And the Results are In

If you read the ncnca forum you notice no fewer than three threads complaining about the Snelling results...

Two team mates and I finished 10,11,12 or 11,12,13 in the M35+4/5 A flite after we worked our butts off to stay in group of 15 or so guys that finished together. My two team mates also worked like dogs to stave off DBC attacks - they had 14 guys in a field of 50, which is maybe a topic for another thread. Anyway, the 11th place finisher is listed as "unidentified" but how do you miss three guys from the same team in a strung out finishing group of 15? We all got DNP's. I sent a pic of us finishing to Velo Promo but I am not holding my breath. I really appreciate all the great races Velo Promo puts on but this should not happen. I realize I am talking about a Masters' 4/5 race but we train hard just like everyone else and like to see whatever meager results we achieve

I finished after Chris Phipps in the M35+ race in 8th place. At the results table they had the top 7 and then nothing else. Since places went to 6th we just ignored it and left it to them to sort out while we drove home. Imagine my surprise to see that I was skipped over in the results. The next 6 places 8th to 13th (should have been 9th to 14th) were the guys in the group I had just recently left.

I've got a problem with adult men whining about their placings. The fact of the matter is that whether the results placed you 14th or 35th or not at all doesn't matter... at all! The only time that it might remotely matter is if you are close enough to the front to earn upgrade points or BAR/BAT points... or in some cases, points towards a race series like the 99 Series. Even then, if you really are ready to upgrade you should be able to earn whatever points you lost by being misplaced in the next race or two...

but... before I go on a rant, a little about scoring races...

first, you have nearly amateur officials practically volunteering their time to drive out to nowheresville in the wind and rain or blazing sun to make sure we play fair. They have more to deal with than just you and the immediate group around you... at Snelling they had as many as 500 or more people on a 12 mile section of road at the same time and they weren't all conveniently staying in their neat little groups (something about fitness and wind and racing I guess). And there are no computers and fancy cameras to keep track of it all. The officials are using those little yellow legal pads to scribble down numbers as fast as they can, and if they are lucky, they have a camera that works to capture the finish... except that mixed in with that finishing group might be dropped riders from another field or riders that still have an additional lap remaining (oops, we aren't supposed to mix groups, right? but we do, and then we complain when we don't get finished in the right spot!). Then, after they've scribbled all those pages and pages of numbers, the officials have to try and sort the finishing order out on the spot while still scribling down numbers of other finishing groups, keeping people out of the cameras line of sight, and dealing with Johnny Go-Fast asking where he finished... no wonder they make mistakes.

Second, it is not the promoters fault that the results are screwed up. He/she can only post what the officials give to them. They are spending their time and money every weekend putting on races just so we can have our bit of fun... they are trying to break even or maybe scratch out a few bucks at most so don't give me any business about not having so many groups on the road at the same time... Get off VeloBob and his contemporaries' backs. Without them we don't... let me say that louder... DON'T... race our bikes... at all!

okay. back to my rant...

There is an element of vanity to bitching because you don't see your name next to 14th or 22nd place. I can understand the disappointment, but not the roll-on-the-floor-kicking-and-screaming-like-a-two-year-old fit. Let it go, nobody but you cares... and nobody is going to do anything about it. Just like with a two-year old, the best thing to do is ignore the fit...

Now, with juniors, there is something noble about a parent standing up for their young'n, but think about what you are saying and how it is being said beforehand... A kind word and gentle correction goes a lot further than demands. And, pick your battles... unless it really matters in the big scheme of things, it may not be worth getting the placing adjusted from 17th to 12th. Pat your kid on the back and tell him or her that you are proud of them.

I find it interesting that most of the whining on the forum comes from the 4's and 5's crowd... maybe you have to learn that results will be messed up before you can upgrade. One legitimate complaint that we let lie on Saturday may have really mattered... well, not really, but it cost Judd Van Sickle an upgrade point, a t-shirt, and maybe a $5 bill. There was significant evidence that one of the top 6 finishers in the p/1/2 race skipped a lap... he was placed and bumped Judd to 7th, out of the "money." Kudos to Judd for realizing that it wasn't worth the battle and letting it go. Guess the p/1/2 guys that have been around racing long enough realize that it is just TBR (that's bike racing).

In the end,we race bikes because we love it, because it is fun... not to see our name listed in the results. For most of us results don't matter anymore than the fact that you got out and rode your bike. Tomorrow or next week or next year nobody is even going to remember where you finished... even if you won. You know about where you finished, you know how hard you worked for that spot... that is what matters.