Junior Rider Hub

What Should be in Your Race Bag?

April 9, 2006

I’ve been the lead coach at the USAC Midwest Regional Junior Development Road Camp held every June in LaCrosse, Wisconsin for a few years now and camp manager Larry Martin always requests that I go over the “Race Bag.” There’s really nothing for the presentation other than bringing my race bag to the camp’s evening classroom session and discussing what’s in my race bag as I pull items out of it. I’ve been racing for over twenty five years, and my race bag has evolved over the years and is a reflection of my racing and travel experiences. I am hesitant at times going over the contents of my race bag for I learned quite quickly that riders and staff that have heard my race bag presentation hunt me down at race events for they know I’ll have something they need. So if I disclose what’s in my bag, please take it upon yourself to create our own race bag and not to be reliant on others.

Organization is an important component to the sport of cycling since there’s always the potential of things going horribly wrong at the wrong time, and if you’re not prepared, poor performance or lack of performance may be the result. Since becoming a certified USAC coach, I’ve come across several pre-race check lists, so what I have to share with you may be easily available elsewhere. However, I always find my race bag to be more comprehensive since it is based on my own personal experiences.

When I used to travel and be away for several weeks or months racing, my race bag was much larger and consisted of street cloths and leisure wear along with my race kit. My current race bag is more reflective of local racing where I usually compete in a one day event and return home the same day. However, if I do travel to cycling events that require lodging for a night or more, I now pack a separate travel bag for toiletries, street clothes, and leisure wear in order to keep my race bag intact. I find if I leave my race bag in the car and only bring in my travel bag to the motel or host housing, I am less likely to forget important cycling gear and clothing behind. If you are just starting to race and/or plan to race only local events such as the WCA WI Cup series, my race bag that I am going to share with you will be more than enough. Due to the cold weather associated with spring races in Wisconsin, I have a cold weather race bag and warm weather race bag. I usually remove winter racing gear when the track season begins at the end of May and add my skinsuits and spare jerseys for the Madison event.

Here are the items in my race bag:

Gloves: You should always train and race in gloves. Obviously, you need winter gloves in the early spring races and riding gloves when the weather warms. If you crash, your instinct is to put out your hands and without gloves, you can remove the skin from the palm of your hands. Ever try riding a bike without skin on your palms? I usually have one dollar jersey gloves in my race bag for cool riding days throughout the season.

Helmet: You must have a helmet to race, so I always attach my helmet to my race bag handle so I will not leave home without it, and I know I have it for I can see it attached to my bag.

Standard USAC entry and release forms: You can download and print these forms off the USAC website at: www.usacycling.org. I always travel with several standard USAC entry and release forms that I have filled out all the information except for event name, date, and entry fee. Usually I fill out one form and photo copy it so all I have to do is fill in race information at registration. Most races can have long lines, wind, and rain which are not conditions favorable for filling out paper forms.

Rule book: The rule book used to be mailed out to all the USAC membership, but with the rule book being available on-line, I believe only licensed officials receive a hard copy of the rule book. I always carry my rule book in my race bag along with an officials patch incase there’s a need for an additional official at a race event.

Basic tools for track and road: I travel with my tool box but in my race bag I carry a multi-tool, spare inner tube, tire levers, and handle bar tape and for the track a Campy peanut butter wrench and disk valve stem adapter for my track wheels. How many times do you see a rider with electrical tape patching their handle bar tape and/or missing bar ends? That’s why I take handle bar tape with me in my race bag.

Shoes, spare cleats, straps, and buckles: My current race bag has a mesh see through compartment to allow my shoes to breath and for me to see if I have my shoes in my bag. I also carry spare cleats, straps, and buckles. I am prepared to change any cleat, buckle, or strap that might break prior to the start of my race. It would be a shame to drive a far distance to a race and break a cleat or strap with no means to fix it.

Jerseys and shorts: You should always travel with a minimum of two compete team kits consisting of a jersey and short each, especially if you plan to do more than one race per event or race two or more races over a weekend. I’ve seen riders with bikes worth several thousand dollars yet when they crash they don’t have a spare team kit. You are required to start each race in a clean kit. If you do more than one race per event, a fresh kit feels good and allows you to get out of your cold wet kit and into a clean dry one.

Base layers: Base layers are just as important as your team kit for they offer extra protection if you have a crash. Base layers may also aid in cooling in hot weather and warming in cool weather. I always have a variety of base layers in my race bag to choose from based on the weather conditions.

Long-sleeved jersey: You should always travel with at least one long-sleeved jersey even if you believe the weather will be warm. When you travel to a race the weather can change and if it’s early in the morning or late in the afternoon the temperature can be much cooler to what you may have predicted. Long-sleeved jerseys are also good to warm up and cool down in and a clean long-sleeved jersey looks professional when you stand on a podium for your award.

