There is LOTS to do in LA!

You can spend your time, waste your time, or invest your time. It's your choice.

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Saturday March 8th ~ The Next Ladies Only Track Session (LOTS) will be held at the LA Velodrome on Saturday March 8th. The March 8th LOTS will be sandwiched in between LAVRA’s morning Time Trials and the afternoon Omnium. Time will be tight so arrive early!!

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The Motorgame ~ Any of you who have attended a Tuesday or Thursday PM “Roger’s Session” at the LA Velodrome will know immediately what I mean when I say “the motorgame”. For the rest of you…let me explain.

The Tuesday/Thursday evening training sessions at the LAVelodrome begin with a group interval training session that starts exactly at 7:00pm on the dot. After a 40+ lap paceline style group warm-up, we begin the interval portion of the workout. Based on a predetermined schedule, we do 3-4 interval efforts (paceline style) lasting approximately 12-15 minutes each with a 7-8 min rest between efforts. At the conclusion of the intervals everyone takes a 10min break to get ready for “The Motorgame”. The motorgame is generally set for 40-60 laps but this will vary on occasion.

Motorpacing is a valuable track training tool used to teach riders to train safely at higher speeds which allows the riders to race safely at higher speeds. Although this is an advanced skill that is not for the fainthearted, just about anyone can learn how to safely participate in Roger’s motorgame.

The game begins with all the riders lined up on the safety rail behind the motorbike. As the motor brings the riders up to speed and onto the track everyone should begin to settle in behind the rider in front of them. It is ‘game on’ when the group is all together riding securely up on the blue line behind the motor.

In the motorgame, the lead rider will be positioned directly behind the pace bike. Every other lap, the lead rider will vacate their position on the motor as the group enters turn 1 allowing each rider to eventually work their way up through the paceline. When the lead rider exits their position behind the motor, the second position rider will move up close behind the motor to assume the lead position.

Rule #1 ~ The lead rider is allowed to sit on the motor for no more than 2 laps at a time. No hogging the motor. If you overstay your turn, the riders behind you will not hesitate to re-educate you!

Rule #2 ~ For The Motorgame, the lead rider will always exit the motor in turn 1. Do not "double-switch"! In other words, if you are the second position rider, do not follow the lead rider up the track when (s)he peels off. Always take your turn at the front of the line however brief, and then pull off as soon as it is safe. Double-switching is very dangerous, as neither the lead rider nor the third rider in the line will expect this to occur. The results of this scenario need not be explained.

As with any paceline or motor paced line, it is the exiting rider’s responsibility to ensure that the area above the paceline is unoccupied beside and behind you as the group approaches an exchange. The exiting rider should signal their intent to exit by turning their head to the right to look for oncoming traffic. As the exiting rider approaches the exchange and determines that it is safe, they should begin to accelerate while moving slightly up track in an attempt to pass the motor. While over lapping the rear wheel of the motor, the exiting rider should remain close enough to the motor to allow the second position rider to remain in the draft of both the exiting rider and the motor while moving forward into the gap created by the exiting rider. Once the second position rider has filled the gap and is on the motor, the exiting rider should continue moving up track and begin to drift to the back of the line as the paceline pulls through underneath.

Rule #3 ~ DON’T EVER TRY TO GET OUT OF THE WAY!! If any member of the Motorgame is unable or unwilling to maintain the pace of the motor, that rider should make every effort to maintain their speed and position as the group gradually rides away from their front wheel while continuing to ride straight and steady at an even speed. This will cause a gap to open between riders. At no time should a rider make sudden speed reduction changes or suddenly move sideways to exit the line. The riders behind you will not be expecting this and the sudden change in speed and position will cause you to come back into their front wheel too quickly with no time for them to compensate. Each rider is responsible for maintaining a steady and predictable pace at all times. It is the responsibility of the riders behind you to see gaps opening in front of you and to make a safe decision to pass you or not. Trying to “move out of the way” by suddenly shutting off the gas and swinging sideways out of line is guaranteed to put you directly in the path of the riders behind you who have already committed to trying to pass you! This is very dangerous and will certainly cause great confusion!

Rule #4 ~ Riders are encouraged to leave the comfort of the group on the blue line to drop down to the pole lane and to lap the motor as many times as possible before the end of the game. The penultimate goal of the motorgame is to finish on even laps with the motor. However the winner is the rider who is able to finish the predetermined distance AND gain the most laps on the motor. Riders must take great care when dropping down to the pole lane from the blue line! It is always each riders’ responsibility to know who is where and how fast they are approaching before moving sideways (up or down) on the track.

The motorgame is a great workout and it's fun!! Generally Roger will start the motor at a speed that is comfortable for most riders. As the game progresses, the speed will steadily increase every few laps or so. By the end of the game, only the fastest riders will be left hanging on for dear life!

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Saturday February 16th, March 8th, & September 27th ~ The LAVRA will be hosting the first of 3 combo Track TT’s & Omniums at the LA Velodrome on Feb 16th. Similar to last year, the morning race session will host Time Trials & Pursuits (including Team Pursuit!!) while the afternoon race session will host an Omnium. LAVRA is looking forward to an exciting racing season. Ladies this is a great opportunity for us to work on Team Pursuits! If you are interested in training for this event, please contact me!!

For all the details of each race session please see the event flyer at the LAVelodrome’s website.

New for LAVRA events for 2008 – ON LINE PRE-REGISTRATION –

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Friday Feb 15th ~ Attn Ladies ~ If you are interested in racing the TT’s or the Omnium hosted by LAVRA this Saturday and you want to work on your TT skills or learn how to do a Standing Start or need to understand the Omnium events…etc. Please plan to join me at ADT this Friday evening! I will be there from 6-9PM to work with you. Normal track fees apply. A quick RSVP would be appreciated so I know who to expect? Also ~ rental bikes are NOT available for races.

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Sunday February 17th ~ Tom’s Farm Time Trial ~ These TT’s are a great way to develop & fine tune your TT skills. Pacific Sunset Velo hosts the USCF TT’s throughout the year. For a complete calendar of events, please see their event flyer.

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Saturday February 23rd ~ The Santa Clarita Women’s Only Grand Prix. Has been cancelled and will NOT be happening.

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Sunday February 24th ~ The first race of the 2008 Ontario Crit Series will be happening sooner than you think! And the trend in event line ups continues with both a WCat 3-4 race and a WCat 1-3 race being offered. For more info, please see the event flyer

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The entire 2008 SCNCA Racing Calendar is available.

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Saturday March 8th ~ The Next Ladies Only Track Session (LOTS) will be held at the LA Velodrome on Saturday March 8th.
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Have a super week Ladies!!