Road Bike Racing - how do i know if i'm ready to race?

i've been riding for a little over a year now and am pretty comfortable on the bike. i've been thinking about racing for quite some time but wasn't sure about the commitment involved. how much should i expect to be spending on racing? from my impression so far, it seems very expensive (esp with crashes). not sure a 20 yo college student can afford for very long. and because of my age, i have a feeling i'm going to be dropped by everybody in a cat 5 and be traumatized for life haha. my bike is middle-end if that's of any help. it's aluminum with carbon fork, 105 components, 20 lbs, and a triple with crankbrother eggbeater pedals :(

also, once into racing, how much time do you guys spend training per week?

You can give it a go without any commitment. Just show up to a race of some description and give it a shot. You'll know pretty quick whether its something you like doing and whether you are ready or not. Who cares if you get dropped. You'll just know then that you have to train harder. Your bike is fine. Don't get hung up on it.

I would strongly suggest doing some fast-ish group rides before you race, if you are not already doing so.

have you done any group rides? that will give you a good indication of what it can be like. don't worry about the bike it'll do and don't worry (too much) about crashing.

yes you will be dropped and traumatized, but so have the rest of us. it a rite of passage. the sooner you get over it the better.

someone less lazy than i will post botto's plan for racing soon. read it, follow it live it.

the more you actually train and the less you just ride around the less time you will need. one bf member only does about 6 hours a week. i don't have any real training plan and typically ride 200-250 miles a week and try not to drive my car so i commute by bike to work and to training rides. this give me more miles but less good training

where in nor-cal are you? im a 21 year old college student and plan on getting my feet wet with some cat 5 races this year after i start hitting up the group rides per botto's "program".

where in nor-cal are you? im a 21 year old college student and plan on getting my feet wet with some cat 5 races this year after i start hitting up the group rides per botto's "program".

in the east bay of SF by Hayward and Fremont. I've done some group rides that cultivated my joy for cycling because i felt like it was something i was pretty good at. in all the other sports i've done, i've been known only as the sprinter but on the bike, i feel like i can go on forever. on fast group rides i can pretty much dish out a good speed, usually dropping people on the climbs. it's towards the end that i am reminded of my sprinting days. tired and wasted...and that's when i get dropped. But seeing how crits are short, i think there might be some potential for improvement and enjoyment. where do i get more info about that? do i have to join a team and pay dues and fees?

in the east bay of SF by Hayward and Fremont. I've done some group rides that cultivated my joy for cycling because i felt like it was something i was pretty good at. in all the other sports i've done, i've been known only as the sprinter but on the bike, i feel like i can go on forever. on fast group rides i can pretty much dish out a good speed, usually dropping people on the climbs. it's towards the end that i am reminded of my sprinting days. tired and wasted...and that's when i get dropped. But seeing how crits are short, i think there might be some potential for improvement and enjoyment. where do i get more info about that? do i have to join a team and pay dues and fees?

the guys on here will be able to give you all the details. but from what ive read, you can buy a 1 day license and race, no need to be part of a team. theres a few schedules of races ive seen and it looks like there are plenty of races in norcal. :D

Find a local race (usacycling.org will have a lot, if not all, listed), check on the flyer that 1 day license are available and that day of registration is possible, then get out there and do it. Make sure, if it is a crit, that you warm up for about as long as the crit will be and be ready to go from the gun. Enjoy. It will blow your mind and you will be begging for more. Depending on your innate ability you may or may not get dropped. And if you find yourself having trouble, make sure you are in your drops.

I remember my first crit I was in my hoods for half the race, cramping up, letting gaps form (4/5 race). Halfway through I saw another person in the drops and thought maybe I should try that and bam! No more cramps, no more gaps, and had a pack finish for my first crit.

do i have to join a team and pay dues and fees?

No, you can ride unattached.

Just keep searching out harder and harder group rides. If you want to race, IMO, you should eventually search out the rides that the racers do. If you plan on only doing crits, search for the shorter, higher intensity rides. When you get to the point where one group ride becomes "easy", try and move to the next level up. Don't be intimidated.

Who cares what your bike is right now. I have 2000 aluminum caad3 triple with mostly 105 parts and I won several races on it and it was good enough to get me all the way to cat 3 (and is good enough for cat 3, regardless).

