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SEO FESTIVAL (11/25) Narita.

Edogawakikkoman

Edogawakikkoman

Maximum Pace
Jan 14, 2007
2,544
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This is the 2nd year for this race. Organised by the shops who sponsor and service our team.

Near Narita on the Friendly Park Cycling course in Shimofusa by the Tone River.
Short sprint races on a 1.5km winid1ng course with a slight hill on the finish line.

f-zenkei.jpg



Last year there were great prizes, (better than most races I've seen).
The Bridgestone Pro team came along and were pace makers in each race as well as giving a riding course around lunch time.

TCC should enter a team...it's a fun day.

Details
http://homepage2.nifty.com/randi/race/2007seo/2007seo_race.htm

Entry

http://www.sportsentry.ne.jp/event.php?tid=13733
 
possible...

Hey Pete,
If this race doesn't clash with "Tokyo Enduro" this year, you can probably count me in!
The only other thing I was worried about was which category to put myself in!?
"E" (15km) might be too slow... "D" (15km) might be just right, but I wouldn't have a chance of winning... and "C" has the 30km (which suits me better than the shorter courses), but may be too fast for me in the first place.
If they had a 30km course in the "D" category, that would probably suit me fine.

I'll ask Sora-san about the "Enduro" first though, as that's my priority.
BTW, IF it doesn't clash with your schedule, I was really thinking we could use you there (at the Enduro) too! There might be up to 3 male teams (four guys in each team) from TCC and the Go-Go-Gals team as well.

NOTE: At last year's Enduro, we came 9th out of over 110 teams - with little training, and even less tactical thinking. But this year, with a little more foresight (as well as convincing both Christoph & Philip to join us as well), there's no reason that we couldn't get at least one of our teams in the top 3 - or even on the "top step" for that matter!
Nothing's been fully decided yet, but give it a thought, OK!

Yoroshiku! Travis
 
I'd be happy to go in the Tokyo Enduro providing I'm available...

As for picking a race to go in for the rankings.

I want to earn my way into C and I'm glad I started at the bottom and tried to work my way up. Finishing top 6 in a race is hard and rare. If you start out too high up in the rankings you will only be disappointed unless you do well.

One of my friends did an X class race, came 1st easliy and then decided to put himself in A grade. He has little race experience and is having problems. He is very very very fast but he hasn't earnt the race nouse. He gets dropped, he gets involved in crashes, he nearly causes accidents due to unsteady cornering etc... It would have been nice to see him win rank after rank and gain experience along the way. Now he just gets in to trouble and feels frustrated.

If you are good, you can lead all the way, if you are slow you get stuck back and that can lead to being in or behind the crashes. If you feel you are too strong for the rank you are riding in then pull the pack along and do some work to earn the win... I hope I one day get that good.

I was asked to ride in C last year as they felt it would have been easier for me.
There are some very fast riders stuck in D & E grades who have just not had race luck yet. One guy who was in my D race last year has progressed to A, another to S. It was nice to see them win and go up, win and go up....

Don't be embarrassed to start in the low grades and win or fail.

Travis would probably beat me, so you won't fail in C, D or E...

Trucksan did a race with me earlier in the year and I put him in C grade as I know he has raced a lot in Australia and knew he was faster and fitter than me.
He was happy to start there and he can probably succeed in that rank and move up if he goes in a few more races. It was an eye opener for him to see that the Japanese can actually ride and race as well as or faster than his Aussie race partners.

Some guys in our club are much faster than me and are still in E grade. It must bug them to see me in D grade. I will upset a lot of guys if I get into C grade as well.

If you have confidence and ability go in the higher grades by all means.

I may even go in the MTB race as well...just to see what it's like...
 
I spoke to the organisers today.
The prizes were good last year and they said they'd be better this year.
I'm now thinking of increasing my chances and entering 3 races.
D
C
MTB

D is early in the morning so it can either be a warm up or I can have a serious chance....
C may be easier than D depending on how many enter.
MTB didn't have many riders last year....

2000 yen discount for any extra races you enter...
 
Hey Edogawakikkoman--I signed up a while ago for one of the rookie races; they take place later in the day, but the plan is to get there earlier and watch the sempais race to pick up some pointers (pedal fast, don't fall off bike, etc). So hopefully I'll see you and Travis and whoever else from TCC there.
 
Phil, please feel free to come and sit with our group. We'll be just across the walk over bridge in it's right at the top of the hill overlooking the finish line...

We'll have afew tents, soup, and warm up rollers etc...

500 entrants so far... I think it's possible to get in some late entries, but you'd need to act quickly...

セオフェスおかげさまで
エントリー500人超えました！
ありがとうございます！
Click to expand...
 
