"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - Advice Needed - One Race, or Two?

So this weekend is a double serving of road races. My quandary is that the race on Saturday is one that I am unlikely to excel in, whereas the race on Sunday is one much more suited to my strengths. Mainly, I'm 64kg with a decent FTP (4.3 w/kg), but a not so decent anaerobic capacity. Working on that.

Saturday is the San Ardo RR, 63 miles of flat land, likely ending in a sprint finish. Given my inability to sprint, things aren't looking good. I might be able to just stay in the pack and not use much energy, to stay fresh for Sunday.

Sunday is the University RR. 15 laps around the UCSC campus. 3 miles a lap, 400 feet or so of climbing, with a short kicker at the top. Much more to my liking, and much more likely to meet with success here.

So, concentrate on Sunday and skip Saturday? My inclination is to just race both. Though I know from last year that many of the people racing on Sunday don't do the road race further south on Saturday.

I don't understand why you even want to bother with San Ardo. If you want to ride 63 miles easy on Sat, you should just do it on your own or something at an easy pace to save your legs and energy for University RR (and the drive).

I'm tempted to do one of the two, just because there aren't that many road races left this year. According to google maps, San Ardo is 2h45m from SF!!!! Ughhhhhhh.

So, concentrate on Sunday and skip Saturday?

Thats my vote.

San Whato?

I'm sleepin' in on Saturday, then doing a nice and easy 2 hour ride.

I'd just focus on University on Sunday.


If you like climbing, you should skip San Ardo and do Challenge next Saturday.

race them both, at this point in the season you should be able to recover from a race on saturday and show up on sunday with at least as good or even better legs.

good practice for stage races to do both. You are not expecting to do well, so use it as a group ride, maybe bring up your weaknesses a bit. If you want, sit in the pack on saturday, and "save your legs" Who knows, maybe you will learn how to rest in the pack (a skill many do not have).

^^^^ Yeah, is your goal to do well or get faster?

Might be good for the legs, might be bad. Racing collegiate earlier in the year, I sometimes found the legs even better the second day. Might be bad. It is late in the season, hardly the time to skip races.

Only thing I dislike about long and flat races is nothing ever breaks them up. Despite huge variances in fitness, it's almost impossible to drop people without some sort of selection.

I wish I recorded my thoughts about races after a race. I did San Ardo last year, but now only vaguely remember being bored and promising never to do it again. Or that might have been another long and flat road race. They all sort of bled together at some point.

I did pre-register for it, and it is only 70 miles south. Hate to throw away the money. But a good result at University would put me over the hump for Cat 3 upgrade points.

Speaking of Challenge, I should find a cheap motel to stay at. Google maps has the drive at 4 hours 44 minutes. :eek:

Are there crosswinds on Sat? What about the temps? We have lots of flat RR's in FL, but rarely have bunch sprints in the P12 or masters races.

And my vote is to race twice. Slip into moves on Sat, but don't overcook it unless you have a real chance at sticking a break.

I don't understand why you even want to bother with San Ardo. If you want to ride 63 miles easy on Sat, you should just do it on your own or something at an easy pace to save your legs and energy for University RR (and the drive).

I'm tempted to do one of the two, just because there aren't that many road races left this year. According to google maps, San Ardo is 2h45m from SF!!!! Ughhhhhhh.

I'm debating myself on whether to do San Ardo or not. If it were a 1-1.5 hour drive then I probably would. However after last week's debacle (1 hour delays in the start times), I'm not sure I want to wake up at 5:30 to drive 2.5 hours and then maybe have to wait around for another hour.

There are plenty of fast group rides that you could do in and around the bay area on saturday if you decide not to race. I know of a few in the east bay that are pretty good and generally attract some good racers. Those may be a nice option to get in a good workout without having to drive 3 hours.

Might be good for the legs, might be bad. Racing collegiate earlier in the year, I sometimes found the legs even better the second day. Might be bad. It is late in the season, hardly the time to skip races.

Only thing I dislike about long and flat races is nothing ever breaks them up. Despite huge variances in fitness, it's almost impossible to drop people without some sort of selection.

I wish I recorded my thoughts about races after a race. I did San Ardo last year, but now only vaguely remember being bored and promising never to do it again. Or that might have been another long and flat road race. They all sort of bled together at some point.

