Road Cycling - Cat 5 or Master 45+

Hi All,

There is a road race coming up soon and they have all cats 1-5 and a Master class 45+.
I am 54 and was wondering if I should go in the Cat 5 or the 45+ class? I am not even thinking of doing well against these guys just like to watch them up close.
Thanks in advance....Dudley

guhey
hope this aint too late - best cat to race may depend on the race
but generally you better be REAL good to mess with the +45
crew - go with the newbies [5's]

Hey steelydan,

I have done some asking around and have to agree with you. I was told by several people that dont even think of racing with either group. I was asked by a one guy who was a race offical that if I can get more 55 plus guys interested they could form a 55 plus group. Damn its hell to get old. *LOL*

Ride Safe....Dudley

Go with the 45+. They're better bike handlers and that will lessen the chance of you being knocked down. They're also faster, so the misery of barely hanging on will not last as long. Plus, you'll actually learn something from those geezers.

If you do get some more 55+ guys to race, don't be surprised if they stick the three or four of you into the 45+ race anyway. So make sure there are 55+ places, and know who is 55+ and who is not.

Hi jaques,

Smile when you say old geezer ! *S* I agree that the 45plus guys would probably end my suffering sooner.
Think I will try and get some 55 plus guys together .

Ride safe soon to be an "old geezer" hehe

Dudley

I speak from experience, not disrespect. I'm 61 years old and me and my geezer buddies do three or four races a season. There's not many of us old guys, so we always get stuck into the 45+ bunch. I've gotten very good at sitting on the back, enjoying the ride. Every so often, I keep hearing the bittersweet question "are you all right, Sir?" Must be my gray hair blowing out of the helmet vents coupled with my heavy breathing, ha ha ha

jaques,

I really would like to ask you some questions about how fast is the avg speed in the 55 plus group and do you have many crashes in the 45 to 55 group. Still making up my mind if I really want to try a race.
Where I ride there is an old spanish pro rider that looks to be over 60 and when you see this guy coming you get out of the way. The first time I saw this guy I was doing around 22mph and he must have been 200 yards behind me and at first I thought he was a motorcycle he was ganing so fast. *LOL*
Ride safe...Dudley

bikinguy - average speeds don't mean much in racing. Each race is a collection of many episodes. There is 18 mph trolling, 22 mph rolling along, 30 mph jams, accelerations, decelerations, and so on. What you need to look at is your ability to hold a certain speed for a certain time.

Let me give you an example: you enter a criterium. The actual start is pretty relaxed. You're drafting behind three or four riders. On the second lap, someone at the front starts hitting it - the speed goes from 18 to 26 mph. You're hanging on, but thinking "there's no way I can do 26 mph for 35 laps." Dont think that. What you need to be thinking is "I wonder how long they can keep this up?" Invariably, the speed will come down.

So - if the race went 26 mph for 50 seconds and you can hold 26 mph for 50 seconds drafting, you'll stay in. If you can hold 26 mph for only 45 seconds drafting, you'll get dropped. This means that at this point your ability to find a good draft and go very fast for a relatively short period of time is much more important than your ability to sustain a high average speed on your solitary training ride.

All this is oversimplified. Once you get good at racing, the ability to hold a high average speed does become a valuable asset, especially if you want to break away from the bunch.

If you do enter a race and keep your computer running (I don't own one any longer), you will be amazed how high your average speed was. That's because 20 riders or so packed close together provide a huge draft for you, especially if you're right in the middle of them. Of course, that's another reason why average race speeds intimidate the beginning racer - they always sound terrifyingly high. Just forget about average speeds, ha ha, they're lunch table topics of conversation for tourists anyway, ha ha

As for crashes, I can only tell you that almost all the crashing is done at the rear of the pack. Most beginners ride there. It's also very tiring to ride there, so towards the end of the race most everyone at the rear is bone-tired and ready to crash at the slightest provocation. Having said that, there isn't that much crashing, actually. I used to get into one or two during a 50-race season when I was in my 40s.

My advice is to start your first race in the front third of the bunch and see if you can stay there for as many laps as possible. Work as little as possible - hide behind big riders. And don't forget - no one can go very fast forever. Just before you're ready to give up, the speed might just come down. Of course, there's also the heartbreak of the speed coming down just seconds after you've given up - man, been there as well many times, ha ha

Good luck!

jaques,

Thanks so much for such a complete reply. What you say makes sense and can tell you have been there.
I have located a club near me that has a racing clinic which lets a newbie ride with some more exp riders to get a feel for it.

I was going to sign off with a "ride safe" but "Hammer till the other guy pukes" is more fun ! *S*

Dudley