Fifty Plus (50+) - Senior olympics/senior games -- anyone try cycling events?

Just curious has anyone here tried the cycling events in the senior games?

I haven't participated as a competitor but I've worked the cycling games in St Louis.

While there are people who take it VERY seriously, for the majority of the participants, at least here, it's a very, very low key event. It's kind of funny watching a rider on a high dollar time trial rig and wearing a skin suit chase down somebody who is riding a 26" cruiser with clanking fenders.

thanks retro. thinking about participating next year just for the experience and as a motivation to get in better shape.

My husband is entering the Mt. Laguna Hill climb (San Diego). He has participated 3 years now, won a Gold and Bronze for his age group.

I just came back from watching our rec center's "Fall Frenzy" - a modified triathlon 500 yards swimming, 13 miles biking, 3 miles of running. All ages.

I saw mountain bikes, tri bikes, people doing the back stroke in the pool and resting, fat people, young people, old people, people walking the 3 miles, people running as if their life depended on winning.

So, I think that I will enter next year. I know I can do the swimming (or will be able to). I know I can do the bicycling. ANd, I know I can walk (not run) 3 mles.

I think that you group by your nearest age - if so, next year, I will be in the 70's group. Have to check that out, though.

Have ridden many Sr. Olympics.
As stated some folks show up on their old beater others have a bike with $1500 wheels and skinsuits.
The serious one are extremely competitive. They even show up from racing clubs in neighboring states and think us local yokels will be easy pickings..
Some of these clubs use team tactics in the road races; I have been body blocked in a sprint, by a guy about 50 lbs heavier than my skinny 130 lbs, so his other mates could medal.
Have pulled a break away with 3 out of staters jumping on my wheel and then refusing to take a pull at the front. Cured that fast; sprinted away from them and as they tried to jump on my wheel again, I hit both brakes so they had to pull around me, yelling at me. Yup, team tactics can work, however if they want to ride that aggressively, I'll do likewise.
But, if you want to avoid aggressive team tactics, stick to the time trials.
So HiYo, give the Sr. Olympic games a try . . . it's still fun!
Pedal on!
Rudy

They held the senior Olympics here in Louisville last year. The TT times were absurdly fast.

Yeah, I know. I'm not interested in road racing and team blocking. Unfortunately the TT is only for 10K, 6.22 miles, and is fast. 26.66 mph or 24.88 mph, or 14 to 15 minutes. Last place is 22 mph. The climb is only 120 feet, but that's still fast for spaced out riding.

If I could not be last, it'ld be fun to participate.

You may not be last . . .
I time trial once a week for 1 hour straight while my wife grocery shops. Amazing how much you have to focus, but you will improve.
Will be riding in the 75+ division in January.
We usually have 2 time trials here (Tucson): 1 mile and 10K; 2 road events 10K and 20 K.
Have medaled in all events, but not every year. My best year, almost 20 years ago was 5 gold. All depends who shows up and how you feel.
Go for it!!!

If I could not be last, it'ld be fun to participate.

This is all racers worst worry. It may exceed crashing. Get over it. Bicycle racing is an elite sport with a limited field. Very few riders participate and those that do come loaded for bear. Look at it another way. It takes real guts to enter, compete and face the I came in last possibility. The fact of the matter is that even if you come in last, other racers will respect your effort. What non racers think does not matter. We all know how hard it is to train and compete. Remember...the first race you enter, you will be guaranteed a personal best. Good luck.:)

This is all racers worst worry. It may exceed crashing. Get over it. Bicycle racing is an elite sport with a limited field. Very few riders participate and those that do come loaded for bear. Look at it another way. It takes real guts to enter, compete and face the I came in last possibility. The fact of the matter is that even if you come in last, other racers will respect your effort. What non racers think does not matter. We all know how hard it is to train and compete. Remember...the first race you enter, you will be guaranteed a personal best. Good luck.:)

Well said.

Now that I've raced a few races, and had 2 top-ten finishes, I get it...I really get it.

So I need to train. I can think of three things I could focus on, but having never trained before, I have no clue which is better. I figure I can focus on one thing at a time, but I don't know which would be best:

A-- increasing cadence to 100
B-- increasing hours/week riding
C-- just working on trying to increase sprinting ability
D-- increasing the miles riden per week.

thanks for the advice

I came in last in the club time trial. Not only that, but everybody passed me (8 people). I found it amusing. The thing is, next time I show up, it will strike fear into a couple people because they will be worrying that I might beat them.

