"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - Advice for racing in San Diego / SoCal

I'd like to start racing. I'm 28, well fit, I usually log about 75-100 miles a week, I have a good lightweight bike and I do good in fast-paced group rides. I'm also adept at climbing, although obviously not the fastest.

I'd like start racing. I don't have a budget to tour, so it'll have to be nearby San Diego.

What would you recommend? Where can I find info on local races? What would be a good place to start?

ride more

Same advice I would give anyone looking to start: find some nice chill teams looking for new racers and go on some of their training rides.

Check out http://scnca.com/ for info on racing in So cal

www.swamis.org or www.sdbc.org The Swamis ride that starts at B&L bike shops is consistently ranked one of the ten toughest club rides in the nation.

Do some group rides and try some races. If you're already doing group rides (and it seems like you are), take the plunge. Get a license and try out a race. The speed will be a bit demoralizing but you'll be there quick enough.

I'd caution on the Swamis ride, at least in Feb (which is the only time I can be in that area). The ride has some top notch racers in it - pros and Cat 1-3. I wouldn't recommend it for someone getting into racing (unless you're already a top class athlete in some other aerobic/speed discipline). I do (or rather, used to do) the Gimbles ride at home in NY and the Swamis ride is a whole different world of hurt.

http://www.socalcycling.com has some info on group rides, races, etc.

sdbc is good, did one of their rides (I met up with one guy on the way to the ride and joined them) and it was perhaps a slower than totally hotted up pace but it was a long ride (5 hours or something like that). That particular ride wasn't necessarily a ride for "racers" but a good ride nonetheless. And yes, I got shelled on the climbs.

There is a group that rides out of the town below Camp Pendleton (Oceanside?). They do two different routes - inland and Camp P. They are a little more worldly in their abilities (Cat 3-5). I don't remember the name of the group but they wore blue and red this Feb. They stop enough to regroup but you go pretty hard at times. Very friendly approachable bunch of riders.

If you're further south than that I don't know of any rides.

hope this helps
cdr

Do some group rides and try some races. If you're already doing group rides (and it seems like you are), take the plunge. Get a license and try out a race. The speed will be a bit demoralizing but you'll be there quick enough.

I'd caution on the Swamis ride, at least in Feb (which is the only time I can be in that area). The ride has some top notch racers in it - pros and Cat 1-3. I wouldn't recommend it for someone getting into racing (unless you're already a top class athlete in some other aerobic/speed discipline). I do (or rather, used to do) the Gimbles ride at home in NY and the Swamis ride is a whole different world of hurt.

http://www.socalcycling.com has some info on group rides, races, etc.

sdbc is good, did one of their rides (I met up with one guy on the way to the ride and joined them) and it was perhaps a slower than totally hotted up pace but it was a long ride (5 hours or something like that). That particular ride wasn't necessarily a ride for "racers" but a good ride nonetheless. And yes, I got shelled on the climbs.

There is a group that rides out of the town below Camp Pendleton (Oceanside?). They do two different routes - inland and Camp P. They are a little more worldly in their abilities (Cat 3-5). I don't remember the name of the group but they wore blue and red this Feb. They stop enough to regroup but you go pretty hard at times. Very friendly approachable bunch of riders.

If you're further south than that I don't know of any rides.

hope this helps
cdr

Thanks for the advice. Actually, thank you all.
I've actually done 2 Swami's rides. A Saturday and a Tuesday ride. The Saturday Swami's ride I did was not the really fast one that starts at B&L. I did the one that starts at the Forum Mall in Carlsbad. It's apparently more or less the same route (through Elfin Forest). It was a fun ride, and it was very fast for me. I got dropped twice but managed to stay with the second group and eventually regroup. The last part near the end of the forest has a really hairy descent. I was right there in the middle of the main pack. Really intense.

The Tuesday ride I thought was a little bit mellower. I didn't get dropped in that ride, and there's tricky climb midway. Still, I thought it was slower than the Saturday ride.

If I can get out there next Feb I'll have to get more info on the other Swamis rides. They sound a little more my speed :)

good luck with your racing
cdr

http://www.bigring-racing.com/pages/calendar.html

[by the way...which events in San Diego would qualify for a mass start located on this site http://www.socalcycling.com/Schedule/2005/racesched05.asp]

Check out the Cyclo-Vets rides if you are more inland.

San Diego / SoCal racing is some of the fastest in the country as you have a lot of very talented riders out there. The good news is that you can hook into what is basically a national caliber peleton any day of the week for a group ride.

There is also usually at least one race a weekend to choose from.

Good times...

Check out the Cyclo-Vets rides if you are more inland.

San Diego / SoCal racing is some of the fastest in the country as you have a lot of very talented riders out there. The good news is that you can hook into what is basically a national caliber peleton any day of the week for a group ride.

There is also usually at least one race a weekend to choose from.

Good times...

That's all?

For a big metropolitan area, with great weather year round, I was surprised to learn that there isn't a race every weekend of the year.

I was also surprised to see people wearing arm warmers on a 70 degree day the last time I was there...

Give the velodrome a try. The most fun I had racing ever!
http://www.sdvelodrome.com/

Perfect time to start training for the spring crits , which for us is ... February. There are a few tt's left this year. Full sched should be up on socal cycling.com soon. Now it is time to build a solid base with lots of miles and some weights. Later start drilling for speed.