Road Bike Racing - The truth or a joke.....help me beat the system.

The joke: What is the difference between a Cat4 and a Cat3.....The Cat 4 has a full time job.
As a soon to be graduate of the University of Colorado with a degree in Biology, and an avid cyclist that is looking to move up as much as possible, I fear my future as a cyclist will be hampered having a 9-5.
It seems the recently graduated go to work come home and go out, drink, come home and do it all again.
I want to beat this system.

To all of you working men and women out there that are beating the system what is the key to Training and having a job? Any tips would be apriciated.


Please excuse the spelling. College has taught me how to drink and ride my bike.
CU-2005 road and mountain bike national champions.

Thanks CA

Don't quick your day job. :D You can't make a living from racing until you are a top Div3 pro or Div1 pro. I know I will never be a pro but I want to move up the rank because racing defines who I am. The better I am at it and better I feel about myself. Commute to work. Ride before or after work. Ride on weekends. If you have a desk job, use work for recovery. :D Many local pros do have a full time job. They may not have to work 40+ hours a week though.

Forgot. Don't get married and don't get a girlfriend. With a full time job, you barely have enough time to train, race , and recover. Adding marriage and girlfriend into the equation just won't work.

Make time to train. Early mornings work for me. Know exactly why you're out there on your bike. What's the point of your ride? Intervals? ... base? ... recovery? Just to have fun? Plan it all out. You can be a 4 without a plan, but it's exceedingly hard to be a 3 without one. My coach told me that 350 hours per year on the bike is barely enough to be competitive as a 3.

BTW ... one of my goals is to cat up to a 3 this year.

Mark

Hire a coach.

Hire a coach.

^^^^^ Teh Truth x evelenty billion

The people at the top of their game are either really talented, or they're the ones who didn't get distracted from their goal.
Or both.

We all settle in where we belong according to our drive, not our ability.

The old adage, "you get out what you put in" holds true here.

The people at the top of their game are either really talented, or they're the ones who didn't get distracted from their goal.
Or both.

We all settle in where we belong according to our drive, not our ability.

The old adage, "you get out what you put in" holds true here.

To a certain degree that's true but genetics are a big part. Getting to a competitive level as Cat 3 has as much or more to do with drive than "talent" or genetics. But once you get to the Cat 1/2 pro level genetics start to play their part.




As for how you can have a full time job and still work out. I have a 7 day work out program, two days a week are at the gym the rest on the bike. I'm married with two kids so I wake up at 5:15 every morning and ride the trainer for about 30 minutes until the sun comes up then I ride for about an hour and home by 7:30.

. My coach told me that 350 hours per year on the bike is barely enough to be competitive as a 3.




That's 7 hours a week. If you can't find 7 hours a week, even with a demanding job, and a family, then you're not really trying. If succeeding in cycling is a priority, and your willing to forgo a few things (guy's night out, 3 hours of football every saturday and sunday, an hour of mindless TV every night, relatively long lunches with co workers, etc.) you can find the time.
10 hours a week of quality training, following a well thought out plan, should be enough to be competitive as a Cat 3.(Most events just aren't that long). Personally, I try to get around 10 hours a week, usually by one weekday evening ride, 2 week days either at lunch or commuting, one long ride on saturday, and one shorter ride on sunday. That's less time from my family than if I played 27 holes of golf in the week. You just need to use a little creativity in juggling time and commitments, and you have to make all your training time count. When you're training a relatively short amount of time you don't have time to just ride miles with no defined purpose. Also +1 on the coach, to help execute the above strategy.

It seems the recently graduated go to work come home and go out, drink, come home and do it all again.
I want to beat this system.


All you have to do is avoid these things, which is surprisingly easy.

I worked 8:30-6 all summer, was maybe a little short on miles, but still had my best season on the bike ever, complete with a Cat 3 upgrade. Buy some rollers, do your big distance on weekends. Talk to a coach about intervals, or, if you're the independant sort, figure out what works for you.

My coach told me that 350 hours per year on the bike is barely enough to be competitive as a 3.



My coach has me doing about 12-15 hours a week right now, that inlcudes about 3 hours per week in the gym. I plan on cat'n up to a 3 by the end of the '06 season. After that it's all 45 masters baby!

Never accept that you'll be anything less than a three.

I know it sounds stupid, but it's the truth. Never accept failure to reach your goal. Work will only take up as much of your free time as you let it. Learn to be efficient. Learn to make the best with the time you have.

Do that, and the rest will all fall into place.