ZenNMotion

I'd like to hear your bike racing success stories- you know, like
I used to be a pillsbury dough-boy(girl) and started riding my bike seriously, now I'm a successful category 3...
Or- I started racing at age 40, hurt like crazy in the beginning now I whup butt with 20 year olds...
Or- I rode group rides and centuries for years, always saving racing for "next year" then I finally got serious and I went from cat 5 to cat 2 in 2 years...

Anyway, this is the time of year for dreams and despair, share your insiration!

ZackJones

I won my the first bike race I ever entered. It was a "Citizens" race in Texas way back in 1988/1989 timeframe. I still have the trophy sitting on the shelf.

Gustaf

I was fat. I rode my bike a lot. I lost weight.
I decided to race.
I got second at my first race I entered.
Won the second.

2Rodies

Well what do you know a thread about bike racing! Finally somebodies talking about actually racing a bike in the bike racing forum!

Well in the early '90's I was a very slow Cat3, I was actually a pretty average Cat 4 but do to several crashes in my crits I earned enough points and they moved me up. I was getting my butt handed to me every weekend so I decided I was going to quit racing in '93 and would make the Mullholland Hill Climb my last event. While training for that event I was struck by a hit and run driver and nearly killed. I suffered a major concusion and a broken rt shoulder, rt collar bone, rt femar, lft wrist and index finger. I also had road rash from head to toe. I couldn't ride for nearly 2.5 years and went from 185# to 240# (I'm 5'9"). I finally got on my butt back on the bike and into the gym and got back down to 190 in about 5 months. That was 1995 and I just rode for fun until this year. We moved to Austin in May of '04 and I really got back into riding hard again. I droped down to 155 (my current weight) and this year started racing for one of the local shops. I did my first ever road race (previously it had only been crits) and finished 12 out 65 guys in really bad conditions. I was pretty happy since I had been suffering from the flu the days leading up to the race and was unable to train or eat. So now at the ripe old age of 42 (43 in may) I'm back racing and I'm faster and fitter than I was at 30!

R600DuraAce

I don't think "success" is the right words since most of us racers here could never turn pro. However, to keep my "rewarding" bike racing story short, I am an average cat 4 into my second season after racing for 2 years and 1 year as a recreational rider. Total bike miles years is 3. Age 32. I think I am somwhat gifted because guys that I could barely hang on to 3 years ago? I can drop them at will.

Here is my power profile:

Threshold power is around 220 watts to 240 watts. I weight 130 lb or 59kg. My power/weight ratio is 3.9w/kg. I am expecting my threshold power to jump higher as soon as I have more intensity workout under my legs.

DieselDan

I've only raced in one organized race in my life: a short 22 mile road race at the Marine Corps Air Station here. The race was only 2 11 miles laps on the permeter road. Most of the participants were Marines. There were 50 starters, only 11 civilians started. I'm not exactly a model of perfect fitness, and I was riding an old Univega with downtube shifters and a six speed freehwheel. I ran my own race, and was startled to finish 19th! I was the last civilian to finish. I even beat out the base XO.

A USMC fitness instrcutor explained to some slightly irate Marines that I train just to ride my bike, while they (Marines) are trained for full body fitness.

I consider this a sucess, even though I was 20 minutes behind the winner. I exceeded my expectations on both time and finishing position.

Olyroller

The Worm



Back in the days when I use to race at the Marymoor Velodrome I had a rival know as “the worm”. Now I can’t even remember the guys real name but he belonged to the Rainbow Team. At the time it was the largest team in the state where Olympic and World Champion Rebecca Twigg was just making her mark on the map. Rainbow had a track style at the time of not attacking. Just follow all the moves and wait for the sprint. Not a bad way to race the track, but they never ever attacked. What’s worse is when in a break they would never work. Of course this tended to really piss off some of the other teams, me included. Well, the worm was really a pretty good road rider, he was small and slim. He really only rode the track for training, but he was strong enough to sit in on any of the breaks and get a third place once in a great while. There was something about the worm that just rubbed me the wrong way. He was too quite and sneaky. I was a typical showboat sprinter, loud and flashy. I would get so mad at this guy it actually help me get cranked up and race better. So I guess I shouldn’t slight him to much.

One day we were racing a circuit loop race of about five miles at Point Defiance Park in Tacoma. The road is one way and narrow. As we came into the finish I was in the third row of four across. Now if you weren’t in the first or maybe second row you just weren’t gona be a factor in the finish. But of course this doesn’t stop most of the guys for thinking they can pull something off. A dangerous situation to say the least. I’m just sitting in watching things develop with about 500 yards to go. I’m on the outside next to the edge of the road when I hear someone coming in the packed dirt and gravel next to me, it’s the worm. Now we’re moving pretty fast at this point and the worm looks at me and says "let me in", because there are spectators dead ahead. I can’t move over because there is nowhere to move. I look at him and just shrug my shoulders. This must have made him mad. Then he try’s to ride his way in by leaning on me, it get's him nowhere. Because he is focused on me he doesn’t see the people ahead. He then runs over the toes of several spectators including an official with a clipboard. The official jumps back screaming “look out!” and his clipboard flies into the air with all the papers going in different directions. This is getting pretty funny to me at this point and I nudge my buddy next to me and say, “get a load of the worm”. Now the worm is really mad and he tries one last time to bang his way past me to get on the road. There is a lip of about an inch on the roads edge and it takes out the worms front wheel and he goes down. People are screaming and jumping out of the way. My buddy and I are laughing so hard we have to lean on each other to stay up. As the worm continues to slide along the ground across the finish line he takes out the lapboard with a large bell on it. He undercuts the lapboard so that it flips around up in the air, the numbers go flying every which way and the bell comes crashing down to the ground ringing and bouncing around. We were laughing so hard at this point our stomachs were hurting.

I never thought of a moral to this story. But maybe it would go something like . . . be careful if your nickname is the worm because you just might eat dirt.

berny

I raced last night (afternoon 6.30/7.30 crit) and was soundly beaten by two guys (triathletes) who I ride with in training on Saturdays who are v. good strong young riders. I'm 63 and just getting started in racing these last 3mnths. I ride every day and train Saturdays with the tri guys. I race Sunday morning with a Vets club and Monday night with the Penrith Panthers, an open race club.

Problem is one of these guys has never raced road and turns up at my club where he is allowed to 'go around' in my (E) grade where first-timers get to try their hand (or in this case, legs).
He won as I new he would and the other guy came second as I new he would, both by a street working together.
I'm dark on both of them as I feel they took an unfair advantage to take the money.

I know it's not for a sheep station (cattle ranch) but I've worked bloody hard in a grade where I've improved to the point that I can now contest the sprint with genuine 'like graded' participants but get ripped off by these impostors which has left me with a real bad taste in my mouth.

Am I being too competitive or serious?

I can't wait till I see the bludgers next Saturday at training, I'll give 'em hell.
Bern

todd1

I raced @ a national level as a junior,then stopped racing for about 10 years. Durring that time I got into bodybuilding and put on about 60 lbs of muscle.One day while doing cardio on a spinning class I saw a stage of the 2003 Tour,I was bitten by the Bug again!Within 5 months I bought a new road bike and started loging in the miles,around 300+ a week.This was in May of 04,by Aug of 04 I was a Cat 2 again and winning races. Looking forward to a great 05!

Olyroller

Welcome to Bicycle racing. Get use to it. Your story has been told forever by others and will be told agian and again. Don't mean to be a downer. Take pride in the work you've done and your own progress. All guys in your age group should get a gold every day for living life to it's fullest. Now go kick some arse.