[stevesbike]

does anyone happen to know if the rose bowl Tues/Thur training races have started up yet this year? If so, what time are they starting?

Thanks-need the leg speed work....

 

[rocco]

does anyone happen to know if the rose bowl Tues/Thur training races have started up yet this year? If so, what time are they starting?

Thanks-need the leg speed work....

yes... it's starting at about 5 until DST kicks in.

 

[stihl]

Rose Bowl is a pretty good training ride 'cept that it gets a bit dangerous sometimes..

 

[Fast_C50]

Rose Bowl is a pretty good training ride 'cept that it gets a bit dangerous sometimes..

what race isn't?

6PM after daylight savings kicks in.

 

[stihl]

what race isn't?

6PM after daylight savings kicks in.

Race? I thought it was a training ride..
It's so stupid when I see riders taking unnecessary risks on a Tues crit. There's nothing worse than waking up on a Wednesday morning in a hospital..and losing a tooth.

 

[rocco]

...and speaking of which there was some carnage tonight. At least five went down hard and one was taken away by the fire department EMTs on a stretcher with a broken leg. It's the second wreck this month. I think this ride with the wide variety of skill levels combined with all the nonparticipating leisure riders and pedestrians on the course is a recipe for disaster and a lawsuit. Too many people ride this thing like it a race that really matters and it's a big old Cat 5 squirrel trap. Count me out. If you want to do a ride there on a Tuesday or Thursday night at a lower intensity either stay away or ride in the opposite direction because this ride is full of @ssholes who'll box you into the pedestrians and leisure riders.

 

[pavedroad]

Ouch. All the times I've been out to the bowl or the montrose ride I've never seen any crashes. That bowl ride can get a bit sketchy, especially when cars decide they want to be part of the pack.

...and speaking of which there was some carnage tonight. At least five went down hard and one was taken away by the fire department EMTs on a stretcher with a broken leg. It's the second wreck this month. I think this ride with the wide variety of skill levels combined with all the nonparticipating leisure riders and pedestrians on the course is a recipe for disaster and a lawsuit. Too many people ride this thing like it a race that really matters and it's a big old Cat 5 squirrel trap. Count me out. If you want to do a ride there on a Tuesday or Thursday night at a lower intensity either stay away or ride in the opposite direction because this ride is full of @ssholes who'll box you into the pedestrians and leisure riders.

 

[rocco]

Ouch. All the times I've been out to the bowl or the montrose ride I've never seen any crashes. That bowl ride can get a bit sketchy, especially when cars decide they want to be part of the pack.

The ride description on socalcycling.com

Ok, so you want to go fast? How about fast? Did I mention fast? With all this fast you'd think this ride would also be hard, but for the majority of riders, this ride is pretty much a breeze. Of course, you do have to dodge the joggers, walkers, roller-bladers and cars constantly on each of the three mile laps (the ride varies from 8-10 laps), which keeps you on high alert. Regardless, it is pretty cool to go out and ride for about an hour and do thirty miles. With regulars like Olympian Thurlow Rogers this ride never disappoints those who just need speed. I can't emphasize enough that you MUST wear your helmet on this one. Even those riders who rarely shelter their noggins are seen sporting their favorite buckets on this crash-fest.

Yeah the cars don't help either. I'll do the Montrose ride once in while but I'm not terribly fond of that one either because there are too amy stop lights and cops on a mission.

 

[Squeegy200]

I train out there after hours but avoid the Tues/Thurs crit training rides. In the months I've been riding around the bowl, I've seen pedestrians run over, elderly drivers/golfers pulling out in front of cyclists, remote control cars out of control, and teenagers trying to drift in the parking lots. I see at least one EMT crew on site each month when the weather warms up. Its that time of year.

The Bowl area and the Arroyo are great for training after hours and I do lots of climbing up and above the bowl at night. I've been fortunate and injury free but there are lots of potential hazards when it gets busy.

 

[bandoulu]

I ride there..its not that bad.
The EMT just seem to hang in one of the car parks.I dont think they are waiting for an accident,just skiving off.Sacred heart is a great climb,so is Chevy chase ...i'm down there all the time.

 

[rocco]

I train out there after hours but avoid the Tues/Thurs crit training rides. In the months I've been riding around the bowl, I've seen pedestrians run over, elderly drivers/golfers pulling out in front of cyclists, remote control cars out of control, and teenagers trying to drift in the parking lots. I see at least one EMT crew on site each month when the weather warms up. Its that time of year.

The Bowl area and the Arroyo are great for training after hours and I do lots of climbing up and above the bowl at night. I've been fortunate and injury free but there are lots of potential hazards when it gets busy.

