! Next time stop and say “Hi!”

We should really have a way to distinguish ourselves as forum users when we are out and about. Maybe a secret hand signal or something. Anyone got any ideas?

[eminva]

@Tim Kelley 6541 wrote:

We should really have a way to distinguish ourselves as forum users when we are out and about. Maybe a secret hand signal or something. Anyone got any ideas?

Other than our Bike Arlington socks?

Maybe that flourescent bike pin like Congressman Blumenauer was sporting in that now famous interview, affixed somewhere visible to all?

Liz

[Tim Kelley]

@DismalScientist 6535 wrote:

http://www.itsnotarace.org/fcn-calculator/
In my defense, my FCN (Food Chain Number) was quite a bit higher than Tim’s other victims. But, Tim’s FCN was god-like high.

That’s a great calculator.

As a weekend/recreational rider I’m a simple 0, but can go as high as a 15 as a commuter (with the norm being a 12) and that doesn’t even take the flip flops into account!

[Dirt]

@Tim Kelley 6541 wrote:

We should really have a way to distinguish ourselves as forum users when we are out and about. Maybe a secret hand signal or something. Anyone got any ideas?

Hmmmmmmmmm

[Author]

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