If you have EVER thought of racing, Especially women, now's your chance

With the Gapers Block Crits

Dearest Ladies,

We hope we're not coming on too STRONG, but we wanted to let you know just HOW MUCH you get our gears going. HOW MUCH we want your presence at the GAPER'S BLOCK CRITS March 26th-29th, Half Acre's practice race series, just for the beginners (women cat 3/4).

We'd SO LOVE to see your fast foxy selves spinning 'round our Calumet Park course, that we have ALL KINDS of gifts to entice you, just you, ladies.

1. We've cut the price of racing in half, just for you. 4 nights of racing for ONLY $25! ALSO each night, PRE-REGISTERED RIDERS are eligible for a raffle drawing. So Register soon!!

2. Do the Men get a prize for all overall winner? NO. Do the ladies? YES, the Top 3 overall women get PRIZES thanks to Half Acre Cycling's many sponsors!

3. We know you love shoes! (At least this lady does!) Tati Cycles is GENEROUSLY giving away shoes the the first few pre-registered women, who have NEVER done the Gapers Crits before. It's first come, first serve!! SO PRE-REG, and also you must actually race.

4. We don't want to leave you in the cold after your race. Not us. We want to cuddle after. We are having a special post-race chat/follow-up/QnA just for the women, after the first 2 evening's races. We understand your needs to communicate AND we want to make sure you get the most knowledge out of your racing experience.

5. We are here to give you what you need. If you don't have a road bike, let us know. Does your friend want to race and not have one? Let us know. We're not about to leave you hanging. Just reply to this e-mail and we will do our best to hook you up!

6. If you race ALL FOUR nights, purchasing a day-of license each night, Half Acre Cycling will COVER the rest of the Annual USAC License Fee (total fee = $60). An annual license is the gift that keeps giving b/c we know you'll want to race in the Illinois Cup next!

7. Your race starts at 6:50 pm, because we know you have a lot on your plate, and we want to give you plenty of time to get to the park.

8. FINALLY we want you to be prepared, like good girls scouts, so I divulged all of my racing secrets. Now you're ready to race your best crit, or first crit, ever.

What more could you ask for? We want to be the most devoted bike race series we can be. If you aren't a Cat 3 or 4 any longer, if you have moved up the racing ladder, you can still spread the love to those women who are thirsting for the thrill of a bike race and just starting out.

For more info or to register, click right here: https://www.bikereg.com/Net/15540. Registration opens March 1st at 12 am in other words tonight (2/29) at midnight!!

And, please, ask us anything, ANYTHING about this race or heck, even races in general. We are an open book.

See You March 26th!

Much Love From Vanessa & Half Acre Cycling

Tags: criteriums, crits, racing

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Gerry G on March 1, 2012 at 10:19pm

Hey there 122782. What would be your optimum stand over height? 49-50cm neighborhood?

122782_ said:

I'd definitely need to borrow a bike, but think I'd want to race with something I was familiar with. Hmmmm. Decisions, decisions.

This only supports me "needing" a second bike.

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Permalink Reply by Vanessa B on March 1, 2012 at 10:51pm

Did you sign up for the race? If you need a bike, let me know.

122782_ said:

I'd definitely need to borrow a bike, but think I'd want to race with something I was familiar with. Hmmmm. Decisions, decisions.

This only supports me "needing" a second bike.

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Permalink Reply by Vanessa B on March 1, 2012 at 10:52pm

cool! I will see you out there then.

y a j said:

Nope, I only race triathlons, but I'll be out there volunteering & cheering on lots of friends and training pals.

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Permalink Reply by Vanessa B on March 1, 2012 at 10:55pm

We are doing a post race mini-clinic the first 2 nights. Unfortunately we don't have the hours of light to run 3 races and do a clinic before hand, though this is a good idea.

LT said:

Have you thought about doing a mentoring clinic before the races? I used to race in CA and we had an early season (January!) race series which was geared at beginners. Before each race there was a clinic so that people could practice clipping in at the start line, how to ride in a pack, how to avoid crashing, etc. This post outlines what the mentors are supposed to do: http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/NCNCA/message/2480 It might be useful to do something like that, particularly if you are expecting people who may not even have group riding experience!

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Permalink Reply by Michael A on March 2, 2012 at 9:30am

Half acre does a group ride on saturday mornings that all are welcome, come join us on a NO DROP ride to Highland park and back, This is a great way to get used to riding at speed with a group of riders.

Join our ride forum for free to find out where and when we ride

http://www.halfacrecycling.org/forum/

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Permalink Reply by Vanessa B on March 2, 2012 at 9:48am

Yes +1 to what Michael said, new ladies you have a month (almost) to get some pack riding experience so come on out!!

vanessa

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Permalink Reply by Gerry G on March 3, 2012 at 8:14pm

HEY HEY!

Look out Peloton. Team Melanie was prepping for action at the Bike Swap today! So cool.

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Permalink Reply by Melanie K on March 3, 2012 at 10:50pm

Yes, my franken-bike and I will be racing...if I get it together in time! Not sure if the Peloton can handle it- :) I am super excited, too!

Thanks for the encouragement, SD!

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Permalink Reply by Vanessa B on March 3, 2012 at 11:02pm

Hey michelle - you signed up for the women's 3's race, which is for women who have raced a bit and upgraded their catagorey from a 4 to a 3. Is this correct in your case? I put you in the category 4 race, but if you are a 3, let me know and i can move you back!

ALSO to all of you who are new to racing and want to have a pack riding experience, or maybe you've done some group rides but want to hear more about the races, we will be inviting all the new racer women who signed up for gapers to a Half Acre cycling group ride. Time and Date to be determined but watch your email inboxes for an invite from me!

thanks!
vanessa

Michelle Loomis said:,

Signed up! I knew I bought a fancy road bike last year for a reason... traditionally a MTB racer but I will give this road thing a shot :) Also this place is located on my way home from work. Awesome!!

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Permalink Reply by Duane Waller on March 4, 2012 at 3:14am

Go Melanie! Best of luck with the bike; it was a pleasure meeting both of you yesterday. I had people come by later in the day asking where the bike with "all the squares on it" went, and I started telling them a "racer" had taken it home :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Melanie K said:

Yes, my franken-bike and I will be racing...if I get it together in time! Not sure if the Peloton can handle it- :) I am super excited, too!

Thanks for the encouragement, SD!

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Permalink Reply by Melanie K on March 4, 2012 at 8:29am

Thanks Duane- I'll be sure to post some pics up as the build goes along. I am starting to strip the other bike's components today. Hoping sometime this week, with some hard work, it will be ready to test ride!
Duane Waller said:

Go Melanie! Best of luck with the bike; it was a pleasure meeting both of you yesterday. I had people come by later in the day asking where the bike with "all the squares on it" went, and I started telling them a "racer" had taken it home :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Melanie K said:

Yes, my franken-bike and I will be racing...if I get it together in time! Not sure if the Peloton can handle it- :) I am super excited, too!

Thanks for the encouragement, SD!

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Permalink Reply by Brianne D on March 4, 2012 at 8:59pm

After reading all these comments, I started to get super excited (I've never raced before), and then I saw that registration is closed. Boo! Oh well. Good luck to all you new racers!