(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.