help me figure out what kind of events to do?
 

Hi. I am a college commuter of 2 years who has become increasingly more serious about riding. I would like to do some racing or events but am having trouble finding a breakdown of what everything is (i.e crits, randonneurs, centuries, etc). I ride a cyclocross bike for commuting, and before that a fixie that I had built myself. I am not really interested in being ultra competitive against other people and more concerned with competing with myself and always trying to get better times, however I am certainly not afraid of a commuter battle, or trying to drop some guy at the loop in the park, but its very friendly, and I sometimes just decide to stop because of beautiful scenery. I love doing longer rides in rural areas where I compete with my last time and push myself very hard. I know this might sound vague but maybe someone can suggest something. If anyone knows any particular events, I'm in nyc.

Randonneuring: Randonneuring is long-distance unsupported endurance cycling. This style of riding is non-competitive in nature, and self-sufficiency is paramount. When riders participate in randonneuring events, they are part of a long tradition that goes back to the beginning of the sport of cycling in France and Italy. Friendly camaraderie, not competition, is the hallmark of randonneuring.

(from the site of RUSA www.RUSA.org )

That's the kind I like, and it sounds like you might enjoy it. The events are long distance time trials, usually over rural roads, often with lots of hills. You have a time limit to get the distance, hitting checkpoints on the way. Example: 40 hours to get 600k--sleep, eat, etc. when you decide. You are not in direct competition with other riders. You 'win' if you finish within the time limit. It is simply about testing your own limits of endurance. The time limits are not severe, though some riders try to post fast times, of course.

http://www.distancerider.net seems to be a NYC-area club running brevets. I'm sure you could find a century to target in the area, as a start. Good luck whatever you decide.

edit-p.s. The Crit would be a pretty serious race. A century is a casual 100 mile ride, with well supported pit stops, gatorade, snacks and such, every 15 or 20 miles.

Something else you might enjoy are club rides. Local clubs typically have rides of 20-40 miles or so, with 'A,B,C.." designations, which imply different average speeds. One of our local weekly 'C' rides is 30 miles at about 17-18 mph, for example. I'm sure there are clubs hosting rides like this around NYC.

At the risk of starting a controversy, you might also enjoy a "Critical Mass" ride, held monthly in many places on the last Friday of the month. You can find one near you with a web search, I'm sure

Have a look through my Links page to see various types of events ... I have my Links pages arranged by categories.

http://www.machka.net/links.htm


But in brief, very generally, and with approximate distances listed for the races ...

Time Trial - a short race (10-40 km) where they set riders off one at a time and the riders race against the clock
Crit - a short loop race where riders race round and round a short track (2-3 km) and try to lap each other
Road Race - a longer race (50-100 km) where a group of riders sets off and tries to reach the finish line first
24-hour Time Trial - a long race where riders set off in a group but have to separate themselves so no one is riding within drafting range of another rider soon after the start. The idea is to ride as much as possible in a 24 hour period.
Randonnee - one of many long distance rides ... rides, not races ... where cyclists have to maintain a certain minimum speed in order to successfully finish. There are 50 km, 100 km, and 150 km populaires, and 200 km, 300 km, 400 km, 600 km, 1000 km, and 1200 km randonnees (brevets).
Century - a casual 100 mile ride done solo, with a friend, or with a group of people. There are some organised centuries which attract a lot of riders, many areas have an annual century ride.