Do's and Don'ts of Ultra Team Racing
By
Mark Panther Patten
I recently raced the Furnace Creek 508 on Team Tibia. (Check out www.the508.com for more info on the race) It was my first time on a team and thought I would pass on pointers I learned along the way. The Do's and Don'ts make it easy to follow for your team effort.
First you must put the Team of riders together, a total of 4. You can go with the "Fast Team" premise or maybe Oldest, Half & Half ...the one we went with was SYMPATHY. Sympathy goes a long way! Besides, no one will really expect much from the Team.
DO- Get a couple of riders who have suffered a major injury or illness, etc.
We had two, Thomas Miller and Mark Newsome, both have been hit by autos while riding bikes (what more could you ask for!) Thomas walks with a cane and has a ankle bracelet to " stimulate bone growth". I personally think he just got released from jail and it's one of those "stay at home" tracking devices (which don't seem to work very well). Newsome has a great looking scar from multiple surgeries. People wince when they see it, many can hardly look at it for more than a second. The fact that he has a lower leg is amazing. You can read more about Mark and his accident along with some pictures from the 508 on his web site http://marknewsome.tripod.com/cycling/1999/fc508/index.html. Well, as you can tell we had the "major injury" part covered.
DO- Get media coverage! Chuck Bramwell from the famous Triple Crown Events was our man.
He got us in the LA Times before the race and Orange County Wheelman Newsletter will have a story he wrote in it. Chuck made sure everyone knew about us!
The fourth rider of our team brings with him the list of DON'TS of a Team rider. "That rider would be me."
DON'T- Have a recent DNF Solo RAAM rider.
They'll always be trying to ride longer than their pull to make up for not finishing RAAM, even though it's a team race!
DON'T- Have a rider who is overly competitive.
They don't sleep well the night before and for some reason feel that they need to watch the solo riders take- off in the morning. Plus... They have little sympathy for understanding of why you forgot to put your cycling shoes on for your pull.
DON'T- Have a rider whose weight is 190+ doing your climbing.
DON'T- Have a rider with pierced nipples, and likes to ride with his shirt off in the warm weather of the desert or the Southern parts of the USA!
Next is the CREW.
DO- Get relatives to help.
Thomas's brother Ben was there and did a great job putting together our group effort.
DO- Get people from work.
Ben's fellow worker Toste had a great attitude for crewing, always smiling.
DO- Get someone with a van.
John came through at the end with a great van all set up and ready to go.
DO- Get crew with experience.
Bob has years of crewing and riding ultra events.
DON'T- Put one person who is a little hard of hearing in one van and a person from another country in the other van. It makes conversations over the CB's a little hard to handle. The phrase " What ?! " came up more than a couple of times in our van.
DON'T- Let people touch the CB controls in the middle of the night.
Said fourth rider from our team may get angry and use words that are not in the team spirit.
DON'T- Pull into sand with full size van.
John did a great job in getting us out before we sank the van on the shoulder less than a 100 miles into the race.
Equipment.
DO- Get two vans that work.
Our vans were both great with no problems at all.
DO- Get yourself a full suspension road bike.
The roads suck in this country for bikes; the overly competitive rider enjoyed Paniment Valley and Death Valley on his.
DO- Get yourself good lighting for your bike.
You never know when the van can't keep up on the down hills:)
DON'T- Forget to put your helmet on when it's your turn to ride!
DON'T- Forget your cycling shoes. THEN WEAR THEM WHEN IT'S YOUR PULL! :)
DON'T- Bring too much because overly competitive guy will bring too much.
I have over ten bikes!
Other DO's and DON'Ts:
DON'T: be buying food when it's your turn next and the rider is in sight.
Do: bribe the officials.
We got the official closest to us a hair cut and shave in California City! Worked wonders for us.
DON'T: put offensive comments on Ultra Forum before you are going to race.
Once again fourth rider is guilty! The lead officials may not have sense of humor.
Do: bring lots of money. It will be the most expensive century you ride.
DON'T: be surprised that you'll have fun and meet some great people.
Do: go out and race, even if you know you won't come in first.
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Read stories I have written about my races:
- 2001 24-Hour World Championship Story
- Have Legs Will Travel - UMCA 24-hr. Championships '97 & '99
- What? Are you stupid! - BAM '96