gravelmuncher said:Thanks for the reply...in answering your question - all of the above.
As soon as I gain a little more fitness/stamina i'll be joining a
cycle club nearby and would like to be as competitive as possible. As
i mentioned, i'm holding down a fulltime job...but surely many
competing cyclists are in the same boat and i'd like to gather some
advice on how to manage both activities. Thanks again for the link -
i'll look into it.
Like Suzy said, don't wait, do it now. There's nothing to make you
strong/fit enough for racing like racing itself. If you keep waiting,
you might never feel ready. Someone gave me this advice when I was in
the same position as you, and they were right. Most clubs of any size
have a grade in which rank beginners can cope. You might get dropped off
the bunch the first couple of times, but stick with it and you will soon
develop both the skills and the race sense to stay with it. By race
sense I mean knowing when you can bludge and when it's worth putting in
a little extra effort. For instance, in the lower grades (where I ride!)
there can be a serious "spring" or yo-yo effect in the peloton, whereby
in the sharper turns, the people towards the back have to slow right
down to avoid riders in front when going into the corner, then sprint
like crazy out of the corner to stay in contact. Riding nearer the front
of the bunch makes you less susceptible to this and you can therefore
make a more consistent effort. Until you have ridden a few races and
feel comfortable with the pace, avoid going to the front and doing a
turn, otherwise you may cook yourself and find yourself unable to hold
the last wheel after peeling off.
Rather than raw fitness, it's probably more important (w.r.t. taking up
racing) to be sure that your bike handling skills and general road sense
are up to scratch. You don't need to be able to eat a banana while
standing on the saddle or anything, just be able to ride in a straight
line with other riders (and your wits) about you and not jamming on the
brakes. Following a wheel can take a bit of getting used to - don't let
others pressure you into following more closely than you feel
comfortable, and you'll soon find you can suck wheel with the best of
them. There's some good tips about this on the http://coachcarl.com site
that Lindsay mentioned.
Sorry this driveled on so long...
&roo
