sarals 

It's my "team"...they'd better let me! (Or I'll cry!)

AzTallRider

I meant permission from your coach! Coach > Team

shovelhd

Sara, I also deal with the age gap. I race up for the vast majority of my races. As long as I know that I went as hard as I could, and the data backs that up, then hey, that's all I had. I am 9 years older than gsteinb. That fact cannot be ignored. That doesn't mean that I can't grab a few primes in a race, work like hell for the team, and end up in a late break. Even though I'm an old guy, I'm still a Cat2. I still belong in a Cat2 field with all ages. You are a W4. That's an even broader brush. You definitely belong, no matter what your age is. It's not so much that they are younger, it's that they are stronger, and recover faster.

I suggest that for your next two road races, that you have a Plan A and a Plan B. Plan A is to hang as long as you can to the main field. Don't chase breaks. Take Cleave's advice, that's good stuff. It's OK to take a pull but make it short and sweet. Don't hang around on the front. If you still get dropped, go to Plan B. You know how long you'll last at a certain RPE without exploding into a quivering pile of goo, so ride at that pace, with or without others. If you are in a group, try and get the others to work with you by pulling off and sitting up. If they are going to be total idiots and sit up with you, then just ride the rest of the race at your pace.

sarals 

Oh, yes...not tomorrow, it's a day off - next Tuesday!

revchuck 

I know that this is Sara's thread...but I'm eavesdropping like half a dozen mo-foes!

sarals 

Chuck, please do!

chasm54

Pretty much exactly what I do, as it happens. If they spit me out the back I either try to get some racing practice by working with other stragglers, or if that isn't available I'll make the concluding laps a supra-threshold training ride, concentrate on my line through the corners, that sort of thing. It's all good.

sarals 

Chas, that's what I've been doing up to now. The next race my goal is higher - stay with the pack at all costs. If I get spit off the back....I'll try to bridge back up. If I can't, Plan B.

Colonelmom

Sarals, I always have a Plan A and Plan B because the other gals get a vote :-) I too have learned the importance of proper nutrition. Your body on the bike is a engine and it needs the right fuel... I'm still figuring mine out because I have a good case of IBS and if my stress gets TOO high nothing I eat stays with my very long.. I read somewhere that for some reason women respond better to a slightly higher protein to carb mix for recovery, if I run across the article again I'll post...
Finally, Yes you can attach back on the peleton even if you're a lap down..(I'm a USAC official as well). What you cannot do is assist other riders, so once you're a lap down you have to basically hang out at the back, but at least you can. What you cannot do is give a lead out to another rider that is on the lead lap, especially if its your teammate..

valygrl

Thanks for mentioning this, I found myself in that situation last year and wasn't sure what was/wasn't allowed. Luckily, I guess, my teamie was so much faster than me that I didn't have to choose whether to help her, 'cause she just blew right by me.

sarals 

Colonelmom, I've discovered through trial and error (mostly error) that I do need more protein than carbs. I respond really well to that balance, especially right before a race (umm, the night before).

Thanks for the USAC info! Like Valygrl, I have a girlfriend who is faster than me, and I promised her I'd work for her at the next race - on the flats, IF she isn't lapping me! Thank you for that.

sarals 

Here we go:

Pasadena Senior Games 2013

[h=3]Athlete: Sara S#####s[/h][h=4]Cycling June 4th, June 5th[/h][TABLE="class: bodytext, width: 576"]
[TR]
[TD] Age Group[/TD]
[TD]60-64[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="colspan: 2"] 10K Time Trial[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="colspan: 2"] 40K Road Race

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Cleave

sarals 

Cleave, I signed up for the Mexican feed and the picnic, as well...I want the full effect!

sarals 

Okay. I can either futz with the Cannondale set up the day of the TT (slam the bars), or I can get the Felt B2 out and try to get it set up for the TT. Decisions, decisions....

Red Rider

Good for you!

*jealous*

sarals 

I'm going to get the B2 ready for a ride. That involves, as a first step, changing the saddle. The one on it now is a medieval torture device. Oh, I'll tell you ANYTHING you want to know after sitting on THAT for a mere five minutes! The bike is in serious need of a proper setup, too. That it's a TT bike, I don't even know where to begin....

Cleave

Definitely get the Felt set up ASAP.

shovelhd

Mexican feed nom nom nom

Good luck

sarals 

Thank you, Shovel! After a race that will go down really well (with the proper cervesas, of course).

Cleave - working on it! I'll bring it and ride it, no matter what. I think I can stand it for 10K.

sarals 

My LBS discovered that the chain and chain rings were bad on the B2. The crank on it was some sort of POS cheap thing, and the BB bearings were "a little rough". It's getting a new crankset, BB, and a new chain as I speak. It's been sort of dialed in for a fit, likely more than fine for the two short TT's at the SG next month.

On another note, a friend forwarded me this report from the Panoche Valley Road Race.

Hey Sara, Here is part of my teammates race report from Panoche I thought you might want to read.
Only 6 women total showed up to the race and so there was just one field, women's 3/4. Our little group stayed together for about 7 or 8 miles. At this point, I fell back on a hill, and I struggled to catch up. Meanwhile, three racers went off the front, and an MBRT rider fell back and I caught back up with her. (There was also another rider who got dropped very early on.) The MBRT rider and I worked together for a few miles until the course began to climb, then I went on without her. At this point, I was in fourth place. At the 20-mile turnaround, I began the rapid 20-mile descent to the finish line. Seriously. The first 20 miles took me 1:45, and the second 20 miles took me 53 minutes. At the turnaround, I estimated that the MBRT rider was about a half -mile behind me. Helped by the tailwind, I was booking it! However, with about 9 miles left, I started to see her again in the distance! Talk about tenacious. I was hammering for the last section of the race, desperate for her not to catch up. Fortunately, she ended up hanging back and I ended up taking fourth. The first two spots went to cat 3 riders. And yes, there were only 6 riders in the race, but hey, we all showed up, braved the ridiculous winds, and raced.

sarals 

My break in the 40K RR at Pasadena Senior Games 2013. More of a gap than I thought!

gsteinb

nice

Racer Ex 

I saw it. It was *****in.

sarals 

I had gas left, and I (here comes the shoulda coulda woulda) should have stayed on it! I keep replaying that final turn to the sprint in the 20K, too. Is that what happens when you race and get close? Cool!