[NCNCA] Call for Early Bird Mentors

Tue Dec 4 18:01:06 PST 2007

The Early Birds – transforming riders into racers
By Shawn Mehaffey

The Early Bird series is a five-week program designed to teach cyclists how to race safely.  No competitive experience is necessary, but you should be comfortable riding in a group.

EXPERIENCED RACERS:  all new riders benefit when we have experienced racers mentoring them.  We need more mentors, both those that currently race and those that have raced in the past.  If you have the patience and skills and can help us out, please contact me at spmehaffey at yahoo.com or call me at home, 925-866-1613.  By helping riders become racers you are helping our sport grow and prosper.  Please be aware that the primary goal of the Early Birds is to teach riders how to RACE SAFELY; teaching them how to win or place is of secondary importance.

On Sundays from January 6 - February 3, 2008 we will cover the following topics: basic pack skills, cornering, pacelines, working with other riders, and race conduct.  Because each week builds upon the last, the schedule may “slip” a week or more if we get rained out due to a heavy downpour, so please be flexible regarding the day’s agenda.  As part of the emphasis on teaching and safety, the first four weeks of the Early Birds will be training crits with no finish-line results.  Racers will have to estimate where they finished relative to everyone else.  The last week will be a "graduation test" with full race results.

Mentors should report to the registration area at least 10 minutes before one of the mentoring sessions to go over the day's lesson plan.  Mentoring the Cat 4 Women and ALL junior girls will last from 9:25 to 10:25am.  Mentoring the Cat 5 men and ALL junior boys will last from 11:10 to 12:10.  Yes, like last year we will have two mentoring sessions which means some mentors can sleep in!  The split schedule is meant to reduce the amount of time the riders have to wait between mentoring and racing.  

After each hour of instruction mentors are welcome to ride with the beginner racers, dispensing safety advice when necessary.  Mentors will roam around the middle and back of the peloton, making sure everyone is racing safely.  A few of mentors will also separate from the pack and help organize those that have fallen off the back.  Here is a daily schedule of the races:

   8:30- 9:15am Category 4 and 5's w/5 or more races 

   9:15 = Mentor meeting to review lesson plan
   9:25-10:25am Early Bird Mentoring for Women and ALL junior girls
  10:35-11:15am Women 4 including Junior girls 14-18; there will be two groups - one for those with less than 10 races and those with more than 10 races.

  11:00 = Mentor meeting (for those that did not attend the 9:15 session) 
 11:10-12:10pm Early Bird Mentoring for Men & ALL junior boys  
 12:20- 1:00pm Category 5 new riders including Junior boys 14-18 (all must have less than 5 races experience)
   1:10- 1:50pm Masters 35+ Category 5 new riders (less than 5 races experience) 

   2:00- 3:00pm Cat 1/2/3's (Men and Women)

*Notes: Cat 5’s may enter only one race during the day. 

Remember that ALL MENTORS must be licensed members of USA Cycling and sign a release form BEFORE they can do any mentoring, regardless of whether they race or not.  Having a current racing license, coaching license, or a one-day license will satisfy this requirement.  Being licensed and filling out a release form will confirm that you are officially part of the event and covered under the event insurance.  Once you show your license and complete the release form you will be given an orange safety vest to wear while mentoring.  Please do not give your vest to someone else as they will NOT be covered by insurance without a completed release form.

As a thank-you for helping out, all mentors may race for free (confirmed by looking up your dated release form).  Additionally snacks will be available for mentors.

Some helpful mentoring hints: Stop the group briefly in a parking lot area if you need to explain something in detail and need everyone’s attention (please don't block the driveways).  Ask the riders to practice at reduced speed so the group stays together and riders do not get dropped.  Feel free to add your own opinions and experiences to the mentoring session.  

While mentoring during the race occasionally move up and check on the front & middle of the pack and give any appropriate feedback; just make sure you don’t affect the outcome of the race.  Encourage riders to ask questions and a few of you should be available near the finish line afterwards for the post-race Q&A session, which has been a big hit with the new riders.  

I’d like to make a pitch for experienced women racers to volunteer as mentors.  Several female mentors have helped out the last few years with very positive results, something I’d like to see continue.  If anyone has any questions about mentoring or wants to discuss teaching methods, please feel free to call me.  

Shawn Mehaffey
USAC Level II Coach
spmehaffey at yahoo.com
(925) 866-1613

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Early Bird Race ad will be posted soon on www.ncnca.org/road

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Week #1 - Basic Pack Skills

Getting comfortable in the group, riding a smooth and steady pace and being a predictable rider (avoid over-reacting), being aware of overlapped wheels, being comfortable with riders close on either side, pedaling the corners and staying off the brakes, and handling the evil Bots Dots.

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Week #2 - Cornering

Picking the best line through a turn and what to do if you do overlap wheels.  Demonstration of touching wheels and avoiding crashing.

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Week #3 – Moving around and Pacelines

Dynamic, not static riding (holding position in the field when necessary and moving around in the field when appropriate, avoid being stationary in the bunch).  Also, working effectively in smaller groups (formations and rotation for 4-6 riders); practice pace lines in these smaller groups with exchanges in the corners and quick turns at the front.

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Week #4 – Working with Other Riders

Moving up in the pack and organizing a chase group to rejoin the field after getting dropped.  Practice will include the threaded (three) paceline drill.

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Week #5 - Putting it all together

Proper behavior at a race, negative racing, and racing with intelligence.  Practice will include threaded pacelines and bridging to breaks.

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