The Jesster wrote:The key, in my opinion, is a 45+ 3,4 field or a 45+ 3,4,5 field. This time of year there probably aren't going to be enough remaining 45+ 5's -- especially if a 35+ 4.5 field is also offered (which it is).

As of this morning there are 257 Cat 5s who are 45+ more than enough to fill a 50 rider field. There are 235 Cat 4s who are 45+ and 154 Cat 3s who are 45+.

There are about 300 riders who are Cat 5 in the 35-44 age group and another 300 riders in the Cat 4s who are 35-44. Again plenty of rider there to fill up the fields if the riders want to travel to the races in question.

Since you are observing fields and numbers, I would like to bring the Wente Road Race to your attention and to ask you to please observe the women's fields. There were 38 w cat 4 racers in one field and in field #2 there were 19-w 45+ Masters/28-w 35+ cat 4 racers. So if you do the math there were appoximately 50 women over 35 racing in one field besides the cat 4 field of 38 women. Total female racers in two fields, 85. To bad the Berkeley Road Race did not offer the same.

The key, in my opinion, is a 45+ 3,4 field or a 45+ 3,4,5 field. This time of year there probably aren't going to be enough remaining 45+ 5's -- especially if a 35+ 4.5 field is also offered (which it is).

By the way, have you looked at the numbers? Panoche has 26 riders preregistered in the 45+ 4/5 field. That makes it the 3rd highest census of any of the categories offered, next to the 35+ 4/5 (32 riders) and the Elite 4's (37 riders)!

What's more interesting is that there are twelve riders in the 45 open division who are either 3's or accidental 4's and 5's. There is only a single 45+ 1,2 registered.

The conclusion: Adopting the 45+ 3,4,5 idea would likely have made this cat the most populated field by pre-reg for Panoche!

If we want to see more 45+ 4/5 races in the future, we need to fill up the fields when they are offered.

Panoche road race has a 45+ 4/5 group that is not even half full yet. We should be able to get at least 50 into that race to show promoters that it is worthwhile to offer 45+ 4/5 races.

Rick M.

It really was a fun race, wasn't it? I remember Eric from Mako doing a lot of work -- a good sized draft, and I highly recommend him to all Ramoras. In fact, I got a chance to see a lot of the guys in the field. It was probably the most fun crit I've ever been in, just for all the attacks and counters and prime sprints, and the like.

Judging from the poll results so far and the feedback received, I think a lot of the masters agree. When the word gets around to the 45+ 4's who traditionally race the 35+ 4/5 race to escape the master pros' dominance, this category is going to have a solid census and take some of the weight off of the crowded masters field, whether the 5's are included or not. Frankly, I don't think the 45+ 5's are all that dangerous to include; they all have work on Monday morning and tend to ride with more care and maturity than other 5's.

Man I loved it!! It sure was nice to get those pesky 1's and 2's out of the way so we can enjoy some glory too!
I'll do those races anytime I can. I dont think it was too sketchy at all.
That was the most fun I've had on a bike in a long time.

I'll be at the Albany 45+ 3/4 for sure Jesster!

After the EMC 35+ 4/5 event, I'm not so sure I'd like to race with the 5's again. It was one of those races where I concentrated on avoiding trouble rather than thinking about a prime or setting up a teammate. Not a fun way to spend 40 minutes.

On the other hand, the EMC 45+ 3/4/5 was a really fun race. I lead a teammate out for a prime, and was in the front a few times working hard. No worries at all about any of the corners. There were a couple of sketchy guys, but overall it was pretty safe. The other good thing about the race was that there were fewer racers. RD's should consider limiting the number of racers to 50 if there are any 5's in the group.

Eric
Cat 4, 45+
Mako/Galaxy Granola

Berkeley (BBC) will put our money where my mouth is (and you may not want to know the particulars).

We'll run a 45+/55+ 3/4 field at the Albany Crit on July 23rd and see how the numbers go.

I believe that many of the master 4's who would otherwise be competing for spots and risking their monday morning safety in the master 4/5's will prefer the speed and relative safety of the arguably more mature and certainly more seasoned elders of the sport.

I encourage other race promoters to do the same.

Jesster

By the way, I can't wait for Michael H. to reach that marvelous milestone. I'd love to see him at the races, an afghan spread over his ubiquitous folding lawn chair, rhapsodizing about his daze of whine and Rosie. (It's true, MH. I'll never forgive you for not letting me have that prime at Land Park.)

I just reread my post after reading Ron's. I need to clarify: I'm not sure the numbers would support a 45+ 3/4 like they would a 45+ 3/4/5.

I think next year we will solidly consider including a 45+ 1/2/3.

By the sheer numbers I would say the 45+ 3/4/5 is here to stay. The race looked like a really well matched field without any absolute super stars. That means it's fun and encouraging for all participants.

There are many options to review for fields, but one I am kind of sorry to say that may be left out is Women P 1/2. The pre-reg was less than encouraging. If we build it and they don't show, we probably won't build it again. At the same time the Women's 3/4 seemed to be succesful, and we like seeing our own women 4s challenged to the next level.

This is our clubs bread and butter for the year, like any business we have to cut what doesn't work.

Thank you to everyone who came out and enjoyed the day.

Ron

The 45+ 3/4/5 was a nice change of pace. It preseneted a different character to the 45+ category. Even though I'll race in whatever group I am allowed in, this was pretty cool. The only thing I had to be careful about was the riders I perceived who were 5's in the first 1/2 of the race. After I moved up and various attacks started taking place, the 5's situation was not that much an issue for me. While I can see the argument of having the future race as a 45+ 3/4, I am not sure if the numbers would support that. (BTW: How does on take part in the poll displayed at the top of this page?)

As for the rest of the race, EMC/Vellum did a fine job. I appreciated having 3 races I could do with at least 1 race rest inbetween. Having course marshals just past each of the 90 degree turns regulating the car lane against the flow of the bike race was particularly insightfull.

I will definetly be back next year.

I too enjoyed the 45+ 3/4/5/ crit and thought EMC did a good job with the race. I must however admit that I am always a little more confident of the racers around me when none of them are cat 5's.

The addition of the 3's to the field is good because it adds more strong riders to keep the pace high. If there are more 45+ lower category races I would definitely enter, but I am also content to race the open 45+ ones.

To me it is a pleasure to be in a field of riders where EVERYONE knows how to turn a bicycle, and it's ok if I'm not strong enough (yet) to sprint with the heavy hitters. Even if we're old coots, we still need goals to strive for! :)