Road Bike Racing - Upgraded to cat 4

I'm sort of excited. I did my sixth and seventh road races this past weekend. On Monday I went ahead and applied for my cat 4 license. I know you are supposed to wait until you get ten races in but I figured why not try. I've done seven races and had five top three finishes, one dnf due to a serious crash by a teammate and my last race I had a teammate go on a solo breakaway so I had to just set up and resist the urge to bridge the gap.

Anyway USCF accepted my application, I'm now a cat 4 after only one month of road racing! Of course to get those seven races in I have had to drive anywhere from eight hours to eleven hours a weekend. It was worth it! I do wish there were some local races though, driving a minimum of 500 miles a weekend is getting old.

One less to worry about.... for now. ;)

Nice work!!

Congrats!

I upgraded last week and raced 4's last weekend. i'm the ohio guy with the blue cannondale. 4's are a world's difference since most everyone knows how to race. My friend needs two more races to be a 4, but now that you said they approved you with only 7, I might tell him to give it a shot and try to upgrade.

Might I be seeing you this weekend at Tour of Richland county and Deer Creek? I promise to take a few pulls if I see you on the road again.

Nice!

It must be nice racing in a place with so many people. The 4's and 5's race together here in MT.

Awesome. I keep forgetting....isn't your focus more on mountain bike racing? I can't remember if it was you, but I know someone on here just got into road racing, but is more of an off-road guy.

Good job on the upgrade. I got mine about 2 months ago and am 5 points away from upgrading to a 3.



It must be nice racing in a place with so many people. The 4's and 5's race together here in MT.

We have tons of 4's & 5's here, yet they often race together in the smaller races, especially in the 35+ group. I'm doing a race this weekend where they have separate races for Pro/1/2, Cat 3, 4/5 & 35+ 1/2/3. The 4/5 race is full (with 4's and 5's of all ages), yet the other 3 races are only about 25% full each. With the huge # of 4's and 5's I think it would make more sense to combine the 3's with the Pro/1/2 and have separate races for 4's & 5's, or combine the 3's & 4's, or allow 35+ 4's in with the 35+ 1/2/3. Any of these options would allow more 4's & 5's to race.

Usually our races are P/1/2/3, 3/4, 4, 5, Juniors, Women, Masters.

Congrats man, let us know how you like the first race with the 4s.

I'll see how the next couple races go for me - but hopefully I'll be at 4 as well by May.

PolishPostal - I'm sure you will be joining me soon enough.

nitropowered - Thank you. I'm not sure which race I will be doing this weekend. My wife's birthday is this weekend so I will definitely be spending at least one day at home.

GuitarWizard - My priority is mountain biking but honestly I'm kind of enjoying this whole roadie thing. They (road and mtb) both have their plusses and minuses. I guess it goes back to the whole I'm a cyclist thing, not one or the other.

PizzaMan - Congrats. I'm hoping to make it up to a cat 3 next season. That is probably as far as I will make it though. I try to set realistic goals. I'm just too old plus I don't have enough time to make it any further.

Snuffleupagus - Thanks! Good luck with your races and the upgrade.

hey lowcel - you seem to be having a hell of a season so far. just remember - it's still spring and early in the season. are you planning on backing off a bit and peaking later on, or just keep on racing like you've been doing? i would probably burn out if i didn't space things out a bit. our season lasts well into september and there is no way i could do all those races without some rest in between.

hey lowcel - you seem to be having a hell of a season so far. just remember - it's still spring and early in the season. are you planning on backing off a bit and peaking later on, or just keep on racing like you've been doing? i would probably burn out if i didn't space things out a bit. our season lasts well into september and there is no way i could do all those races without some rest in between.

Thanks.

Actually my season hasn't even started yet. I am just now in my second week of build 2. I haven't been tapering for any of the races, I have just been training right through them and then using the races as a training day as well. My "official" race season doesn't even begin until April 23rd.

Also, my family owns a small business (www.ducksproducts.com). Before long I will be working with it most weekends so I will have to start missing quite a few races. Since my racing will be limited later in the year I am trying to do as many now as I can. I will be lucky if I can get in a total of 20 - 25 races (including mtb races).

congrats, I just upgraded too, and last week I won my first cash prize
$50 for a prime was pretty damn cool, and just missed another $50 prime by a half bike length
its fun racing with $$$ and points involved