Congratulations on completing your first triathlon! My only thoughts on this are there's one in every crowd! Focus on the positive experience you had and try to put the negativity behind you. It sounds like you did your best given the circumstances. Be sure you always review race rules prior to competing and you will be light years ahead of most of the competitors. USAT has rules that are good to review every year that you compete. This helps give you confidence that you are doing the right thing out on the course.

I was passing a woman during the bike leg of a race and she commented "Where does she think she's going?" Like I was going out too hard and was going to blow up. That was great fuel to keep up the pace and to stay focused. There are some strange people attracted to triathlons, it's not too difficult to avoid them since there are plenty of other people who are much more enjoyable.

Congratulations on your first tri! I totally agree with what Erika said. There is one of those people at every race and crowded courses get everyone rattled. It doesn't sound like there was anything you should have done differently. I had a similar woman behind me in a half-ironman yelling at everyone to "hold their lines" and keep right as she wobbled all over the road on the left hand side. I debated saying something, but decided it was just easier/safer to shake my head and stay away from her.

Michelle

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The beatings will continue until morale improves

Good job!

You were right--you didn't want to be cutting in as you were moving forward. It was up to the other person to pick it up and get by you. Just ignore people like that.

clm

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

The hardest thing is to keep your cool in that situation...sounds like you did a great job!

I've never done this, but I've always wanted to retort back to a rider screaming at me to move out of the way.... "well, why don't you learn to swim faster, and this wouldn't be a problem, would it!?"

(but in my head, passive-aggressiveness is much more clever than out loud, huh?)

Thanks for the reminder- being the bigger person is always better in the end!
Cheers

Congrats on your first tri!

The problem I find the most is that nobody follows the rules about what to do once you've been overtaken. The lady yelling was right because she was being blocked and it's a race after all. But you didn't have anywhere to go because the lady to your right did not fall back once she had been overtaken. It's kinda frustrating that even the ones that know the rule don't follow it.

The rules:

d. Blocking. Cyclists who have established the right of way must not block or obstruct the progress of another
participant

g. Being Overtaken. When the leading edge of the front wheel of one cyclist passes beyond the front wheel of
another cyclist, the second cyclist has been "overtaken" within the meaning of these Rules. A cyclist who has
been overtaken bears primary responsibility for avoiding a position foul and must immediately move to the rear
and out of the drafting zone of the passing cyclist. The overtaken cyclist shall first move completely out of the
drafting zone of the other cyclist before attempting to re-pass the other cyclist.

Thanks everyone. It was a great first experience. Of course, I'm counting down the days until I can do another.

And thanks for your thoughts on the passing thing. I'm thinking I did the right thing. Still, I'll be doing some speed work over the winter, so next year if she comes up on me, she won't even get close enough to pass (but I do love that swim faster comment!). ; )

Ride safe.

Importantly, a JOKE should never be wasted on the abusively pedantic.

Goodluck 3sports1mom, see you out there, having fun. take care!

I think you did the best you could in the circumstances. Sounds like it was a crowded race and it is always hard to be in a perfect position in that case. She may also be setup to assume you were being social because a lot of times that is what happens in all women's races. There will always be someone out there who tries to rain on your parade. It can be hard to get focused again but you are there for you so get refocused and put that crap out of your head.

Follow the rules, if you find yourself in a tight spot again make sure the person behind you knows you are making a strong move to pass. If you get yelled at, tell them to have a great race then catch them and be sure and smile as you pass.

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Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce

Crowded races make the bike leg tough. When it is crowded, nobody can really be expected to ride their own ride. Pass when you can, be polite when you can, but know that it isn't an individual time trial. If you are passing others on the left, get to the right when you can but Ms/Mr Speedy just has to wait. Sorry. You paid the same race fee they did and you don't have to compromise your race. Crowded race courses kinda make the USAT passing/blocking rules a fantasy.

I did the SOMA Half a couple of years ago, and I was just getting over a stress fracture so I was in toe-clips and it was a really crowded course at the start. I kept trying not to draft (going about 10 MPH) and when I saw a little bit of clearance, I got over into the left lane to start passing those going 10 MPH. Then some of the fast people got behind me (think multi-loop course), and I believe a certain moderator on the main forum (poster name starts with "R") started yelling at me to get over and ride right. My point is that I paid the same race entry fee to get in, and I was passing people on the right. It isn't my responsibility to make sure he has a stellar race; it is my responsibility to make sure I'm passing within the required timeframe. Crowded courses just make it hard to ride your best race.

