Kostya Gavrilov, "bicycle NPC": amateur racing through the eyes of someone who does not happen to be on the podium
Release name: "FATRACING CAST #006"
This issue is not an interview, but a conversation "for your own". Kostya Gavrilov, a Novgorod bicycle enthusiast, is an "NPC at the races": he registers everywhere, creates extras and never stands on the podium. They discuss why it was not possible to catch up with the gap in the pack, what the organizer's work gives, how the Tsar Grader is preparing, and why amateur sports are more interesting than professional sports.
Guest
An amateur Novgorod racer and Ilya's friend, he calls himself an "NPC at the races" in the issue; now he is a FATRACING coach.
Other issues with this guest
Useful from the issue
- Look for your limit in racing
The guest advises to start more often and not to be afraid of attacks, even hopeless ones: this way you will quickly understand what the body is capable of and how the group behaves.
- The gap is caught up with short shifts
Five strong people can take a group ten minutes for a hundred kilometers if the pack does not work. Short shifts of all participants are more effective than jostling and waiting.
- On long trips — fewer stops
After long joint trips, the interlocutors came to the conclusion that after each stop it is disgusting to unwind anew. The secret of long races is to stop rarely and for a short time.
- In the heat of the Gravel — hydropack
On a shaky road, the flasks get lost, and the necks quickly become dirty in the dust. Hydropack solves both problems.
- Reset gears before turning
The guest realized that he was losing the group after each turn, because he was entering a heavy gear. The skill of turns should be trained separately.
- Losing weight is a way of life
Ilya says that a diet can be understood in an hour, and daily habits give the result. Short marches for a month do not work.
- Go ride in the mountains
Even if you are afraid of descents, a trip to the mountains is a different experience and a good workout, says Ilya, who has lived in Turkey for six months.
Quit your job for the sake of a bike
The conversation begins with the guest's question to Ilya: isn't it scary to quit a good job and engage in cycling without a salary. Ilya replies that he has saved up money for about a year of modest living, it's the season now, and he is completely devoted to his projects. He is a programmer and expects to find a job later, although he admits that this may be a misconception; besides, he tries not to spend a lot — his most expensive bike cost 145 thousand rubles.
The guest admits that he himself holds on to work until the last, even when everything is annoying: stability and daily rhythm are more important to him, and he would be afraid to go anywhere.
Race from the middle of the pack
The guest analyzes his last road race honestly. When the gap began to form, he offered his friend to move forward, but the pack said that they would not go anywhere, there were still a hundred kilometers ahead. As a result, five strong riders out of fifty left and brought the group almost ten minutes, and the pack never agreed to work in short shifts, although, in his opinion, there was everything for that.
Instead of an organized chase, the group was jostling, shouting and awkward maneuvers, because of which someone broke his collarbone - although the podium had already left and there was not much to fight for. The guest himself was starving, driving on autopilot, looking only at the wheel in front, and at the finish line he was bypassed by almost everyone.
The conclusion that he makes from a height, as he himself says, of "losing experience": chase more often, do not hesitate to try even hopeless attacks and give your best — this way you will quickly understand what the body is capable of and how the group behaves. He does not have tactics yet: in the final showdown, he acts on instincts, and experience, his friends tell him, will come.
How an NPC became a Racer
The guest started with a fix: he drove the first 35 km route with three stops, and the average 28 km/h seemed fantastic to him. The excitement appeared thanks to the rivalry on the Strava segments with a friend — both bought highway bikes and egged each other on, one day a friend beat his time almost at night.
Long distances are hard for him: a hundred kilometers alone is hard labor for him, it's boring and thoughts climb. He trains without zones — either tempo riding at the limit of an hour and a half, or intervals before convulsions. Once he suffered a heart problem on his feet; the doctors raised a panic, but a specialist who was more familiar with the sport, after examinations, allowed him to continue training.
Why organize races
The guest asks Ilya what he gets from the organization. Ilya admits that there is vanity and altruism, but it does not bring money. Preparation for him is a constant jitters, but at the race itself, on the contrary, he is calm: he delegates to volunteers and makes decisions on calls. From the very beginning, since 2017, he also had a "patriotic" idea — that cyclists from Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities would come to Novgorod.
Both agree that the cycling community is very open: in any city you can find someone to spend the night with and with whom to ride. Ilya says that he approaches the cyclists with bags on the streets of Novgorod and invites them to spend the night. According to their observation, cyclists have almost no aggression in everyday life, despite their competitiveness.
Tsar Grader and local starts
Ilya talks about the preparation of the Tsar Grader: he counts on about 200 participants, there are already more than a thousand people in the race chat, there is a place for tents in the clearing. One day at four in the morning, without sponsors a month before the start, he created a volunteer chat — and now they are searching for sponsors and prizes together. The route is about 180 km, according to his estimate, about 40% of the asphalt: some of the favorite graders have recently been rolled up.
The guest is going to go with a hydropack: at the last hot gravel race, he says, the road was strewn with lost flasks, and dust settled on the necks. Another favorite format is Ilya's Thursday time trial: after work, without ambitions, in fact, a mini-holiday in the middle of the week, and about 20 people come to the Novgorod time trial, which is already an event for the city.
They are also discussing a new club uniform with an inscription about suffering: they managed to order it in a day with a fold, everyone likes it, although the guest was waiting for a more insane design from the community.
Twists, mountains and honesty of lovers
The guest admits that he does not control the bike well, and he understood it well at the La Strada city race: strong riders enter corners without losing speed, and he got the pack at the limit every time. Conclusion: before turning, you need to reset more gears, and the skill of cornering, according to him, immediately shows the versatility of the athlete.
Ilya, who has lived in Turkey for six months, advises everyone to go for a ride in the mountains at least once — this is a completely different experience and a great workout, even if you go down carefully. And the guest loves amateur sports for their sincerity: unlike professionals who work without emotions, amateurs say what they think, shoot races on camera, and you can watch one race through the eyes of different participants.
In the end, Ilya says that he has been changing his lifestyle for three years and has lost weight noticeably: the main thing is not a diet that can be understood in an hour, but daily discipline. The guest admits that diets are not given to him for longer than a month. Both dream that in Novgorod the federation and the cycling school would actively interact with amateur starts.
Timestamps
- 00:00Who is a bicycle NPC and isn't it scary to quit your job
- 05:22Racing without podiums
- 08:41Race analysis: breakaway and pack
- 16:03How it all started: fix and segments
- 19:22A heart problem
- 21:51Why organize races
- 27:31Preparation of the Tsar Grader
- 37:11The secret of long races
- 41:46Technique and turns
- 44:14Why amateur sports are more honest
- 53:58Turkey and mountains
- 58:06Thursday Time trial
- 1:01:41Club uniform
- 1:05:51Weight loss and discipline
- 1:14:46Cycling in Novgorod
Mentioned in this episode
Tsar Grader · Tour de Selishchi · Strava · Time trial · La Strada