I am 36 yrs old..amateur cyclist. I have raced in the past but not at all in the past 2 years.
I have a 40 hour per week job but can manage to train 12-18 hours per week under optimal conditions.
I currently have a top of the line frame, wheelset, and groupset.
More to the point...I want to begin to take my cycling and training a bit more seriously....by that I mean that I want to get back into competition.
I would like to ask you how far you think I could go starting at my age of 36?
I have some goals in mind....perhaps to win the Master's National Time Trial here in the USA? or to get picked up by a top domestic based club here in the states. It would be a dream to get out there and do some of the top raceses here in the USA...such as the U.S. Pro race in Philadelphia or the TourdeGerorgia or some other big stage race on the U.S. calendar.
Genetically I think I'm very good. I can go from the back of the club rides(getting dropped) to the front riding with the fastest guys in 3 months. I can go from getting dropped in a crit to winning a crit with about three months of consistent training. I seem to adapt well to the training stresses and recover well...meaning that I tend to show progressive improvements the minute I start training and racing. My problem in the past has always been consistency. Whenever I start to go well I tend to lay off the bike a while and end up starting over again. This is the story of my life.
As I said..now I want to take a much more serious approach to the sport and try to find out the limits of my potential...wherever that leads me. I just want to maximize it and see where I go from here.
I know there have been some great riders that have done well while racing into their late 30's and early 40's and beyond. Perhaps you have heard of Kent Bostick? He's a domestic based racer here in the USA that made the U.S. Olympic team(individual pursuit) at age 43 by beating the reigning world champion during the '96 Olympic trials. He's still racing today in his early 50's at a very high level. Graeme Miller was racing at a very high level here in the states just a few years ago..while in his early 40's. There are a few other pro and elite cyclists going now that I could also use as inspiration. Bostick was still winning races here while in his mid to late 40's. I think he went back to the trials in 2000 but failed to make the cut that time at age 47.
so what do you think? Is it worth a go for me to make a serious run at becoming an elite cyclist?...or should I just stop wasting my time and enjoy myself?
I can provide more info upon request. Again...I think I'm very good genetically...But I have no idea the limits of that gift. I'd like to find out. I wish I was 22 yrs old but I'm not. I cannot change that fact as you know. That said..I'm a bit of a dreamer in a way. I believe that we are all capable of achieving extraordinary results in whatever we do.....if we only believe in ourselves. Who woulda ever thought that the USA hockey team woulda beat the Russians in the 1980 Olympics? The coach..Herb Brooks was a dreamer too. He believed that he could beat the Russians...and you know everyone thought he was crazy! Well, we know now that he ended up taking a team of mediocre college players to the Olympics and beating the best team in the world...the Soviets...for the gold medal.
Is my dream any crazier than Herb Brook's dream?