I tried searching but I couldn't find much, although Im sure this thread exists.

Anyway I live in NY down state. part time in NYC. Im looking for info on how to get involved in racing, where to start, types of races, etc. preferably not in the city. rockland, orange, westchester, sullivan county area

thanks!

Here:
https://www.bikeforums.net/forumdispl...ad-Bike-Racing

https://www.usacycling.org/

thanks guys, im looking at those sites now!

https://www.bikereg.com/events/Defaul...x=5&btnGo.y=14

would you guys say cirterium is a good or bad place to start?

Try to find out who times the races. The chip timers will have all the events listed, and results from prior years.

can you take a right hand turn @ 25mph? if not, go practice before you race

how fast are cat 5s

first of all, read this. i may be sounding like an ass, but the same things have been covered many times over, and the best tips have even been put into a sticky

as for speed, like the price of an expensive item, if you have to ask...

no seriously, there are 5's who are just on their way of upgrading to a 2, and then there are the 5's who will spend a long time toiling in the 4's. go into the racing sub-forum, look up a few posts (carpediemracing's come to mind), and read. in fact, you may want to read carpedieracing's blog as well, very informative.

the crits will average about 25mph for 30minutes, but that's not the whole pictures. for starters, drafting saves you about 20% in energy consumption. other than that, ask yourself these questions (almost blatantly lifted from CDR's post):
-can you corner (say at 25mph into a 90 degree right turn)? do you know how to cut the apex? do you maintain the same turning radius through your turn? do you find yourself overcooking turns?
-can you ride with people on your left and right, moving up and down
-do you check who's behind you when you move to the left or right? could you do so without swerving your bike?
-do you know how to brake when the person in front of you slows down? do you know how to feather your brake?
-do you find yourself allowing a gap to open when the wheel in front of you accelerate?

if you answer the above honestly and find that these answer may not be ideal, you should not race as that will be a danger to yourself and to others. in my first two crits, i have seen three crashes. two of these were caused by guys who can't corner & slid out because they overcooked the turn. you do not want to be the person crashing out others

with regards to speed, a lot of it has to do with positioning. if you find yourself midpack in a cat 5 race, you'll slow down to 17mph going into corners only having to accelerate back up to 28mph to catch up. you'll waste a lot of energy racing this way, not to mention that the risk of crashes increase when you are cornering with people who may be suspect. jens voigt wasn't spewing nonsense yogism when he said the safest way to win is to arrive by yourself. the fewer the people in front of you, the better, as you can take the safest, fastest line around a corner. now, given that you live in nyc, this won't matter as much as the only true crit around is rockleigh, but it is still quite important as a competent racer should be able to negotiate the turns of harlem hill at 30mph without drifting. CRCA hosts training races. they are highly recommended if you don't have a coach who can guide you

racing

That's a lot of info thanks for the response. The last thing I would want to do it enter a race before I can handle it and endanger other people. I should probably work on some of the previously listed things. I'm thinking I need a lot more group rides in and some more time. But I'd like to work at entering one at the end of the season. Not a crit perhaps. Maybe a road race?

i believe the CRCA or kissena may host training races in central park and prospect park, respectively. those would be good starts. there's nothing really hard about crits: the key being staying inside when turning & stay at the front, with the latter easier said than done. a road race won't be particularly safer, either. definitely do the group rides & if there are hammering group rides, do those once a week to get a feel for what a race might feel like, but the actual experience will be nothing like the one in a group ride. the one thing you can get from group ride is learning how to hold to a wheel, stay at a safe distance but close enough to draft, slowing without braking or only tapping the brake (aka feathering). protecting your front wheel is one thing that can really prevent you from bad things as the touching of wheels often lead the the rider at the back falling down

I thought I could just scream AAARRRRGGGHHH and everyone would get out of the way when I corner.