Road Bike Racing - Considering a bike race...seeking input

I have really taken a liking to road-riding, and I was thinking about doing a few races. However, I get the feeling that just going to do a bike race is far different than going to do a 5k or an oly tri. From reading descriptions, it seems that everyone is very good (from my perspective) even at the cat 5 level, and everything I read about mentions teams. So here are my questions: Do you have to be on a team to race? If so, how do you find one that will take a newbie. What kind of average speed/biking skills do you need to have before racing? How do you find races, and how long are they generally?

A little background about me: I'm overweight (215) and a lousy climber, but on the flats by myself I can cruise at 20-23 mph. Adding in the hills to my rides generally drops my average spd to 16-17 mph. I can do group rides of 50-80 miles with average speeds of 17 mph without too much difficulty and only exceeding my LT on the hills. I know this is not fast enough to place (or even come close), but is it too slow to even show up? My bike is a felt F30, so I assume that's "good enough" to race, even though I'll get heckled for having a triple. But, how do I know if my bike is legal for racing? What kind of group riding skills do I need prior to participiating in a race? I've never done any paceline work, and typically when I draft I stay what is probably too far back of the wheel in front of me. How do I get these skills?

I am interested in bike racing because after deciding to do a tri, I find I don't care much for the swim (despite being a HS swimmer). I don't much care for the run either, but its better than the swim.

Bottom line: Should I stick to centuries and tris/Dus or is there a place in the bike racing world for slowpokes like me?

Cat 3 and down, to cat 5, there are hardly any team tactics at all. So, racing with or without a team isn't really important. The important thing about racing is pace line skill. You have to be able to draft the rider in front of you without being too close to too far back. Group riding skill takes practise. This you will learn in your race as well as group ride. You can join your local "recreational" club and to some of their group ride. You can learn pace line skill there. See if there is a "racing" club you can join. That's even better.

Average speed means nothing in a race. All you need to concern about is your max sustaineable top speed and at the longest duration. If you can hit 25 to 28 mph for several miles, you can handle the race pace. That's usually how fast the pack will go when they have to chase down a break.

Finally, go do a race. Get a one day liescense. All of your questions will be answered.

Last month I participated in my first race. I showed up by myself. I did know one other guy racing in my category but I didn't even know he would be there and hadn't talked to him in about a year. I just showed up, paid my fee, warmed up until it was time to line up, and took off.

It was a blast! As a matter a fact I am doing my second race this coming Saturday and I can't wait.

It really is a great feeling to cross the finish line and see everyone standing there cheering you on. I recommend you trying it out and seeing for yourself. No need to be on a team, just show up and have fun.

I found a race about a month away, decided that I was going to do it, and began to train. It really is a great form of motivation to train for a race. BTW, I placed 14th out of about 40-45 riders and really impressed myself. I say "go for it!"

My recommendation: Do intervals at least once a week. I do them once a week and found that one exercise really helped me out alot.

Don't enter your first race without having done a lot of group riding. You'll just be a danger to yourself and everyone else.

Register for a cat 5 race and do it. That is what cat 5 is all about. You will find out one of two things, I love this or I hate this. There will be guys in cat 5 that are very competitive and strong and some who are not, but mostly yes it will be a group of strong riders that have put there time in training especially this late in the season so you have to train and be in good shape to enjoy it. I say go for it and find out for yourself. Personally it is the funnest sport I've ever been involved in. I don't race on a team and as far as that goes I see team tactics in cat 4 races all the time but it is definattly not necessary to be on a team. Most imortantlly is to stay safe and have fun :)

Also, don't make the mistake of pulling in your first race. Unless you are crossing the finish line, as a new rider you will probably end up pulling too hard because you will want to show the other guys how strong you are. If you do this you will end up riding home solo.

Have fun! and be safe.

Also, don't make the mistake of pulling in your first race. Unless you are crossing the finish line, as a new rider you will probably end up pulling too hard because you will want to show the other guys how strong you are. If you do this you will end up riding home solo.

