Originally Posted by
aaronmcd
7) That's more impressive than "I've been racing my bike for 5 years and still have a hard time breaking 300 watts FTP".
I've already got a Red Kite Omnium 2/3 kit, and won a 2/3 race in '17. So maybe that's as good as it gets.
#7 seems at odds with winning 2/3 races. Maybe you're stronger than you think.
You seem to be pretty talented at it. I think you have a good head to be able to step back and analyze what makes you happy about the bike. I wouldn't abandon the bike entirely due to feeling off about super organized racing. There's all sorts of other challenges and fun to be had.
Outside of track racing, don't fall into the gym trap of thinking it can supplant the traditional exercises. If you want proof of it, check out the crossfit fraud girl who claimed to have tried to do 50 IM's in 50 days. Got caught drafting cars and ending up with rhabo because she thought her minimal specific prep was fine given her gym background. There's probably 50 pages of fun over on Slowtwitch about that trainwreck.
TT, hill climb, whatever......give me a gym rat that does 6 hours a week in the gym and 1 hour on the bike versus a cyclist who does 6 hours a week on the bike and 1 hour in the gym..............maybe except the track sprints.....latter will win out.
Some strong riders these days don't even bother with USAC racing. They instead do Haute or "challenge fondos" or "open" events instead. So, perhaps, explore some less official challenges for the bike. Gravel grinders. Kanza. Haute. GFNS.