While mulling over my second character, I'm gonna offer up some bots:
###BOT 1###
Name: Theresa Johnson
Gender: Female
Nationality: American
Age: 43
Bio: Bored housewive who picked up cycling a few years ago. Has blown way too much money on equipment, but is still a rather subpar rider.
###BOT 2###
Name: Rafael dos Cardosa
Gender: Male
Nationality: Portuguese
Age: 34
Bio: This man is nothing but bones, skin and disappointment. He first failed to become a pro-cyclist, then he failed to become good at Gran Fondos. Now he hopes UCL will lead to something.
###BOT 3###
Name: Chad B. Stephenson
Gender: Male
Nationality: American
Age: 21
Bio: A real college biking sensation. Made biking cool again by succesfully completing 10 laps of campus while drinking 10 beers. His friendly demeanor means everyone will help him, and given his complete lack of preperation, he will need it.
Name: Robert Joseph "Big Joe" Giordano
Sex: M
Nationality (region): USA! USA! USA! (Alabama)
Date of Birth: 04/07/1976
Height: 1m93
Weight: 97
Biography:
Robert Joseph Giordano, also known as "Big Joe" and "Bobby Joe" when he was younger (and fitter), is a retired handegg player. The rumours of an upcoming Ultimate Cycling League made him come out of retirement, as no true American could resist a challenge that had "Ultimate" in the tile.
His grandfather Luigi Giordano once won a Giro d'Italia stage, or so the story goes in the family, so he thought he had a shot at winning this league. Alright, at age 41 he might be over his peak and he was a bit overweight, but nothing that could stop him.
After a first training ride, it became clear that everything goes kinda well until the road starts to rise. He then made some personal modifications to his bike (good old redneck creativity!) so the streering wheel could be extended into a small table, just big enough to put a burger on it. He was ready for this race!
Weather Abilities: (in what weather can your rider perform best. Does he hurt in the cold? Doesn't it matter?...)
Goes full speed in the sun, heavily dislikes snow and cold rain.
Stats: [choose between: very low - low - medium - high - very high]
Flat Riding: very high
Climbing: low
Bike Handling: medium
Stamina: high
Accelaration: low
Sprint Speed: low
Recuperation: high
Attacking Spirit: very high
Repairs: very high
Off-Road: high
Food Management: very high
Waghlon wrote:
While mulling over my second character, I'm gonna offer up some bots:
###BOT 1###
Name: Theresa Johnson
Gender: Female
Nationality: American
Age: 43
Bio: Bored housewive who picked up cycling a few years ago. Has blown way too much money on equipment, but is still a rather subpar rider.
###BOT 2###
Name: Rafael dos Cardosa
Gender: Male
Nationality: Portuguese
Age: 34
Bio: This man is nothing but bones, skin and disappointment. He first failed to become a pro-cyclist, then he failed to become good at Gran Fondos. Now he hopes UCL will lead to something.
###BOT 3###
Name: Chad B. Stephenson
Gender: Male
Nationality: American
Age: 21
Bio: A real college biking sensation. Made biking cool again by succesfully completing 10 laps of campus while drinking 10 beers. His friendly demeanor means everyone will help him, and given his complete lack of preperation, he will need it.
Are bots allowed too? I may offer a few bots then.
But in doing so, Sánchez RamÃrez became a very powerful climber and at the age of just 16 he started winning amateur races in Colombia. With the money he won, his father could buy a new tractor, replacing the 60 year old machine that despite his fathers excellent mechanical skills, was close to breaking down.
Then, the day before his 18th birthday, the newspapers were all writing about the biggest cycling race. Sánchez RamÃrez immediatly knew he wanted to participate, even though he realised his old rusty bicycle probably couldn't handle the distance. When his father saw what the problem was, he went to the barn and worked all night.
Weather Abilities: (in what weather can your rider perform best. Does he hurt in the cold? Doesn't it matter?...)
Shines in the sun, dislikes cold
Stats: [choose between: very low - low - medium - high - very high]
Flat Riding: medium
Climbing: very high
Bike Handling: medium
Stamina: medium
Accelaration: very high
Sprint Speed: medium
Recuperation: high
Attacking Spirit: medium
Repairs: medium
Off-Road: low
Food Management: low
Waghlon wrote:
While mulling over my second character, I'm gonna offer up some bots:
###BOT 1###
Name: Theresa Johnson
Gender: Female
Nationality: American
Age: 43
Bio: Bored housewive who picked up cycling a few years ago. Has blown way too much money on equipment, but is still a rather subpar rider.
