Originally Posted by Cleave

Why should Masters worry about upgrading? It depends.

In no particular order:

1. To be able to race at US Masters National Championships. For men, below age 55 you have to be Cat 3 or higher. I think you have to be Cat 4 or higher for 55 and older, but I'm not sure. For Masters women, I'm not sure what or if category requirements exist. The info is not on the current Masters National Road Championship web site.
2. To be able to ride in Masters or Elite Cat 1/2/3 races. Why a Cat 3 Master would want to race in an Elite 1/2/3 race is beyond me. <sarcasm>
3. To be able to tell you parents, siblings, relatives, and friends that you're a Cat 1 or Cat 2 racer. <more sarcasm>
4. Because you're goal oriented. Getting upgrade points motivates you to train and race harder.

Me? I'm in the so-called ultimate category for men -- Cat 3. Since I've been racing when we rode fast to outrun dinosaurs (think Amateur Bicycle League of America), I got to Cat 3 by racing as a Junior and getting a couple of results; not wins, but some places. Back in the 1980s I had enough points to upgrade to Cat 2 but I didn't because I knew my place in the pond. I could hang in in Cat 1/2/3 races (there were no pros to speak of back then) but I couldn't really race. I stayed in Cat 3 so that I could try to win which, by the way, I never did as a Senior Men Cat 3 (more ancient terminology).

So now I'm in an almost worse situation. I'm a Cat 3 Master who gets to race almost all the time with guys who:

• Were former pros
• Were former world, national, or state champions
• Are current world, national, or state champions
• Are current Cat 1 and Cat 2 racers
• Are professional Masters (retired and able to train like they're pros )

However, as the kids say, "It's all good." Riding and racing are better than the alternative. I can hardly wait until I can be a professional Master.