GuitarWizard

Soo.......I decided to renew my license today, which means I guess I have to race now

To recap, I was off the bike from the start of November up until the second week of January. Went through a rough breakup, didn't eat for a bit, dropped a bunch of weight....gained a bunch back....etc. Fun times. Anyway, last winter I put in a pretty solid effort in the base dept....this year, my timeframe is a bit more limited, given the fact that I'm starting over a month later, took a bunch of time off riding, and am relegated to the trainer most days as I sold my lighting setup.

All in all, I don't appear to be in too rough of shape at the moment - after nearly a month back on the bike, I actually feel halfway decent. I guess my question is, given that the first races will probably be in mid-late April, I'm on a bit of a limited schedule, and am trying to figure out how to best prep myself so I don't poop out.....what is my best approach? Keep in mind these are mostly road races, not crits.

Feel free to throw out any thoughts, ideas, suggestions.....still pretty bummed about selling my Powertap too. Oh well.

Snuffleupagus

SST. It's a panacea. I could go into more detail, but why?

Homebrew01

Yes, for example, what's SST ??

Anyway, go do those Plainville training races. If you qualify for more than 1 category like I do, then get in multiple races in the same day. The speed work will help your road racing.

Come do our Sunday ride ... we'll whip you into shape pretty quickly !!

Snuffleupagus

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...&highlight=sst

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...&highlight=sst

I'll also agree with your statement. Racing is another great way to get into race shape.

Enthalpic

Don't try to lose 10lbs and don't get sick.

Snuffleupagus

Yeah, you know...I think I remember a lot of "I'll race when I lose 8 more lbs" threads from the OP last season...

Don't do that

GuitarWizard

Heheh...I'm already at the same weight I was the end of last season pretty much....

I was down to around 135 though in December. That would've kicked ass had I been riding.

My biggest problem isn't so much my weight though....it's that my piriformis area/rear hip/nerves KILL me when going really hard on very hilly rides. At the end of the Housatonic race last year, which is fairly hilly, wanted to die. The last 45 minutes of the race I was in sooooooo much pain it wasn't funny. I really have no clue how I managed to finish, and still beat 20 other people. The core work has already begun, but we'll see how it goes in the coming months.

Duke of Kent

Race thyself into shape, young grasshopper.

It's my plan, too.

Well, no, my plan at the moment is...

Team: "Well, we didn't order any team clothing for you in your size, so you're going to have to wait until the second group order comes in."

Me: "When is that going to be?"

Team: "Goes out March 2nd."

Me: "Wait. That mean's it'll be 6 weeks from...a month from now. Two and a half months...?"

Team: "Yeah."

Me: "You know, I was reading the USA Cycling rule book a couple nights ago. All racers on the same team in Pro/1/2 races have to wear matching kits."

Team: "I don't get it."

Me: "That means I'll be utterly useless until late May, early June."

Team: "Oh. Yeah. Sorry."

/Rant.

Sorry, I had to vent.

VosBike

Man that sucks a lot Duke. Time to get started on the twinkies and borrow from some bigger teammates.

GuitarWizard

Or just do what I do and look like you're wearing a tent.

Ask botto about my jersey last summer LOL. Gotta love the "club fit" stuff.....designed by fat people, for fat people apparently.

daytonian

So no Mentor/Schababole?

GuitarWizard

I guess I'll start the steady state stuff in a few weeks

ElJamoquio

I'd be doing a lot more than venting.

Snuffleupagus

Yeah, I mean before I blew a gasket I'd see if I could:
1. Get a size smaller or larger
2. Borrow kit

Failing that...I'd race unattached and look for a new team.

Homebrew01

I'm surprised that doesn't apply to all categories. If you're on a team, why shouldn't / wouldn't everyone wear the same team clothing ??

carpediemracing 

Not sure of all the reasons since I wasn't involved in the rule voting but my guesses include some of the following ideas:
1. Teamwork in Cat P-1-2 races can be critical. If a racer is "mislabeled" it can really throw things off.
2. In 3s-5s it's less critical (although it still has an effect, mostly in the 3s).
3. A "new" team may not have gear. "New" meaning a few guys who got together to make their training ride group into a team. Not likely to be a 2, more like a 4 or a 5.
4. Some teams (haven't seen as many recently) actually have contracts. To get a 2 is one thing - to retain a 2 is another.

Basically a strong 3 can pull back a break all by himself that is pretty far up the road. Ditto a 4 or a 5. But a 2, that would be tough. Teamwork becomes a bit more important when one or two racers can no longer affect the outcome of a race, and in the 2s I think the racers are more evenly matched in terms of fitness.

In addition the matching kits would be an indication of commitment to the sport. A Cat 5 may not feel a commitment to the sport enough to buy a team kit even if they belong to a local team (they might have joined, for example, to get a discount on a bike).

cdr

ElJamoquio

Exactly the steps I'd be following. No way I'd wait until (maybe) June to start racing.

GuitarWizard

Sounds like new team time.

Speaking of that, I need to get new bibs/jersey myself. No sense in wearing the Assos stuff in a Cat 5 race.