Initially you will spend more time riding. As you become familiar with the sport/training, you will find out that you can spend less time on the bike and get better workouts. You will become familiar with intervals (beautiful, nauseating pain), rest days, going slower to go faster, etc.

I spend about 8-12 hours a week on the bike (my wife keeps track of it ;)). As for how much money? Entry fee is about $30 or so a race, so you do the math. Add gas, food, and lodging if you go too far away.

The most important thing is to have fun. If you race race race and don't have fun, you will probably only do it for a year or so. Also a great way to meet people. Try to get to know some of the racers out there. They will give you tips.

And have fun.

in the east bay of SF by Hayward and Fremont. I've done some group rides that cultivated my joy for cycling because i felt like it was something i was pretty good at. in all the other sports i've done, i've been known only as the sprinter but on the bike, i feel like i can go on forever. on fast group rides i can pretty much dish out a good speed, usually dropping people on the climbs. it's towards the end that i am reminded of my sprinting days. tired and wasted...and that's when i get dropped. But seeing how crits are short, i think there might be some potential for improvement and enjoyment. where do i get more info about that? do i have to join a team and pay dues and fees?

Do not make the mistake of thinking short means easy.

Any course, whether it be a RR, crit or circuit, can be made hard by the conditions and competitors you face. A pan-flat crit can be as hard or harder than a 60mi RR with thousands of feet of climbing.

just go to a race and enter. there is no 'deciding if you are ready'.
you can sit around and watch your life go by 'deciding if you are ready'

just do it. repeat.

In my experience (in the Seattle area), weeknight "training" races are cheaper to get into than the bigger weekend events.

There's a good series of teaching races going on right now in fremont: the early bird series.
http://ncnca.org/road/

You can show up, get a one-day license and ride. There's instruction. There's a "meet the teams" day the 27th.

I spend 8-16 hours a week training, but I am interested in longer events and I like training.

Go race. Ready you are.

Go to your bike shop and ask if they know of any local races. Most places will have a weekly weekday crit of some sort. Enter that as an unattached Cat 5 and pay for a one day license. You will likely get your ass handed to you. Being as crits are short, they are fast and if the speed doesn't kill you, the accelerations will.

My first two races I ever did were of this format. I was living in Seattle at the time and there is a crit that runs around Stewart Park that features a 1km circuit with a quite nasty hill right near the finish. I thought I was in decent shape. The first race I got caught behind a crash and was dropped (I was headed there anyway, crash or no crash). I got lapped, pulled off and watched the finish. I was actually riding to the park from the U district (where UW is) just for fun when I met a guy with a number on - he got me to sign up and this fellow was the one who won the race. The second time I raced there, I got lapped but I didn't pull off (I should have). I made a stupid move and tried to pass someone next to a curb, got pinned against said curb, and crashed. I broke a cleat and killed both tires with that.

Now, it's a couple years later and I've got the racing bug again. I did 3 races at the local crit in Portland and was fit enough to do okay.

The first I got a second place finish - I learned what the pain of chasing at 30-35mph for half a lap feels like.

The second a fourth place - I learned that you cannot do a breakaway finish into the teeth of a headwind. I came out of the final corner attacking; everyone shouted that I was attacking and as I rounded the corner, the headwind was like hitting a brick wall. Two bridged up and one took it by a bike length and another tweaked me at the line. The guy who finished third ahead of me actually crossed the line in fourth but had points from the prime to pass me on points.

The third (which I was DQ'ed because they couldn't read my number at the finish line) I took the prime but got 8th place at the finish. That last one I learned about what happens when you lose your line around the final corner. I lost the line, swung waaayyyy outside, and as the pack was accelerating out of the curve, I couldn't accelerate with them to contest the finish. Live and learn, I guess. I think I actually crossed the line in 10th place but had points from winning the prime to move into 8th, had they read my number correctly, that is.

http://www.velopromo.com/ebcr-ent.htm

These were pointed out above, and are in your backyard. GO TO THEM. Just try one, it's cheap and there is instruction. If you don't like it, you're not out much money but you may find it's the only thing you think about all week until the next one.

