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And this is why bike racing rocks even if you're slow like me....

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And this is why bike racing rocks even if you're slow like me....

Old 12-15-06, 12:12 PM
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And this is why bike racing rocks even if you're slow like me....

I haven't raced in 7 years. I'm turning FIFTY next year. I never rose above Cat IV (even though I mostly did Vets races and placed in a few). Here's why:

• I suck at racing, but found if I trained hard I became a factor in races, particularly as a team mate chasing down breaks, blocking, etc.

• Racing gives me a focus for my riding/training.

• Racing makes me faster.

• Racing always made me a better rider.

• Getting faster means you can do faster group rides, and faster rides generally have better/safer/cooler cyclists that know how to handle a paceline.

Is there elitism in racing? Of course. You get used to it and it becomes rather laughable after a while. But there is also plenty of camraderie and cool people, even on the road racer scene. In fact the people you get to be friends with may be the best part of all.

So there's something in racing for just about anyone who want to try. Take it from me. If somebody as slow and pathetic as I can enjoy it, maybe you can too : ). And you may surprise yourself too. I have from time to time. But you'll never know unless you try.

I'm planning on an uphill TT next May - and it has me all jazzed up about riding/training/diet. You know what? How I actually perform in that race becomes very secondary to how much it motivates me in the meantime. That's how it works for me.
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Old 12-15-06, 12:25 PM
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all this for one measly (although admittedly difficult) TT?

dude - get your license, and race your "i love my life, i love my six13, and btw you're a weenie" ass off!
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Old 12-15-06, 12:26 PM
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well said. it's not always just about results isn't it =)

i agree with you on the part that you get to meet different types of cyclists who are great to talk to at higher levels. now that ive been training for a bit longer, i can now ride with people who actually know what they are doing and have alot interesting stories to tell as we cruise at 24mph. it's great.
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Old 12-15-06, 12:28 PM
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Originally Posted by botto
all this for one measly (although admittedly difficult) TT?

dude - get your license, and race your "i love my life, i love my six13, and btw you're a weenie" ass off!

Will do. And by the way WE are ALL weenies.

And I'll probably start racing in March in Central Park in Manhattan. It may be freezing and it may be 6AM, but NOTHING compares to racing a bicycle in NY City. That is huge fun.

I get the feeling once I start I may race fairly regularly. We'll see how it feels in the USCF peloton again. It's fun riding with those guys on the weekends that's for sure.
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Old 12-15-06, 12:45 PM
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meh, for me by age 16 I was constantly going off the back and in crits they often pull you out when you get lapped so they don't have to worry about keeping track. Driving an hour to run the first 15-20 minutes of a race and then pack up and go home wasn't fun anymore. My body couldn't handle the training to get faster, so I figured it just wasn't for me.
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Old 12-15-06, 12:50 PM
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Originally Posted by urbanknight
meh, for me by age 16 I was constantly going off the back and in crits they often pull you out when you get lapped so they don't have to worry about keeping track. Driving an hour to run the first 15-20 minutes of a race and then pack up and go home wasn't fun anymore. My body couldn't handle the training to get faster, so I figured it just wasn't for me.
And that's the part about road racing that discourages some new participants. It's not like road running where you just get your time at the end. Once you're out the back door, your race is often over.

Many of us started out that way. I'm not sure if it has as much to do with your body handling the training to get faster. For me it was mostly in my head. My body can generally handle whatever my head tells it to up to certain physical limits. Let's put it this way - I got faster than I thought I would by just sticking with it. But if you HATE it, what's the point? Cycling is supposed to be fun. Nothing wrong with not racing, not at all. I'm just saying that I enjoyed it even though I was never very good at it compared to some of my friends.
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Old 12-15-06, 12:52 PM
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Originally Posted by urbanknight
meh, for me by age 16 I was constantly going off the back and in crits they often pull you out when you get lapped so they don't have to worry about keeping track. Driving an hour to run the first 15-20 minutes of a race and then pack up and go home wasn't fun anymore. My body couldn't handle the training to get faster, so I figured it just wasn't for me.
that was then, this is now.
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Old 12-15-06, 12:56 PM
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i'm also not particularly talented at this sport either. i've been off the back many times, i've finished mid-pack other times, and only a few times i finished top 5. i can't tell you how many breakaways failed, or sprints that i've screwed up, or times i just didn't race intelligently. but for whatever reason, i still enjoyed it and every single race made me want to race again. i guess that's the difference, the fact that you want to keep doing it. by all outward observation, i should have quit a long time ago.
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Old 12-15-06, 01:01 PM
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Originally Posted by patentcad
Will do. And by the way WE are ALL weenies.
just (mis)quoting you.

