"Many times the mind becomes fried long before the body. Since you are just starting...your mind is much fresher than say someone who has been racing for 10 years already. Competitive cycling is hard..so it does fry the mind over time."

I can see why. This weekend's race is all I've been thinking about. I'm just anxious to cross the finish line and hopefully use what I learn Saturday to improve my training. I have been training alone so it is sort of hard. I do some fast club rides when I get a chance but 85% of my riding is done alone.

It is good to know that so many of you got into racing when you were 30+. I was wondering if I was going to be going up against a bunch of youngsters or folks who are closer to my age.