(Photo © Jonathan Maus)
No, not those clydesdales. I’m talking about bike racers. Big bike racers (well, big in bike racer terms at least.)
In an effort to balance out field sizes, Cross Crusade chief Brad Ross announced on Sunday that this weekend’s race will feature a “Clydesdale” category, open only to riders that weigh 200 pounds or more.
Racer Tim Schauer has given this some thought and according to scientific calculations he posted to the OBRA email list, he thinks the Cyldesdale category should do the least amount of laps possible, “because we work more per lap than the less gravity burdened.”
Here’s his logic:
“…our CMI (Cross-Mass-Index) loosely relative to the BMI (Body Mass Index) is higher, meaning that based on PPL (Pounds Per Lap) a 200 cross racer works as hard in 5.25 laps as a 150 lb cross racer does in 7 laps….this makes sense right?”
Umm yeah.
Some racers, on the border of qualifying for the new category, are rumored to be binging just to make the weight. Some wonder how much more beer it would take to pack on the pounds.
Schauer says he’ll opt for a milkshake, “Sounds like a bonus trip to Burgerville tonight for a seasonal Pumpkin Milkshake just to make sure!”
OBRA’s Candi Murray says there won’t be a weigh-in. Instead, would-be Clydesdales will have to mount a teeter-tooter opposite Cross Crusade staffer Brian Witty.
Stay tuned on Monday for photos and coverage from Ranier High School, the third stop in the River City Bicycles Cross Crusade.
Will there be a scale on site? Will be it be with clothes and shoes? I\’m sitting at 198.5 right now. Might as well go on a hot dog and beer binge….
HOT DAMN!!! I\’VE FOUND MY PURPOSE IN LIFE! Now if it were beef graded by age group, I\’d have a shot at that ugly new OBRA Champ Jersey!
Just a reminder for those that are coming out to race, this category was opened to reduce the number of C\’s and was not intended for A\’s and B\’s to sandbag in.
BTW – Witty happens to \’carry\’ his weight well, so you might be a bit surprised when all of you sitting right around 200 don\’t tip the tooter.
Can I wear my camelbak at wiegh in?
🙂
I knew all that beer drinking would pay off some day. Woo hoo!
Cool.
I have never had anything to do with cross, but I have been around a lot of MTB racing. The clyde class is great, but I have noticed that sometimes some of the fat guys enter thinking this is a class they will have a winning chance in…only to have their hopes crushed by the tall dudes and ex weightlifter types that happen to be a lot faster than their 200+ lb. body would lead you to believe 🙂
Oh no! What have we done. Now, instead of people spending all summer trying to get optimum fitness for the cross season, they\’re gonna be making late night runs to Krispy Kreme. I hope we haven\’t created a monster here. If we have, it\’ll resemble Jabba the Hut.
Very interesting.
Is this your effort to entice me to come out and try cross Brad? How thoughtful! – 32, 6\’5\” and still growing…
Oh how I wish I could get my 6\’2\” pro-wrestler body under 200. I rode in the last two cross crusade races and can say that i finished OK, but not to my satisfaction. I do ride nearly every day to work over the west hills to downtown. So I could ride the courses all day. However, with speed, no way. Those small guys again have my number.
My wife always says women love big guys (not fat, but broad-shouldered with huge muscles). Sometimes I feel she is crazy! I just want to ride my bike fast…and not downhill. 🙂
~n
Finally….6\’-6\”, 278 lbs, 38 yo. 14 beers.
Shouldn\’t the CMI be modified to include age and beer capacity?
Now, someone\’s got to convince my wife to let me buy that fixed gear cyclocross bike and we\’d have something going!