Road Bike Racing - getting your start

I was just wondering how everybody got introduced to the sport of bike racing. I find my self getting nervous about my first race and its 1 month away. I am insecure about my strength. So how did everyone get their start? Was the first experience a good one or a humbling one? I just thought I would ask since a lot of you seem to be veterans, who by the way I have learned a lot from.

I clipped in and promptly got dropped. Had a great time watching everyone else finish the race. :)

I am expecting it to be a humbling experience to say the least.

my first crit is this sunday.........my goal is to survive :D

I started out on a mountain bike, then noticed I could hang with some serious riders who raced on the road. After hanging in on road rides for longer than I should have on my Huffy I got a pink Diamond Back. My first races were collegiate ones (SECCC at Auburn). I crashed in my first and still have the scars on my elbow. The guy's wheel I fell into ended up winning the race I believe. He (Micah Rice) went on to head up the Jittery Joe's team.

read the sticky thread

I had been riding for about 2 years semi seriously. I was on a group ride up at school, some riders pushed it up a climb. I attacked and beat them up the hill. They asked me what class I raced in, I said I didn't. They were surprises because they were cat3's and insisted that I start racing.

First race weekend, ended up finishing 9th of 19 in a 3 event stage race.

I had been riding for 4 months. I got dropped after 20 miles. It was humbling, but I got a top 10 a month later.

Small local crit, with very little competition. Won the Juniors race, and placed in the Seniors race . Downhill from there.

advice from what i learned in my first race:

try not to get too nervous about your performance. there are a lot of variables that you can't control.

I was introduced because a couple of mates were into racing and said I should give it a shot. I was doing a fast group ride once a week at the time and had done quite a few 'base' kms in the previous year, so one day I just thought I'd give racing a go. So my first race was a 30 min crit, in 'D' grade. That was about 9 months ago.

I lasted til the end, and did all sorts of newbie silliness like sitting out in the wind, etc. I lasted until the end and watched everyone sprint into the distance. I've been hooked since.

Just give it a go.

My first race was a short collegiate race.

I got dropped within the first 5 miles. It was a wet race and I didn't want to take any stupid chances. I reeled in a good part of the field and finished in the top half. The next day I had a circuit race, I attacked on the first hill, had a 3 second lead, got caught, got dropped, and finished way behind. It was worth it.

My first crit was at CDR's bethel course. I was doing okay. On the last lap, I attacked the field and got to the front with two other guys. We got caught and I had a guy overlap wheels with me so I got a little scared. Two seconds from the line a guy sprinting knocked shoulders with me. I sat up and was done. The next day I raced a 4/5 crit at plainville(as opposed to the 5's crit at bethel) and I got demolished. I went back though, to both venues. Got a third at bethel and hung with the pack at plainville less than a month later. When you feel the burn when you're racing and you feel you can hold that. It gives you so much more drive to push yourself that hard every now and then when you train and you can do intervals so much harder when you know that you're going to use that exact thing in your race.

Good luck!

A little nervousness is good. Stay near the front, don't do any extra work, and ride smart. It's all downhill once the first one is over.

I started racing after one of the club riders I know and respect said I should try it. Took the field sprint for fourth in my first race. Haven't finished that well since, but the season's not over yet.

My first "race" is hopefully going to be the Headwaters 100 mile timed road race in Park Rapids, MN in september. I'm trying to train me ass off so I can finish in the seven hours that they have the finish line set up. I'm looking forward to it, but I can't get over the thought that my first race shouldn't be that long. I don't stand any hope of placing and I'm planning on making sure that I know that when I'm riding. I'll just do it for the experience and a **** load of fun.

side note(don't flame the hijack...sorry) anyone here done that ride?

humbling start, the searing pain in my legs and feeling of despair as the pack was riding away from me is still a very strong motivator.

There is a weekly race meet nearby that has novice races so I decided to give it a try.

It was humbling, as was the next one and the next one after that.
A few races later I was hanging in the pack, few more and I'm getting top 10 finishes.
I figure I can get a podium before the end of the season.

Don't worry too much, get your preparation right, don't eat too much or too little, stay hydrated, get a good warm up and do everything you can to stay in the pack and out of the wind.

When I was 14 yrs old I rode my bike a lot. A neighboor invited me to his club ride (this was the West Suburban Wheelman outside of Chicago). I did and was quickly dropped, but I came back. After a month or so of getting dropped every day (this was a 5:30 am daily ride) I started to be able to keep up. Then I entered my first 14-15 yr old race and took 2nd place of 10 or 15 riders. By the end of the summer I was keeping up with the training rides, and by the next spring I was attacking and dropping others. Fun times.

I was taunted into to trying it by fellow "racers" who no longer race. My advice is, don't start. Its expensive, dangerous, and so much damn fun you'll sell your heroin to get entry fees...

Got the cycling bug watching Greg LeMond win his 3rd tour. Joined the UC Irvine cycling team my freshman year (got thrashed pretty good in the Cat D's).

Was out of the scene for 5 years (went off and did dangerous things like paragliding and flying sailplanes). Came back to the sport in 1998, got a coach. Made Cat 3 in two seasons. Had a big crash in 2001, and was off the bike until late last year. Been training since January; will be joining a Masters club next year, and intend to renew my Cat 3 license. I expect to get completely thrashed by the Masters 35+ crowd for at least the first 3 months of racing.

The reason that I am nervous is because I was out of training for a month due to sickness. I have been training like no other the the past 3 weeks. I have approximately 3 more weeks of training. I might race a crit next weekend though just to get the vibe. If I do get murdered despite my hardest efforts at least I will know I wasn't the only one.

I didn't know anyone who raced their bike, or even trained hard, or rode distance just for fun. I got into it after looking up how to repair and restore an old beater (my first road bike). Then I became more interested and I bought a road bike. That same summer I watched the entire Tour ('07). And that winter I read The Rider. From page one I didn't want to be ordinary or shocking in that way. I wanted to experience it. On Apr 5 2008 I raced.

Hook. Line. Sinker. Now I'm a 4 and by this time next year I plan on having earned the points to upgrade again. It is the strangest kind of "fun" I have ever had. I like it.

You'll do fine so long as you give it your best and put real effort into it.

Go get em!