When are you ready?

CJC1984 said:

I've been wanting to ride for a while now, and I was finally able to purchase a bike several weeks ago. I'm enjoying riding solo, but I have reallly been excited about the idea of weekend racing. Just love to compete.

How do I know when I'm ready to get the most out of competing? And how can I get tapped into the amateur racing scene? Does such a scene exist for solo riders?

I'm looking for a crash course introduction, so any advice and all information will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

john

Call all your local bike shops (LBS's) and find out which ones have planned group rides that they either help organize or that just leave from their shop. Most of the high end shops have "teams" when you join the team, usually for free, you get a 10-15% discount on gear in exchange for agreeing to wear their logo'd jersey at all the team rides and any races you do. Most groups will go out one or two nights a week and then one day on the weekend for a longer ride.

Once you're out on the road in a group with these folks you'll find out who races and who just likes to go on group rides. The non-racers will often ride with the group, get the discounts etc, and then instead of racing will help organize and run the races that their club participates in. Riding with the group you'll quickly get a feel for what sort of pace you need to maintain to be competitive in a race. On the other hand there's nothing wrong with just signing up for a race and doing it as long as you don't mind coming in last and MOST IMPORTANTLY that you are sure you're bike handling skills are good enough that you can ride in a big tight group (at least at the start) without taking anyone down.

CJC1984 said:

I've been wanting to ride for a while now, and I was finally able to purchase a bike several weeks ago. I'm enjoying riding solo, but I have reallly been excited about the idea of weekend racing. Just love to compete.

How do I know when I'm ready to get the most out of competing? And how can I get tapped into the amateur racing scene? Does such a scene exist for solo riders?

I'm looking for a crash course introduction, so any advice and all information will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

john

A good ACID test would be:

50 miles
Avg Hr 155-170
Avg speed on flat = 21-24mph
Avg speed on climbs (<10%) = 14-18mph
Alt gain = 2500-4500

If you can do that you can compete - of course this all says nothing for your handeling skills

allanw said:

A good ACID test would be:

50 miles
Avg Hr 155-170
Avg speed on flat = 21-24mph
Avg speed on climbs (<10%) = 14-18mph
Alt gain = 2500-4500

If you can do that you can compete - of course this all says nothing for your handeling skills

you also need to be able to accelerate and hold a high speed for a short duration.
if you can go from 20 to 30mph in less than 6 seconds on a flat road, your acceleration is good enough. if you can mantain 30mph on flat road for at least 30 seconds, you should be able to hang in a cat 5 race.

the best way to gauge your fitness is to just do a race. maybe you can't do what i explained above, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try racing. give it a shot, (assuming you have been riding and pushing yourself regularly for at least a couple months.)

You don't have to wait for any special acid test, just go do it and have fun. I know guys who tried it and failed miserably, but loved every minute of it and went back and kept racing until they got good.

Just go to some races and tell them you're interested and I'll bet you find someone to take you under their wing and get you started.

Just do it!