Fifty Plus (50+) - How to do you find age related events

hi,
is there a listing of age related events for us older bike riders, There were events that you could find for distance runners when I ran just not sure where to look for the over 60 bike events. beings I am 59 this year and hope to continue to see some improvment next year , If Iam not ROad Kill. hehe
Doug

Who you calling Older?

Not aware of events for geezers sponsored by our local bike club (CIBA).
Lots of folk 50+ and older on the club rides. Alongside younger folks. Mixing it up.

Perhaps competitive cycling more commonly has age-differentiated events.
Are you looking for racing or just riding?

If you're looking for races, I recommend:

1) Senior Games (http://www.nsga.com/DesktopDefault.aspx)
They're held in various cities, and most states. They have the advantage of usually offering 5 year age brackets for competition.

2) USA Cycling (http://www.usacycling.org/)
The official governing body for bike racing in the US. Check for local teams to join, and try to find out what region you're in. Most regions will have a website where all sanctioned races are listed.

The disadvantage is the local races don't always have categories for older racers. For instance, they might only offer Masters 35+, and not 45+ or 55+. And even when they do, the Masters categories can be very competitive, because some of those guys have been racing at semi-pro level for decades.

Your other alternative is to enter the open Cat 5 (beginner) category. But there, you'll be racing against guys from any age (though there were several races I entered this season where I would have placed better in Cat 5 than I did in Masters 55+).

Most district championship races offer 5 year brackets.


Alternatively, you can get into triathlon, which does a better job of supporting age group athletes (typically with 5 and 10 year brackets).

Any event that handicaps the event for age will be a competition and scored either by time or place - hence some kind of race.

SSP covered the obvious races. If you are serious about competing then forget this "us older riders" nonsense and look around for some local time trials that are not sanctioned. Enter and race your road bike against the clock. This is the simplest and safest way to get into competition. Do not worry about age and simply compete. See if you like the competition and the training required to be competitive. There will be a few masters riding in these so you will have peers.

You can find out about these at bike shops. However, go to a pro bike shop that caters to racing. Fred shops will be clueless. I would post on the regional BF and ask about time trials.

If TTs work for you, then you can think about other competitive events. My experience is similar to SSPs. USA cycling sanctioned events are very advanced, tough and extremely competitive and not for "us older riders".:roflmao2:

Look for weekday morning rides.

Look for weekday morning rides.

-:p-