I did pre-register for it, and it is only 70 miles south. Hate to throw away the money. But a good result at University would put me over the hump for Cat 3 upgrade points.

Speaking of Challenge, I should find a cheap motel to stay at. Google maps has the drive at 4 hours 44 minutes. :eek:


Being pre-registered, and only 70 miles away makes a big difference. I was thinking from SF, where I'd have to drive 173 miles each way, which would mean leaving at 4 something :eek:

Dunnigan taught me that flat races are no fun if you're a climber and spending the whole race attacking and trying to drop guys.

There are some cheap Motels near Challenge. The Super 8 in Marysville is $49.50

I'm debating myself on whether to do San Ardo or not. If it were a 1-1.5 hour drive then I probably would. However after last week's debacle (1 hour delays in the start times), I'm not sure I want to wake up at 5:30 to drive 2.5 hours and then maybe have to wait around for another hour.

There are plenty of fast group rides that you could do in and around the bay area on saturday if you decide not to race. I know of a few in the east bay that are pretty good and generally attract some good racers. Those may be a nice option to get in a good workout without having to drive 3 hours.



Cmon Snickle, fast group rides are not races. If all you want to do is train, then do so. If you want to race, it shouldn't matter that you had to get up at 530 or wait an extra hour. Racing is why most people on this forum train. So grab your license and a check, hit the road and finish the season string.

Cmon Snickle, fast group rides are not races. If all you want to do is train, then do so. If you want to race, it shouldn't matter that you had to get up at 530 or wait an extra hour. Racing is why most people on this forum train. So grab your license and a check, hit the road and finish the season string.

I can see where you are coming from, since there are things you'l learn in a race that you won't in a group "ride".

Problem is, if you're on a budget, like I'm sure some people are (I know I am) sometimes the $$$ spent on gas to drive 5-6 hours total can add up after a while... :(

I can see where you are coming from, since there are things you'l learn in a race that you won't in a group "ride".

Problem is, if you're on a budget, like I'm sure some people are (I know I am) sometimes the $$$ spent on gas to drive 5-6 hours total can add up after a while... :(

Sorry to hear about the budget, but I sure hope you aren't riding around on a set of $2000 wheels, have many different bikes, or are eating out often. These would be race budget killers, so scrape up a few bucks and hitch a ride with somebody that wants to see you succeed. Old masters racers love to help out the wannabees, you just have to show the desire to be there. Either way, enjoy your ride.

^^^ You really do have a good point, at this late hour it would be hard to find a ride down and I'd feel weird as a woman asking some guys I don't know for a ride. A few people from my team are going down today but I couldn't leave that early.

1 .

Considering it's the one race weekend I'm perfectly situated to attend, living near Salinas, I guess I'll go. :)

One hour each direction is pretty sweet. Wish I could say the same thing about just about every other race weekend. I'm always surprised San Ardo is on the race calendar - being so far South. It's already out of what I would consider Northern California, and well into Southern/Central Cali.

Too bad things aren't reversed, with University on Saturday and San Ardo on Sunday. University is absolutely brutal. Flat road races seem more like something to do after a brutal sufferfest, rather than the other way around.

Game plan for San Ardo will be to try to work on race smarts, keep carbed up, and don't dig deep unless I feel it's a really good move. Last year I did both, and finished mid-pack at San Ardo. At University I was dropped on lap 2 or something like that.

Good luck to everyone else at their respective races this weekend.

The UCSC campus would be an amazing place for a bike race. I was there a few years ago when Specialized was demoing their new bikes. My wife and I kept getting left for dust as we slogged up the hill on borrowed mountain bikes :)

What collegiate category do you ride? Maybe you could find some pals for the first race and practice team tactics? Have fun!

So San Ardo was interesting.

Quick and dirty summary:

Slow paced group ride, punctuated by pee break (in a Cat 4 road race :rolleyes:), followed by attacking of said pee break and a breakaway resulting. Much knashing of teeth ensued. As a Poli Sci guy, I could have told em about the prisoner's dilemma, and why organization of said pee break would fail.

Alas, no one asked.

Flated after 52 miles on the very, very rough patch of road and waited for the broom wagon. Fun stuff.