jkmansoor@ucdavis.edu
Spring's here and that means only one thing: Daylight Savings Time. Longer days. More light. More riding after work. And most importantly, Davis Bike Club race rides on Tuesday/Thursday nights. These race rides are not for the faint of heart, nor should they be. This is an opportunity to simulate race conditions, physically, mentally and tactically. Having said that, let me also say this: DBC member Dan Shadoan, who started and runs these rides, always stresses safety first, and rightfully so. Even though this is called a "race ride", it is a high-intensity training ride that sometimes mimics races. Riding dangerously just for bragging rights has no place in this ride. Riding hard so that you optimize your training does have a place on this ride. In this and future columns, I would like to discuss not only surviving the race rides, but using the race rides for your training benefit.
The wonderful thing about bike racing is that the strongest rider does not always win the race. Because the speeds are so high in bike racing, wind resistance plays a significant role in energy usage during a fast ride. The first key to surviving race rides is learning how to draft. You cannot take the wind the entire race portion and expect to survive. I've seen very strong new riders get blown off the back of a race ride because they think they can go to the front and push the wind the entire way. Learn how to stay on other people's wheels and out of the wind. If you pull through, learn how to temper your effort so that you can still get back onto a wheel when others pull through or attack. Also remember that the wind doesn't always come from the front. Most times it's a side wind so that you have to be behind and off to one side to get an effective draft.
This brings me to the second key to surviving the race rides: do not sit in the back of the pack the entire way, especially when the wind is a cross wind. You will most likely get dropped. Imagine this: line up bike racers from the side of the road to the centerline; about 6-8 bike racers will fit safely. This is what happens in a pack when there is a crosswind. Each racer is behind and to the side of the racer in front of them so they can get the benefit of the draft. Eventually, someone has to cross the centerline to get a beneficial draft. And we have a centerline rule on our race rides: you don't cross it. Thus, if you are at the back of the pack, chances are you are expending a significant amount of energy "taking the wind". You probably will get dropped. Thus, it is oftentimes beneficial to "ride from the front". That means that sometimes it is actually beneficial to take a pull at the front so that you can get into the front rotation and get the benefit of the draft. You will actually expend more energy taking the pull, but once you are done, as other riders "pull through", you can then draft off their wheels and rest. If you are at the back of the pack, you will be taking the crosswind the entire time and actually expending more energy overall.
Now in theory all of this sounds great. Unfortunately, when there are 50 riders on a race ride and some of them are very strong riders, someone is going to get dropped. Remember, virtually everyone gets dropped at some point in time! Don't get discouraged. Start with small goals on each race ride and work on them. Find an experienced rider on the race ride who will discuss training and strategy with you. Enjoy the experience. You'll find that the race rides will make you a better rider in every aspect of bicycle racing.