Gulp - Upgraded!

[SheFly]

I had to share - I just received approval for an upgrade from Cat 4 to Cat 3 for both my road racing and cyclocross licenses! YIKES!

As Eden knows, this now means that I have to race with the big girls. Guess I'd better get used to coming in last again...

SheFly

[sbctwin]

Congratulations!!!!

[Veronica]

Hey, that's cool!

V.

[Eden]

Good for You!
I must admit, I'm being a bit wimpy...., but I'm on track to win the state BARR for the Cat 4's so I'm delaying a bit.

[maillotpois]

Excellent! Congrats!

[ehirsch83]

congrats!! must be exciting and a little scary, but you go girl!!

[Aggie_Ama]

Way to go! That is a big accomplishment.

[Jiffer]

That is so totally cool. Hey, just curious, what would you say is an average speed and distance for one of your races. An average flat race. And how would that compare with a Cat 5 race?

[smilingcat]

Congratulation on your upgrade. From your race post about the stage race, it sounds like you are more than ready for cat 3. Enjoy and we'll keep cheering you on.

Cat 5 only exist for men. There were just way too many yahoo men so USCF created cat 5. I don't know when they added cat 5 but I guess we need to stop calling men's cat 4 the crash 4s cause now we have cat 5s.

The entry level mens race tend to be full of too many testosterone driven egos without skill so inevitably, you see some really spactacularly big crashes. And sometimes fueled by too much beer the night before.

Generally cat 3 women are faster than cat 5 men.

smilingcat

[SheFly]

Good for You!
I must admit, I'm being a bit wimpy...., but I'm on track to win the state BARR for the Cat 4's so I'm delaying a bit.

You go! There really isn't anything like that for us here, so I didn't have any real incentive to stay a 4. I'll be rooting for you to win though!

congrats!! must be exciting and a little scary, but you go girl!!

Exciting - yes. Scary - more than you know . I just finished my first race as a 3 (it was a combined 3/4 crit, and I did race twice already this week), and it was pretty tough sticking with the 3s! Tomorrow is a women's Open race, and my goal is just to try and hang on to our Elite team (yeah - right).

That is so totally cool. Hey, just curious, what would you say is an average speed and distance for one of your races. An average flat race. And how would that compare with a Cat 5 race?

Today's crit was a total distance of 25K, and I averaged 22 mph (I was on my own for a good part of the race, and fell into TT mode...). The race we did on Weds was a total of 26.4 miles, with a couple of good sized hills, and we averaged 23 mph - both of these are Cat 3/4 races though.

The big issue is that in many cases here, the Cat 3 field races together with the Cat 1 and 2s. Means I am likely not to do well in the overall standings, but the way I look at it, it will make me a much stronger rider/racer. For me, being one of the stronger Cat 4s wasn't a challenge anymore, and I wasn't really learning anything, so it was time to move up.

Congratulation on your upgrade. From your race post about the stage race, it sounds like you are more than ready for cat 3. Enjoy and we'll keep cheering you on.

Thanks! The cheering definitely helps - even if it is virtual! I've been getting some grief for awhile from other Cat 3 racers that it was time for me to move up, but only just managed to have enough points.

Thanks to all of you for your support and encouragement. I'll post race reports for today and tomorrow later (too tired now).

SheFly

[RoadRaven]

Cat 1 is the fastest, yes? Cats are graded on ability, not age?

So you have moved up a grade and had it confirmed officially that you are improving. Huge congrats, Shefly... this is a great and challenging reward for all your training and efforts.

Awesome effort on your crit - how anyone could average 35km around all those corners is still way beyond my ken!

I had smile with your last comment in your first post - this is where I am... although since moving up a grade I am moving into the category of not always being last... that is good, but my aim is still to come in with the front bunch... its tough going from regular firsts to be the regular lanterne rouge! But thats ok... it makes the drive and incentive stronger.

Looking forward to reading your race reports later

[SheFly]

Cat 1 is the fastest, yes? Cats are graded on ability, not age?

So you have moved up a grade and had it confirmed officially that you are improving. Huge congrats, Shefly... this is a great and challenging reward for all your training and efforts.

Awesome effort on your crit - how anyone could average 35km around all those corners is still way beyond my ken!

I had smile with your last comment in your first post - this is where I am... although since moving up a grade I am moving into the category of not always being last... that is good, but my aim is still to come in with the front bunch... its tough going from regular firsts to be the regular lanterne rouge! But thats ok... it makes the drive and incentive stronger.

Looking forward to reading your race reports later

Thanks, Raven! Yes, Cat 1 is the highest category. I suppose that you could then infer they are also the fastest . Here, categories are rated on ability vs age. To move from one category to the next a racer needs to accumulate a certain number of points, which one gets for placing in a race. I am now starting over at 0, although with my two races this weekend, I have 2whole points towards my next upgrade .

I have FINALLY posted my race reports as well. I was simply exhausted after last week's efforts (4 days of racing in 6 days), and just got to it today.

Thanks again to all for the encouragement and support!

SheFly