###BOT 2###
Name: Rafael dos Cardosa
Gender: Male
Nationality: Portuguese
Age: 34
Bio: This man is nothing but bones, skin and disappointment. He first failed to become a pro-cyclist, then he failed to become good at Gran Fondos. Now he hopes UCL will lead to something.
###BOT 3###
Name: Chad B. Stephenson
Gender: Male
Nationality: American
Age: 21
Bio: A real college biking sensation. Made biking cool again by succesfully completing 10 laps of campus while drinking 10 beers. His friendly demeanor means everyone will help him, and given his complete lack of preperation, he will need it.
Are bots allowed too? I may offer a few bots then.
Yes and no. We're concentrating on getting real players first but we'll need bots to add to the peloton eventually.
The south east of Japan is amazing, the coast roads of Kyushu are stunning. Something like starting in Fukuoka and going southeast might be nice, maybe attending Saga on the way or something like that.
Ian Butler wrote:
Already 4 races completed for next season (14 race days)
Next on my wish list: race in Japan.
Anyone with nice ideas for races, one-day or stages, let me know!
A Criterium International type race around Le Vigan can be good, with the Col de la Lusette ebing climbed in the mountain stage. I may offer some races when I have the time later today.
A race on different Carribean islands would be fun. The rolling terrain and random steep climbs would make for interesting racing. Plus, there is the stunning scenery for the cyclists to enjoy.
Ian, are you still interested in bots? Would wait to see if more real players come in but can contribute a couple of bots if need be.
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant." [ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT] Xero Racing
Name: Greg Williams
Gender: M
Nationality: Welsh
Age: 51
Bio: An ageing ex-world class Gran Fondo rider who's not as in shape or powerful as he once was, looking for one last ride of not in the limelight then at the top. Still has stamina but not very powerful.
Name: Lucien Strauss
Gender: M
Nationality: South African
Age: 32
Bio: Has competed in the lower echelons of the South African circuit and was always up for a sprint but not always the ride in between.
Name: Marian Dupont
Gender: F
Nationality: French
Age: 27
Bio: A bit of a hippie, traveller who's decided her next avenue of visiting new cultures and places whilst staying in shape is the UCL. May be up for more than she bargained for.
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant." [ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT] Xero Racing
jandal7 wrote:
Name: Greg Williams
Gender: M
Nationality: Welsh
Age: 51
Bio: An ageing ex-world class Gran Fondo rider who's not as in shape or powerful as he once was, looking for one last ride of not in the limelight then at the top. Still has stamina but not very powerful.
Ian Butler wrote:
Already 4 races completed for next season (14 race days)
Next on my wish list: race in Japan.
Anyone with nice ideas for races, one-day or stages, let me know!
A Criterium International type race around Le Vigan can be good, with the Col de la Lusette ebing climbed in the mountain stage. I may offer some races when I have the time later today.
Stage 3 Le Vigan 165,57 km High Mountain https://www.la-fl.../hd/135247
KOM SPRINTS:
Roquedur le Haut (2nd Category, 601 m, 7.7 Km at 5.4%, Km 15.3)
Col des Aires (3rd Category, 516 m, 6.2 Km at 4.2%, Km 27.4)
La Sanguinede (3rd Category, 552 m, 3.9 Km at 5.6%, Km 35.6)
Esparon (2nd Category, 579 m, 5.0 Km at 6.9%, Km 49.5)
Col de Mouzules (2nd Category, 749 m, 9.2 Km at 4.5%, Km 64.3)
Col du Minier (1st Category, 1264 m, 14.3 Km at 6.2%, Km 83.5)
Col des Vieilles (2nd Category, 779 m, 10.0 Km at 5.0%, Km 125.9)
Col d'Aulas (3rd Category, 406 m, 1.7 Km at 9.1%, Km 141.4)
Col d'Aulas (3rd Category, 406 m, 1.7 Km at 9.1%, Km 146.4)
Col d'Aulas (3rd Category, 406 m, 1.7 Km at 9.1%, Km 151.3)
Col d'Aulas (3rd Category, 406 m, 1.7 Km at 9.1%, Km 156.3)
Col d'Aulas (3rd Category, 406 m, 1.7 Km at 9.1%, Km 161.4)
Name: Felix Walker Sex: M Nationality (region): Sydney, Australia Date of Birth: 12/5/1990 Height: 175 cm Weight: 66 kg
Biography
The Background:
Felix Walker began his journey in the beautiful township of Wanaka, New Zealand near the southern part of the southern island. More known for it's picturesque scenery and wonderful ski resorts, the town hadn't known it yet, but it had just bred itself one of it's more renowned individuals.