Sorry mate...

Hey Pete,
Sorry! I'm out for this one!
Way too much happening this month - Will PM you later!
Travis
 
Edogawakikkoman said:
Phil, please feel free to come and sit with our group. We'll be just across the walk over bridge in it's right at the top of the hill overlooking the finish line...

We'll have afew tents, soup, and warm up rollers etc...
Click to expand...

Cheers for the kind offer--I'll be sure to drop by and say hello.
 
カテゴリー 申し込み人数
1 上級者 S,A 25
2 3年以上 B 15
3 3年以上 C 34
4 1年以上 D 27
5 1年以上 E 56
6 1年未満 F 62
7 レース初参加 105
8 レディス 23
9 シニア 25
10 MTB男子 27
11 MTB女子 9
12 小学1-3 29
13 小学4-6 20
14 ミルキー 34
15 小径車 21
16 クロスバイク 9
計 521

The number of applicants may swell as this only includes those who have paid so far. (not me) . I'm just on my way to the konbini now to send my money.

Travis, don't worry about it... looks like this race will be much harder this year than last year too...
 
Hey Travis

I would like to try unfortunatelly I had been to late.... - that happens;)

see you

christoph

YellowGiant said:
Hey Pete,
If this race doesn't clash with "Tokyo Enduro" this year, you can probably count me in!
The only other thing I was worried about was which category to put myself in!?
"E" (15km) might be too slow... "D" (15km) might be just right, but I wouldn't have a chance of winning... and "C" has the 30km (which suits me better than the shorter courses), but may be too fast for me in the first place.
If they had a 30km course in the "D" category, that would probably suit me fine.

I'll ask Sora-san about the "Enduro" first though, as that's my priority.
BTW, IF it doesn't clash with your schedule, I was really thinking we could use you there (at the Enduro) too! There might be up to 3 male teams (four guys in each team) from TCC and the Go-Go-Gals team as well.

NOTE: At last year's Enduro, we came 9th out of over 110 teams - with little training, and even less tactical thinking. But this year, with a little more foresight (as well as convincing both Christoph & Philip to join us as well), there's no reason that we couldn't get at least one of our teams in the top 3 - or even on the "top step" for that matter!
Nothing's been fully decided yet, but give it a thought, OK!

Yoroshiku! Travis
Click to expand...
 
Edogawakikkoman, I'm going to be in rookie race B in the afternoon, but am planning to get there early and hopefully catch the end of your C race.

Weather's looking to be clear and sunny--good luck!
 
Phil said:
Edogawakikkoman, I'm going to be in rookie race B in the afternoon, but am planning to get there early and hopefully catch the end of your C race.

Weather's looking to be clear and sunny--good luck!
Click to expand...

Good luck. (the car park will fill up very early as there are more people coming than last year). Our club will arrive around 7 a.m. There will be people there at 5:30 a.m as well.)

Been studying the form. D class this year has some super fast riders. C class has an ex-S class rider so my plan is to survive D and possibly try do C.

If I'm completely burnt out form the D race I may not even go in C. (there will only be about 25 minutes to recover.

The car is packed.
The carbs are packed...

Going to have a hot bath and watch TV in bed....
 
Nice debut race by Phil. I'll let him tell you how he went though.

I, like 2 weeks ago sat at the back and got dropped a few times. A friend of mine from B grade was doing D grade too as a warm up and was trying to help me but we both struggled. The pace was not so fast but there were a few more riders in it than last year. I finished about 30 seconds behind the winners but they had already turned the clock off by then and they recorded me as a DNF 9th lap/10. :mad: I had a little sprint finish with another guy and beat him but at the 9th lap he was in front of me so the results show him 3 guys in front of me.... :mad:

Due to my thighs bloated with lactic acid I wisely sat out of the C grade race I also entered. 3 guys in my club in that race wanted me to go in it too....they are faster than me as well and they also got dropped....


Not my year for racing.... really missing the hard Thursday night rides I used to do.... back to the drawing board....
 
Had a grand day out at Friendly Park on Sunday. Unfortunately didn't manage to catch Pete's race, but we did meet up and watch his teammates get various podium finishes.

Here's the account of my race. It's a bit wordy and excited but I wanted to get all my impressions down while they're still fresh. The veteran competitors among you will have to excuse the naive enthusiasm, but hopefully it'll encourage anyone else thinking of giving racing a go.

Mine was "Beginner's Race B", a 10.5 km sprint for those with zero experience. There were 50 of us in the race, ranging in age from 12 to 52, with probably a median around 35 or so. After a slow circuit of the course, we lined up at the start line to wait a loooong 5 minutes for the gun.

