DreamRider85

I'm just curious how it works. I did try looking it up but not sure how it works. How often in most areas do they have races and do you have to pass certain qualifications? Do they close off the roads for racing?

RonH

Not sure which type of racing you're asking about. Maybe you'll find a good answer here.

caloso

Road?
MTB?
Track?
Cyclocross?
BMX?

JanMM

+1

Fastfingaz

I've done plenty triathlons,,,,,,,duatholons

Homebrew01

I've raced hundreds of road races and criteriums.

The governing body in the U.S. is USA cycling. Roads are closed for criteriums, but often open or partially open for road races. Big budget races can afford to get more roads closed, but most do not.

Homebrew01

No particular qualifications needed to start, but it is HIGHLY recommended someone have good group/pack riding experience first.

Local clubs and teams are great for this.

caloso

Yup.

Also, check the USAC website to see if there are early bird clinics/races in your area.

DreamRider85

Road

DreamRider85

So how do you race when there are cars? You still have to follow traffic rules.

Homebrew01

You have to stay on the right, not allowed to cross the yellow line.
At intersections, there will be marshalls/police to stop traffic and let the race go through.

The entire road is usually closed to traffic at the finish area.

canklecat

Most of the novice and intermediate road races and time trials I participated in years ago in Southern California and the Washington, DC, area were on closed courses, places like parking lots of abandoned warehouses, or public multi-use tracks for which the bike clubs reserved the space for a few hours.

So, on the plus side, no vehicle traffic, joggers or parents with babies in strollers to worry about. On the minus side, no hills or variation in course. It was pretty much like a NASCAR race - all left turns. But it was good experience for beginners in pacing for time trials and learning to ride in a pack.

There were also a couple of novice and intermediate time trials and road races in SoCal on ordinary vehicular traffic roads in rural areas that were temporarily closed for the events. Back then there were plenty of spaces east of San Diego for that sort of thing, with moderate hills and some variation in turns. I haven't been back in years but I gather that population density has increased dramatically and those areas may not be practical anymore.

Turns out I wasn't particularly interested in racing or competition of any kind so I only tried half a dozen or so before sticking with daily commutes and occasional long distance fun runs, mostly in Baja. But it was a good experience, even with the road rash from getting my wheel clipped in one novice race.

caloso

In NorCal, there is racing of some kind or another every weekend of the year. See Northern California Nevada Cycling Association.

PepeM

You are afraid to ride on the road but you want to try road racing. Fascinating.

ColaJacket

GH

Homebrew01

Perhaps OP is just curious about the sport.

bakes1

Perhaps OP just likes to post nonsensical and paradoxical things

LesterOfPuppets

You go there, buy a license, pay entry fee, pin number on, warm up, get in the start area when your group is about to go off.

2-6 crits and/or road races a week around here in the summer.

No qualifications needed for Beginners or CAT 5, there are rules to abide by, and some group riding experience is nice. A lot of races or race series have free how-to-race sessions.

Roads are closed for crits, maybe some key sections of a road race, but mostly on open roads.

DannoXYZ 

Lots of YouTube videos with races.

mawashi

OP is afraid of roads, trails, going into bike stores, even little girls etc etc etc.

mawashi

Agree, mods please lock this thread too it's a pointless thread.

shelbyfv

It's often said that if we stop responding to trolls they will get bored and go away. Not sure that works, some seem very persistent.