I totally agree and I do pretty much the same thing as you when it comes to training in the area. I only ride around the Rose Bowl if I want to do a short and easy recovery ride and I generally ride around the park counterclockwise. They've witnessed or heard about at least three wrecks on that ride in the last 5 to 6 weeks. I just saw an old guy go down and snap his collarbone during that ride last week. The traffic there this week has been really heavy and at times a bit hairy. There are at least dozen reasons why that ride is bad news.

 

[rocco]

I ride there..its not that bad.
The EMT just seem to hang in one of the car parks.I dont think they are waiting for an accident,just skiving off.Sacred heart is a great climb,so is Chevy chase ...i'm down there all the time.

At least 3 wrecks in 5 to 6 weeks not that bad? I've never known a worse ride to wreck ratio for any other training ride. Not to mention all the hazards related to the close proximity to auto traffic, leisure riders, roller bladers, pets, children and etc. Last week there was some joker doing the ride in cargo shorts, no shirt, no helmet and earphones. I've heard from a reliable source that it's been so bad lately that the Pasadena Police Dept. has been had some pointed discussions with some of the regulars.


From socalcycling.com:

http://www.socalcycling.com/Group Rides/frGroupRides.htm

Ok, so you want to go fast? How about fast? Did I mention fast? With all this fast you'd think this ride would also be hard, but for the majority of riders, this ride is pretty much a breeze. Of course, you do have to dodge the joggers, walkers, roller-bladers and cars constantly on each of the three mile laps (the ride varies from 8-10 laps), which keeps you on high alert. Regardless, it is pretty cool to go out and ride for about an hour and do thirty miles. With regulars like Olympian Thurlow Rogers this ride never disappoints those who just need speed. I can't emphasize enough that you MUST wear your helmet on this one. Even those riders who rarely shelter their noggins are seen sporting their favorite buckets on this crash-fest.

 

[steve_e_f]

I do that ride once a week. I know it has it's risks, but it's about as risky as a crit. I just say a prayer and watch very closely. I always ride in the upper 25% to minimize the chances of newbies taking me out, and I also ride the outsides (never the middle). I've seen three significant wrecks there, and they have all happened either right beside me (in the middle) or just behind me. It's always a sickening feeling when it happens.

It's not a safe ride, and it's not for everyone. They had a big speech about safety a few weeks ago, but I really don't know what that will accomplish. 100 people going 35 sprinkled with newbies and a serious overload of type-As is a recipe for crashes.

sometimes when I miss the ride for some reason I don't mind at all because I figure I'm that much safer.

-sf

 

[mav616]

Need some speed work, check out Encino Velodrome on Tues nights...no cars on the track and the riders are pretty cool. Newbies ride on Wed for open training....just a thought...

 

[Dotty]

Rosie Bowl?

Do any women show up for this or is it just all guys?

 

[t-moore]

All the time. Please come with fresh legs. The big problem is both men and woman allowing gaps to open as they are shelled out the back....

 

[Dotty]

Ok, thanks! We'll see how fresh my legs are after Manhattan Beach.

 

[gremelm]

I'm a regular Rose Bowl rider (Tue/Thur) and I can attest to the fact that the ride has at times been dangerous but recently, during the last couple of months, there haven’t been any serious accidents that I'm aware of. I agree that there is some degree of sketchiness but what ride doesn't have its share of dangers. (BTW...I also do the Montrose and La Tuna rides as part of my weekly training.) All I can say is that it's absolutely necessary that anyone doing the ride be attentive to all possible danger and if you become tired or fatigued during the ride, drop yourself from the pack and recover. I enjoy doing the ride and as riders we look out for each other and admonish those that can become potential hazards. For all the times I've done the ride, it's relatively safe as long as we, as riders, are aware of each other, the traffic, the pedestrians, and other distractions.

There are quite a few women that do the ride...many of them have been known to stick with the pack for 8+ laps. Cheers to them. :thumbsup:

 

[roadfix]

I don't ride with the pack as I can't stay with them for more than a lap or two at a time. Anyway here are a couple of short video clips I shot of the ride. Picture and sound quality are really bad so watch them FWIW....
I posted these clips over at BikeForums last week so some of you might have already seen them...

https://s31.photobucket.com/albums/c362/jojisan/bikes etc/?action=view&current=RoseBowl.flv

https://s31.photobucket.com/albums/c362/jojisan/bikes etc/?action=view&current=RoseBowl8-3-06.flv

https://s31.photobucket.com/albums/c362/jojisan/bikes etc/?action=view&current=RoseBowl8-3-06-1.flv

 

[bigdraft]

cool vids, thanks. I am a regular on the ride too and saw myself go by in a couple of your videos. Not much to add as far as what to expect on the ride since gremeln summed it up very nicely.

If you do the ride, just make sure you know what you're doing and if you're at all unsure, just stay near the back of the pack until you can figure it out. While fitness plays a big role in staying in the group, its more important to have your pack skills dialed in before you start getting mixed up in the middle or front of the group.

Have fun