-- Cat 5 racing---
 

I a interested in racing. I was wondering what the cat 5 races look like. How many miles do they usually run and in what time are these races on the most part finished.

Just want to compare my distance and time , speed with cat 5 racing to see if I can even hang

It really depends on what the riders are like in your area. Go to a few local races and check it out.

You will ride a lot different in races than in regular training rides. You get pumped up and ride harder than you ever have in races.

I find it hard to go out and ride at the same intensity as a race.

Best way to judge yourself is just to go out and do the race.

Event lengths and terrain can vary greatly too. My first race was a 1.6mile industrial park circuit with 13 laps (21 miles total),with 1/3 of the lap being uphill. My next one is going to be a road race with some decent climbing, and will be just about 40miles.

Go to the race and see if you get spit out the back or not. I dropped off the back of the peloton in the 3rd lap and got lapped on the 10th. For that race, I avg'd 19mph. Don't be discouraged if you can't keep up, just use it as mental fuel for your training.

Great Thanks. I live in nyc, how are the riders here rated?

Go try it. You can pick up a one-day license for ten bucks or so, and a real race will tell you much more than anyone on an internet forum can.

You local bike club/race club might have more info.. I want to race too but I think I need more prep time.. I might just go to a race this year for the heck of it and train my ass off in the winter... I have heard 20-25 MPH avg tossed around for cat5 races...

Just go out and try, I will be doing a Davis race tomorrow just to see what two month of not ridding then a month of trainning did to me. No real expectation to hang with the pack for entire race, but I will do my best. Should be fun.
One thing, make sure you are comfortable in a pack, especially in the crits.

Some cat 5 events are only 10 or so miles. Don't expect anyone to execute simple concepts like pacelines, or taking pulls. USCF categories are the same nationwide.

Yes I undersdtand that. Just how are they compared to riders in other areas?

Its that fear of being afraid that one sucks really badly and is thus out of one's leage @ the current moment :-D

Btw - do people use clips on races and if so how does that work ? I mean do you have to clip in at thebeginning or does everybody get to do that before the race starts (e.g. bikes are mounted).

C'mon, just go find out. Nobody's going to laugh at you.

Yes, people use clip in pedals. Once the race starts you have to clip in and go. Kind of fun when the hill starts on the uphill.

There is usually a rolling start with a neutral zone to get everyone moving.

Just go out and do it... if you get dropped so what... you may suprise yourself...

Hey in todays race (the one I watched instead of raced in :cry: (stupid cleat) 8 people got dropped in the first 4 laps. Five months ago I would have been one of those people.

As for lengths and speed, it really depends, around here cat 5 circuit races I have seen 16 - 30 miles, road races I have seen up to 40, crits are generally about 11 - 12 miles for a 30 minute cat 5, (12 miles comes out to 24 MPH average, which is fairly normal), 15 - 16 miles for a 45 minute crit. It all depends...

Please have some group riding skills though before you go out and try it!

You mean how good we, New York racers, are???? We have Kent Harris from Merilyn Lynch and Michael Sherry. They are all cat 3. They are good. They easily get top 5 place racing with the best of the New England riders (climbers). For the cat 4, watch for Metro Sanchez. Couple of guys there are cat4 sandbaggers. They are good. Kissena can sometimes pull a good top 5 place in the local NYC races. Cat5???? They are all newbies. It makes no difference.