Early Bird Series (Velo Promo on NCNCA.org as posted earlier) would be perfect for you. They have cat 5 races for riders with less than 5 race experiences-- instruction time prior etc etc as already posted--- get your rear end out there-- you won't regret it and it is in your backyard.

i've been riding for a little over a year now and am pretty comfortable on the bike. i've been thinking about racing for quite some time but wasn't sure about the commitment involved. how much should i expect to be spending on racing? from my impression so far, it seems very expensive (esp with crashes). not sure a 20 yo college student can afford for very long. and because of my age, i have a feeling i'm going to be dropped by everybody in a cat 5 and be traumatized for life haha. my bike is middle-end if that's of any help. it's aluminum with carbon fork, 105 components, 20 lbs, and a triple with crankbrother eggbeater pedals :(

also, once into racing, how much time do you guys spend training per week?

First off, at your age and one year on the bike, I'd say you're ready to try any type of race. Regarding your question about commitment, I would look at it from the perspective of how much time do you think you can spend on the bike per week. Just a WAG, but if you can afford to train 10-15 hours/wk I bet you can make cat 2. That's being very liberal with assumptions on my part, but I've seen it happen with guys younger and older than you. If you can train 5-10 hours/wk, cat 3.

There are so many variables like genes, mind set, quality and depth of riders in your area, support from a team that make it impossible to say for sure how far someone can go.

Last thing, your bike won't be the factor that will hold you back. Race and train a while and you'll figure out what equipment works best for you. Getting some advise on how to train would be a wise investment considering your commitment with school.

Let us know how the first race goes!

so wait there are other races other than crits only in America? i heard they were tough but mostly geared toward sprinters who have acceleration and power. i thought road races were only popular in Europe. it seems like the races people talk about are either crits or track races. ive never heard of a road race. i would like to try an event that has climbs since i think it may be one of my strengths.

so wait there are other races other than crits only in America? i heard they were tough but mostly geared toward sprinters who have acceleration and power. i thought road races were only popular in Europe. it seems like the races people talk about are either crits or track races. ive never heard of a road race. i would like to try an event that has climbs since i think it may be one of my strengths.

Quick response. I will divide cycling into road and track (you have mentioned) but also Mountain, Cyclocross, and BMX (though I have never seen a bmx race).

Road has three main disciplines - Road Racing, Time Trialing, and ummm...Criterium-ing :D There are stage races (called either a stage race or an omnium) that incorporate more than one of these disciplines. You will be able to find many events in all three types, though, due to the smallish nature of the course, crits might be the easiest to find.

There are all of the above. Plus cyclocross, mountain bike, bmx, and pretty much anything else you can think of.

One way you can be sure you're not ready to race is that you haven't signed up for any yet. Once you do that though, there's a good chance you're ready to race.

Edit: Bah, I was beaten by a better response.

so wait there are other races other than crits only in America? i heard they were tough but mostly geared toward sprinters who have acceleration and power. i thought road races were only popular in Europe. it seems like the races people talk about are either crits or track races. ive never heard of a road race. i would like to try an event that has climbs since i think it may be one of my strengths.

You may want to give this website a read:

http://www.usacycling.org/

and it wouldn't hurt to look at the rules governing these races (i.e., you wouldn't want to show up in a CSC kit and not be able to ride):

http://usacdf.org/news/user/story.php?id=369

It comes with directions if you didn't know how to use it.

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m106/Cypress818/8ball.jpg

You'll know when you get to the finish line of your first race with the field, not several minutes behind it.

in the east bay of SF by Hayward and Fremont. I've done some group rides that cultivated my joy for cycling because i felt like it was something i was pretty good at. in all the other sports i've done, i've been known only as the sprinter but on the bike, i feel like i can go on forever. on fast group rides i can pretty much dish out a good speed, usually dropping people on the climbs. it's towards the end that i am reminded of my sprinting days. tired and wasted...and that's when i get dropped. But seeing how crits are short, i think there might be some potential for improvement and enjoyment. where do i get more info about that? do i have to join a team and pay dues and fees?

Search early bird crits. They are held in Fremont and include tutoring. Great way to get yer feet wet.

so wait there are other races other than crits only in America? i heard they were tough but mostly geared toward sprinters who have acceleration and power. i thought road races were only popular in Europe. it seems like the races people talk about are either crits or track races. ive never heard of a road race. i would like to try an event that has climbs since i think it may be one of my strengths.

A good portion of crits in the USA are won by breakaways...which favor staying power. In that situation, it's not necessarily who is the best sprinter, but who is the smartest, and who has the most left in the tank.

