Bikeracer123

I am currently a junior, but where I live they seem to be doing away with juniors which means I Have to race cat5. Next weekend I am racing and it is cat 4/5. I can do pretty well in juniors. Do you think the new guys will still race if their is a bunch of cat 4s? Is it safer than just cat 5?

TheKillerPenguin

It is hard to say anything about the pace or safety but I'd do the race regardless, you need 10 starts to get upgraded to 4 and it'll count towards em!

Ttoc6

If it's a 4/5 field, you'll be racing with both. Sometimes they will combine fields in case of low numbers, but go out and do your best. Most important in 5's is just getting your mass starts. Just finish. Don't crash, watch for sketchy riders... Yada yada. Sure you're used to that from the jr field

carpediemracing 

If you can do pretty well in Juniors and there are more than a dozen riders or whatever in your field then you'll be fine in the 5s. Stronger Juniors tend to be pretty good.

If you're getting "top 3" all the time because there are 3 starters in your race then I have no idea how you'll do in a 5 race.

BTSyndrome

Last year was my first races as a cat 5.... granted I've been riding for 7+ years, but I have never raced.
Not as many 5's showed because of the mixed field but I found much more enjoyment out of a 4/5 race for 40-45 min (placing in the 10 to 15 range out of 30+ starters),
than driving 2.5 hrs one way for a 20 min cat 5 crit and doing no other races.

Don't even think about it, just go out and race like normal and you wont even realize its diff. than what you normally would do. The races I have done, the Jr's are way better than any of the Cat 5's that are in the race.

miyata man

I didn't want to start a new thread for this.

Is the $70 USAC license fee going to change during the calendar year, ie go up like pre-reg versus day of race entry fees? Could have swore it was a flat $100 or $125 in years past instead of this tiered carnival prizes and glossy frameable knickknacks scheme.

gl98115

The basic USAC license fee for an adult is $70 for the calendar year. As you surmise, the new higher tiers are just for raising more money for USAC.

miyata man

Thanks, had a laugh seeing you can upgrade all the way from 5-2 without ever doing a single race if you roll a fondo and buy your ticket to a few clinics a year. Good to see they are catering to certain sensitivities by introducing executive packages.

aaronmcd

That doesn't sound right. I thought fondos were only for 5 to 4

miyata man

I'll just pretend that was what I meant by a fondo. Going to buy a license and quit focusing on the convoluted upgrade paths.

merlinextraligh

Gran Fondos are good for one point for a 5>4 upgrade, with a maximum of 3 of the 10 points coming from Gran Fondos.

You can get up to 5 points from an education clinic, with the points determined by USA Cycling.

But again only 5>4.

Once you're a 4, Clinics and Fondos are worth zero for upgrades.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/USACWeb/for..._1_General.pdf

aaronmcd

Here in norcal, an early bird clinic gives out half a point to cat 4s. Yeah, half.

merlinextraligh

I missed the rule change that you can get up to 3 points for camps clinics as a 3.

You'd still have to get 17 points from race results to upgrade on points from 4>3.

So to the original point, you can't get to Cat 2, or even Cat 3, by clinics and fondos

miyata man

There is a lot of possible variation and money collecting wrapped up in decisions left to regional level officialdom. So yes, I was exaggerating the by the book interpretation knowing the larger issue is still people gaming the system to avoid upgrading. Without ruling out the opposite as almost true for someone truly gifted at following the letter but not the intent of a rule book. Which is a textbook definition of racing.

I could have taken more pains to word the outrageousness in a way that didn't state it as an absolute.

LAJ

Executive packages. That's awesome.

UmneyDurak

Although people sandbagging is an issue, I don't think the opposite, your assertion that people buy there way to higher category, is true. What would be the point anyway? Have that CAT2 license and get shelled off the back in every race?

miyata man

I started re-reading the Bartali book last night. Put it down a few chapters in where the author explores Mussolini's public persona as an untamed sportsman. A bold aesthete who abstains from all but a few pieces of fruit to fuel his oft photographed bare chested conquests across the gamut of macho pursuits. This in spite of his soft gut and lack of muscular development.

My assertion wasn't past participle. It was an out loud thought such a feat might have now become possible. Joe racer slogging his way through the workday would have no idea, or access to records of, a few guys that never show up on the weekend hold a cat2 license. Everything has a price. Why should you find it unfeasible someone who's self worth is built on increasingly bigger lies and fearful repercussions would have the vanity, neigh audacity, to further corrupt our fair sport?

Satire, like most of what happens only on this site. In other words, the joke had ran it's course and you now ruined it by making me explain the punchline.

jdms mvp

safer?



Cat 5: I have no idea what I'm doing but think bike racing might be fun. I ran/swam/rowed in college, so this can't be that different, right?


Cat 4: I have no idea what I'm doing, but my carbon wheels help me crash at higher speeds. During races, I find it helps to verbalize my every action. Safety of the pack (though I'd call it a peleton) is ensured by yelling "Hold your line!" in every corner. I have seen Breaking Away.

aaronmcd

No wonder it took me a year to get out of cat 4. I hadn't yet seen Breaking Away!

UmneyDurak

Maybe you are just not as funny as you think you are, at least in the medium of a forum and impersonal interactions.

TMonk

I liked it when you had to earn points to upgrade from 4 to 3 (and so on) - the old 'bootstraps' way of going about it. I feel like I'm surrounded by a bunch of plebes that didn't have to actually win a few races like I did.

Granted I'm still a 3

globecanvas

Confused. Sarcasm? Do you not have to earn points to upgrade any more?

topflightpro

There are three ways to become a Cat 3:
1. Points
2. 10 Top 10 finishes in fields with at least 30 (may be more)
3. 30 field finishes in races with fields of at least 50

Those have been the rules since I started racing 10 years ago, so I'm not sure to what TMonk is referring. The only change I know of is that points used to expire after 12 months. Now they don't.

TMonk

Ya, what @topflightpro said. You just have to race enough times basically.

miyata man

Satire

Comedy