Photo Contest Entry 1 - Young Women Harassed at Public Parks

Remember last week we announced a photo contest? Readers, send us your photos of you wearing your You Got Dropped tee shirt. We don't care what you are doing, but posing with some chick in a bikini that you meet in the park is a good start. Lance, you are eligible to win. We can only think of what you are going to send us. Yougotdropped@gmail.com

Get Yo Ass Upgraded

We'd like to introduce a new feature here at You Got Dropped. Get Yo Ass Upgraded has been developed for riders who a) think they should get upgraded but can't wait to hear back from the upgrade coordinator or b) other riders who think their brethren (i.e. sandbaggers) need to submit a request.

This was a hot topic last summer as a few Cat 3s wanted to stay put in their category to win a jersey. We thought this should be addressed before sandbagging becomes an epidemic in the Mid Atlantic this year.

Our first case: Andrew Bridges - Haymarket Bicycles. Something must be in the water out in Haymarket, Virginny. Joe Dombroski slays the first couple races. The elite team are down south representing at Speedweek, and Andrew Bridges podiums in every Cat 3 race he enters.

Andrew Bridges: Get Yo Ass Upgraded

First at Carl Dolan

2nd at Chantilly

1st at Tysons

2nd at Vint Hill (teammate off the front with win)

Andrew, we hope that YGD will help you Get Yo Ass Upgraded.

And for all you sandbaggers out there, we are open for business.

Why Mark Cavendish is the Shiznat and MABRA Doesn't Like Racing in May

He has the best victory salutes. After journalists had written him off throughout the spring because of an abscess in one of those pearly whites, our boy wins stage 2 of Tour de Romandie and comes up with this salute. Baller. Better than the DZ Nuts or HTC Salute? Possibly.

We, at YGD, enjoy this confidence.

Meanwhile, American ProTour teams are at Tour of the Gila beating up on each other, USA Cycling is talking about CX Time Trials for qualifiers, and all kinds of fast is going on down south during speedweek.

Perhaps the biggest news of the week is that two local races, Murad Road Race and Bunny Hop have a combined 54 entries for the 'elite' races. Are we missing something? What else is going on this weekend? Is there a Lilith Festival going on that we don't know about? We know there are a handful of guys doing speedweek. Slower people, this is your chance to POUNCE LIKE A NINJA!!

Even the Cat 4 race at Murad still has room in it. This year, Jefferson Cup filled up in 1 minute. It's a wonderful race but it is over 2 hours away. Weather can be iffy at best in late March. Anybody remember the year it got cancelled because of snow? Murad is just down the street for most of MABRA, at least the DC based contingent. It's very similar race as Jeff Cup and the weather is going to be in the 80 degree range. Chances of getting dropped are low. Bunny Hop is well run, you probably won't get dropped, and it's right off the beltway.

MABRA MABRA MABRA...we'll never understand you. Bill 'Lucky' Lueke, send us your graphical analysis of why this is so.

Fashion Police

More gems sent in by our readers.

Josh Frick strikes a pose at Carl Dolan.

"I can't wait for the rodeo after the bike race"

or

"This hat, shades, goatee combo doesn't make me look like a serial killer at all"

or

Enjoy the Silence

or

.....

Don't ever run your bike to the line. You might get caught on film and be featured on a semi-popular website that exploits misfortunes of others. And...what the hell is the guy in black so happy about? You are in a race riding next to a guy walk running in cleats.

Coming to America...To Get Dropped!!

Every so often a gem pops into the email basket here at YGD HQ. Frequent EuroNeoPro/MABRA visitor Sim Green has done guest stints for Haymarket, NCVC, and others for local MABRA races normally sporting his euro pro shorts and tall skinny pale frame.

Many of us quiver at the thought of going up against somebody who has been competing across the pond all season long. The truth is he's hates racing in the states, particularly crits. Sim is humble enough to send us his own 'I got dropped' photo along with a laundry list of excuses with his British twang. So, Sim, your wish has been granted. You Got Dropped!

I got dropped!

I think this blog is a load of fun! Although this droppage pic of me getting dropped good and proper is a little old, I’m sending it in in the hope of making YouGotDropped headlines for my 2 seconds of fame! I love the light hearted approach of YouGotDropped, and I love taking the piss out of situations and people. I figure, if you can’t take the piss out of yourself; 1) you can’t justify taking the piss out of others, and 2) where’s the fun in life?

So I thought I’d send in this pic of last year’s Tour of Ephrata Crit with my own caption/explanation.

As anyone who knows me knows, I can’t ride a crit to save my life. I hate them with a vengeance. Luckily for me, stage races are not allowed to include crits in most countries but the US.

At the 2009 Tour of Ephrata I was guest riding for NCVC. I was dangling off the back of the crit all day long (well not really all day, it was only about an hour long in total anyway). I was suffering like a dog, hanging on for dear life, picking bar tape out of my teeth. Thankfully someone was there to take photographic evidence of my talented crit suckage!