Some do come down to field sprints, though. In which case yes, a sprinter with a good jump, provided he's in the right spot, will do well.

Around here (Chicago-ish) I'd say the Crit to RR ratio is 3:1. And we have pretty poor terrain for RRs. Lots of nice suburban downtown areas for crits, however.

When I started riding, I thought that climbing defined "strength", and since I was pretty light (sub 100 lbs), I could climb pretty well when I compared myself to some of my already-racing friends.

However, on my first long ride with more than one or two people, I realized very, very quickly that speed is king. Not sprinting, not climbing, but the ability to go fast for short(er) periods of time (30 seconds to a few minutes). Once you have speed, esp since you looked fit in the thread about bike fit, you'll be relatively fine for everything else. "Relatively" because your sprint will be seriously affected by tactics and genetics and your climbing (longer than 5-6 minute climbs) will likewise be affected by genetics and training.

botto's "racing plan", as often as it's repeated here, is probably the best, most succinct, and most effective way of getting into racing in a somewhat reasonable fashion. Group rides teach you group riding etiquette, some group riding techniques, but mainly gets you used to riding with other people around you while you're going hard.

As far as training goes, I tell people that for the first year of racing, if you train consistently for 3 months, you'll be about as good as you get for racing for that year. Physically and tactically it'll be hard to improve significantly after 3 months of determined riding while in your first year of racing. It's been said that it takes 3 years to get comfortable racing, i.e. you feel "in the groove" immediately at the beginning of the season, not after a few races.

My "generic" training schedule is based on Eddy B's and other mid 80s and early 90s training plans:
Mon: rest or easy spin, like 30-45 min
Tue: sprints, do 10 intervals (start with 3, work up), efforts should be 60 seconds or less. 60 min ride.
Wed: longest ride you can do based on your schedule, ideally 2-3 hours
Thu: pursuit type efforts, 2-5 minutes, only way I can do this is with hills since mentally I can't go for more than 200-300 meters on flat roads. 60 min ride.
Fri: easy spin, 30-45 min. Don't rest, you'll be very slow Saturday if you rest.
Sat, Sun: group ride, 1.5-2.5 hours each.

If Saturday is a big day for you, start the week on Tuesday's workout (so on Monday do sprints), then on Thursday take a day off (you'll need it), go easy Friday, and Saturday you'll be itching to go.

Eat plenty (of good food) before the hard days. I can't go hard if I don't eat a lot.

My thoughts on crits versus road races. Crits emphasize pack riding and/or cornering, along with speed. Road races emphasize crit riding with long hills thrown in. Trying to move up when the field is jammed curb to curb and flying along at 30 mph is difficult enough in a crit, but at least you know there'll be a turn in a few seconds to help break things up. In a road race there are very few turns so people get much more desperate to move up. I've been pulled along in such conditions for miles, can't move up, can't move sideways, guys tumbling into the shoulder on the right, other guys getting DQed for going over the yellow line on the left. Not my idea of fun. Then suddenly everyone slows down because the lead guys hit the hill and then it breaks up a bit. After it breaks up it's all strung out, guys dying to stay on wheels, and that's how the rest of the race is.

Road races are much, much harder than crits, else I'd be entering road races and not crits. For me, a road race is a chance to train on roads where the turns are marshaled for me.

Some of my other thoughts on race specific speed work:
http://sprinterdellacasa.blogspot.com/2007/02/how-to-working-on-sprinting.html
http://sprinterdellacasa.blogspot.com/2006/10/cornering-lines.html
http://sprinterdellacasa.blogspot.com/2007/08/tactics-sphere-and-three-scenarios.html
http://sprinterdellacasa.blogspot.com/2007/05/how-to-beat-sprinter.html

There are more but you get the idea.

hope this helps,
cdr

so wait there are other races other than crits only in America? i heard they were tough but mostly geared toward sprinters who have acceleration and power. i thought road races were only popular in Europe. it seems like the races people talk about are either crits or track races. ive never heard of a road race. i would like to try an event that has climbs since i think it may be one of my strengths.

See the thread I started about mt evans and other climbing races- between myself and the other posters we listed most of the climbing races in nor cal. We've got a lot of road races with climbing in them here, and some that are nothing but climbing.

When you join a club, you can ask your more experienced clubmates what the various races are like. There's also info about the races in the race flyers. You can find out what is scheduled and links to flyers on the http://ncnca.org/road page.

