What are catagory ratings?
 

What are catagory ratings and how does one go about getting the initial and subsequent ratings?

If you're talking about USCF racing categories, you start at the bottom (category 5) and work your way up with good race results. See: http://www.usacycling.org/

i assume you mean for USCF racing. The categories are the different skill/experience levels of racing. Cat. 5 is the beginner category that everyone starts at. You obtain a license by registering at usacycling's website or through your local uscf official. After 10 mass start races, you can upgrade to cat. 4. From there on out, you upgrade based on points earned for high enough finishes within a 12 month period. By obtaining enough points, you can eventually move up to cat. 1 where you would be racing with the pro's. Points don't carry over from a previous category. Each move requires more points and gets more and more difficult as the racers are faster and the races are longer for every category you move up.