Early Birds Coming Through

(This is a long post. Be fore warned)

I spent almost the entirety of yesterday in the cold chilly air of Livermore, CA for the early bird racing clinic hosted by Wenzel Coaching's Ron Castia, Laurel Green, and Bob (forgot last name). I'll try not to go in too much detail because I could probably write a lot about yesterday's events, but overall it was a great experience and well worth it - especially because the 6 hour clinic counts towards your "upgrade" from beginner cat 5 to move up to cat 4.

Had no idea what to expect during the clinic, but I'm glad I went. 23 total riders, mostly all in the same position as me - recreational rider that rides a lot, but wants a little more out of the road bike experience. I think there were two guys there in the same age bracket as myself, so I will probably be racing against them... good thing they are nice guys (we'll wait until races start and then we'll see if that changes ha!) and we all seem to be in the same boat. For the most part everyone was cool, the 3 coaches gave the lowdown on a variety of useful techniques including cornering, sprinting, pack riding and how to "assert" yourself and move up through the pack, and sprinting by using your core. It was great to be able to learn some crucial fundamentals while putting them into use, and the coaches there did a good job of helping you out if you needed some adjusting with a certain technique.

As with almost every diverse group of riders, there is bound to be one that is quite sketchy on the bike and yesterday was no exception unfortunately. As we were practicing zig-zag drills (the technique of engaging your bb while turning left or right through a corner), the said sketchy rider had his left pedal down all the way, while turning sharp going left - NOT GOOD. OTB. I was about two people behind him but I saw the whole thing happen and before you know it there was a front flip before our eyes and blood gushing out from his mouth. I hope you get better soon man.

Some general observations from the clinic:

- Great coaching staff. Ron did a great job with clarifying techniques and answered questions by giving examples. All helpful people with decorated racing backgrounds and they seem like they genuinely want to mentor beginner riders so that they can ride more efficiently and improve their skills. I didn't know whether the clinic was going to be too much of a beginner's course where they teach you how to pedal and shift gears, or if it was going to be day of honing your first year's racing experience. Thankfully it was in the middle of that but more so for the riders who ride on the daily already, and are thinking about getting into racing.

- 23 total riders. 3 ladies, 20 guys. 3 of us below the age of 30, some under 40, and many around 45.

- out of all the bikes in attendance, there was a Giant like mine (Percy happens to chat it up with the Freewheel dudes as well), a $10,000 Parlee?! (I think it got scratched during the roadie version of footdown. I would be pissed), and then the rest were Trek's... none that even looked good... booorrring! --- hey Chcuk, post a GOOD picture of your Trek. Probably the dopest one built up I've seen.

- After the clinic was over, everyone including myself seemed to have a new found knowledge and confidence about their riding skills. After all, that's what this clinic was for, right? Yes the early bird crits are still going to be nerve racking but at least we are all not going into them blindly anymore. Oh yeah, only mid way through the day did I realize the clinic was modeled around criterium racing haha. Oh well, hopefully it's fun!


-Joe