Felix's parents both originated from Sydney, Australia and that was where they first met, in a fancy cafe and the rest was history. They developed their relationship quickly; seemingly just meant for each other, and tied the knot a few years after in the same place where it all started.
Now, this couple weren't like ordinary couples. They were globetrotters and had travelled through the vast landscape of Europe. It was there, in a luxurious hotel room in Vienna, Austria where they decided to leave Australia for a new challenge in New Zealand. In fact, it was only for an online ad of this wonderful place, serenity it seemed and paradise for them which also wasn't too far away from their relatives in Australia. So, they packed their bags and travelled back home, only to repeat the same feat and venture onto their new surroundings in New Zealand.
20 hours later, they touched down on Dunedin Airport, New Zealand. It wasn't a strange occurrence for them having travelled so often, but the environment caught the eye and it was simply breathtaking. They could see the snow-peaked mountains not too far away in the distance and that was their destination.
It didn't take long for the two to settle down in Wanaka and for the first few years, they just wanted to explore and take advantage of the natural beauty they had inhabited.
It had been 10 years since they moved to New Zealand, and the couple just needed a new challenge, and they sure found it! One chilly, freezing morning for once wasn't so quiet and serene as usual in the neighbourhood. In fact, this time their were yells and screams; shrieks of pain and ecstasy. A few hours later, a new member had joined the community. Felix was born on that dreadful morning, which I'm sure isn't as dreadful as it was once thought. The ensuing days saw chaos in the household with the little young one being a bit of an issue which is often the case with new-born's. The family had not yet decided on a name, but they thought and thought and thought and finally they came up with something while the baby was dozing off. Remembering back to where it all started, that posh hotel in Austria saw the foundations of a name commemorating their stay in Vienna, Felix. Walker was introduced soon after, seeing as though half of the township had the name "Walker".
Childhood:
Felix had a great upbringing finding his initial passion of rugby union, when he was only 2. He loved rugby, watching it with his father supporting the All Blacks inspired him deeply. As soon as he hit the age of 6, Felix was admitted into a youth training facility for younger kids ineligible to play for a club yet. There, he met some friends and foe's, but in general he had a great time. Throughout this program, he learnt the basics of rugby union very well and was a favourite amongst the coaches. So much so that after the program had finished, one of the coaches had asked him whether he would like to come to his home (with his family) to meet his family, which Felix gleefully accepted.
At this house, Felix felt very welcomed and he soon went into the front garden to practice his rugby skills. Going through his practising routine, Felix noticed something in the corner of his eye. He was uncertain of what this object was, but it was completely alien to anything he had seen before. He dropped the ball and walked towards this machine. It was peculiar to his mind and inspected it like he was a spy agent. He wasn't sure at all what this new discovery was, but it seemed a cool thing for young Felix. It had two wheels, handlebars, pedals and a seat. It was small enough for him to get on, and he did so without anyone noticing. He looked at the stem, very intrigued at this new device and placed his feet firmly on the pedals. As curious little creatures like to do, he did what felt natural and pushed his feet on the pedals and started riding, quicker and quicker and quicker until he fell. He was now mesmerised by this machine. He couldn't get enough of it, even though he kept on falling off his bike he had the thrill of his life. 30 more minutes of repeated crashing saw Felix accumulate many bruises, but not too many serious injuries seeming as though he was going at a low speed. It soon reached the time to leave, but he didn't want to go. His endeavours and one goal was to keep riding that bike; whatever it takes. Felix's parents finally realised his desires for a bike and told him they would buy him one after an hour of whining and crying.
Teenage Years:
Felix developed into a teenager retaining his passion of bicycles and dropping rugby union. He got the bike that he was promised soon after requesting it and enjoyed every moment with it. The terrain in Wanaka is largely mountains and he trained all day, every day with these beasts of the road. He also became very good at taming "these beasts" and it soon became his own habitat on the bike. He would train whenever he got a chance even if it was just a short 30 minute ride before school. There is where he would train in the flats doing interval training very often. At this time, Felix started getting into the Tour de France, the world's most prestigious cycling event and certainly had his favourite riders and would aspire to be like them someday. The one thing Felix dearly wanted was to race, but in Wanaka there were no races due to the unpopularity of the sport and the weather. Felix grew further and further spiteful to his parents and everyone around him until it could go no more. He wanted to race at all costs!
