Newbie question about racing

Raketmensch said:

So, my question is this: Given where I am with power right now, and given my plans, is cat 4/5 racing by the summer of '07 a realistic goal?

I think it is. You still have a lot to learn about group riding, but also a lot of time to learn it. If you get into some of the faster local club rides, you'll probably find a few riders who race at that level and you can talk to them and secretly get an idea how you match up. You might even jump into a race or two this summer just to see what you should train for and expect next year. Good luck!

frenchyge said:

I think it is. You still have a lot to learn about group riding, but also a lot of time to learn it. If you get into some of the faster local club rides, you'll probably find a few riders who race at that level and you can talk to them and secretly get an idea how you match up. You might even jump into a race or two this summer just to see what you should train for and expect next year. Good luck!

I agree.

Especially since you have had a competitive background.

Many local group rides can be pretty fast and i think that you will find that if you can stay in on some of the "wednesday night world cup" rides, you'll jump into the 5's without much of a problem.

I seriously think that you should find some races this summer and see if they have a "citizen or first timers cat." If not, a large cat 5 RR would not be hard for you to sit in on.

VG

Raketmensch said:

So, my question is this: Given where I am with power right now, and given my plans, is cat 4/5 racing by the summer of '07 a realistic goal? I've seen the power profile chart on the CyclingPeaks web site, and it suggests that I'm not being wildly optimistic. But does it square with anyone's real-world experience?

Thanks!

Why wait until next summer? Find some local group rides ASAP and tag along. This summer try a few races so you have an idea of what you are training for all winter long.

I also don't think you need to wait until '07 to race. Depending on the length of the race and pace, the Cat5 race will probably splinter into several groups and there will be groups you can hang with. A lot of the Cat5s don't know much about paceline riding anyway, so you won't be alone in your lack of experience. I think you're about on the mark with your target power (4 w/kg) to be able to finish with the lead group. Don't expect too much out of group rides as far as building power. Some of them aren't very demanding at all, even at a high pace, due to the drafting benefit (~30%). I've been on 25mph group rides in which I ended up with average power ~205w. That's not a great workout.

Raketmensch said:

After six months of cycling, I'm currently at the point where a 3.0 watts/kg effort over 20+ minutes is easy. I'm not sure what an all-out effort for 20 minutes would be for me. For a 5-minute all-out effort, I'm right around 4.0 watts/kg.

My question concerns racing. I have never raced on a bike before, but having begun to regain some fitness, I can feel the competitive juices from my long-ago running days starting to flow again.

I should stress that I have zero experience with pack riding, pacelines, and the like. And my bike handling skills are nothing better than you'd expect from someone who has been riding solo for six months. I have a long way to go in these areas.

I would strongly recommend that you take some skills clinics offered by either a shop, velodrome, club or coach in your area. If you can find a club with someone to mentor you that would work as well. Your fitness is decent but not enough for you to pull away from a pack - you will have to be very comfortable with a wide range of pack riding situations, and with riding with folks who have no skills at all in the pack if you race in the open 4 or open 5 categories, the 45+ will *probably* be safer but much harder in most parts of the country. Learning these as you race is possible but I would not recommend it. As I cannot ascertain your skill level over the internet, it's entirely possible you may not need to learn these techniques and already have learned or know them.

As you have self described yourself as riding exclusively solo, before you ride with any of these group rides, as a courtesy let them know your background and your desire to learn, most cyclists you will want to know will be very happy to talk to you and teach you.

edit:
Much the same as defensive driving prepares drivers for real world situations, most clinics will provide you the opportunity to practice skills you might not try on your own and learn from others quickly what might take you much longer on your own through trial and error.

Woofer said:

I would strongly recommend that you take some skills clinics offered by either a shop, velodrome, .

Definately, if you have a velodrome near you, take a track class!!! Riding in groups on the track last summer helped me a lot with group riding. You can learn a lot in a velodrome class and it does transfer over to road riding/racing.

Thank you, everyone! Good advice all around, and I'll do my best to use it well.