Originally Posted by patentcad
And I'll probably start racing in March in Central Park in Manhattan. It may be freezing and it may be 6AM, but NOTHING compares to racing a bicycle in NY City. That is huge fun.
i can think of one thing that compares to it. racing in central park in march, and only having to wake up at 5:30 to get to the start.

Originally Posted by patentcad
I get the feeling once I start I may race fairly regularly. We'll see how it feels in the USCF peloton again. It's fun riding with those guys on the weekends that's for sure.
i started again 3 years ago (although in a euro peloton). it almost felt as good as having my first cigarette after 6 years of not smoking.
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Old 12-15-06, 01:06 PM
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>> having to wake up at 5:30 to get to the start. <<

You're confusing me with somebody who lives in Manhattan. My wakeup call for those races is more like 4AM or earlier. I'm about 1:15 by car from Central Park even @ 5AM. That's OK. Getting up for racing isn't the hard part. It's falling asleep early the night before that's tough.
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Old 12-15-06, 01:12 PM
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you could sleep overnight in the park. you'll have company as well...although i don't think too many of them are avid cyclists.
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Old 12-15-06, 01:41 PM
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Originally Posted by patentcad
>> having to wake up at 5:30 to get to the start. <<

You're confusing me with somebody who lives in Manhattan. My wakeup call for those races is more like 4AM or earlier. I'm about 1:15 by car from Central Park even @ 5AM. That's OK. Getting up for racing isn't the hard part. It's falling asleep early the night before that's tough.
not confusing you at all. i'm thinking of myself. CP was where it all started for me.
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Old 12-15-06, 01:48 PM
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Originally Posted by botto
not confusing you at all. i'm thinking of myself. CP was where it all started for me.

Urban wimp. Move out to friggin Orange Cty where the men are men and the commutes are ridiculous! See you in March. If we can see each other in the pre-dawn gloom behind the Met : ).
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Old 12-15-06, 01:52 PM
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Originally Posted by patentcad
Urban wimp. Move out to friggin Orange Cty where the men are men and the commutes are ridiculous! See you in March. If we can see each other in the pre-dawn gloom behind the Met : ).
i wish. i'm an ocean away these days.
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Old 12-15-06, 02:16 PM
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Originally Posted by patentcad
Many of us started out that way. I'm not sure if it has as much to do with your body handling the training to get faster. For me it was mostly in my head. My body can generally handle whatever my head tells it to up to certain physical limits. Let's put it this way - I got faster than I thought I would by just sticking with it. But if you HATE it, what's the point? Cycling is supposed to be fun. Nothing wrong with not racing, not at all. I'm just saying that I enjoyed it even though I was never very good at it compared to some of my friends.
Yeah, I got better between ages 12 and 14, then people started to get faster and I wasn't making that much improvement. My trainer would add miles or alter my workout and I'd get sick. reduce the workout and I was not as strong. But it could have been my low tolerance to pain back then. Now it might be different (as botto said) since I can tough it out much more, but now I have a wife, kids, a job, and bills, so not much time for training.
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Old 12-15-06, 02:25 PM
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Originally Posted by botto
i wish. i'm an ocean away these days.
Where is 'over there' botto? Europe?

Can we talk you into hunting down Euro and smacking him upside the head?
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Old 12-15-06, 02:38 PM
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Originally Posted by patentcad
Where is 'over there' botto? Europe?
yep. but as of monday, i'll be back in nieuwe amsterdam for a bit.
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Old 12-15-06, 02:56 PM
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Originally Posted by botto
yep. but as of monday, i'll be back in nieuwe amsterdam for a bit.

How long are you in town for? Doing any cycling?
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Old 12-15-06, 03:06 PM
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Originally Posted by patentcad
How long are you in town for? Doing any cycling?
3 weeks, and i'll be bringing my ol' C'dale beater.
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Old 12-15-06, 04:05 PM
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Originally Posted by botto

i started again 3 years ago (although in a euro peloton).
How does the euro peloton compare to the american peloton? I've always read how much tougher it is over there at the elite levels. Does that also trickle down to the local amateur scene?