To those of you who ride really fast, don't enter a crowded race. If you do, you may get frustrated by people like me. I'm going to do my best to give you a clear shot--I'm not rude--but you can't yell at me to get over if I get in your way. I'm riding my A race as well. Deal. If the OP was passing those on the right, and blocked a faster rider, it just goes with the crowded bike course. Fast people don't have an automatic right of way if we've all paid the same race entry fee. They need to deal with the same course congestion the rest of us do. Sometimes that means a slower bike leg. I can't imagine a "pro" triathlete who thinks I need to abandon my race so they can have a good one.

I yell at everyone during loop races, because otherwise people don't hear you, especially people with aero helmets. It's so that you know I am behind you, that I am going to pass you, and that's all. It's about awareness - i.e. just hold your line, don't swerve, etc.. I don't believe I ever told you (or anyone else) to "abandon your race." if you are going 17mph (what you averaged) and are passing someone going 10mph, and I am going 26mph (which is what I averaged when I did that race), that has the potential to be a bad situation.

On the flipside of your argument, I don't see why I should have to compromise my race so that you don't have to compromise yours. The bottom line is we both have to make compromises. I can assure you that there were plenty of times when I had to hit the brakes, sit up, etc. and not pass people right when I wanted to and that's fine. And by the same token, I think you ought to accept that you might have to wait to execute your pass for the couple fractions of a second that it will take me to pass you, which I've made clear well in advance. At the end of the day, it's all about safety, and when someone - anyone, either you or me - gets self-righteous about what they deserve for their entry fee, that's when accidents happen. So I'm not sorry I yelled at you, because you and I didn't crash into each other and nobody got physically hurt. If your feelings were hurt, what can I say, "it isn't my responsibility to make sure [you have] a stellar race." Everything you've written is equally applicable to the inverse scenario - if you are really slow, don't enter a crowded race, or you may get frustrated by people like me.

I'm also a big enough boy that you can write my full name. I can deal.

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"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via." - Seneca | rappstar.com | FB - Rappstar Racing | IG - @jordanrapp

Actually, as a USAT official (and one of the people at all-women races who is probably yelling "Passing!" all the time) I have to say you are not correct. Just because you paid the same entry fee does not give you the right to block another rider. Read the rules before your next race.

I'm not reading this as that you were blocking so much, as that you didn't have room to move to the right. And...you weren't the person all the way to the left, but it was the person you described that sprinted up a bit to get out of the way of the person yelling? I don't see a whole lot wrong with this, for a crowded race (and I'm going to guess Danskin/Trek/whatever the latest morph of that is--BTDT--and I don't race the local one anymore for just that reason).

Sometimes it might be helpful to smush over to the right a little to let the person get by...you might end up in someone's draft zone for a little bit, but you would be pulling right back out to make your own pass after the faster girl went by, so probably wouldn't be in the draft zone that long.

As for the yelling...it's a race...she could have been in a later wave (some of these races are huge) and contending for the lead in her AG, so of course, she wanted to get through as unobstructed as possible, and tension gets a little high. I yell in races...best way to make sure people hear me. That, again, goes with race selection...I don't enjoy picking through beginner traffic so much if I start in a late wave. Doesn't mean she was a bad swimmer.

Rapp, hey, that is pretty cool that you could find my AVG MPH on the bike leg from my screen name! Well done. I think I explained in my last post that the first part of the bike leg at SOMA was super crowded (which is why I don't plan to do it ever again) and I found a break in those passing on the left, I got in the left lane and passed a few cyclists, you caught up to me and yelled that I needed to ride in the right lane. I moved over; since you posted my blazing bike speed, it is obvious that I'm not in contention for anything other than a good day. My point is that I also had a right to be there since I was passing.

Monica, thank you for your pimer on triathlon racing. I think Rapp can attest to the crowdedness of the first part of the course; my point is that in triathlon racing, you're not necessarily riding your own race. But you know that. If I block you as I'm passing somebody, well, sorry about that. The person I'm passing is blocking me.

I agree - it's a crowded bike course. One of the most, but it's because they have huge problems with not actually being allowed to venture outside of Tempe city limits (the other cities won't close ANY roads for them). I still had a lot of fun at the race. Just lost my voice for a few days after. :)

I just wanted to point out that on a crowded course, everyone has to compromise - slower people have to be aware that faster people will try to squeeze by, and faster people have to be aware that they can't always pass. There are plenty of places on that course where I could pass you while you were passing someone else if we all hold a straight line. I just wanted to be clear that I wasn't saying that you must compromise your race for mine when I asked you to stay right. At the end of the day, it's about being safe, and everyone needs to remember that and not feel like it is their right to pass (or not be passed) at any given moment. If I misinterpreted what you wrote I'm sorry.

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"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via." - Seneca | rappstar.com | FB - Rappstar Racing | IG - @jordanrapp