Originally Posted by patentcad

I was a Cat 4, and I was probably in the top 20% of the 4's at my best, which means I could have probably upgraded to Cat 3 if I had made it my life's ambition. But that was right around the time I had turned 35, my pals were racing in the 35+, and I saw no reason. I also viewed the 35+ as an instant way into a safer and more interesting race, without having to rub elbows in the Crash 4 fields any longer. Besides, what would an upgrade to Cat 3 have afforded me? I was never going to be good enough to be a 2, so I didn't really see the point. The bragging rights of 'Cat 3' didn't hold any meaning for me.

My point? My point is that if a guy was a 27 mph TT guy and a Cat 2 @ age 30, he can probably get back to being a 26.5 mph TT guy who rides like a Cat 2 @ age 50. You're somewhat limited by the cards you're dealt by mother nature. So take all this stuff with a grain of salt. The guys I see who are in the top 5 in NY in my age group are pretty much all Cat 2 dudes. Moreover, if somebody is still racing after age 45, they probably don't suck so hard at it, or they still wouldn't be doing it. Pcad is one of those exceptions: a talentless bike racer who simply enjoys it. Are there other even less talented mopes than me? Apparently. I'm right in the middle of the 45+ rankings nationally in the TT (probably about the 60th percentile and moving up) and in the lower 1/3 or the 35+ probably about the 70th percentile, and moving up).

Here's my goal: to get up into the top half of the 35+ and 45+ nationally in the TT rankings and get some points and get a ranking in the RR rankings. That's reasonable. And here's the great part about amateur racing in the USA Cycling system: they keep everybody's results computerized and keep upgrading the rankings by state and nationwide. I find that interesting, and I feel I'm getting something back for my license $.

Ultimately I enjoy the racing, and while I'm currently mired as pack fodder, there is no other way for me to get fast enough to not be pack fodder and get a result. I can't train as hard as I get pushed in races. I've never been able to do that. So the best training for me is racing with fast 2/3 dudes who will push my envelope. I like the scene, the camaraderie, the stupid fast riding, the hairy descents, the grinding upgrades @ 20mph, hanging on when I thought I might blow, going to the front to help my team when I can, the whole thing. The only part I don't enjoy is getting up @ 4AM and figuring out how to get the starting line on time, warmed up, and ready to race. I'm pack fodder now. It's April. It's a long season, and I didn't get results years ago until after I had raced for a while. I've only raced 7 times since I started doing this steady again. I'm getting faster. I can feel it in the races and in training too. My stopwatch agrees.

Some of these guys who don't suck so hard at this, they can show up, race 3x annually, finish in the top 10, win their first Cat 5 race, do a 25mph TT on a Schwinn Varsity, etc. I'm not one of them. I'm just a Road Nazi wannabe in a Fred, Fred, Fred, Fred world. My local heroes have been guys older than me who were still racing: my old training partner Jack Angevine, who was the #2 45+ dude in NJ forever when we rode together every day (I was 35ish, he was early 50's), man, he was friggin tough. I currently know a local guy, Dr. Bob, who is 63 or 64, who actually beat my time @ Sandy Hook by 20 secs. or so. Man, that's great. I'm not nearly as concerned with my results as I am with staying involved in this great sport for as long as possible. Guys like that show me it's possible, I draw far more inspiration from them than from any pro cyclist.

Results can be important. After a while if you're perpetual pack fodder, you may just say 'F this' and bag it. I understand that, I want to stay with it, I do want results, that is the plan. In the meantime, it keeps me sane, it makes me happy, it keeps me skinny. Of course I'm still too fat for this sport, but at least my jeans aren't too tight.