So I need to train. I can think of three things I could focus on, but having never trained before, I have no clue which is better. I figure I can focus on one thing at a time, but I don't know which would be best:

A-- increasing cadence to 100
B-- increasing hours/week riding
C-- just working on trying to increase sprinting ability
D-- increasing the miles riden per week.

thanks for the advice

Sounds like a plan. Although, I wouldn't worry too much about that 100 cadence - try and see what works best for you.

This is all racers worst worry. It may exceed crashing. Get over it. Bicycle racing is an elite sport with a limited field. Very few riders participate and those that do come loaded for bear. Look at it another way. It takes real guts to enter, compete and face the I came in last possibility. The fact of the matter is that even if you come in last, other racers will respect your effort. What non racers think does not matter. We all know how hard it is to train and compete. Remember...the first race you enter, you will be guaranteed a personal best. Good luck.:)

One of my racing friends who is an experienced racer and my mentor, told me "I've finished first, I've finished last and I've finished in the middle." That is a wise perspective that I keep in mind after a disappointing result. Even if I do poorly, I learn something about myself and what weaknesses I need to work on. Racing is full of highs and lows. Even if I finish last, I am happy that I live to race another race. And knowing that the elusive victory is always out there. And I agree with Hermes 100% - other racers will respect your efforts - and the non-racers secretly wish they had your courage.

thanks for the encouragement. It'll be a day off work, but definitely seems worth it. Now to get thru the fall rainy/drizzle season

As far as training goes, cadence is the most important for performance events and races. If you are going to do the senior games time trials then you will need between 90 and 100 cadence. I would buy cadence for your bike and work on spinning at 100. Do not be surprised if it is difficult to do and your heart rate is higher. Over time your heart rate will lower and the 100 will feel natural. Spinning 100 has more to do with neurology and mental focus then muscles. Our coaches insist on 100 and our racing club's affiliate coach in a recent lecture stated the higher the cadence the better. And there is no senior discount on the number. In fact, it is more important for us masters to have the best cycling efficiency possible.

I do not see a big advantage to tracking miles versus hours but our prescribed workouts are always given with heart rate, cadence and time objectives. Coaches do not care about mileage.

Be careful sprinting and doing hard intervals. Until you have the cycling efficiency down and can spin easily in a moderate gear for a couple of hours at 90 to 100 cadence, stay away from any hard work. Once you have the technical aspects down, you can add more intense efforts.

Edit: If 90 to 100 is difficult for you, do not worry about it. Do what you can and shoot for 1 or 2 minutes at a higher cadence. Over time you will be able to do it.

Thanks. I've been working on cadence. Sometimes I get over 100, last year it was a pain to get to 85. My eyesight is not so good without prescription glasses so I have to guess at the numbers. I think I was mostly in the low 90's today. first goal is to be above 100 for the ride by the end of the month. I do notice I'm breathing harder, but that's a typical workout. it's either kill your legs or work your lungs.

I'm not trying to do hard and cadence as I'm afraid I might hurt something.

Hi HiYoSilver,

I've only done one Senior Olympics (this year though I was eligible last year too) and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was low key with a lot of camaraderie. USA Cycling races can be intimidating -- especially in the 50-54 age range.

Recognize the potential risks associated with mass start races (vs time trials) and take some time to learn your body.

Good luck. :)

I think the 10K is staged start as it's a TT.

Well this morning I really looked at the cyclometer. Ugh, 100 is way way too high of a goal. 82 is my comfort zone, 88 is a stretch and 95 is short increases. Naturally, but surprising to me, if try to hit higher cadence early, by the end of the ride even 78 is harder than normal.

Going to take some time.

Hopefully someone else will give the senior games a try this next year.

I think the 10K is staged start as it's a TT.

Well this morning I really looked at the cyclometer. Ugh, 100 is way way too high of a goal. 82 is my comfort zone, 88 is a stretch and 95 is short increases. Naturally, but surprising to me, if try to hit higher cadence early, by the end of the ride even 78 is harder than normal.

Going to take some time.

Hopefully someone else will give the senior games a try this next year.

100 is tough. When I started the structured training program December 6, 2007, I could not do it either and my results were similar. 100 gassed me and made other cadences harder. I could do 80 and 90 was tough. It took me about 6 months to get to 100. And now at 10 months, not missing a prescribed workout, I can spin 100 easily. I was on a group ride on Sunday in the middle of a double pace line spinning 100 going 20 mph at a HR of 110. In my 500 meter sprint at the track nationals, from a standing start, I hit 32.4 mph max at a 120 cadence accelerating. So it is all possible. What you have to do is build heart stroke volume and skeletal infrastructure and that takes time and hard work.

