Infineon twilight races

[maillotpois]

Anyone do these? Bikemomma? Velogirl? Anyone go watch?

http://www.infineonracewaycycling.com/

DH is all wound up about wanting us to do them. (He wants to flaunt his new Pinarello I am sure). My take on racing is even if you're a strong, fast rider with good pack skills, it's not something I really want to "dabble" in aside from maybe the Early Birds and the El Tour de Tucson race we do. And this race is mass start, all levels. Sounds a bit sketchy. Plus, we are with a team and no WAY do we have the time to commit to a team at this point. (That's one sacrifice I am willing to make while I still have a kid at home. )

Anyone know anything about the race series?

Thanks.

[velogirl]

Sarah, have you ever raced a crit? Or participated in a crit clinic? I personally wouldn't race these. However, what happens in a race like this (a bit different than a traditional crit) is that the pack splits very quickly into smaller groups, so it's likely you'd only be racing with one or two others.

My suggestion is to go one week and spectate (let DH race if he wants to show off the bling, but trust me, none of the racers will notice his bike). If it looks appealing to you, race the following week.

[maillotpois]

valid question. we did the early bird series - with the clinics- a couple years in a row back in 02 and 03 I think. I actually did the series by myself the first year and DH did it with me the second (literally as I always seemed to end up riding in the men's field because I didn't want to wait around for the women's ). it was enough for me to decide wow this is a blast and I want to race more, but enough to realize if I don't have time to train with a team it won't be that much fun. and in terms of my time for riding I decided it was better spent then working w/TNT and now I am spending it working the ultra distance stuff.

it is something I want to do more of, but now's not the time.

[BikeMomma]

Perhaps if I lived closer.....Napa is a bit far, especially for an evening race. I'd have to leave work early, too (like around noon). The alternative is to stay close to home Thursday nights and get beat up by the guys and Charlotte here for free. Our Thursday evening ride is brutal & excellent training.

Thanks for thinkin' of me, though! Good luck to the dh if he tries it!
~BikeMomma

[Deanna]

My husband does them and raves about them. The course has enough climbs and turns to be way more fun than any city street circuit or crit. I think the crowd dynamics are a lot less sketchy than your normal on-street race--the hills tend to break the crowd up and there aren't so many sharp right turns.

He LOVES the surface. It's clean and smooth -- he did it in the rain a few weeks back and had no road grit on his bike. He's says even if you're not racing to win it's worth it to just to ride on the track.

Tonight's the last in the Spring series. They stop for car racing season and start up again in the fall. I can't really justify leaving work early for this, so I've never made it.