[...] I was pretty light (sub 100 lbs) [awesome stuff]

BUH!!!?!??!^%

How tall are you?

also, see if your college has a cycling team. its a cheaper and subsidized way to get into the sport.

so wait there are other races other than crits only in America? i heard they were tough but mostly geared toward sprinters who have acceleration and power. i thought road races were only popular in Europe. it seems like the races people talk about are either crits or track races. ive never heard of a road race. i would like to try an event that has climbs since i think it may be one of my strengths.

Dude!

http://www.ncnca.org/road/

There are races within driving distance every weekend from now until mid September.
I'd suggest going to at least 1 early bird crit in Fremont to get some pack racing experience.

If you like climbing try these for starters:
1/26/08 - Early Bird Road Race - Patterson
2/17/08 - Pine Flat Road Race
3/22/08 - Copperopolis Road Race
4/5/08 - Wards Ferry Road Race
4/17-19/08 - Sea Otter
4/26/08 - Wente Vineyards Road Race

I could go on and on........


Also, don't worry about the bike. I know a guy who has been tearing it up in Cat 5 (now a Cat 4) who is riding a 20+ pound steel frame 105 equipped bike.

If you miss winning a hill top finish race by a couple seconds, it could be the bike.
If the Cat 5 pack drops you, it's not the bike. :D

Early Bird Series (Velo Promo on NCNCA.org as posted earlier) would be perfect for you. They have cat 5 races for riders with less than 5 race experiences-- instruction time prior etc etc as already posted--- get your rear end out there-- you won't regret it and it is in your backyard.

oh man that's awesome! i didn't know there were races so locally. almost literally in my backyard. it seems the races aren't official races which is perfect! so the admission cost is $20. $15 for entry fee and one-day license for $5?

man i am so stoked. it's a little sooner than i anticipated (haven't been riding for a month due to bad weather) but what kind of things should i be bringing to a race besides the obvious bike, helmet, pump, spare tube, water, food, etc.?

Also, how risky is it riding with a bunch of new guys? I am not as worried about my own bike handling skills as much as other people crashing into me. I've been told by a cat 3 guy that the solution to this is to stay in the front. This issue of crashing is always nerve wracking for me even though i try to put it in the back of my head as much as possible. But the few racers i've talked to had said they got out of racing because of too many crashes and blowing money to replace their wheels, dura ace derailleur, etc. crashing sounds like a common thing. Even though the event is so close, I'm thinking of driving there in case my bike breaks in a crash so i don't have to walk home.


also, see if your college has a cycling team. its a cheaper and subsidized way to get into the sport.

I wish! CSUH is like a commuter college that sits on the top of a hill. People go there for school and leave. There's really no student life. When I first went there, i was surprised they don't even have a football team. I wanted to be on a swim and water polo team but they didn't have that either. But i'm glad they didn't because i discovered cycling and it is saving me gas money and helping me enjoy steep hills by biking to school.

there is one cat 4 racer i met at a free racing skills clinic at a LBS who is the vice president of his team. He was a one of the instructors of that clinic and turns out he is a professor of human development at my school. i ran into him once at school and he was thinking of starting a race team but there is a lack of interest. other than him, i have seen no remnants of road cyclists on my campus ever for 3 years. Heck i rarely see any roadies on my commute.

(haven't been riding for a month due to bad weather)
HTFU I have been commuting to work by bike at 5am in the dark and the cold just because I want to race.

oh man that's awesome! i didn't know there were races so locally. almost literally in my backyard. it seems the races aren't official races which is perfect! so the admission cost is $20. $15 for entry fee and one-day license for $5?

man i am so stoked. it's a little sooner than i anticipated (haven't been riding for a month due to bad weather) but what kind of things should i be bringing to a race besides the obvious bike, helmet, pump, spare tube, water, food, etc.?

Also, how risky is it riding with a bunch of new guys? I am not as worried about my own bike handling skills as much as other people crashing into me. I've been told by a cat 3 guy that the solution to this is to stay in the front. This issue of crashing is always nerve wracking for me even though i try to put it in the back of my head as much as possible. But the few racers i've talked to had said they got out of racing because of too many crashes and blowing money to replace their wheels, dura ace derailleur, etc. crashing sounds like a common thing. Even though the event is so close, I'm thinking of driving there in case my bike breaks in a crash so i don't have to walk home.

