I've been considering the Park Ave Bike Weeknight race series this year. Last year I skipped it. Today I rode the course I remembered from 2012, assuming this year's course will be the same.
I rode my geared 29er, hoping to ride faster than the 24" that I'd raced in the past. It was fine except for the part of the course I hate... the sports field. On my 24 I'd shift into my high gear because the field is "flat", but the constant bumps make it hard to ride and fatigue my lower back quickly. My 29er seemed the same, except the high gear was too hard with the bumps and I chose to stay in my low gear. I still used my high gear on some smooth sections of trail, so it's still useful for this course.
Looking at last year's results, I see the course is almost identical to what I rode today, but it juts out into the field, which means even more bumpy time. Ugh. I also see I'm more than 15 minutes slower that the slowest beginner. I was kind of hoping my 29er would get me closer to competing against mountain bikers. That's not happening.
There are six races. Signing up for each race individually is $20. That's too much for an hour ride where I'm just kind of just joining in for fun. Not to mention the extra hour of waiting around for the race to start. But if I sign up for all six it's $75, or $12.50 each, assuming I did them all.
I'm not sure I want to commit. I can ride anywhere for free and choose days when the weather is optimal. I have a few days before I need to sign up.
No comments:
Post a Comment