Can you race at lower cadence? Of course but...you still have to do the preliminary work doing a lot of spinning in easy gears before you increase intensity. Otherwise, we will be reading about your sore knees and back.

Here is one of my favorite clips of Lance and Ulrich. Note the cadence difference. And Ulrich is a great time trialist. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qz95I3cJQ_s

I noticed we had the same music playing on the PA at the track nationals with a professional announcer. It gets your blood pumping.

I've done several regional Senior Games, including last year's Huntsman Senior Games in St. George, Utah (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=351911).

They're all a blast...especially Huntsman (http://www.seniorgames.net/), which is a fantastic venue, with nearly 10,000 athletes in town.

I'm really looking forward to the National Senior Games in 2009 (to be held in San Francisco), because earlier this year I qualifed to compete in both road racing and time trials.

Senior Olympics? Never heard of it.
I checked with the Georgia Senior Olympics website and the cutoff for registration was August 15. I guess I'll have to wait until next year to participate. :(
Maybe I'll go as a spectator this year to see how good the competition is. Or to determine how much I'll have to improve. :o

From our triathlon last Sunday, here are the results and they can be accessed by age and event (duathlon or triathlon)

http://www.myentryfee.com/results/RaceList.aspx?target=86

This gives some ideas of times, etc.

There were only 2 male entries in the 65 - 69 age bracket, ao I would have gotten at least a 3rd in this bracket, if I had entered.

I'm really looking forward to the National Senior Games in 2009 (to be held in San Francisco), because earlier this year I qualifed to compete in both road racing and time trials.

There are a number of Senior Games. However, the most interesting one is the National Sr. Games in 2009. Velodiva and I qualified to ride in the state qualifier in Long Beach (That was trivial i.e. show up and race a short local TT). The top two finishers in the TTs from each state would go to the National in SF in 2009. We decided to pass on Long Beach as it was right after our Dunlap TT.

SSP, how did you qualify for the TT? Our reading of the rules was that you needed to race in Long Beach and come in first or second to go to the TT next year. The race was 2 days after your injury. I assume there was another way to qualify?

There are a number of Senior Games. However, the most interesting one is the National Sr. Games in 2009. Velodiva and I qualified to ride in the state qualifier in Long Beach (That was trivial i.e. show up and race a short local TT). The top two finishers in the TTs from each state would go to the National in SF in 2009. We decided to pass on Long Beach as it was right after our Dunlap TT.

SSP, how did you qualify for the TT? Our reading of the rules was that you needed to race in Long Beach and come in first or second to go to the TT next year. The race was 2 days after your injury. I assume there was another way to qualify?

You can qualify by taking 1st or 2nd place at any state games. Most state games are open to non-state residents (e.g., Arizona, and Huntsman). That's one reason why Huntsman in St. George, Utah is so popular - for those who haven't qualified for Nationals, it's a late season venue in which you can qualify.

So, earlier this year myself and two friends went down to Phoenix and stole their gold :D. I won both the TT's, and took 2nd in the 20K road race.

Those placings at the Arizona Championships qualified me for both TT's and both road races at Nationals.

And we didn't cost any Arizonans a spot either - the top 2 Arizona residents in each race also qualified for Nationals.

There's still time to sign up for Hunstman, I think...if you've not been, it's a fantastic venue, and a whole lot of fun (I'm still nursing my clavicle, so won't be attending this year).

There are a number of Senior Games. However, the most interesting one is the National Sr. Games in 2009. Velodiva and I qualified to ride in the state qualifier in Long Beach (That was trivial i.e. show up and race a short local TT). The top two finishers in the TTs from each state would go to the National in SF in 2009. We decided to pass on Long Beach as it was right after our Dunlap TT.

SSP, how did you qualify for the TT? Our reading of the rules was that you needed to race in Long Beach and come in first or second to go to the TT next year. The race was 2 days after your injury. I assume there was another way to qualify?