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Old 12-15-06, 04:09 PM
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Originally Posted by sverrefehn
How does the euro peloton compare to the american peloton? I've always read how much tougher it is over there at the elite levels. Does that also trickle down to the local amature scene?
it does in Belgium.
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Old 12-15-06, 04:10 PM
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Originally Posted by patentcad
<many words here>
How come I thought you lived in Austin?
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Old 12-15-06, 06:24 PM
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Originally Posted by botto
3 weeks, and i'll be bringing my ol' C'dale beater.

On Sunday AM there's a ride that leaves the bike shop in Nyack, NY (about 1/3 of a block north of the Runcible Spoon coffee house across the street) @ 9:15AM or so. Rolls out casually and builds up steam as it heads south. Local fast ride for 30+ years, I've been doing it for about 20. If you want to roll up to Nyack and then go south with the boys, you might enjoy it. At least the pre-30mph part. Winds up 38 miles later at the same spot (big loop).
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Old 12-15-06, 07:40 PM
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Very well put Patentcad, I just started racing the end of last season and now I am a fiend. I absolutely love it. The people I've met have been very encouraging and friendly, especialy the dudes on the team I joined. I cannot wait to get out on my bike and ride, the winter/weather makes it tough now, I have to settle for indoor rides weeknights now but saturadys and sundays I am on the road.

I wish I had more time to devote to racing but a wife, child and job make it tough. I'll be a cat 4 soon enough and if I never make it to cat 3 oh well, I am doing it for a challenge and fun.
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Old 12-15-06, 09:17 PM
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Originally Posted by WCroadie
Very well put Patentcad, I just started racing the end of last season and now I am a fiend. I absolutely love it. The people I've met have been very encouraging and friendly, especialy the dudes on the team I joined. I cannot wait to get out on my bike and ride, the winter/weather makes it tough now, I have to settle for indoor rides weeknights now but saturadys and sundays I am on the road.

I wish I had more time to devote to racing but a wife, child and job make it tough. I'll be a cat 4 soon enough and if I never make it to cat 3 oh well, I am doing it for a challenge and fun.
Yeah, it gets under your skin, particularly the camraderie. And my kid is older now (13), but many of the friends I started racing with @ age 33 are still at it - at age 45-50++. Which shows you how much fun it can be. And even many of those guys who don't race much any longer still come out on weekends to mix it up with the guys who do - some of whom are literally half our age.

It doesn't suck to be 50 or SIXTY (we have one amazing dude in our local peloton who is 62 yrs old and can still hang most of the time) and still be riding 30mph - instead of lying around complaining about your aches and pains or your hangover on Sunday morning. You can continue to try your hand on the race course into your 60's - the aforementioned 62 yr old wins the small (but somewhat active) 60+ category at the popular TT's. The largest group @ those races is the 45+ cateogry - my group : ).

Is that denying advancing old age or just trying to 'use it or lose it'? Who cares? We all ENJOY it and it adds value and immense quality to our lives. What anyone else thinks - that is their affair, isn't it? A few years ago I was 40 lbs heavier (back injury induced 5 year layoff/circle jerk) - and every now and then I run into somebody who hasn't seem me in years. They'll say WOW you look GREAT!! - and compared to how I looked 2 years back, I'm a different person. And it's more than just physical. Very happy now.

Thank God for cycling. Am I obsessed with this? Yeah, OK. I rode over 12K miles this year. And it didn't seem like that much because I absolutely loved it. And why wouldn't I like something that's fun, gets me outdoors every day, keeps me amazingly fit (particuarly for a middle aged man) and adds all this quality to my life? It has gotten to the point where I can enjoy riding in the freezing cold, the rain, and I hate to admit it, the occasional snow squall.

Do I care how fast I ride? Yes and no. You get philosophical about that when you realize that whether you're a slowpoke fred or a Cat II there is ALWAYS somebody faster than you - and of course, slower than you. So if you start getting your chamois in a twist over that stuff just forget about it and RIDE, and try to remember why you love doing it. I'll bet that it's not tied up in your last race result, no matter how cool racing can sometimes be. It can suck too. But it has served its purpose in my riding experience, and it has been overwhelmingly positive.

Last edited by patentcad; 12-15-06 at 09:23 PM.
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