Riding jacket, vest, rain gear, tights, arm warmers, leg warmers, & booties: Always take cold weather clothing with you so you can dress according to the race conditions when you arrive to the start and not be caught off guard to race conditions you did not foresee. I always take more cold weather clothing than I need so I have several options to choose from. When the track season begins towards the end of May, I remove a lot of my cold weather clothing in my race bag and add my skin suits and additional jerseys to loan my Madison (team race) partner. However, I always leave at least one long-sleeve jersey, riding jacket, and arm warmers for sometimes both tracks can become really cold at night being so close to Lake Michigan.

Towel and rubbing alcohol: I take along a small towel and rubbing alcohol with me to clean up after a race. Most race venues do not provide shower facilities, so I always rub down with a towel dampened with rubbing alcohol. Don’t take a beach towel or a bathing towel for they will take up too much space in your race bag. I use simple white towels I got from the United State Marine Corps that have my name stenciled on them. I usually have two of them in my race bag, and they do not take up a lot of space and do their job well. Finding a similar towel should not be a hard task. The alcohol I use I buy at a grocery store, drug store, or discount store and come in a 12 oz. bottle that can be easily carried in my bag. Usually I can find two bottles of alcohol for $1.00. If you travel with others, please have the courtesy to clean yourself after a race if you’re going to be confined in a car for an extended amount of time on the way home. If I use a balm or some type of ointment on my legs, I use the towel and alcohol to remove it from my hands after applying it to my legs so I don’t have slippery hands when I grasp the handle bars.

Sewing kit: People always laugh when I show them my sewing kit in my race bag yet people that know I have it have seek me out to use it. I got my sewing kit during a stay in a luxury hotel. You can purchase a sewing kit for $1.00 or less at most discount stores. I have a tendency for zippers to rip out near my belly for some reason, so I like the added security knowing I can make minor clothing repairs on the spot.

Toilet paper: How many times have you been to a race venue only to find out there’s toilets but no toilet paper. I keep a roll of toilet paper in a zip lock baggie in my race bag and another in my car. Now that you know this, get your own toilet paper and don’t ask me at the races if I have toilet paper.

Check book and race license: I keep my race license in my check book for I need both of them to register for a race. I always pay my entry fees by check for several reasons. Sometimes checks don’t get cashed. If you pay with cash, the money is gone. If the check isn’t cashed the money is still yours. I’ve won races (not recently) where the race promoter doesn’t cash my check as a courtesy. At the end of the season, I look through my check book to determine the number of races I competed in and tally up my total spent on entry fees for the year. Prior to being married, I was doing 65 to 70 races a year consisting of road events on weekends and track during the week.

Socks: I always have socks for racing so if it rains I have clean, dry, and warm socks to wear.

Plastic bags: Plastic bags from the grocery store are easily stored in my race bag and used to put my used race kit and towel in after my race to keep separate from my clean items in my race bag. Then when I get home, everything remains in the car except the items in my plastic bag which I take in the house to laundry. Once laundered and dry, I immediately return the clothing items to my car, so I don’t forget to take them to the next race. You should always remove your race number immediately after taking off your jersey for if you don’t, the safety pins used to attach your race number can rust and stain your jersey.

Index cards: I have several index cards in my race bag that I use to put my name, team, event, and race number on and attach to my spare wheels if the race has a wheel pit. If I put wheels in the pit, I also write, “Wheels” on a folded over index card and place it on my car’s steering column directly in front of the speedometer so I will be reminded to pick up my wheels out of the pit prior to leaving the race site.

Hat: Carry a team hat in your race bag so if you have podium finish, you can cover up your helmet head hair. Many times newspapers crop your picture so sponsors on your jersey may not get in your picture but it is hard to crop a head shot with your sponsor on your hat.

Sandals: Prior to a race and after, I may need to walk around so I carry sandals with me to wear so I am not straining my Achilles tendon walking in my cycling shoes as well as damaging my cycling shoe cleats.

Energy bars, gels, pop tarts: Sometimes you need something during a race or between events to eat. A few packaged energy food items do not take up too much space in your race bag and usually keep for the season unlike a banana, orange, or apple would.

Safety pins: After a race, I save my safety pins so I will have some for the next race or give to someone looking for pins. If you do a lot of races, there’s no excuse for not having pins. The tracks issue cloth numbers to be used for the track season. I always leave my track numbers in my race bag so I will always know where they are.

Protective eyewear: If you use protective eyewear, make sure you have several lenses to use that best fit the weather conditions. Dark lenses may look cool but will do you little good when the visibility is poor.

