Cyclist75354986865

I have been riding for a while, around 7 years, and would really like to get into racing. I'm 46 and I do a couple centuries every year but nothing competitive. Just wondering how many here started racing later in life?

EventServices

Plenty of room for more racers at any age, really.
But you should know that even at the ripe old age of 46 things are very competitive. You'll be racing against people who've been doing it for decades.

Join some fast groups and get used to the argy bargy nature of racing. Learn some of the skills and techniques of racing. (If there was a book I could recommend, I would. None come to mind.) Racing is much different than riding tours.

But man, is it fun.

globecanvas

None. None old is too old.

Plenty of racers start at your age or older. I started at 44.

koolerb

I started riding at 44, and started racing at 45. Not very successfully though. Go for it. Why sit on the couch watching football like a normal person when you have the option of subjecting your self to long intervals of extreme discomfort instead.

caloso

Boadie? Toadie? Foadie? What was it? I'm sure I'll think of it. Funny pictures too.

Anywho... Dead is too old. Are you dead? No? Then you are not too old.

Ygduf

I would think that 44 is basically the worst age to start. 46 is OK again, though.

globecanvas

@EventServices your blog link is dead btw.

revchuck 

I started three years ago at 60. I race against guys who started when Nixon was President. I get crushed like an empty beer can in a redneck bar, but yeah, it's fun.

Cyclist75354986865

Would you suggest riding as a cat 5 of as a Masters rider?

Andy STi

Masters 4/5 would be best if available.

revchuck 

All men start as a Cat 5 regardless of age. That said, many events permit older Cat 5s to race in their Master's age group. I recommend that you race with the Cat 5s. You'll likely be monstrously overmatched racing Master's, where you'll often line up with Cat 1s who've been racing for 20 years, among others. Racing with the other Cat 5s gives you a chance to learn among folks at your experience level. Some places offer clinics for new racers, and if available I recommend you attend.

Also, note that as someone who has done a few centuries, you're fitter than most non-racing cyclists. That goes out the window when you start racing; speeds, accelerations and lack of time to recover are far higher than you're probably used to. From what I've read, just about everybody gets smacked with the same 2x4 when they start racing, so embrace it rather than limping home with your tail between your legs. You'll get stronger and faster, it just takes time and experience.

ETA: I was typing when Andy posted above. Master's 4/5 would be good too, but it's usually only available at a race with a big turnout.

bobbyl1966

I never have race i like to ride but i fix bikes work full time job too that not give me time to go for ride. When i used to ride much more my average speed is around 12.5 miles in bike trail with elevation from 700 feet to 900 feet. How sounds to you that average speed is slow? What is your average speed 7 years ago and what is your average speed now.

carpediemracing 

Race your category. A Masters race is essentially a Cat 1-2-3-4 race. Around here there is a large number of 1s and 2s in such races, making straight up Masters races pretty much the second hardest race of the day (after the P12s).

I'm a Cat 3. This was my 33rd season racing. I much prefer to race the 3s vs the M35 or M40s because the 3s are easier, even though they're populated by a slew of former Cat 1s and 2s. M45s seem to be a slight bit tamer.

I will admit that the M40s and M45s tend to be a bit more sane/safe/skilled, so the field tends to be smoother, more compact (everyone drafts better), etc. I think that, around here anyway, they tend to have learned where they belong. I know my place, for example, and when things are over my head I know it.

Having said that the absolutely most idiotically aggressive rider I ran across this year (I screamed 1000% at him multiple times in one race and I basically never scream in a race, forget about 1000%, forget about multiple times) was in a M45 race. It was so unusual I had someone ask me about the incident just recently.

carpediemracing 

Everyone will tell you that avg speed doesn't mean anything, at least in a mass start race. The reason is you have to stay with the pack first so that you can draft said pack. If you get dropped from the pack you're not going to catch back on. If you get dropped while drafting - saving 30% or more power - then how will you go faster than the pack to catch them, putting down maybe 50% more power than the field? For me sitting in might mean 120-250w, which is equal to a solo rider going about, say, 10-20 mph on a flat road. The riders at the front of the field might be doing 250-400w to hold the 25-28 mph we're actually going. To bridge even tiny gaps, like if I have to close a gap in the field, may require me to do 28-32 mph, perhaps a steady 400-500w, something I can't sustain for more than 40 or 50 seconds in the middle of a race. To bridge more than a minuscule gap, like 8-10 seconds, I'll do 500-800 watts for 15-20 seconds, and I have to recover for a bit (like a few minutes) before I can do anything.

Having said that my training rides sometimes (often?) average 12-14 mph. A hard one might average 17 mph. I rarely go faster than that, and this on a loop that has virtually zero elevation and very little wind (tree sheltered). My peak speeds, if I make an effort, might be in the 30-35 mph, and if I really make an effort, 35-40 mph. The peak speeds are what gets new racers - they can't match the peak speeds in a race, lose the draft/shelter, and once dropped they have to do pro level power just to catch back up to the field.

canuckbelle

Dead is too old.

EventServices

Yeah, it wasn't getting enough traffic, so we killed it.

But thanks for trying.

chasm54

57 wasn't too old to start for me. As far as choice of fields is concerned, racing Cat4 was way easier than the Masters (Veterans, over here) 55-59 fields. Old guys with a gazillion miles in their legs who have been racing for forty years and still train 15 hours a week. Fearsome.

valygrl

I started at 46. Still having fun with it at 50.

wphamilton

But I'll bet that most of your real work is high-intensity intervals, practicing sprints and hard efforts, isn't it? I just wanted to ask since the above almost sounds like you slack off in training, and I'm guessing that's not the case by any stretch of the imagination.

Every once in awhile I think about racing, but then I visualize a dense field of Cat 5 riding aggressively, without necessarily having good skills, and probably all stronger than me. Sigh.

rideaz

I was almost 40 when I started racing. It's cool because you get to race Cat and Masters! The only bad part...sometimes they combine us with collegiate fields and I realize I am more than old enough to be their mom!

Hermes

I started at age 58 but I am in my prime.

spectastic

been on a couple of rides with them. it's uncanny to have that much talent in a town that size.

StephenH

If you're not aware of them, check into the long distance races as well. Your info says "Southeast" for the location, and one of the more popular races is coming up in Florida in February: Bike Sebring 12/24
A lot of these races are non-drafting, so lack of pack-riding skill doesn't keep you out. Generally, no racing license is required. There are usually a wide range of quality of riders involved, so winning a race can be very tough, but there's enough regular people out there riding that you don't feel out of place, either. Common distances are 12 hours and 24, some places have longer and shorter versions as well.
Some of these races are on looped courses, where you can self-crew; others may require a follow car and crew, etc.
Check https://www.ultracycling.com/ for more general information

Cyclist75354986865

I live in North Carolina and almost all the races around the area are crits. The reason I would lean toward the masters category is to be with better bike handlers.

merlinextraligh

Do your 10 Cat 5 races. Learn a little bit about how to race. Then you can race Masters.

Most Cat 5 races are not as dangerous as everyone likes to say. For the most part Cat 5's know they don't know what they're doing and give people a fairly wide berth.