Everyone is so sketchy!

"That was a sketchy race" may be the most common phrase in cycling. I hear it a lot more now that I've started doing Masters crits on a sorta-regular basis.

In defense of the squirrels.. yah it is sketchy. But that's because a bunch of dudes who've only been racing for a few years are mixed in with some dudes who are used to being able to ride "assholes-to-elbows" as they say. Mix in that a lot of Masters started riding in small groups and have idiosyncratic tics that developed over years of practice and aren't going away and the best thing to do is just learn not to fall off when someone tags you at 30 mph. And accept that once in awhile you'll end up on the deck too.

Despite what my blog may lead you to believe, I think i am probably one of the more forgiving riders in the field when it comes to sketch moves; I always try to offer sketchy rider helpful pointers rather than lay into them. It's only when the rider indicates that they are being sketch on purpose or thinks that being a thug in a Masters race is pro that I am likely to hip check them.