Hi Hermes,

Sorry to hear that both of you passed on the qualifier in Long Beach. I was there both days and got medals in all four Men 50-54 events: 10K TT - bronze, 40K road race - silver, 5K TT - bronze, and 20K road race - bronze. I definitely qualified for the road race and I may qualify for the TT since the same rider won both TTs. They may take 1st and 2nd from the 10K TT and 2nd and 3rd from the 5K TT. I'm not sure how I find out about if I qualified. Regardless, my main goal was to qualify in at least one of the races and I definitely did that. :)

Hi Hermes,

Sorry to hear that both of you passed on the qualifier in Long Beach. I was there both days and got medals in all four Men 50-54 events: 10K TT - bronze, 40K road race - silver, 5K TT - bronze, and 20K road race - bronze. I definitely qualified for the road race and I may qualify for the TT since the same rider won both TTs. They may take 1st and 2nd from the 10K TT and 2nd and 3rd from the 5K TT. I'm not sure how I find out about if I qualified. Regardless, my main goal was to qualify in at least one of the races and I definitely did that. :)

Sorry we missed you. Congrats on your results. That is fantastic. I said that it was after Dunlap but I was wrong. It was after the District Road Race Championships in the Sierras. We were both coughing our lungs out after the race on Sunday and then after driving back 4 hours from the Sierras, we would have to drive to LA the next day. It was too much racing in consecutive days. Velodiva is qualified for the road race.

We hope you make it in the TT. Next year is going to be exciting.:)

The idea of competing in the Senior Games came late this year for me, so I'm setting my goal for 2011. Next year to get better, '10 to qualify, '11 to compete.

I remember reading SSP's reports on last year's games in Utah. I was very inspired by them -- for a minute I thought I could actually be a contender. :rolleyes:

Now I believe that, having raced a few times. Next is to get a coach and focus my training. After that...we'll see.

Congrats to all you participants in the Senior Games -- I admire your chutzpah.

Hi Cleave:

Sorry to hijack this thread for a moment. Is is feasible to get on the LA Velodrome? Is is crowded? I should have track bikes soon and a trip to LA to ride on the indoor track would be fun.

Hi Cleave:

Sorry to hijack this thread for a moment. Is is feasible to get on the LA Velodrome? Is is crowded? I should have track bikes soon and a trip to LA to ride on the indoor track would be fun.

Hi,

You have to get "certified (http://www.lavelodrome.org/training.htm)" to ride on the velodrome. There are some exceptions to having to take one of the listed classes, such as being a Category 3 track racer, but it's best to contact the Track Director, Roger Young (link at the bottom of the web page), to find out more. You may be able to work out something with Roger if you can get a bunch of your racing teammates to go down there on an open weekend and do a group certification session. That's what our club did a few years ago. I can't remember what we paid to do that but it was cheaper than taking the listed classes.

The reasons for needing certification is the track is a bit difficult to ride (45 degree banking in the corners) and can be a bit dicey when it's crowded.

Once you're certified you can train during any open session. From September through March, I generally go to the Thursday night session from 7:00pm-9:00pm. Roger leads a structured workout for about 1-1/2 hours, then he leads a group motorpaced session for about 1/2 hour. He also does this on Tuesday nights. Its kind of like doing a spin class on the velodrome. Roger is a great coach and he structures the workouts around heart rate training zones. There are other open training sessions on other days and weekends but I've never gone to those.

A few of us older Masters train at the velodrome regularly. :)

Hope this helps.

Hi,

You have to get "certified (http://www.lavelodrome.org/training.htm)" to ride on the velodrome. There are some exceptions to having to take one of the listed classes, such as being a Category 3 track racer, but it's best to contact the Track Director, Roger Young (link at the bottom of the web page), to find out more. You may be able to work out something with Roger if you can get a bunch of your racing teammates to go down there on an open weekend and do a group certification session. That's what our club did a few years ago. I can't remember what we paid to do that but it was cheaper than taking the listed classes.

The reasons for needing certification is the track is a bit difficult to ride (45 degree banking in the corners) and can be a bit dicey when it's crowded.

Once you're certified you can train during any open session. From September through March, I generally go to the Thursday night session from 7:00pm-9:00pm. Roger leads a structured workout for about 1-1/2 hours, then he leads a group motorpaced session for about 1/2 hour. He also does this on Tuesday nights. Its kind of like doing a spin class on the velodrome. Roger is a great coach and he structures the workouts around heart rate training zones. There are other open training sessions on other days and weekends but I've never gone to those.

A few of us older Masters train at the velodrome regularly. :)

Hope this helps.

Thanks Cleave. That is what I thought. Hellyer has a similar policy. You have to have completed 3 instruction sessions to ride in the open sessions and take a race ready clinic to race. We would plan on taking a beginner session.

