rec.sport.unicycling · Public discussion

Re: RTL race etiquette

tomblackwood · 2008-05-24T05:02:48+00:00

Great thread to start Ken, and good points to start the discussion. I think I'd swap them around though, and be a bit more prescriptive. To your first two points, what a rider on another team is doing is their business. Each team's business is to minimize their total elapsed time, so another team's transitions or shiftings aren't relevant. That said, what -is- relevant is safety and basic human decency. If you see someone go down, you ask if they're okay. If the answer is clearly yes, keep moving. If it's a grunt or no or no-answer, stop and *be sure *they're okay, render assistance if needed, and screw your time loss. If you caused someone else to fall, stop regardless of whether they say they're okay. Help them re-mount. Buy them a beer after the day is done. Another team's flat tires or broken seatposts are their problems; keep moving. Passing: yes, it's proper courtesy to say "on your left" so they know you're there. But here's the flip side: Don't pass on the right unless it's a huge open road and there's lots of space and you give clear verbal warning. But even then, don't. If it's a huge open road, you have space to pass on the left. Predictability: hold your lines and don't do a bunch of swerving about. When you hear someone saying "on your left" or "on your right", hold your line until they're past. If you need to shift left or right, give some visual indication with the appropriate hand, then do it slowly and smoothly. Same with stopping. Drafting etiquette aside, someone might be coming up behind you when you suddenly decide to dismount to pee. Give some warning...indicate a right movement with your right hand, then pull over before dismounting. Support vehicles: keep your distance! Compete hard, but remember to BE NICE. The other teams are not the enemy...they are your fellow unicyclists. But it's okay to be faster than your fellow unicyclists. -- tomblackwood Tailgate at your own risk... ------------------------------------------------------------------------ tomblackwood's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/3762 View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/70174 Posted Via Usenet.com Premium Usenet Newsgroup Services ---------------------------------------------------------- http://www.usenet.com

Started by tomblackwood · 24 May 2008 · Last activity 24 May 2008 · 3 posts · 369 views

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Original section: rec.sport.unicycling
Published: 24 May 2008
Last activity: 24 May 2008
Original author: tomblackwood
Posts: 3
Discussion status: Public discussion
Total views: 369
Views / 30 days: 0
Topics: Group riding

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Original post
tomblackwood
Archived post

24 May 2008, 05:02 UTC #1

Great thread to start Ken, and good points to start the discussion. I
think I'd swap them around though, and be a bit more prescriptive.
To your first two points, what a rider on another team is doing is
their business. Each team's business is to minimize their total elapsed
time, so another team's transitions or shiftings aren't relevant.
That said, what -is- relevant is safety and basic human decency. If you
see someone go down, you ask if they're okay. If the answer is clearly
yes, keep moving. If it's a grunt or no or no-answer, stop and *be
sure *they're okay, render assistance if needed, and screw your time
loss. If you caused someone else to fall, stop regardless of whether
they say they're okay. Help them re-mount. Buy them a beer after the
day is done.
Another team's flat tires or broken seatposts are their problems; keep
moving.
Passing: yes, it's proper courtesy to say "on your left" so they know
you're there. But here's the flip side:
Don't pass on the right unless it's a huge open road and there's lots
of space and you give clear verbal warning. But even then, don't. If
it's a huge open road, you have space to pass on the left.
Predictability: hold your lines and don't do a bunch of swerving about.
When you hear someone saying "on your left" or "on your right", hold
your line until they're past. If you need to shift left or right, give
some visual indication with the appropriate hand, then do it slowly and
smoothly.
Same with stopping. Drafting etiquette aside, someone might be coming
up behind you when you suddenly decide to dismount to pee. Give some
warning...indicate a right movement with your right hand, then pull
over before dismounting.
Support vehicles: keep your distance!
Compete hard, but remember to BE NICE. The other teams are not the
enemy...they are your fellow unicyclists.
But it's okay to be faster than your fellow unicyclists.
--
tomblackwood
Tailgate at your own risk...
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john_childs
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24 May 2008, 05:57 UTC #2

I don't know how much of a peloton or group is going to form. Riding in
a close group requires certain skill and awareness. Lower division road
bicycle races are notorious for crashes in the peloton due to riders not
being aware or experienced at close group riding at speed in race
conditions. Unicyclists have pretty much zero experience in that type
of riding. Be aware when racing in a group in close proximity. Expect
crashes when racing in a tight group.
Drafting on a unicycle is pretty much useless. Unicycles don't go fast
enough for the aerodynamic benefits of drafting to kick in. To get
benefits of drafting you'd have to be riding in a large group of many
riders and be riding close enough that the Coker size tires overlap.
Not a sane thing to do. The rule of thumb with road bicycling is that
the benefits of drafting start to kick in once you start going more
than 17+ mph. Below that speed the only benefit of following someone
is pacing and not aerodynamics.
I hope support vehicle traffic doesn't become a danger. Bicycle road
race officials have rules for regulating support vehicle traffic to
help keep the bicycle riders safe. A vehicle free for all in congested
sections of the course could be dangerous.
--
john_childs
john_childs (att) hotmail (dott) com
Team Never Wash Your Muni
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(http://backcountry.unicyclist.com/) :: 'World Clock'
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GizmoDuck
Archived post

24 May 2008, 06:12 UTC #3

john_childs said:
I don't know how much of a peloton or group is going to form. Riding in
a close group requires certain skill and awareness. Lower division road
bicycle races are notorious for crashes in the peloton due to riders not
being aware or experienced at close group riding at speed in race
conditions. Unicyclists have pretty much zero experience in that type
of riding. Be aware when racing in a group in close proximity. Expect
crashes when racing in a tight group.
Drafting on a unicycle is pretty much useless. Unicycles don't go fast
enough for the aerodynamic benefits of drafting to kick in. To get
benefits of drafting you'd have to be riding in a large group of many
riders and be riding close enough that the Coker size tires overlap.
Not a sane thing to do. The rule of thumb with road bicycling is that
the benefits of drafting start to kick in once you start going more
than 17+ mph. Below that speed the only benefit of following someone
is pacing and not aerodynamics.
I disagree on your comments regarding peletons. I think they will
almost certainly form, and at the higher end 25-30km/hr, there will be
significant advantages in efficiency. Not as much as on a bike peleton
going 40-50km/hr, but certainly noticeable.
Especially:
-if there's a headwind, then the effective speed is higher
-because unicycles tend to be less aerodynamic than bikes. The effects
kick in at a lower threshold
-The pacing effect is significant. I'm sure it's easier to ride
harder, longer, when you're pacing others.
As to safety, we were riding at 25-30km/hr at Unicon 13 with probably 1
metre spacing between riders. Only one crash that I recall, which was
due to a tricky turn.
--
GizmoDuck
The Uninam Tour 2008.....Hanoi to Saigon!!! www.uninam.net
The SINZ Unicycle Tour 2007....South Island, New Zealand
www.sinzuni.org
The Induni Unicycle Tour 2009. Unicycle Tour of India. Email me for
details.
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