Originally Posted by caloso
Good point, my58vw.
At the time, I was riding a lot of miles with a buddy who was a former Cat2 trying to get back into shape for Masters. I was a tri-geek trying to improve my bike leg. So, I was doing a lot of tempo riding and occasionally hanging with the pack during the weekly local hammerfest.
But of course, racing is a whole different matter than riding with a buddy or trying to hang on to the back of the River Ride.
Here is a little excerpt out of a bike racing FAQ I am putting together (hopefully later for aa sticky).
Am I ready to go race category 5 races?
This is a question that each rider can only answer for himself or herself. Some riders can jump right in and be competitive in category 5. Vice versa some take many races to get into “race shape”. The length of time it takes to “hang with the pack” or to “place in the top 20”, etc really depend on individual factors. For some it can take 10 or more races to be real competitive out in cat 5.
The best way to evaluate yourself is to answer some of the following questions…
1. How long have I been riding (years, months)?
2. What kind of riding do I participate in (fast hammer fests, vs. slow recreational rides, vs. hill climbing)
3. How are your group riding skills? Pace line skills?
4. How well can you sprint, ride out of the saddle, corner at speed, handling skills?
5. How strong are you? (power and speed related)
6. How is your current endurance, both miles and in fast speed riding?
7. How well can you suffer (deal with pain for a period of time)?
The only real way to know if you are ready for racing is to go out and race. Just be sure that you can answer good to questions 3 and 4 before trying a race. These skills are essential to being a safe bicycle racer.