Figuring there would be a wide range of abilities, I was expecting the group to spread out pretty quickly. My plan, such as it was, was to latch onto the front bunch as early as possible before it got out of touch. After that, it was just a question of hanging on for as long as possible.

I'm five rows back at the start line. The guy in front is on platform pedals. I'll have to get by him, but at least he'll be quick to clip in, haha. Better stop jiggling my leg though, that's a waste of energy. Have to conserve. Come on, let's go already.

1 minute. 30 seconds. Mouth is dry. Should have drunk more water.

10 seconds. Bang.

Whoopee, clip in on first attempt! The first 10 meters is relaxed, everyone sorting themselves out, but then a faster stream starts moving on the left, getting to the front, and I follow. Boy, adrenalin has kicked in! Halfway round the lap is one of the young kids, actually riding very well, but not quite keeping up. It takes a couple of turns to get by, carefully. Do NOT want to be the bully-boy foreigner who takes down the youngster.

Up the hill to the end of the first lap, and I'm six back. The hill is not too bad, I actually manage to pass a rider. Maybe this will work out well for the end.

Lap two. Three or four back. Guy in lime green kit is on a solo breakaway, but not too far away. We're strung out in a line, but most of the field is still together. Going fast, but I'm okay. Breathing hard, but sustainable. Hey, this isn't so bad.

Lap three maybe. Lime Green has been caught. I'm four back. Suddenly, we're going very slow. Too slow. I'm just coasting. Oh, what the heck. I go around to the outside and have my brief moment in the sun, leading the pack through a couple of turns. Wah-ha-ha, eat your heart out, Jens Voight.

Okay, steady on now. Don't get carried away. Pull over, latch onto a wheel, but the pace is back up again. Up the hill, and Lime Green is weaving a bit, and his rear wheel crosses the front wheel of the guy behind. So now I know what it sounds like when a rear derailleur rubs against the spokes of someone else's wheel. No one goes down though, so onwards and upwards.

Lap four. Huff huff. Still feeling okay. Have slipped back a couple of spots. A guy in Saunier Duval-Prodir kit ("Millar") and a couple of others accelerate up the hill. Have to work to keep up. 5 or 6 back. Can still see the front. Glance back. Crickey, there's still a lot of riders still with us. I'd kind of hoped we'd lost more than that.

What lap is it? No idea. Still early, right? Keep forgetting to check the signboard, and anyway it's half obscured by spectators.

Another lap. Another solo breakaway; dark team kit, maybe Caisse d'Epargne? Well, I'M not chasing him. It's enough that I can hang on. We're lapping the slower riders now, making things crowded. Harder to pass. I'd passed Millar, but now he goes by again. Where's the front? People are tiring, weaving a little. Someone skids a bit, we all brake; a guy wobbles precariously right in front of me. Have to brake, once, twice. Darn, this is hard enough without having to re-accelerate all the time. What lap is it, anyway?

The BELL?! The last lap ALREADY? I'm too far back. I've lost touch with the front. Really puffing away now. Feeling it in the sides. Pale blue jersey on one side, grey on the other. Can't get by. Not enough room. More slower riders being lapped, it's hard to find space. Where am I? 6th? 10th? Have to move up, running out of time, but no go, still stuck in the same mini-group. Argh, here's the hill already, go go go! Not gaining on anyone, no one's overtaking me either. The line! Over already! But where'd I finish?

Turns out I was 11th, four and a half secs back from the winner, toward the rear of the lead group of 15 riders. My average speed was 38.70 kms. I was pleased with the result, but after being in such a good position for the first part of the race, I couldn't help thinking that if I'd just rode a little more aggressively to hold my place a top six finish might have been in the cards. On the other hand, I was pretty much at my limit energy-wise toward the end, so I'm not sure if I was really capable of doing much better.

Anyway, a fantastic experience. The event seemed to be very well organized, all the races went right on schedule, and as always, it was great to hang out and soak up the atmosphere with so many other enthusiasts. I'm keen to try more, although I'll definitely need to get into better shape if I want to survive the longer distances!

Best of all was being able to meet another TCC cyclist--big big thanks to you Pete for showing me the ropes and providing all the great advice and info. I would have rode home without my bike schwag if it wasn't for you!
 
Cheers for the links--looks like they sorted out your results and gave you proper credit for the finish...
 
Phil said:
Cheers for the links--looks like they sorted out your results and gave you proper credit for the finish...
Click to expand...


Yeah, but still very disappointed... I did the last 2 or 3 laps by myself...if I'd hung on ...if, if, if....... excuses excuses excuses..... :eek:uch:
 
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