cuda2k

But I'm too damned slow!

Seriously, I have never thought about racing, up till about the last 4-5 days. I think it's the spring fever starting to set in. The weather is getting better, I got to watch the end of the Paris-Nice last weekend, the Friday night races at the Velodrome is starting which I keep wanting to go watch, and now I even have a bike that I wouldn't be laughed off the start line with. But the simple fact is, I'm still far too slow, and far too busy to race. Maybe one day, but till then I look forward to reading all of your race reports after the fact.

Ryanf

so................................... what. Go out and race.

Snuffleupagus

Do it.

Frank Lloyd Wright said: "The thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in a thing makes it happen."

Slow is relative...I ride with a CAT-5 who I don't doubt could out TT a lot of domestic pros, but isn't terribly successful. I also ride with a CAT-3 who I can ride off my wheel - but he races smart. Everything is relative.

CastIron

Follow your own advice. Quietly.

DrPete 

it's particularly funny from the author of the "when do you pee" thread.

cuda2k

Maybe next spring after another year of riding including a lot of rides with the local cycling club increasing my experience in a pack and with pace line skills. Right now I would be putting myself and those around me at risk, and I'm not going to be *that* guy. One of the reasons I have never thought about racing is that I scar badly. Not sure when it started, but I first noticed it 7 years ago when I had several incisions done after a brush with skin cancer. It was that brush with cancer that first scared me indoors for 5 years before I started cycling again. Guess I'm now getting adventurous enough to consider throwing my hat in with a bunch of other guys trying to turn over the cranks on their bikes faster than anyone else in the group.

dl613

cuda,
you have to give it a shot. If you get dropped, who cares it's happened to everyone. I promise you'll be posting a long, "Holy crap, I'm a racer" post and you'll either get it out of your system or be hooked like the rest of us. Good luck.
DL.

DrPete 

Cuda, find a fast group ride and learn the ways, then find a race.

You'll ALWAYS be better next spring. Eventually you just have to give it a shot.

cuda2k

I was waiting for you or Kevin to post, threatening (or promising) to drag me kicking and screaming to your next training ride and then race. I'm getting new shoes and a bike fitting on the Flyte for my birthday this year. After that I plan on really trying to get smart about my riding and training. Strengthen my skills (and my legs and cardio system!) for a while and then give it a go perhaps.

Vinokurtov

Cuda, chicks dig scars. Wives aren't so happy about the hospital runs though...

cuda2k

Yeah, I've got the wife now, and chicks only dig cool scars. When the thin pencil line scars get wide and puffy they aren't so cool any more. I've got my 'knife fight' scar already that I can show off, not fond with the pain that comes with adding new ones. (Never mind that the knife was a surgeon's scalpel)

Still got to fix the whole "I'm slow" thing. Guess that will require more time on the road and the trainer and less time on BikeForums huh?

spunky

Don't live for your fears.
They'll keep you from living your dreams.
Life is too short for that.
You'll always wonder what your life would have been like had you done what you really wanted.
I'd be willing to bet that most of us here have had to face certain fears on the bike in races at one point or another.

GuitarWizard

I'm not exactly "fast" either, and I have decided to give racing a go starting this year as well. We can share stories of goals and failures. I'm not a powerful rider and won't 'be riding the pack off my wheel anytime soon, nor am I that good at sprinting...and I'm currently about 10-12 pounds too heavy to hang with the good climbers. Sooo.....just do what I'm doing, suck it up, and go for it.

botto 

1. find some group rides, fast group rides. sit in the back.

2. don't get discouraged if/when you get dropped from those group rides.

3. go back the following week and do the fast group ride again.

4. if you've been dropped a 2nd time, repeat steps 2 & 3

5. once you're comfortable with the group and pace (and vice versa), take some pulls.

6. once you're comfortable taking pulls, try some attacks (if it's that kind of group ride).

7. once you're comfortable with steps 5 & 6, it's time to enter a race.

8. at you first race, repeat steps 1-6, but substitute 'race' for 'group ride'.

patentcad

I'd agree with botto, but differ slightly on one point: once you can 'sit in' on a fast group ride, try racing. If I had waited until I was capable of attacking fast group rides to try racing, I'm not sure I would have ever started. The racing makes me faster regardless of whether I ever get fast enough to attack. And that makes the fast group rides much easier...

botto 

correct.

i was trying to baby-step him into it.

substructure

No more excuses. I tried to excuse myself out of racing for a while. Then a friend said, "Hey <my name here> come with us on the first race this season. At least get your feet wet and see if you like it."

I immediately said yes without any second thought. I didn't give myself any reason not to go. I wrote it down, printed out all the info, talked about it, and made up my mind.

I’ll give you my brother’s quote on everything, “You gotta want it.” Go have some fun man.

botto 

BlessedHellride

+100
I often struggle w/ my fears. The funny part is when I was younger I raced motocross and did really crazy things both on the motorcycle and bmx bikes.
I guess I got hurt one to many times. Now that I am older I worry about accidents. It is actually hurting my riding and racing. When you are not relaxed and over thinking you make more mistakes. I really struggle mentally with this. I keep working on it though. Visualization really helps me.

LowCel 

Wow, seems like we are both in the same place right now. To me it really sucks because last year I was peaking by now and riding really well in the road races. That really hurt me in the long run though because I peaked way too early. I feel that I am riding much slower right now but I am confident that it will pay off in a few months when all of my priority races come up.

El Diablo Rojo

This post should become a sticky for "How do I get Started in Racing". Perfect reply!

botto 

if i had a 1$ for every time you wrote about being 10 lb too heavy, i'd be riding on lightweights.

patentcad

I don't know about you guys, but every time I read one of Botto's

'correct'

or

'incorrect'

posts it makes my resting pulse rate quicken. And this is F-ing up my carefully laid training scheme.

Sweet Jeez in the morning I gotta get a life.

Snuffleupagus

Say you're 5'10 160lbs - and trying to do 10mph up a 7% grade - that requires about 306w
Then say 150lbs -that requires about 290w

15w way less than the difference between hydration, nutrition, sleep and motivation...

botto 

correct.