on 10/15/01 13:16, Kelly, Katie at kkelly@spss.com wrote:
> As you may know, as your friendly Ace Reporter, a by-product of
> autocross, or at worst, a symptom (couples, please consider that your
> future child COULD turn out like me, and take appropriate precautions),
> I've been taking little steps here and there out in "normal" society,
> trying new things, expanding my horizons. So, if you ONLY want to read
> about autocross, stop reading now, and delete.
>
> I am merely expressing a view of an autocrosser who only knows
> autocrossing. Really. Lots of children spawned in cults suffer terrible
> culture shock when immersed in the "real world." So far, though, I'm
> eating up the world like my favorite chocolate. For example, so far, I'm
> almost fluent in Russian, and as you may know, my parachuting attempt
> last March was a success. Just baby steps into the normal world.
>
> This is what normal people do, isn't it?
>
> My latest foray into "normalcy" is the world of triathlons. My first
> attempt was the Nike Women's Triathlon yesterday in Sacramento.
>
> Strange, I've been to Sacramento so many times, and up until yesterday,
> I thought it was just flat lands covered by dry grass and concrete. I
> guess I'd heard there was a river there, and I recall some talk about an
> "old town," but I'd never quite put it together. There are some really
> nice parts of Sacramento, like a river, and even a MARINA, and a
> downtown with its own street car that will take you all the way to
> Mather Field.
>
> This sprint triathlon (.5 mile swim, 12 mile bike ride, 3 mile run) was
> everything that I hoped it would be, and a little bit more. And also a
> little bit less. The course workers, as it turns out, didn't really know
> where the course went, and sent us all in different directions, and a
> lot of us ran a lot less than three miles.
>
> Anyway, here's the most strange of course alterations: Someone on this
> list recently wondered whatever happened to figure eight racing. Well,
> let me tell you, it was alive and well yesterday.
>
> The concept was that the bike course went clock-wise, so we'd ride on
> the left hand side of the road. This plan might have worked on paper,
> especially if the course designer did a lot of drugs. They'd send us
> over to the right side of the road for the 180 degree pin turns, so we'd
> be turning TO our left. Please accurately make this mental picture. This
> is a recipe for disaster, in other words. We'd all be pedaling our
> little hearts out, look up, and see a mob of cyclists coming exactly in
> our direction, so we'd have to move over to the right, very quickly. The
> same thing after the turn-around. Just imagine an autocross course with
> a cross-over, and maybe twenty cars on course.
>
> So, I wasn't sure if this was a terrible failing on the part of the
> event workers or a feature, given the consistency of the turn-arounds
> designed in that manner. It certainly got my adrenaline going. Made me
> feel REALLY alive.
>
> Someone said later on, though, that the bike portion was very wrong and
> very dangerous, and not to worry. Whew. I was seriously wondering if I
> really had what it takes to be a triathlete. Tossing a car between the
> cones thrills me, and I fantasize about racing on a track, but this
> triathlon bike racing scared the crap out of me.
>
> There were other strange moments, like riding with cars. At least they
> were flowing in the same direction we were and provided a nice draft,
> but their stopping for red lights made things interesting. After awhile,
> especially on the narrow bike path, complete with pedestrians and Sunday
> riders going in the other direction, I had completely given up riding as
> fast as I could have. Yet, I had no idea that cycling would indeed be my
> most favorite part, despite the moving obstacles. And you thought orange
> pylons were bad.
>
> One girl on a mountain bike crashed into me on a turn. I was braking in
> a straight line, wide so I could hit the apex and accelerate back out.
> That seems to be what they do on the tube, agrees with everything that
> I've read, and besides that, it's simple racing physics. I don't see why
> it would be so different on a bike. Yet, so many riders took so many
> different lines, things got really strange. Autocross should be a
> prerequisite.
>
> This poor girl's line was to turn in tight, but to go really fast, right
> into my back wheel. I knew she was coming, because I could hear her
> screaming, "Oh $#it, oh $#it, oh $#it," and the $#its were just getting
> louder and louder, and then I felt her push my back wheel sideways. By
> the way, I am not a fan of using expletives in writing, but there are
> situations that give just cause, and crashing on a bike is one of them.
> I hope that she's all right. I just kept on pedaling, another autocross
> trick (spinning out teaches you a LOT), and saved myself from disaster
> while I heard this terrible metallic thud mixed with some painful grunts
> and moans. It really sucked to be her.
>
> Many of the entrants were cancer survivors, and a significant portion of
> the proceeds of this event, I believe, went to cancer research. The
> announcer let us know each time a survivor crossed the finish line, and
> it would get really emotional sometimes.
>
> When it was all over, and most everyone had already hit the road home, I
> was walking my bike from the transition area back to Lucy when I saw
> these two women, both with silver hair, I'm guessing competitors in the
> 60+ age group, walking the other way. One was carrying a third-place
> ribbon, and the other was a cancer survivor. I recall her jubilation as
> she jumped so high through the finish, fists in the air.
>
> "We did it!" yelled the one with the ribbon.
>
> I have a feeling it was their first time, too.
>
> Katie Kelly
Katie- all good except the part about jumping out of a perfectly functional
airplane. The only SANE reason to jump out of the plane (while still in the
air) is to follow the pilot. Congrats on your finish.
MJ
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