You live in NorCal...what bad weather?

Anyways, yeah, ***** happens. And, don't think your bike handling skills are better than any other Cat5, unless you have some semi-pro MTB or BMX background we don't know about. Everyone sucks at first, that's part of the game.

While there are crashes, don't let them put you off. Generally speaking most of them only amount to a bit of missing skin and a flat tire. Don't sweat it. I haven't crashed in a race since March 2006. Probably close to 50 races have come and gone since then.

HTFU I have been commuting to work by bike at 5am in the dark and the cold just because I want to race.

haha i'm working on it. I just got fenders yesterday so i just need to get a helmet cover and some rain clothing so i can commute to school rain or shine. the commute is the only time i have to ride/train.

And, don't think your bike handling skills are better than any other Cat5, unless you have some semi-pro MTB or BMX background we don't know about.

While there are crashes, don't let them put you off. Generally speaking most of them only amount to a bit of missing skin and a flat tire.

haha you may be right about my bike handling skills. what i meant by bike handling was experience riding in tight packs, riding straight, and in the drops so you don't clip anybody with your elbows, not thinking about the apex and picking your line on turns in a tight group, etc. pain and losing money i can deal with. it's the really bad injuries i'm worried about. right now i'm in the nursing program of my school. if any sickness or injury should befall on me which the school thinks may affect my care, i'm automatically dropped from the program with no guarantees of getting back in. no questions asked. HTFU doesn't even apply lol. but if racing is not as risky as you say it is, than i guess it will be worth it. after all commuting to school is probably just as risky

HTFU I have been commuting to work by bike at 5am in the dark and the cold just because I want to race.

Ironic that someone in Pasadena, CA would tell someone else to HTFU due to weather.

I am not as worried about my own bike handling skills as much as other people crashing into me. I've been told by a cat 3 guy that the solution to this is to stay in the front. This issue of crashing is always nerve wracking for me even though i try to put it in the back of my head as much as possible.

I've crashed a couple times. I've just ended up with road rash and about two days of not wanting to look at my bike. When you do get road rash, use tegaderm. It ain't so bad. Adrenaline keeps it from hurting immediately.

You are young. Wear your battle scars with pride. I do. I've got matching hip scars.

Ironic that someone in Pasadena, CA would tell someone else to HTFU due to weather.
Only because the OP lives in CA also. Otherwise I wouldn't dare make a comment, because my idea of "cold" is 40 degrees :D

If you live in the North Bay part of NorCal drop by NorCal Velo an LBS just west of Mendocino on College in Santa Rosa. They are the top shop for racing in the area. Both junior and Adult teams. We have criteriums one evening a week all summer long. The Santa Rosa Cycling Club has C level rides that are often free-lance races, sprinting for city limit signs and such. I usually work the Pine Flat hill climb race each Spring; people race the 3,000 feet in 11 miles in 45 minutes (Leipheimer) to 2+ hours (me).

btw I've done some of the Velo Promo road races and they are great. They also have the Sea Otter Classic in Nor Cal as well. Down here in So Cal, we have almost all crits :(

You live in NorCal...what bad weather?

we had a storm roll through last week that did a decent amount of damage. wind gusts in my area of 70mph and the power was out for over 1 million people for a few days. i was on the local MUP yesterday and its litered with fallen trees and boulders from the storm. so yeah, we can get some crappy weather. that said, im heading out for a 3 hour ride tomorrow. its supposed to be in the low 50's and mostly cloudy. ;)

'sub-100lbs'? Sweet Mother of Merckx my dog and my 14 year old weigh more than that.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y117/patentcad/ReneeSamOBXsurf.jpg

The dog drops me on the climbs.

I'm not sure anyone's every really ready to race.

Only way to start racing is to start racing. So get out there and get dropped at the next available race.

"Get a bike. You won't regret it, if you live." - Mark Twain

'sub-100lbs'? Sweet Mother of Merckx my dog and my 14 year old weigh more than that.

The dog drops me on the climbs.

BUH!!!?!??!^% How tall are you?

5'7"

The key is "When I started riding". I was 13 (probably still growing at that point). At 17, after two years of racing), I was in college and a massive 103 lbs and trying to eat as much food as possible. You know, 2 foot long subs and 2 quarts of gatorade after a long ride or a whole large pizza or enough ribs that I had to have a second plate for the bones. I managed to gain 9 pounds over the next four years so at 21, when I left school, I was 112 lbs.

