Racing?!?!?

Hello all - I'm new to the forum, and a fairly new rider - just started this May and am in love with cycling!!! I've done a couple of organized rides, mostly tour type events and done fairly well. Just recently I did a 52.8 mile ride in 3 hours. My father is a former racer, and still rides for health and enjoyment now at 68 years old! He did the 52.8 mile ride with me, and it was the first time we'd ridden together since earlier this summer, he was very impressed with how much stronger I've gotten. He commented to me that he thought I could race and be fairly competive in the women's class...so I'm doing some research and would appreciate any thoughts, advice, input from any of you ladies that race.....How did you know you were ready? What classifications do you ride in? Etc.....

You don't know you are ready (ever), you trust your training, you trust your bike handling, and you get in there and race. If you don't get dropped, you were ready! Eventually, you have to work on tactics (positioning, when to attack, how to time a sprint, etc) to really put together a win, but that comes.

I recommend joining a team with experienced racers as they can help you with training, tactics, skills, etc. Don't enter a crit until you really know how to corner at speed in a pack!

Training for racing involves a lot of speed work as races involve a lot of accelerations. If you haven't done this type of training before, it can really help to work with people who have.

The road race season is over in most places, but it is actually a pretty good time to join a team. Train through the winter with your new teammates, get to know everyone, and start racing together in the spring.

Thanks for the tips/advice chicagogal...I'll be looking into finding a team to train with. I have started riding with a couple of men, one of whom used to race, so I do work on speed work and accelerations on a regular basis.

I agree with everything chicagogal said. However, I would add that it is necessary that you do some larger group rides before you get into a race. You should learn pack riding skills (and the safety "rules") and feel comfortable riding in a larger group before you enter a race. A team will help you do this. I say "necessary" because it really is for your own safety and for your competitors' safety.

As for fitness, you never really know until you try. Other than having a good ability to put yourself into the red and recover repeatedly, a lot of racing isn't really about being the strongest one out there. It's about knowing when and how to conserve energy and about being able to read the race (anticipate moves). There's also a big mental part to it. It's the competitive drive that pushes you to keep going when you think you can't. If you can really push yourself mentally when the pace is hot then so long as you stay connected with the group, there will be an opportunity to recover in the draft...eventually.

If you do get dropped, so what? Now you know what racing is like. Maybe it was your fitness, or maybe you wasted energy or picked the wrong wheel to follow. Give it another try.