Field DQ'd at Turtle Pond

Mark Hagen

The Masters 45+ field was DQ'd in yesterday's Turtle Pond Circuit Race,
with 1.5 laps remaining. The official in the follow car saw a rider toss
a water bottle back onto the lawn adjacent to the parking area and
immediately halted and DQ'd the field. A breakaway group of 3 was
allowed to finish.

At the start line, the officials had given plenty of warning of the
types of behaviors that would not be tolerated, so we have no one to
blame but ourselves. The guilty individual identified himself and
immediately apologized to the field and to the officials. (Members of
the field promptly threw the miscreant into a large pricker bush.)

Folks, let this be a lesson to everyone. The promoters, the officials,
and the towns will not tolerate our rude, inconsiderate, and selfish
behavior. The result is that entire fields will get DQ'd: no ifs, ands,
or buts, no refunds, nothing - just a DQ and go home.

New England has a long, rich history of great cycling events.
Unfortunately, many of these "classics" are no longer around; many due
to problems created by the cyclists themselves. If we don't change the
way we approach races and the way we conduct ourselves before, during,
and after races, we'll have nothing but industrial park crits.

Spread the news: Bad behavior will not be tolerated. Adjust your
attitude and actions accordingly or find another activity. How much more
clear does this need to be?

B. Lafferty

"Mark Hagen" <mhagen@REMOVEbu.edu> wrote in message
news:c8ao7n$a8e$1@news3.bu.edu...
>> Spread the news: Bad behavior will not be tolerated. Adjust your
> attitude and actions accordingly or find another activity. How much more
> clear does this need to be?

And by publicizing the penal code, we should be able to reduce the crime
rate. Good luck!

pedalchick

That's the stupidest thing I've heard in a long time. I've tossed a few
bottles off in my time, especially if there's a hill. You say it was
"adjacent to the parking area" which indicates to me an intent to come
back for the bottle after the race. Stopping the field because of that
is idiotic. Why not just recruit volunteers after the race to walk
around the circuit and clean up all the stuff, especially if it's a
short circuit?



--

B. Lafferty

"pedalchick" <usenet-forum@cyclingforums.com> wrote in message
news:Hv6qc.359$if5.199@fe17.usenetserver.com...
> That's the stupidest thing I've heard in a long time. I've tossed a few
> bottles off in my time, especially if there's a hill. You say it was
> "adjacent to the parking area" which indicates to me an intent to come
> back for the bottle after the race. Stopping the field because of that
> is idiotic. Why not just recruit volunteers after the race to walk
> around the circuit and clean up all the stuff, especially if it's a
> short circuit?


Can we have an analysis of the effect on energy expenditure from throwing a
bottle off ones bicycle at the beginning of a 1 km climb at 8% gradient?
I'd like the calculation for a 20oz bottle full of Cytomax and for an empty
bottle. The equasion should also factor in the energy expended in throwing
the bottle full and empty.

It seems that this is one more effect of the masses seeing bicycle racing on
television. I don't think I saw a bottle thrown anywhere but in the
start/finish area prior to around 1985 when racing coverage started to
become more frequent on tv. Monkey see, monkey do.

Casey Kerrigan

In article <Hv6qc.359$if5.199@fe17.usenetserver.com>, pedalchick
<usenet-forum@cyclingforums.com> wrote:

> That's the stupidest thing I've heard in a long time. I've tossed a few
> bottles off in my time, especially if there's a hill. You say it was
> "adjacent to the parking area" which indicates to me an intent to come
> back for the bottle after the race. Stopping the field because of that
> is idiotic. Why not just recruit volunteers after the race to walk
> around the circuit and clean up all the stuff, especially if it's a
> short circuit?

USCF rule 3B9 "... Riders may not discard materials that are not
biodegradable; they may pass or throw such material to support
personnel in places far from any bystanders [relegation or
disqualification for littering or unauthorized feeding]

I know of road races where thrown off water bottles are a real issue to
the local residents so if it is an issue that might cause a promoter to
lose a race course I can see the penality being enforced.

Richard Adams

pedalchick <usenet-forum@cyclingforums.com> wrote in message news:<Hv6qc.359$if5.199@fe17.usenetserver.com>...
> That's the stupidest thing I've heard in a long time. I've tossed a few
> bottles off in my time, especially if there's a hill. You say it was
> "adjacent to the parking area" which indicates to me an intent to come
> back for the bottle after the race. Stopping the field because of that
> is idiotic. Why not just recruit volunteers after the race to walk
> around the circuit and clean up all the stuff, especially if it's a
> short circuit?

Maybe bike race organizers should invest in few of these.

http://home.tiscali.be/rsabbe/blikvanger.jpg

I'm sure something from the fishing department of a sporting goods
store would fit the bill.

John Forrest Tomlinson

On Mon, 17 May 2004 17:35:02 GMT, "B. Lafferty" <Magni@Italia.com>
wrote:

>Can we have an analysis of the effect on energy expenditure from throwing a
>bottle off ones bicycle at the beginning of a 1 km climb at 8% gradient?
>I'd like the calculation for a 20oz bottle full of Cytomax and for an empty
>bottle. The equasion should also factor in the energy expended in throwing
>the bottle full and empty.
>

I've been tossing bottles in races because I can't stand having them
in my back pocket. Sometimes it's essential to carry a bottle that
way -- like when I need three bottles. But after I'm done with one
bottle I toss it. This is espcially true in longer road races, where I
start with some clothes that I take off and want to put in my back
pocket.

Usually -- say ten times a year -- I toss it in a place where I can
pick it up later. Once or twice a year I toss a bottle with no
intention of picking it up again. This is usually in a feed zone
where I hope someone else will take it or toss it.

JT