I have a lot of items in my race bag but I can get them all to fit as long as I do the following:

When packing my bag it is important that all the items are clean and dry. I also fold each item so I will be able to pack more in to my race bag. The items I know I will be using such as my shorts and jersey, I place towards the top in the race bag. I pack my protective eyewear towards the top of the bag, so I know it will not get crushed. Items I rarely use but take along just in case I may need them, I have towards the bottom of the bag. I always place my race socks and cycling gloves in my shoes so I can always find them right away. All my cycling clothing, hat, toilet paper, and towel go into the main compartment of my race bag. My shoes, gloves, socks, are placed in the mesh compartment on one end of the bag. On the other end of the bag, I place my alcohol, balms, tools, spare cleats, straps, and buckles. Along the side of the bag I have a compartment for my check book, standard entry and release forms, index cards, race flyers, safety pins, track race numbers, writing pens, officials patch, rule book, and a current Wisconsin road map that I pick up for free from a Wisconsin rest area.

Please take responsibility for your own race bag and its contents. Do not blame a parent or someone else for not bring or packing something for you. Keep everything organized and clean in your race bag and you will be able to focus all your attention on racing and not trying to find items that you have forgotten to bring to the race event. You now know the contents of my race bag but now it’s your turn to make your own race bag.

 

Announcing USAC's Junior Regional Development Road Camp

April 12, 2004

The camp will be held in LaCrosse, Wisconsin June 21-25. Riders from this camp will be selected to compete in the UCI sanctioned Tour de L'Abitibi in Val-D'Or, Quebec, Canada July 19-25. There is additional regional camp information available on the USAC website along with application forms. If a rider doesn't receive an invite but wants to attend camp, they can contact Lowell Kellogg, LKellogg@aol.com or camp manager, Larry Martin at Looncoach@direcway.com.

Note: Riders applying for the camp will need a race resume.

Junior Gearing

March 8, 2004

Junior gearing can be a surprise to young athletes trying the sport of cycling for the first time. The USCF will align its equipment regulations with the UCI by January 1, 2007. Whether the USCF is aligned with the UCI or not, there has always been a history with junior gear regulations and the USCF in one form or another. The young athlete attending their first USCF sanctioned event may be shocked to find their bicycle to be considered illegal. And their parent(s) may wonder why when they have paid a lot of money for a bicycle that they were told was race ready. The main purpose of the junior gear restriction was to help the young rider develop a good pedal cadence and to avoid injury. Presently the junior gear restriction for road events is 26 feet (7.93 meters). There are additional junior gear restrictions for the track based on age and no junior gear restrictions for cyclo-cross. The gear restriction is determined by the distance the bicycle travels in one complete pedal revolution when the bicycle is in its largest gear. The USCF race official(s) will usually provide a courtesy gear check prior to the start of the junior race but ultimately it is the gear check immediately after the junior race that determines whether a junior's bicycle was legal or not. The USCF official checks a junior's bicycle's gears not by counting the number of teeth on the largest chain ring and smallest cassette cog but by rolling the bicycle backward in a straight line for 26 feet. This gear check procedure is called the "roll-out method" or simply " junior roll-out." If the bicycle makes a complete pedal revolution under or on 26 feet when rolled backwards, the bicycle is legal. If the bicycle rolls past 26 feet when rolled backward for a complete pedal revolution, the rider is (not possibly) disqualified for not complying with the junior gear restriction. Ultimately it is the athlete's responsibility to make sure their bicycle is compliant to the junior gear restriction. The purpose of the courtesy check is to offer the junior the opportunity to block their gears prior to competing in their event. Please note that blocked gearing is not permitted in USCF National Championship and UCI events. Pending on the rear derailer's stop limits and rear cassette cog combination there is no guarantee that a bicycle with blocked gearing can be made legal for it all comes down to the distance traveled in the largest accessible gear.

The USCF rule book and the UCI regulations are available online via USA Cycling's website: www.usacycling.org. I would encourage all riders regardless of age and ability to review the rules prior to each new cycling season. USA Cycling does provide gear development charts in the rulebook to help determine various gear combinations that can be used to be compliant with the "junior roll-out" distance of 26 feet. However, you must take in account that these gear development charts are based on 700c wheels with an average sized tire. Not all cycling tires have the same diameter and can give a bicycle a roll-out distance different than the distance provided by the gear development chart. Junior riders need to roll-out their bicycles on their own prior to attending a USCF sanctioned event to determine whether they will be in compliant to the rules or not so they have time to change gears. Doing so will reduce stress on the young athlete on race day which can be filled with emotion and stress when new to the sport of cycling.

