Rickb8711

I'm 53 and will be doing my first race this Sunday. Any tips? My choice was a Cat 5 or Men 45+ I went with the Cat 5. Good choice, bad choice?

jppe

Have a great race! Cat 5 would be my choice as well. The biggest downside with Cat 5 is you'll have to pay extra attention to riders who are not accustomed to racing lus a greater variety of skill levels. Try and stay in the front 1/3 of the group to avoid most issues. I suspect there are some awfully strong riders in the 45+ group who have "aged up"-at least that is the way it is around here.

Hermes

Road race, criterium or other...distance and climbing?

Rickb8711

Road 35 miles, couple of small hills.

Rickb8711

Thanks Jppe! where in N. Carolina? I was stationed in Ft Bragg when I was in the Army. Love your State!

Hermes

The Cat 5s have less experience but many of them are very strong and anxious to prove it. The 45+ field will have more higher category racers, smoother racing and better tactics and patience. The 45+ may have a faster average speed and greater accelerations than the Cat 5. I am racing a stage race this weekend as a Cat 5 but I could have entered as a 55+. I entered Cat 5 so that my wife and I could coordinate our races and finish about the same time.

Ride in the drops and protect your front wheel at all times since riders may suddenly move into you.

Watch the wind direction and try to stay out of it. On the climbs, try to be near the front so that you can drift back into the peloton. Be prepared for a large acceleration on the small climbs and do not get caught behind slower riders. The pack will use these as a chance to drop riders.

Bring a couple of throw away water bottles and plan to pitch them to the side and get another in the neutral feed zone (if they have one). Have a couple of gels or some kind of quick energy that you can take on the bike after mile XX.

If you get dropped by the main pack, there will probably be a couple of others who will get dropped as well. Try to form a group and chase the main field.

Have a great race.

kr32

Hermes....

What exactly do you mean when you say.{.Ride in the drops and protect your front wheel at all times since riders may suddenly move into you.} more to the point is protect your front wheel

I have an idea but what can you really do?

Allegheny Jet

Ride in the drops and protect you front wheel are two different thoughts, I think. Riding in the drops on windy or open sections will save energy. In races you should try to save any energy you can, all the time. Protecting your front wheel keeps you from putting yourself in a bad position that will cause you to brake because someone fills the gap in front of you, loose your place in line, miss a break-a -way, and other bad things that happen in racing. During the race watch the other riders for traits or habits that can hurt or help you later. My first year of racing was spent thinking my fitness was a limiter, later I learned it was my race mentality that was a limiter.

OP, from my experiences in NE Ohio it would be better for you to ride the Cat 5 race than Masters. Our Masters races have less riders but accomplished riders who really don't give a thought about dropping anyone early, mid or late race. Those best riders don't need the pack to get them to the end for the race and race the way that is best for them. The Masters do ride very well with little or no mistakes however the race tactics will be against you due to teams and the overall fitness of the riders. The Cat 5 race will have some riders who are gifted but will also have many new, inexperienced and recreational racers. Good luck in you first race.

Hermes

When you ride close to other riders, there is a chance to hook handlebars especially around corners. This may or may not result in a crash if the riders stay calm and can get unhooked. Riding with your hands in the drops will prevent hooking bars and is faster. Protecting your front wheel is a catch all thought that covers...do not overlap wheels, allow sufficient room from others, pick good wheels to follow, practice being a good wheel to follow, anticipate that the rider from either side may swerve his back wheel into your front taking you down and finally maintain total concentration on this point the entire race. In a road race where there are long straight sections and the field strings out, riding on the hoods is probably okay.

In some M5 and W4 races here, there are mentors (p/1/2 racers) who ride with the pack and focus racers during the race on the above points if they see bad situations.

Cleave

Hello Rickb8711,

I presume that you are racing at Murrieta this weekend. The road race is kind of like a long criterium because it is very flat. For your first race, Cat 5 was probably the better choice as the 45+ race is typically pretty fast with harder accelerations out of the corners.

Protect your front wheel is the most important thing for a beginner in my book. Most often I see new racers sticking their front wheels into spaces that will get them into trouble. If you protect your front wheel, even if someone goes down in front of you, you have a better chance of avoiding the crash.

Next, and somewhat paradoxically, is don't let large gaps open up. Stay close to the wheel in front of you (without overlapping) so that you don't waste too much energy. On the Murrieta course a gap will kill you because the speed is so high on the long straights.

Otherwise, pay attention to what's going on around you and try to have some fun.

Good luck.

kr32

Allegheny anf Hermes,
thanks for the info, it was pretty much what I thought. Seems concentration is the key , being aware of your surroundings.

Rickb8711

Thanks to all of you for the advice, tips. I'll do my best to follow them. You're correct Cleave, I'll be in Murrieta this weekend. I'll be going over there in a few minutes to pre-ride the course, it should help.

bobbycorno

As has already been said, 5's are dangerous, and the old farts will kick your @$$. Pick your poison.

SP
Bend, OR
Been there, done that, got tired of it.

Rickb8711

Bobby, got tired of racing with dangerous people, or getting beat by old farts? I'm not trying to be a smart @$$. I'm just curious about the statement you made. Not sure what to make of it.

Kojak

I'm guessing what Bobby was saying, was said with a wry grin on his face. What he said was entirely accurate. The poison being, the older set will likely be wiley, wise, and tactically better suited at dishing out an @$$ whooping based on these criteria. The cat 5 race will be squirrelly and a bit nerve wracking, especially in the early season. A road race will be not as bad as a crit, but it will be "interesting".

Don't overlap your front wheel with anyones rear wheel, and hold your position, meaning don't let someone muscle you out of your position (they will try). If you can, stay in the front 1/3rd of the pack. This is not always easy. The saying is in bike racing, if you're not moving up, your moving back. The pack will be very dynamic but just know that the further back you go, the dicier and more dangerous it'll get, and the higher potential of getting gapped during an acceleration. If you get gapped, it's very tough to catch back on. Most of all, have fun; it's a blast. I did my first race @ 44, and went the Cat 4/5 route. I've enjoyed many physical pursuits..... racing a bike is still the hardest thing I've ever done.

Kojak

Oh, and I just saw the "got tired of it" part of Bobby's post. Racing can be very humbling. There were a few guys on my team that for the 1st 2/3rds of the season, never saw the end of a race. As I stated in my earlier post; it's hard. Stay with it. One of those guys is now racing at the Cat 2 level, and he's in his late 40s.

Rick@OCRR

Good to hear you're going racing Rickb8711! It is great fun, or can be. I raced road in the 70's and 80's, raced mountain bikes in the late 80's - early 90's, before I went to Ultra-Distance riding.

Good advice from the posters above!

Rick / OCRR

Hermes

How did the race go?