I am terrible as a Cat 5, but I love racing.
 

I did my first Cat 5 criterium today. The Timpani Criterium in Santa Clara, California. I got blown-out the back quick and dropped soon after. The great thing was they let me stay on the course. I only had to move out of the way when the main group came by for the final lap. I think I got lapped as well; it was all a blur. I cannot believe how much fun I had even sucking as bad as I do.

I have to say it was allot of fun and everyone was real nice. I cannot wait to start training for real now.

Keep at it!!

Welcome to your new addiction

Sounds about right for a first race, now you know why you have to train.

Keep at it, chances are you'll be in the pack in a few more races.

keep it up. Ride alot to up your fitness so you can at least keep up with the group, and when that happens, you will learn a lot the race tactics. Learning how to confidently corner (once your fitness is inline) can bring you up the pack real fast. The cat 3/4 crit in Troy ohio, I was basically at the back of the pack, bouncing off redline, but last lap, moved up the field by just by holding speed through the corners and picking the right line, and finished 10th.

Keep it up man! I'll let you in on a little secret......everyone is terrible in Cat 5 (probably even 80% of the Cat 4 riders i've raced with this seaon)...there are just some guys who are faster/in better shape but that doesn't mean they are great...they are just bettter relative to you at the moment. You'll get there...trust me i'm hoping i get there as well!

Sorry I didnt get to meet ya. I was in this race too. It was kind of a see saw pace. For the most part it was actually pretty safe as far as 5's field go. The one big crash happened behind me a few spots, my teammate was involved. I guess someone hit their brakes hard and he came up the back side. Why they were braking on the straightaway I have no idea.


Keep at it, it is alot of fun.

Thank you all for the constructive comments. I plan to stick with it for sure.

good job. cat5 is a crapshoot, and really isn't much slower than the 4s. Do it a few more times and you'll be tearing it up (in the 4s).

Congrats on your first race. Hopefully I will be able to post up a how bad I sucked at my first race next summer! :D

That's all that matters. Congrats!

thats why you have 10 races to get your **** together before you can move up to a cat 4.......dont feel bad almost same thing happened to me yesterady on my first crit as well :)

You've accomplished something most guys fear, toeing the line and competing. Good for you. Now, like you said, it's time to train for real. Find a group of guys who are willing to take you under their wing and work with you.