Junior riders as well as their parent(s) need to respect the role of the USCF official when their bicycles are being rolled-out. Arguing with the USCF official does not make an illegal bicycle legal. Also, allowing an illegal bike to pass is not fair to the other young athletes that are using complaint gears. Junior riders can never assume that their bicycle is legal from one event to the next whether the bicycle has passed roll-out during the same day, the previous day, the previous week, or even the previous year. Tires can stretch and increase their diameter over time. A tire's diameter can change with different air pressures. Changes in temperature can also cause a tire to expand and/or increase in pressure. In the event of a wheel change, the new rear wheel may have different tires or even a different sized cassette cog. Juniors have won races only to be disqualified for accepting wheel change during the race and then rolling over during junior roll-out after the event.

I was an intermediate my first year of racing with a USCF license. Intermediates had a gear restriction of 45 tooth front chain ring and 14 tooth rear cog according to the gear development chart. I used a 44 tooth front chain ring and a 14 tooth rear cog to make sure my bicycle was legal. As a junior my gear restrictions were 24 feet 9 inches. I used a 53 tooth front chain ring and a 15 tooth rear cog which was 3 inches below the maximum legal roll-out distance. My point in telling this is that it is better to be safe with your choice of gears by being a little under the maximum legal roll-out distance. Not that it really matters today, but gear restrictions can change and vary from year to year. When I was a junior all USCF events had gear restrictions. However, when I competed in junior UCI events, I could use whatever gears I wanted except for the timed events. Timed UCI events on both the road and track had gear restrictions. Today, all junior UCI events have gear restrictions and I don't see junior gear restrictions going away. Presently any junior competing in elite or senior events does not have to comply with junior gear restrictions. This was not the case a few years ago but was rarely enforced due to no roll-out after elite or senior events. In 1985 I spent a season racing in Europe on a French license when I was 20 years old. Even though I was 20 and considered a senior rider, I could not use a gear larger than a 52 tooth chain ring and a 13 tooth cog. Not knowing the Belgium rules and language(s) I can only assume that all riders in Belgium events had gear restrictions or maybe I was competing in a class similar to the present day espoirs category. In Belgium they did not roll-out bicycles but rather counted the number of teeth on the front chain ring or looked for the chain ring's number of teeth stamped on the chain ring. To determine the size of the rear cog they slid a plastic device over the cog and if it fit snug or didn't fit at all, you were OK. If this device was loose when slid over your rear cog, you were declared over geared and not allowed to compete unless you changed your cog.

Bottom-line; all Wisconsin Cup events are USCF sanctioned, read your rule book, check your bicycle's roll-out, and be respectful to the race officials. Have a safe and rewarding racing experience.

Lowell Kellogg, ISCorp Junior/Espoir Coach

Lowell Kellogg is a USAC licensed rider, mechanic, official, and coach.

Below are my gearing recommendations for ISCorp Juniors as well as any rider that plans to attend the UCI World Cup event for juniors, the Tour de L'Abitibi to be held in Val-D'Or, Quebec, Canada July 19-25, 2004. Ultimately these are only my recommendations and riders can ride whatever they want pending what is affordable, available, and legal.

Junior Gearing

ü UCI and USCF Regulations for juniors require 52 X 14 largest gear set up.
Juniors will be encouraged and recommended to use Shimano Ultegra 9 speed and/or Shimano Dura-Ace 9 speed due to the USAC and UCI gear compliance.
Juniors should use a 52 tooth front chain ring and a Shimano 9 speed 14-25 cassette.
Prior to 2004 Campagnolo DID NOT offer UCI gear compliant chainrings or cassettes. However in 2004 Campagnolo does offer 52 tooth front chain rings, 14-28 cassettes in 9 speed, and 14-23 cassettes in 10 speed for the Veloce product line of Campagnolo components. I assume there is some interchangeability with Veloce and the other Campognolo component product lines.
Juniors should not expect USAC and UCI compliant wheels from me if they do not meet my gearing recommendation. Remember we are a team of six with support staff in the follow vehicle, we just don't have room in the follow vehicle to carry every imaginable wheel combination. There just isn't time to determine which rear wheel is needed during a point to point road race with enforced time cuts.

Please note: Many shops do not have Shimano 14-25 cassettes in stock but they can be ordered.

Although Dura-Ace may not make a 14-25 cassette, Ultegra does and it works with both Dura-Ace 9 and Shimano 105. Stronglight, Shimano, and others make 52 tooth chainrings that may need to be ordered as well. Shimano Dura-Ace 9, Ultegra, 105, and Tiagra 9 speed chain rings are interchangeable with one another.

L.Kellogg and juniors on the 03 Tour L'Abititi team