Have fun! and be safe.

I did this. Remember that you want to be up front, but not the front.

......unless the finish line is passing under your wheels (thought that was worth repeating)

Dogboy--your location says you are in Madison, WI. You should check out the Wisport bike race series. It's for citizen racers (no USCF license needed) and has races in Wisconsin almost every weekend from April through September. There are points and awards for age categories plus there is a cruiser category (200+ lbs). Your bike would be fine for racing in these races as long as it doesn't have aero bars on it for the road races. You can use the aero bars in the time trial races.

Wisport has mass starts so you need to be *very* comfortable riding in a pack and know how to *hold your line*. Weaving, squirrely riders are dangerous in this situation. Pacelines form as the pack splits up so you would need to know how to and be comfortable in pacelining also. Generally people of similar fitness/abilities end up riding together during the races so you don't need a team to work with other people in the race. There are teams that do participate in the Wisport races though. Wisport categorizes flat and hilly races so you could try one of the flat races to see how you like it. This saturday (7aug) there's a hilly race in Sparta and the following saturday there's a flat race in Medford.

If you need practice with group riding skills and pacelining, I would suggest riding with one of the racing bike clubs around Madison. I'm a member of 2 bike clubs where I learned to paceline and be comfortable in a group situtation. I'll suggest the Atkins Citizens Racing Club (sponsored by the Atkins Bike Shop not the diet!!!)...they hold training rides on tuesdays and group rides on thursdays to practice the skills you need to race. But there are other Madison bike clubs that do the same kind of training.

Take a look at the Wisport website for more information....http://www.wisport.org and here's the Atkins Club website http://www.atkinscrc.com/

Good luck! Have fun! Ride safe!

Dogboy-

I think I remember you doing the Wednesday Night Rides from another thread. Riding with the faster groups on those rides will give you a sense of racing, though the hills do split up the group. I find these group rides to be harder than citizen races.

I’ve done the Wisport series and Badger State Games road and crit races. I second the recommendation for Wisport since these are mostly road races on rolling terrain. I don’t race much anymore due to having a child. Instead of driving 3 hours to ride 1 hour, I ride for 4 hours with friends.

I’m putting together a 40-50 mile ride for tomorrow (Saturday) morning and you’re welcome to join us (you too, Weezie). We’re meeting at Oak Bank (corner of Seminole Hwy & PD) at 7:30 (7:00 at Barrique’s around the corner if you want coffee). We’ll stop somewhere along the way for refreshments and should be done before noon.

We usually have half a dozen riders with some Cat 3 racers. We sprint for town signs and hammer up the hills, but we slow down to regroup, unlike the Wednesday Night Rides. I can give you more advice in person, but riding with us will be the best lesson.

-murray

Looks like Dogboy will get good advice and experience if he can make to your saturday ride, Murrays. Thanks for including an invitation for me but I'm off to the Sparta race on saturday morning...the kind with more driving time than saddle time!

Dogboy--Murrays suggested the Badger State Games bike races...they are great for beginning racers. This year it was a "stage" race. Road/time trial one weekend, crit the next. The road and time trial course is near Cross Plains and has a couple of hills you would have to climb several times as the course loops. That's if the same course is used in 2005. The crit is on the square downtown Madison (usually).

Enjoy your ride!

When I lived in Wisconsin, at every citizens race I did I'd see a couple Cat 2s and 3s that I knew from weekly rides. I'm sure they weren't supposed to be there, but they were.

Yes, USCF riders do show up for some of the Wisport citizen races in Wisconsin. Supposedly they don't earn Wisport points or awards though. The nature of the race seems to become more competitive and faster when there are USCF riders involved but since I'm a mid-to-rear pack person, this doesn't affect me much. USCF and citizens (open) category are split in the Badger State races but some citizen riders do the USCF races and maybe vice versa.