So over the past two weeks I volunteered at two tri races, the Nautica NYC Triathlon, and the NYRR Flushing Meadows Corona Park tri. I ended up being near the bike in/out for both races, and saw some common errors I would like to share to help some people out.
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Listen to the volunteers. Do you think I yell at everyone I see just for the hell of it? I am not trying to chit chat, but am trying to tell you something important. I might even throw in some advice that could help you out. Like slow down and check your gear because a big hill is around the corner. Yelling above the cow bells, clapping, and noise makers can be tough, especially when there are 5,000 participants to convey info to. I lose my voice at the end of the day to make your day better, not mine.
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Slow down when told to. Everyone knows it a RACE, and the point is to go fast, so if I am saying slow down there is probably a good reason. At NYC it was the sharp turn and big hill right after the start of the bike. I saw more than enough people lock up their brakes and almost eat it just to try and save a 1/8 of a second. Not worth it at all, and while you may have not crashed, you scared the heck of the your fellow bikers as your flew into the corner and cut them off. You survived your mistake but you could have easliy ruined their day when they have to take evasive action. At NYRR people screamed into the bike dismount area. One lady flipped over her handlebars once she realized she passed the dismount line. Another person lost control, crashed, and I had to call the medical team because she most likely broke her collar bone.
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Take you hand off the brakes. When you hit the brakes to slow down and dismount the bike, remember to then remove your hand from the brake lever once you are off the bike. I saw more people than I could believe walking a bike with a locked up wheel looking dumbfounded at their bike. One guy even stopped, tried to mess with is caliper, tried to spin the wheel, even tried to kick the wheel loose so it would spin again. The only problem was he still had a death grip on his brake lever. He didn't hear a thing I said and finally carried his bike to the transition.
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Be respectful of other racers. Most people move continuously during the race. If you are going to stop and tie your shoe, take a drink from you water bottle before you mount your bike, or mess with a component on your bike, please do it to the side. People do not expect stopped object in their path, and do the most unexpected thing when they find them. Also, do not stop directly on the timing mat and try to give your bike a tuneup.
All that said most people were as nice as could be, and said thanks anytime I told them something. Not that I am looking for it, or even expecting it, but a thank you from a racer after I wish them a good race means a lot to us volunteers. It gets me to cheer louder for the upcoming racer, and makes the 5 hours of standing around not racing that much more bearable.