Does somehow winding up in the back of a training ride count?
Seriously; The fastest rider on the club I belong to (and Richard is fast and has endurance)went last summer (New Yorks) and didn't come close to placing in his age (65+) group.
I wound up on the tail end of 8 senior riders last june..I thought the 18+ was a decent speed and was marveling at keeping pace when I discovered it was simply their 'warm up'..lol:eek:

So I need to train. I can think of three things I could focus on, but having never trained before, I have no clue which is better. I figure I can focus on one thing at a time, but I don't know which would be best:

A-- increasing cadence to 100
B-- increasing hours/week riding
C-- just working on trying to increase sprinting ability
D-- increasing the miles riden per week.

thanks for the advice


HiYOSilver,

I rode mostly solo for years until my two sons began to ride with me and push me harder than I was used to riding. In the summer of 2007 I entered three races on 1 day liscense, got shelled in every race, and got the bug to race. I could ride 30 + mile rides and average 19 mph or more but that did not prepare me to race. Last fall I made the commitment to become a bicycle racer at age 54. I purchased two books on training, Friel's and Dr. Michael Ross's "Maximun Performance for Cyclist". I found Friels training bible very complex and indepth as compared to Ross's book which I found easy to understand and implement. For next year I'll be able to utilize some of "peroidization phases" that are so pronounced in the Friel book.

If you intend to race, increasing your cadence is vital. More importantly, the pedaling techniques needed to increase the cadence for long pieriods is signifiacant as more force and power is generated by using additional muscles by pushing over the top and scrapping/pullling on the bottom of each stroke. The efficiency of the stroke will also enable the rider to have more of the "large muscles" available at the end of the ride when you may need more power to match the pace before the ending sprint.

I particapted in an indoor cycling program last winter where we brought our bikes and trainers to class twice a week for two hour sessions. We did many drills to work on form and cadence. At the first class we did a drill where we would be pedaling at 90 cadence for 45 seconds then kick it up to 120 for 15 seconds. That seemed impossible! After 3 months in the class I was doing the same drill where we started at 120 cadence, then every 45 seconds we kicked the cadence up, for 15 seconds, to 130, 135, 140, etc and topped out at 165, then worked back down to 120. Imagine, 120 was our recovery cadence!
Right now riding with a cadence of 100 is the norm. I've noticed that in fast group rides and races my cadence will be 110 while crusing, then when there is a surge it can get 120+ for short spells with little effect on me.

If you want to ramp it up and race I suggest you develop a plan. The books I read convinced me to develop a workout plan that included intervals, heart rate/intensity, rest, recovery rides, time in the saddle etc. One change I had to make was the time spent training. The books suggest that if your races are 1 hour long then your training should be centered for 1 hour races and not to do long rides with a medium heart rate. That meant eliminating some of the fun rides, but not all, with buddies. Recovery rides were also a new concept to me. I never would have set out to do a 20 mile ride and attempt to keep my speed under 17 mph or my heartrate under 130. It was very hard riding up a hill and not challenging myself to go faster/ harder. This year I'm riding the fastest I've ever rode and I have averaged only about 6 to 7 hours/week riding. My racing season is now over and I'm really enjoying the fast club rides again and staying up with the young guns and matching them on hills and sprints. I'm also looking forward to this year's indoor training and my sophmore year of racing.

Participated the last 2 years in the 5k, 10k, and 20k time trials, 60-64 age bracket on my Actionbent Recumbent. Lots of fun and an incentive to push a little harder once in a while on everyday rides. I have talked to several of the riders on the uprights and nobody seems disturbed that I am on a recumbent. In fact have had lots of questions about my bike. Normally I ride with DF riders so I am very comfortable on the hills. The location has been the same the last two years and the course is laid out around a Lake with many climbs and turns including the 180 dg. turnaround. I would love to do more in surrounding states but as far as I know other nearby states don't allow recumbents.

Came out second overall in my times this year in both age group and for overall times. Last year had best overall times for all age groups in all 3 Time Trials. 20k is run as a Time Trial as director frightened of mishaps in conducting a road race with inexperienced drivers attempting to draft. Won't be able to attend Nationals as of course recumbents are not allowed and Catch-22 prevents setting up a seperate Recumbent Category. Our state thankfully has no recumbent restrictions and it is the only place I have been able to do a Time Trial.

cool, thanks for the hints and encouragement. Today was Monday and it was the first ride in 5 days. amazing what that many days without riding does to a body.