A buddy of mine said he wants to start racing next year. I raced a little when I was 16-20. I never made it out of Cat4. Best finish was 9th when I did a Cat4 race while still a junior. I went on the hammer rides every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday and was able to make a few pulls with the Cat2 guys punishing us. Now I ride for fun, exercise and transportation only. Maybe 40-60 mile rides on Sat and Sun. My buddy just started riding last year. I am not in terrible shape but not at all in any condition to race. The thing is, this guy is worse than me! We rode with a small group this past Sunday (about 7 all together) for 20 miles. We were trying to avoid the bad weather that was approaching. We averaged 17mph and this guy fell off the back 3 or 4 times. How do I tell him he needs to put in some serious training if he wants to race?
".o0 0o." <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
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How do I tell him he needs to put in some serious training if he wants to race?
Your friend sounds like a perfect cat 5. I bet he will have a great time racing. Whatever you do, don't pass on the same mindset to him that made you quit racing.
Whatever you do, don't pass on the same mindset to him that made you quit racing.
The mindset that made me quit racing was lack of time for training. I need to ride a lot to stay competitive. The other reason was not having the means necessary to travel to races. One race a year in my hometown would be terribly boring. On the other hand, traveling a minimum of 3 hours for a race every weekend was cost prohibitive.
I hope he does race. I hope he has fun. I hope he does well. I just know that if I were racing him I would demolish him right now. And I know that if I went into a Cat5 race now, *I* would be demolished.
And I forgot to mention this. Two kids and a wife. I would rather spend time with them than go racing. But I still need my weekend rides to stay sane!!
".o0 0o." <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:2i9b2iFkive1U1@uni- berlin.de...
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Whatever you do, don't pass on the same mindset to him that made you quit racing.
And I forgot to mention this. Two kids and a wife. I would rather spend time with them than go racing. But I still need my weekend rides to stay sane!!
".o0 0o." <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...
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A buddy of mine said he wants to start racing next year. I raced a little when I was 16-20. I never made it out of Cat4. Best finish was 9th when I did a Cat4 race while still a junior. I went on the hammer rides every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday and was able to make a few pulls with the Cat2 guys punishing us. Now I ride for fun, exercise and transportation only. Maybe 40-60 mile rides on Sat and Sun. My buddy just started riding last year. I am not in terrible shape but not at all in any condition to race. The thing is, this guy is worse than me! We rode with a small group this past Sunday (about 7 all together) for 20 miles. We were trying to avoid the bad weather that was approaching. We averaged 17mph and this guy fell off the back 3 or 4 times. How do I tell him he needs to put in some serious training if he wants to race?
Drop him. Let him shoot out the back a few times and leave him. Either he gets the message to work harder or give it up. If you can't even hang with the Freds, what business have you trying to race?
Drop him. Let him shoot out the back a few times and leave him. Either he gets the message to work harder or give it up. If you can't even hang with the Freds, what business have you trying to race?
I would do the opposite. Make like he's doing major damage. Get some of those acting skills going, like labored breathing (my favorite), hold your breath till your face turns red, or uneven pedaling. Then show up drunk at his event, and tell him what you did, right before they start. Capture his reaction with a digital camera.
I don't agree. If you can't win, you're wasting your time. The day Lance can't win, he'll quit too. Why there are all of these hanger on'ers is beyond me. These races should only have, maybe 10 riders in them at most.
"Alex Rodriguez" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
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In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...
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How do I tell him he needs to put in some serious training if he wants to race?
After his first race he will understand.
Seems like you're one of the few who does understand, Alex.
On the other hand, I've seen women turn up for Cat 5 races and not even be able to hang on for a lap. Then the following week ride on the back and after two months be riding off the front. You can't tell about people.
"Callistus Valerius" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
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You sound like you need to take up racng again 😉
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I don't agree. If you can't win, you're wasting your time. The day Lance can't win, he'll quit too. Why there are all of these hanger on'ers is beyond me. These races should only have, maybe 10 riders in them at most.
"Richard Adams" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
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".o0 0o." <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...
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A buddy of mine said he wants to start racing next year. I raced a
little
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when I was 16-20. I never made it out of Cat4. Best finish was 9th
when I
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Quoted message said:
did a Cat4 race while still a junior. I went on the hammer rides every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday and was able to make a few pulls with the
Cat2
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guys punishing us. Now I ride for fun, exercise and transportation
only.
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Maybe 40-60 mile rides on Sat and Sun. My buddy just started riding
last
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year. I am not in terrible shape but not at all in any condition to
race.