My excuse is this. I didn’t know I was going to be doing Ephrata until a couple days before the start. I had raced the Tour of the Battenkill the previous weekend and had kept riding with some fairly big miles all week. So I showed up to Ephrata pretty buggered. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it. Of course the truth is that I just plain suck!

Apologies to NCVC for the disgrace of their jersey, and at the same time, thank you to NCVC for having me for Ephrata!

Sim

Douchebag of the Week - Vino

Vino..for his Liège-Bastogne-Liège win. Normally, a win doesn't get you a 'Douchebag of the Week' award. You Got Dropped is among the thousands of fans booing this win. Usually, when this stuff is about to go down, other teams figure out a way to put a guy like this in the gutter, just coming off a 2 year ban for doping and all. It's been a great classics season..until now. We hope he is clean and not on supersonic radioactive Kazak goat milk. Only time will tell.

By the way, socks will be here in about 3-4 weeks. Just in time for your mid summer burn out. Save up. 4 inch and 5 inch cuffs. Black and white. We can all get along.

Tell Tale Signs

Usually, if you are smiling for the camera, you are off the back.

Professional photographer, Anthony Skorochod, has been taking cycling pics in the Mid-Atlantic and New England areas for years. He does the best job of capturing the mood of the race, especially for those not in it anymore. Here are a few gems from The Lower Providence Spring Classic Criterium. Why are all these people so happy?

"OMG!! My AVG Watts > than NP and my IF is too high. I bet my FTP is set too low. Oh shit, where did everybody go?"

Custom painted super six for this?

We are hoping this guy is warming up. Note..small ring..jacket...not in the field.

Hi there.

Douchebag of the Week - Alberto Contador

Coches de la pistola es un poco más de la parte superior.

Crit Season is Here

This weekend in MABRAland we have two races, a crit and a circuit race.

Let's prelude this weekend with some bike racing 101.

Saturday is a dead flat crit, wide open, two corners. It will be fast for many of the fields. However, if you get dropped, God bless us all. If you fear that you are going to get dropped, find the biggest guy that doesn't look fat and get behind him and hold on for the next hour. Enjoy the ride. If you get dropped, you will be on this site come next week. Yay for you!

Sunday is similar but the race is deemed a 'circuit race.' Of course a circuit race is kind of like a crit because you do a bunch of laps. It's kind of like a road race too because the laps are longer. A circuit race is more like a crit because they are usually 45 minutes to an hour. But it's like a road race because you can't take any free laps.

To get everybody pumped up for the weekend, we wanted to share with you the motivational poster that we have hanging up at YGD HQ.

Good v Bad

nima good

nima bad

5 Stages of Denial - Guest blogger

We have a guest blogger today. Reid Beloni, a collegiate rider for Virginia Tech and the Carolina Subaru Gary Fisher Road Cycling Team has a similar passion for all that goes on with the tail end of the pack.

Check out the following essay on the phrases, i.e. excuses that are muttered in the parking lot after a rider gets the ol' drop. We like how Reid relates getting dropped to the five stages of denial. Well done.

http://bigwatts.blogspot.com

In addition to the phrases that are often spoken at bike races when someone is getting dropped that we talked about last week, here is one more.

"well that's racing" This is something that might be heard after the race, once all the stories have been told, after all the possible ways that you might not have gotten dropped are contemplated, you reach a state of complacency about your miserable weekend; "well that's racing."

These stages of getting dropped remind me of something. They are oddly similar to the five stages of grief. Your saga of getting dropped just like the stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

Denial: Often a stage associated with "Move up!" being yelled at you. You deny the fact you are on your way to getting dropped and you friends actually encourage the behavior. If you listen to them and keep going you're only going to get dropped.

Anger: This is a two part stage where people will yell "Good job man!" and "Keep it up!" Those watching are frustrated and angry that you are getting dropped. They tell you to keep it up and encourage you, which is intended to mean keep up the good job, but the effort sucks because its getting you dropped.

Bargaining: The'll tell you to "Work together!" This is pretty self explanatory, but this stage of grief is actualized by those around you trying to bargain with the other racers on your behalf by trying to get them to pull your dropped ass back to the field. It will never work.

Depression: "Finish strong!" The most depressing part of your bike race of grief is when you somehow reach the finish line. Reaching the finish line in bike racing isn't an accomplishment, bike racing isn't a triathlon where everyone who registers gets a finishing medal. Finishing off the back is depressing, and to rub it in they tell you to finish strong, now you're even more depressed.

Acceptance: In bike racing this comes in two stages: the "You looked good until..." stage which is immediately after the race. This is when you are talking to your family and fans who don't know anything about bike racing and who think that the whole time you were riding on the front you were winning the race. Them and you have accepted that "you looked good until" but still got dropped and lost.

The second stage of acceptance for a bike racer is when you accept that "well that's racing." This comes after you have talked to your buddies who tell you the truth about what actually happened and that while you probably could have done any number of things to keep from getting dropped, but you didn't, and will probably do it again next weekend, but that's bike racing.

Bahati Crash Image - You Decide

Yesterday, at the Dana Point Criterium in California, Rahsaan Bahati claimed to have been crashed out by United Health Care team members. Last night, tweets were atwitter and facebook was poppin' with Rashaan's own status stating "when the grass is cut, the snakes will show." District Cycling has a great interview with Rahsaan done last night.

