MDcatV

i can race over 50x/year within 2.5 hrs. drive of my front door, so that's typically my range but if it werent for having 2 small children, i'd have no real limits.

merlinextraligh

true. And a vacation to Oregon added in the mix.

Longest drive typically 4-6 hours, and fewer of those these days.

Most years, I pick one big deal event to fly to, Everest Challenge, Masters Nationals, etc. This year it's Dirty Kaanza.

tetonrider

hello. timely thread--i'm just settling in after 21h on the road. (4 of those were fixing an issue with my truck, but the other 17 were driving. for a little while i thought i might not be making this one. turns out i just lost most of pre-race day of preparation / pre-riding a course.)

drive ~17h for a stage race in feb. flew to CA for a stage race in march. flew to NY for a single day race a few weeks ago. will be driving to hood river and bend (2x) later this year -- about 12h each way.

i consider 'close' road races to be ~4-5h away. guess i want to race pretty bad! i have yet to regret a trip and have always taken away more positives and more friendships from every one.

ancker

I live in Central Illinois. I have to drive to make just about every race.
There is a 2-day crit event here (this weekend) each year that I get to enjoy not having to travel to, but everything else is at least 2 hours away.

#1 Hillsboro Roubaix, 2 hours, First Road Race of the year. It's just fun.
#2 CU Crits, (home race) 20 minutes, Don't really like crits, but I have to support my local racing.
#3 Tour of Galena, 3.5 hours. Super fun hilly race that I have on chance competing in. But the area is gorgeous and my wife actually likes tagging along.
#4 O'Fallon Grand Prix, 3 hours. State Road Race Championships. Super fun race. Huge turnout. I do decent here every year.
#5 Big Jay's Fat Ass 12-hour race, 30 minutes, not USACycling sanctioned, just a local 12-race. I set mileage goals for this ride each year. I never compete in the full 12 hours.
#6 Great Egyptian Omnium, 3 hours. I hope to actually make it here this year for the road race. Looks like a fun race.
#7 Illinois State Time Trial Championship, 5 minutes, literally 2 miles away. I don't have a TT bike, but I'll race it because why not?

Depending on travel, I sometimes add a few crits in/near Chicago. Last year I did the Fox River crit in Elgin, IL. That was fun and is my best result in a race ever. I had hoped to do Monster's of the Midway (Chicago) but a wedding is conflicting. I also want to do the Cobb Park crit (Kankakee, IL) but having family over conflicted with that. I really wish there were more road races in Central Illinois. But I doubt there ever will be.

gsteinb

You can live in NY city and race 100+ times a year without even putting you bike in a car. I drive a lot, and am not bashful about a few hour drive for a specific race I want to do. But for sure if I had to drive as much as some folks do just to race I'd probably be doing something else with my recreation time.

rkwaki

Damn son that's crazy...
Is it all on your own dime?

TMonk

no more than 2 hrs 1 way, prob closer to 1.5 now that I've discovered track which is 10 miles from my apt and work.

tetonrider

well, i'm an amateur so until i'm getting paid to do it (read: never) i put more money into it than i get back. i get race reimbursements, free or deals on gear, etc., but that doesn't cover the cost or time. good thing i enjoy it! ;-)

Andy STi

Teton, we'll have to say hi when you're at Hood and Cascade.

Monkeyclaw

What? No Snake Alley crit???

Most of my races are in Phoenix (1.5 hrs) or Tucson (3.5 hrs). I've driven up to 5 hrs for a race, and it looks like I'll be hitting some of the CA races this year.

Andy STi

Burlington, Snake Alley, Muscatine, and Moline - used to love that weekend!

thechemist

That is awesome! I am trying to get the kids/wife to start showing up to some races

globecanvas

That's a whole different thread... my wife and most of my kids have never seen me race. My youngest son did once, when he did the kid's race at a cross event.

tetonrider

awesome!

i love hood (but it also terrifies me in many ways) and hood river. i just flat out enjoy cascade and bend; my family comes along for cascade.

my son has been asking me two questions about my races (the ones he doesn't see) since he was 2.5yo -- "did you win?" followed by "did you crash?"

gsteinb

When I started racing again about ten years ago I brought my son, plopped him down in a beach chair and gave him something to do. He was 5 or 6. He's been to a zillion races. Has helped pick numbers, and used to be the official lap card guy at kissena. A good story is one year at Wilimington he moved. It took about three laps, and right before I was to drop out to see he was sitting behind the barrier. Another time he ended up ringing the bell for the final lap. He can't go as frequently as he used to due to his own commitments, but it's rare that my wife misses a race. Several of my teammates also bring their wives and they have a grand old time. It's the primary reason I focused on crits and circuits, and one of the main reasons I don't have much interest in road races.

shovelhd

My oldest will be watching on Sunday.

gsteinb

right on.

caloso

This weekend is my team race and we'll have a fair group of kids there, including my 2. It's a good time.

ridethecliche

I was super spoiled being in CT when I raced. There were two weekend races and a weekly training series that was all within an hour. That was in the spring.

In the summer, the crits were about 1-2 hrs away for the most part. The good road races all within 3 hrs. I'd usually get a ride with teammates for the price of breakfast for those.

shovelhd

Mrs. Shovel may be making the trip. Cinqo de Mayo post race.

gsteinb

yeah we talked about that, but have our weekly burger feast on tap. we'll put chorizo in the mix though.

jsutkeepspining

nice!

MDcatV

unfortunately my wife isnt too keen on going to races, my daughter (6 y.o.) only wants to go if she can go shopping or something, and the 2 y.o. just wants to run around like a, well, 2 y.o.

i dont think i would be comfortable taking my 6 y.o. to a race and leaving her unsupervised, and i know my wife would not approve (i think we're overprotective and know the wife is).

shovelhd

Your Cinqo will be great.

shovelhd

No way would I bring a 6 year old to a race without another adult.