by ajay khandelwal » Mon Sep 12, 2005 5:21 pm
Good point Toks. Chris and Lisa gave a good demonstration of through and off - which was helpful as we had 3 riders doing through and off for the first time. They focused on the key points.
1. Riders going through should go steady and the lead rider on the left should call, 'over', and give feedback as required.
2. The last man/woman, call 'last man/woman' to keep the rotation at the back going smoothly.
Those basic rules help to get riders communicating and talking and taking responsibility for the smooth flow of the thru' and off. Its true, you don't see the guys on the ToB criterium saying, 'over', 'last man' etc, - the only thing you hear those guys saying is get out the "+++++' way. Addiscombe communication on the through and off is definitely much more agreeable!
The only thing was when he was giving the safety talk standing in the middle of the road he almost got knocked down by a car. That wouldn't be such a great example of a satety talk!
Alan Malarkey chipped in with some memorable helpful comments (sorry I cant remember what they were). I said a few words about keeping it slow and smooth, focusing on the technique and communicating at danger hot spots like roundabouts.
I thought the through and off was very good, given the new riders. Steve, a new guy on a black mountain bike went through a bit quick at one point, and when I said, 'ease off' - I think he hit the brakes! He got some very quick feedback from the riders behind him! ; he got the hang of it very quick. The formation was a bit jumpy - but before long - neat and well disciplined - I was very impressed. The whole group stayed together for the sprint and I'm guessing the ride average would be just over 17mph.
Given the number of miles Huw's done recently his accident rate is 1 per 100,000 miles, so he's doing very well. I think he was planning to take some Belgian medicine at the Beer Circus to recover later in the day - and commisserate with Simon Smythe - who just missed the 10 mile TT trophy on Saturday. Hope you're feeling recovered Huw. I agree with Marek - I'm always amazed by safe the club run is. I always feel safer riding on the club run than I do in city traffic. The standard of riding in the club has established a safe and considerate standard. The proof of this was the Addiscombe RR at Hillingdon a few weeks ago. All the guys rode so well - no-one looked over their shoulders, jumped lines, or unnecessarily hit their brakes. All of these things happen routinely in a 4th cat race, so it was a pleasant surprise to have such a smooth race. .
I didn't do better, I finished at least.