Cool. Never heard that one before but we understand the meaning.

Today, video of the race, the crash, and the aftermath surfaced. check it here

Then, SoCalCycling.com took a still of the video, enlarged it, and posted it on their facebook page. Leave it up to Hollywood.

The saying that we are more familiar with is "the proof is in the pudding."

Doin' the Cockroach

walkersville.

Fabian Dropalerra

There we were, at YGD World Headquarters with 'borrowed' 62 inch flat screen we just 'purchased' at Best Buy so we could watch Paris Roubaix on the ultimate TV. Beer in hand. Waffles in the kitchen. Significant others sent on errands.

The stage was already set. Tomeke v Sparticus. Tornado Tom v. Fabulous Cancellara . Who will win? Will a fattened up Leaf Hoste take charge? Will this be Hincapie's year? Will Paul Sherwen stop quoting Sean Kelley?

Paris Roubaix is always off the hook. Every single year. However, this year brought an even sharper edge.

None of this mattered. Sparticus had his own plans. Much like Chuck Hutchenson in every geriatric classed race in MABRA, Sparticus was on a different level than the rest of the field. The cobbles screamed mercy on Sunday with 48km to go.

"Boonan, we have a problem"

District Cycling Droppage - AA Style

Hey, isn't that the guy from The Discovery Channel show? He's getting his drop on like he was an anvil. Well, if you didn't know, he's now a part of a two man crew over at the District Cycling Podcast. He knows this is coming.. We love them. They love us. Let's get married...or at least spoon.

(Adam..have a seat).

At this point, Adam is thinking...

"I'll ride one more lap before I get caught on camera"

"Grrrrrr.. Livin' the dream man..livin' the dream but first...MUST. GET. OVER. HILL."

Insert caption here..PLEASE!!

Thanks to the one and only Harry Fang who brought out his new digital camera and took great spy shots for us. Make sure you point at the people riding bikes next week and not the trees!

Out of Town Droppage

It's nice to see that some things are national. We have this gem while everybody is waiting for the photos to start coming in from Walkersville and Tysons (don't be shy photographers). In the meantime, kick back, relax and enjoy some new flavor to yougotdropped. OHIO STYLE...where mullets aren't just for cycling..they fo' yo' MOMMA TOO!!

The masters of smugness related cycling podcasting have been in touch recently. John G from Two Johns Podcast holds certification as our honorary Midwest droppage police. He has submitted a photo bringing us Ohioian goodness with the following photo along with excuse email from a dropped teammate of his (green sleeved kit).

We call it, "Getting Dropped is So Much Better When You Aren't Alone"

(email from droppee)

"Also, you owe me my team socks.........didn't have them last week which is probably why I got dropped on the climb TWICE..........either that or because you sent out a good luck message to everyone on the team who was racing to wish them good luck and didn't wish me good luck, yeah, you forgot about me and I haven't been able to sleep ever since..............damn."

The Drop Heard Around the World

Church was cancelled on Easter Sunday in Flanders. Belgians from all over came to the region to celebrate bike racing and another Belgium victory on home turf. Then... Sparticus drops breakaway companion and Belgie hero Tornado Tom at 10:24 eastern standard time. Waffles were dropped. Beer was dropped. Tornado Tom...dropped :(

It was the biggest drop of 2010...so far

The 2nd Battle of Bull Run Mountain

Jared from Haymarket Bicycles has requested that You Got Dropped help advertise the Second Battle of Bull Run Mountain to be held this Saturday. Looks like a good time. Me and my pink gloves.

The Battle of Bull Run Mountain is back!! With no racing this weekend, we've got a chance for another epic showdown. And this time we have a trophy. The race flyer will be made available this evening.

The last event was great, and this time we're hoping on doubling the turnout. We'll have racers and non-racers alike; everyone is invited. We're only 35 miles West of DC, so it's a short trip on a Saturday morning. (And as of now, the weather is supposed to be in the low 80s, with a zero percent chance of rain).

Date: Saturday, April 3, 2010
Time: 8am
Start: Haymarket Bicycles parking lot
Loop: Map
Distance: 62.5 miles

Generally, this is just an event designed to get a bunch of people out to suffer on some great, tough roads. There will be some nice flat farm roads with tough cross wind sections, some steep pitches, fun descents, and some gnarly dirt. Planning on doing Walkersville, Poolesville, or Battenkill? This will be perfect preparation, so get your teammates and come on out. (We expect the dirt roads to be a little more packed down since we'll have had two weeks of traffic and some rain the roads).

Special notes:
Ride at your own risk.
Rules of the road apply.
You've heard of a "no drop" ride? Well this is just the opposite.
Use the map link and bring a cue sheet (see below), or just don't get dropped.
There will most likely be a sag wagon or two, but bring flat changing gear to be prepared.

Who am I?

Who am I, indeed.

Until any of us are featured in the Wall Street Journal, nobody is saying anything.

We will also accept being featured in New York Times or a laser carving on the moon.