Competative cycling is over for now
 

i ahev been riding 2.5 years and training for 1.5 years. managed to make it up to cat 2 in ontario cycling. i would love to stay in 3 but i have enough upgrade points to get automatically moved up for next year. and I also won the O-Cup points this year for cat 3. we had a baby last year and my wife had her first day back to work today. time is to tight so i am coming to grips with the fact that i will now be a recreational cyclist for a long time before i can get back into competitive cycling again. i could probably try to make it work but with moving up to cat 2 which in ontario always race with cat 1 the extra training time i will need will take to much away from our daughter and family. i only trained an average of 9 hours this year and that seemed like to much time away from my family already and to make it to cat 2 on those hours is quite something in itself. i love my family more than my bike and that is that. maybe some of you can relate to my situation or have some tips on what the bare minimum is to stay competitive. i do not want to go to a race unless i think i can be on my game and mix it up or get a good placing. so in my eyes this is the only way to go about it.

There's more to life than the bike.

Good luck.

I've always believed that moving to cat 2 is a death sentence for some riders. If you have the life constraints that keep you from training to be a competitive cat 1 being a cat 2 has to suck. My teammate Waterrockets is good example, like you he started to dominate cat 3. But he can't train enough to be a serious contender in 1/2 RR's. It's hard to be competitive in 90+mi RR's when you've still only got cat 3 time to train. I feel for ya, too bad you aren't old enough to race in the Masters cats...I guess being old has some advantages.

skinnyguy - buy some punctuation bro!

You're situation is exactly the same as mine, except I've been riding and racing longer than you, and havent been as successful in obtaining my upgrade to Category 2. 2s nearly always race with 1s, 9 hrs. is a heavy week for me training wise, and no offence intended to racing fields in Ontario, but I'd bet that in the Wash DC area there are more racers/bigger fields.

Will I be winning as a Cat 2? No.

Will I be a valuable part of a team, train hard, make the most of my efforts, and have a big boatload of fun? Yes.

Will I still be a good dad and husband? ask my wife, but I think I do OK.

edit: you could always just focus on crits.

automatic upgrade to cat 2?




I wish I had these kinds of problems.

Can you get a little bit more creative with your time utilization? Commute to work, Ride at Lunch, Get a child trailer, or a child trailer and a Tandem, ride the trainer while the family's sleeping.

Admittedly, these aren't necessarily the best training solutions. But if you can get some miles in, in a way that doesn't take away family time, and supplement those miles with some focused training, you may surprise yourself with what you can accomplish on a limited schedule.

blasphemy!

I assume you're only talking about road races. You can train for crits on 9 hours. And if you got an automatic upgrade to the 2s you can probably survive a 90 mile race, just not a 90 mile break. I think it means you have to be judicious with your training time and very selective with your races.

hey you're not alone, lots of guys disappear from the racing scene for a few years while the kids are young. I'm one of them.

now, my advice, having been down that road: don't slack off all the way and get fat. it's waaaay easier to stay in moderate shape, than to get fat and try to come back.

Don't say it's over. Improvise. Adapt.
Maybe you cannot race as much but try to find a couple races that you can do and train specifically for them.

You don't have to quit if you don't want to. If you got a forced upgrade on <9 hrs per week you can still train enough to have fun as a Cat 2. You need to make sure every minute of your training time is focused, and you will want to be on a team where you can have fun helping others get results rather than just getting results for yourself.

Is track racing an option for you?

Congrats on the baby, btw.

Life is short, so live it in a way with the fewest regrets.

While we all love riding our bikes and racing them, family is much more important. The love of a father to his wife and children is beyond measure.

At the same time remember that your family loves you and they want you to enjoy your life. They should also be willing to make some sacrifices on your behalf because they love you and want you to be happy.

Somewhere in all of this is the perfect balance. I hope you find it.

my wife was off for one whole year since last august, which afforded me my 9hrs a week to train. now that she is back to work there is no guarantee that the 9hrs would even be there. i am not saying it can't be done but it is more complicated than it seems. my wife is an ER nurse. means lots of crazy shifts like 11-11, 8-8, 7-7, etc. i work 2 shifts which means when i am on afternoons and she works there will be no time to train. its cool, i will ride on her days off and not turn into a slob, not that i would anyways but i will keep some of my fitness and maybe have more fun. its hard for me personally because everything i do i tend to take it to the extreme and when i have reached my peak i move on to a new hobby. i am far from my peak here but i know i can always bring it back when the time comes around again someday. my wife gave me a whole year to train how i needed and i made the most by winning a race and being one of the top guys in my class. now its time to get on with real life for a while.

I understand your need to "take it to the extreme", but finding some balance can be even more rewarding. It sounds like you have some natural abilities and genetics for the sport. You can't be the best at everything. Be the best father and husband and be a good bike racer. There is room for that. Keep in mind, kids like to go see their dad race, not hear "......when I was younger I used to be the best blah blah...."

my wifes an ER nurse too. I didn't race this year due to back issues. She will appreciate it more than you think. With 3 kids when I stepped back and really looked at how much time I spent re: racing it made me pause. What's never factored is the drive time to races and the races themselves eating up Saturdays, working on bike, and all the miriad of naps and tiredness that are with you at home. Some hard weeks I may of only done 8 hrs but was useless around the house from being so tired. If I do it again it will be on different time. Kids and wife are too important. And don't get me wrong, I love racing.

Indeed...I was away from the bike for family, professional and health reasons (health issue persists, but, l didn't know I could ride with it until I tried)...keep renewing the license and try to ride some...

does canada have the same cat 1-5 system?

skinnyguy, I know people that do it, I don't know how they do it but they do it so you can too if you want. One of the secrets is to get up really early while everyone is still tucked away and get out on the road.

Also if you have ever tried cyclocross and you like it then you may want to consider that as it is very family friendly events that don't take up as much time.

1-4.

I had fears of losing the saddle time when my son was born.

He is now at every race with me - wife in tow as well. They are loving the team/family atmosphere and when I get looks about doing a ride I remind them of how they felt having to tell everyone why daddy started to fall back during the race.

Works pretty well.

Remember though...at some point I am sure you started riding because it was fun. Do what you need to do but rememebr that cycling can still be fun again...even at only a few hours a week.

Training races during the week, usually just A/B so you can be a bit competitive. Longer rides on the weekend, you can go early or late and still have plenty of time for family stuff. The occasional weekend race close to home that the family can travel to. Ever hear the start of a masters field? You get about 20 "go dad's" out of the crowd.

That's sort of the logic i've always played out in my head. Luckily, I think it's going to be a long while before i'm a 2.

There's the beach.