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Racing Bikes - Overweight

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Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

Racing Bikes - Overweight

Old 10-17-19, 03:08 PM
  #26  
canklecat
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Ditto, getting dropped, the exhausting surges and twitchy handling skills of some Cat 5 riders. But that's part of the game. If you're a slow starter (I am), warm up well beforehand. Some crits will hammer from the go to split up the field, then settle down. So you'll need to be warmed up and fully fueled to hang on the first lap.

Just hanging on and not crashing counts as a win in the first few races. I crashed in my first or second crit during the sprint -- ridiculously bad bike handling all around, even worse than my own. I took a couple of weeks off to heal from road rash, and the organizers let me move up a category where the riders were better skilled and good mentors. Huge help in my confidence and group riding. I usually finished middle of the pack and was happy as a clam. It was exhilarating.

Check out some YouTube channels for an insider peek at crits: Sprinter della Casa; Vegan Cyclist; NorCal Cycling. All offer their own perspectives on crits and hammerfest group rides, accompanied by videos (handlebar or helmet mounted) and captions or voice narrative. Those will give some handy tips on basic tactics and strategies.
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Old 10-23-19, 12:28 AM
  #27  
Stravacyclist79
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Originally Posted by cmd111183
Hey All,

New to the forum. I've been racing triathlon for the last 4 years and have always had strong bike splits in spite of my weight. I decided that I want to give bike racing a crack this year but am super anxious about my size compared to the guys I normally see at our local crits and road races. Am I just going to get smoked because I'm around 250#? Or do I have a shot in cat 5 races to hang on to the field? Of course the hope is to get stronger and lose weight, but in the interim, I'm just wondering if any other large guys or girls are racing and holding their own.

Thanks
Chris
If it fails put on a dress and race womens races.
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Old 10-23-19, 06:52 AM
  #28  
Dan333SP
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Originally Posted by Stravacyclist79
If it fails put on a dress and race womens races.
Wish we had a downvote option for bad posts.
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Old 10-23-19, 07:34 AM
  #29  
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Can't know unless you try.
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Old 10-23-19, 10:20 AM
  #30  
caloso
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Originally Posted by Stravacyclist79
If it fails put on a dress and race womens races.
Not appropriate.
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Old 10-25-19, 08:10 PM
  #31  
Princess_Allez
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Originally Posted by Stravacyclist79
If it fails put on a dress and race womens races.
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Old 10-29-19, 02:46 PM
  #32  
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Originally Posted by cmd111183
Thanks all. I appreciate the support. Ready for a long winter of training to get as ready as I can. Shame it's so damn cold here, I get to live with the race anxiety until the Spring. Lots of time on TR watching crit replays on the tele.
Regarding that anxiety, it's common. Two choices, race or don't race...one alleviates the anxiety, the other increases it...you can guess which is which!

Sounds like you've made the decision to give it a go, which I agree with. Bike racing is odd in so many ways, but it's awesome. Not for everyone, but you'll never know if it's for you until you give it a go (and keep at it for a little while.) Good luck!
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Old 10-29-19, 03:24 PM
  #33  
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Originally Posted by Dan333SP
Biggest hurdle to entering a bike race is the fear of getting dropped.

Let me put this out there... literally no one other than you cares that you got dropped. The people in the race probably won't notice because they're too busy trying to hold the wheel ahead of them, the spectators are just there for their friends/wives/husbands/whatever so they aren't going to have any idea you're off the back, etc.
This is false. People care a LOT if you get dropped.... and then disrupt the race when you are about to get lapped. This is a HUGE issue in cat 5. People want upgrade credits so they stay in the race, and race officials don’t want to deal with conflict so they don’t pull people (despite warning us that they can pull people if they dropped at every race).

I’m not saying you should pull yourself out if you get dropped and are about to get lapped. But have the decency to keep your head on a swivel and understand that you have a bunch of bloodthirsty brutes smashing at their absolute limit coming up behind you at +5 to +10 mph. If you hear them coming GET OUT OF THE APEX. Stay towards the outside. Or anywhere you think the pack is unlikely to go. If that means slowing down or even stopping, then so be it - your race is already over. Cat 5s have no issue crashing even without a moving human-sized bollard making its way through the pack.
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Old 10-30-19, 07:32 AM
  #34  
merlinextraligh
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Read the thread in the racing forum about starting racing by Botto.It’s still the best advice on the subject on BF.

follow that, and you May already have a couple of steps done, and you’ll be fine
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Old 11-01-19, 09:06 AM
  #35  
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Originally Posted by smashndash
This is false. People care a LOT if you get dropped.... and then disrupt the race when you are about to get lapped. This is a HUGE issue in cat 5. People want upgrade credits so they stay in the race, and race officials don’t want to deal with conflict so they don’t pull people (despite warning us that they can pull people if they dropped at every race).
Oh good grief. Getting dropped and disrupting a race are two different things. Unsafe riders are a problem regardless of whether they're at the front of the pack, in the middle of the pack, or off the back. Someone who gets dropped and holds their line when they get lapped isn't a problem. Part of racing is getting around people in front of you.

If a course is too narrow for the pack to pass a dropped rider, officials will pull riders. That's their job.

The OP and anyone else interested in racing should go into any race with three priorities: To ride safe, and to do their best, and to learn something. There is no shame in being dropped or being pulled. It happens.
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Old 11-01-19, 09:10 AM
  #36  
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Originally Posted by bbbean
Oh good grief. Getting dropped and disrupting a race are two different things. Unsafe riders are a problem regardless of whether they're at the front of the pack, in the middle of the pack, or off the back. Someone who gets dropped and holds their line when they get lapped isn't a problem. Part of racing is getting around people in front of you.

If a course is too narrow for the pack to pass a dropped rider, officials will pull riders. That's their job.

The OP and anyone else interested in racing should go into any race with three priorities: To ride safe, and to do their best, and to learn something. There is no shame in being dropped or being pulled. It happens.
To add to that, Cat 5s don't need points. They just need participation to move up.
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