And I still couldn't climb.

I could hit 42 mph from a standing start in a 54x12 but I couldn't climb.

Now I weigh about 70 lbs more than I did when I left school. And the kicker is that I have a hard time going over 40 and I definitely can't climb now.

Life's a b*tch,
cdr

^ Sounds like me (up to a point). I started riding at age 12. At age 14 I was 120 lb and stayed that way despite growing 2" to rest at 5'10". I was eating 6000 calories a day and my parents even made me drink that weight gainer formula. I stopped riding during college, which then led to an inability to climb stairs without being winded and an extra 45 lb on my belly. 15 have come off since I went back to riding, but I'm sure I'll never be 120 again.

someone less lazy than i will post botto's plan for racing soon. read it, follow it live it.


where in nor-cal are you? im a 21 year old college student and plan on getting my feet wet with some cat 5 races this year after i start hitting up the group rides per botto's "program".


botto's "racing plan", as often as it's repeated here, is probably the best, most succinct, and most effective way of getting into racing in a somewhat reasonable fashion. Group rides teach you group riding etiquette, some group riding techniques, but mainly gets you used to riding with other people around you while you're going hard.

I'm totally ignorant on this. Ran a search and didn't find it. Can someone link, please?

5'7"

I managed to gain 9 pounds over the next four years so at 21, when I left school, I was 112 lbs.

And I still couldn't climb.

I could hit 42 mph from a standing start in a 54x12 but I couldn't climb.

Now I weigh about 70 lbs more than I did when I left school. And the kicker is that I have a hard time going over 40 and I definitely can't climb now.

How do you explain this? I assume most of the 70 lb increase is muscle. I figure if it were mostly fat, on a 5'7" frame, you'd be too unfit to compete as CAT 3. So with that extra muscle, you must be putting out more power, while your frontal area increase will be small. So how can your sprint not be better?

One obvious answer is age. But surely with the extra muscle, you must have been a faster sprinter in your early 30s than your early 20s?

BTW, love your blog.

I'm totally ignorant on this. Ran a search and didn't find it. Can someone link, please?

Needs to be stickied.

botto's 8 step program.

Bike Racing for Beginners: How to get started

1. Find some group rides, fast group rides. Sit in the back.
2. Don't get discouraged if/when you get dropped from those group rides.
3. Go back the following week and do the fast group ride again.
4. If you're dropped a 2nd time, repeat steps 2 & 3
5. Once you're comfortable with the group and pace (and vice versa), take some pulls.
6. Once you're comfortable taking pulls, try some attacks (if it's that kind of group ride).
7. Once you're comfortable with steps 5 & 6, it's time to enter a race.
8. At your first race, repeat steps 1-6, but substitute 'race' for 'group ride'.

How do you explain this? I assume most of the 70 lb increase is muscle. I figure if it were mostly fat, on a 5'7" frame, you'd be too unfit to compete as CAT 3. So with that extra muscle, you must be putting out more power, while your frontal area increase will be small. So how can your sprint not be better?

One obvious answer is age. But surely with the extra muscle, you must have been a faster sprinter in your early 30s than your early 20s?

BTW, love your blog.


There was a guy racing Pros/CAT 1/2 at the Soto Memorial SR last year that must have been 40lbs overweight... Dont know his exact number of weight but when the pack surged his belly jiggled like hot jello... when he was in the drops his kneed would disappear in the belly fat while peadling. This was a pretty stacked pro field for a race and he did just fine......

Numbers arent everything.

5'7"

The key is "When I started riding". I was 13 (probably still growing at that point). At 17, after two years of racing), I was in college and a massive 103 lbs and trying to eat as much food as possible. You know, 2 foot long subs and 2 quarts of gatorade after a long ride or a whole large pizza or enough ribs that I had to have a second plate for the bones. I managed to gain 9 pounds over the next four years so at 21, when I left school, I was 112 lbs.

And I still couldn't climb.

I could hit 42 mph from a standing start in a 54x12 but I couldn't climb.

Now I weigh about 70 lbs more than I did when I left school. And the kicker is that I have a hard time going over 40 and I definitely can't climb now.

Life's a b*tch,
cdr

A tragic tale of woe.

Anyway, your blog is amazing. Keep writing that stuff.