Felix saw some races advertised in Sydney and knew of his parent's upbringing in that very place. Almost coincidentally, his parents were making plans to go back to Sydney to meet the family and perhaps stay for a bit with the warmer temperatures. It all went perfectly and negotiations within the family spurred them back to Australia.
Back at "home" and adulthood:
It took a while for Felix to get used to the Australian culture, but he liked it just as much as New Zealand's and the climate was a lot warmer which he liked more, although he didn't mind the Wanaka weather either. The terrain in Sydney was more hilly and flat which didn't suit him quite as much, but just like everything else, he adjusted. Felix's parents especially were having a great time with the extended family so they decided to stay even longer and didn't mind their son cycling as it would be a good form of exercise, fitness and also be a form of transport. In fact, they also wanted to learn to cycle and got lessons from Felix to be able to cycle, but of course they weren't quite as good.
The family enjoyed Sydney so much they decided to stay here permanently and boy Felix was happy. On the day of the announcement, Felix had his first race which made for even more enjoyment. He placed in the top 10 out of 80 competitors which pleased him, but he was a born competitor with the ANZAC spirit and strived for better.
As Felix reached adulthood, he competed in bigger and better races even outside of Sydney and continued his training and university on the side. Cycling was becoming a serious option for Felix, who was now 21 and competing with some of Australia's best cyclists. Felix additionally had to chose which country to ride for and took Australia linking back to his parent's origin and where he lives right now, but the days in New Zealand would never be forgotten.
Felix was then invited to the AIS (Australian Institue of Sport) to ride for the Jayco U23 team. This was a huge decision on the life of Felix Walker as competing with the team would mean he would have less time with his family and not completing university properly as he would be going overseas for many races, but he took up the offer and his parents didn't mind it either to have some time off and they also went for holiday's when he was away.
Felix's first season in the AIS brought some fine results with top 5's in numerous mountainous finishes against the best youth cyclists in the world. He particularly enjoyed the long hard stages as the training all those days leading up to competition had held him in good stead endurance wise.
Felix continued his success by 3 stages in the following year including the Tour d'lavenir. He was signed by Orica-Greenedge that year seeing his credentials as a very strong climber.
Felix would go onto become one of the best climbers of the peloton winning the KOM jersey in both the Tour and the Giro, also finishing in the top 10 of the Vuelta twice. His strong road performances has seen him become a leader amongst his team as he still rides for Orica, being the chief climber.
UCL:
The Ultimate Cycling League was something that he read on the newspaper actually. It caught Felix's eye just like that and soon he was researching everything about it. Felix had a very good road season going, but it felt like it was the right time to go off-road for a bit and challenge himself. He always liked challenges, it was just something he got from his parents and he was really excited for this one!
Weather Abilities: Enjoys warm weather, but can cope with the cold just as well.
Stats:
Flat Riding: Medium
Climbing: Very High
Bike Handling: Low
Stamina: Very High
Accelaration: High
Sprint Speed: Very Low
Recuperation: High
Attacking Spirit: Low
Repairs: Low
Off-Road: High
Food Management: Medium
Edited by Raziz on 18-07-2017 10:20
Provisional dates: As my calendar stands right now, I'll probably have the first race preview up around Tuesday. You'll get a final chance to sign-up before the first race and I think the first race could be reported Thursday or Friday.
What can you do? A couple of things I can use help with:
- More route suggestions. In the next few days I don't have time to go over them in detail but when I have more time I'll definitely look into them.
- Sign-up. The more, the merrier!
- BOTS. We have some semi-known bots, now it's time for faceless lists. Anyone willing to post 5-10 faceless bots is welcome. What do I need? Name, nationality, that's it!
What else can you do? Wait for the race preview or prepare an awesome Game Thread post, I always dig reading new ones
About Alliances: Like I said in the introduction, it's possible to talk with one-another. You can do this through pm. You can make an agreement of some sort, or just have a general understanding. If you do,
it is only valid if I receive the same exact message from both players in a pm.
Example can be:
Player 1 pm: Rathfork and Armstrong have agreed to both attack with 100 km to go and keep riding until the final km. Player 2 pm: Rathfork and Armstrong have agreed to both attack with 100 km to go and keep riding until the final km.
It can be short like 'agreed to help each other when possible' or it can be quite detailed. The more detailed, though, the more race situations can be different and the tactic/alliance might not work.
You can also send in tactics for each race, if you want. Likewise, short like 'try to follow' or 'attack on the downhill' or 'don't ride when Froome is in the group' or longer. Again, the more complex, the bigger the chance it won't happen like you think, though
'Win the race' is a tactic that will probably result in your rider puking and quitting the race. Just saying