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The thing is, this guy is worse than me! We rode with a small group
this
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Quoted message said:
past Sunday (about 7 all together) for 20 miles. We were trying to
avoid
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
the bad weather that was approaching. We averaged 17mph and this guy
fell
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
off the back 3 or 4 times. How do I tell him he needs to put in some serious training if he wants to race?
Drop him. Let him shoot out the back a few times and leave him. Either he gets the message to work harder or give it up. If you can't even hang with the Freds, what business have you trying to race?
Funny, I always thought that Cat 5 was for beginning racers. I didn't know that there was a requirement that you had to beat the Freds to have any business racing....
"Callistus Valerius" <[email hidden]> wrote in message -"]news:[email hidden]- hlink.net...
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> You sound like you need to take up racng again 😉
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I don't agree. If you can't win, you're wasting your time. The day Lance can't win, he'll quit too. Why there are all of these hanger on'ers is beyond me. These races should only have, maybe 10 riders in them at most.
I've finally figured out your identity.
You're Mark Nusbaum.
(Inside joke for r.m.r.'ers)
Not enough words to be Nusbaum, Carl. Other than that, I think you're onto something.
[email hidden] (Richard Adams) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...
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".o0 0o." <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<2i979nFjt2cmU1@uni- berlin.de>...
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A buddy of mine said he wants to start racing next year. I raced a little when I was 16-20. I never made it out of Cat4. Best finish was 9th when I did a Cat4 race while still a junior. I went on the hammer rides every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday and was able to make a few pulls with the Cat2 guys punishing us. Now I ride for fun, exercise and transportation only. Maybe 40-60 mile rides on Sat and Sun. My buddy just started riding last year. I am not in terrible shape but not at all in any condition to race. The thing is, this guy is worse than me! We rode with a small group this past Sunday (about 7 all together) for 20 miles. We were trying to avoid the bad weather that was approaching. We averaged 17mph and this guy fell off the back 3 or 4 times. How do I tell him he needs to put in some serious training if he wants to race?
Drop him. Let him shoot out the back a few times and leave him. Either he gets the message to work harder or give it up. If you can't even hang with the Freds, what business have you trying to race?
Because maybe he thinks it'll be fun? Why not try it? Attracting more people to the sport does make it better for the rest of us.
Funny, I always thought that Cat 5 was for beginning racers. I didn't know that there was a requirement that you had to beat the Freds to have any business racing....
I don't think he was trying to say that you have to *beat* the Freds as a requirement for Cat. 5s. Really... beat them at what? They don't race. I think what he's trying to say is that before his buddy tries racing, he should at least not get dropped by the Freds.
"Boyd Speerschneider" <bspeerscREMOVE_ME@ME_TOOyahoo.com> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
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[email hidden]:
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Funny, I always thought that Cat 5 was for beginning racers. I didn't
know
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that there was a requirement that you had to beat the Freds to have any business racing....
I don't think he was trying to say that you have to *beat* the Freds as a requirement for Cat. 5s. Really... beat them at what? They don't race. I think what he's trying to say is that before his buddy tries racing, he should at least not get dropped by the Freds.
Yeah but some Freds can be pretty good. Picture this: young guy with wielertoerist.be shorts, credit lyonnais yellow jersey, trek bike with one handlebar end cap missing. Standard Fred kit, right? He won the bunch sprint in our Saturday training ride, even beating an unretired Sammy Moreels :-) Never underestimate the power of a Fred!
I guess it is official. I AM A FRED! Ex-racer turned FRED. Oh well, I can live with that.
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Yeah but some Freds can be pretty good. Picture this: young guy with wielertoerist.be shorts, credit lyonnais yellow jersey, trek bike with one handlebar end cap missing. Standard Fred kit, right? He won the bunch
sprint
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in our Saturday training ride, even beating an unretired Sammy Moreels :-) Never underestimate the power of a Fred!
I know it will be fun. I have fond memories of all my races. Even the ones when Fred's at the start couldn't clip into their pedals and fell over knocking me down. I just want him to know that he has a long way to go.
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Because maybe he thinks it'll be fun? Why not try it? Attracting more people to the sport does make it better for the rest of us.
In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...
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Whatever you do, don't pass on the same mindset to him that made you quit racing.
The mindset that made me quit racing was lack of time for training. I need to ride a lot to stay competitive. The other reason was not having the means necessary to travel to races. One race a year in my hometown would be terribly boring. On the other hand, traveling a minimum of 3 hours for a race every weekend was cost prohibitive.
I hope he does race. I hope he has fun. I hope he does well. I just know that if I were racing him I would demolish him right now. And I know that if I went into a Cat5 race now, *I* would be demolished.
If he races, you can share rides with him and cut your costs. ------------- Alex
