The Leap from Club Rides to Racing ...Stories Anyone?

[extra-vert]

I'm really curious. How does someone go from the basic club riding to doing some Cat 4, (I think it is??)? How good do you have to be? How much bike do you have to own? What kinds of speeds do Cat 4s do? Does Any of this make any sense? I would love to hear a few people's stories of their journeys from club to race team?

[AuntieK]

Can't say that I'd recommend my method: jump in with both feet, and learn as you go. I signed up for my license without any race experience. At the time I didn't know you could race as a citizen. Now I know that I should have tried citizen racing first. I really think there should be some sort of a test (like you have to take to get your driver's license) to get a racing license.
The biggest thing I've learned so far is, boy, those Cat 4 racers are FAST! I really just own a basic, entry-level bike (Giant OCR1). I have recently upgraded to lighter weight wheels.
I think if you've been club riding, you're a step ahead of where I was when I jumped in. I think that's one of the essential skills of racing: knowing how to ride in a pack.
Good luck with your decision! Racing is exciting and fun--and it makes you feel really good when you finish.

[RoadRaven]

Hey there extra...
I'm not jumping straight in like Auntiek, but that is probably partly because there are few national events that are held close to where I live in this little country.
However I am aiming to do at least the TT in the 2007 Nationals.



How am I leading myself into it?

I race in the local club every Saturday - at the moment in the slowest grade, but am about to make the move up to the next grade.

I train 3-4 times a week, not including the race.

I aim to compete in the Club Championship in a few months in the TT, but probably not the road race

Next year I aim to compete and get placed in my age group in the Nationals.



How do I know when to compete?

The measure I use is checking my times against other women in my category over the club courses. As I get closer to them in time, I know that I have more of a chance of being competitive at a regional or national level.

That is what I suggest you do if you want to test the water before diving in... find women of your age doing events you are interested in and ride the same or similar courses in your training and see how you go. Remember in a race situation you tend to go a little bit faster.

Good luck... and be warned... racing - at any level - is addictive!

[extra-vert]

Thank you for the responses, both of you. So I suppose there are basic club races you can enter before national races?? Excuse my ignorance, what is TT? Last question, when you watch your speeds, what kind of speeds are we talking about?

[velogirl]

I'll share some specific insight since Extra-vert is from the same area I am. I founded a race team in 2002 (and I'd never raced). I've been coaching racers for the past five years. In my opinion, there are ways to start racing that will ensure a more successful experience.

First, there are almost no "citizen" races in Northern California. Local racing here is governed by USACycling, and with the exception of two hill climbs, I don't know of any other races that offer citizen categories.

Everyone approaches learning to race differently. Men and women share significant differences in that respect (I have an MBA in gender relations and never thought I'd apply it to sports). Men tend to jump in and just learn by doing. Beginner men are CAT5 and we call them the Crash 5s. Women, on the other hand, do a lot of research before beginning to race. They'll join a club, spectate races, participate in skills & racing clinics, volunteer with a race team, watch dvd's, read books, and finally they'll try it -- when they think they can keep up and be safe (and not hurt anyone else).

There is no intensity you can achieve in training that will match the intensity of racing. For this reason, it makes sense to race frequently. Yes, you might get dropped for your first races, but during that experience you'll learn about group riding, positioning, tactics, race-day logistics, and you'll also improve your fitness. You'll also meet a network of wonderful women who also race frequently.

In Northern California, the racing season runs from January to September. Summer races tend to be much faster and more intense than winter/spring races because most women have been out racing all season. The collegiate racers will also join the field in May - August. For this reason, it's definitely challenging to begin racing this late in the season.

Club riding also has many varieties in this area. There are some very recreational clubs, and there are clubs who have hard-core rides (more intense than races). The latter can be great for learning pack skills and tactics, and a great testing ground and also great training, however, most of them are 95% men and it's difficult for most women to keep up. If you're interested in a great, fast group ride for women, come out to the Velo Girls Tuesday evening ride.

There are half a dozen great women's teams in the SF area (and another half a dozen clubs that have a few women racers). All teams are different. Some are for elite-level women only, but many recruit beginners as well. Recruitment efforts generally begin in September and October, and most folks have found a team by November for the following season. Most teams train together and begin racing together in Jan/Feb/March.

You can find a listing of local clubs at http://www.ncnca.org/docs/clubs/ Most clubs have a website and will share information about the make-up of their team and also recruitment information. I'm also happy to share some insight about various clubs/teams off-line for anyone interested.

All women begin racing as CAT4s. There are very few age-grouped races for women (because there just aren't enough women racing). Occassionally the CAT4 women will race combined with the CAT3 women. A typical Women's CAT4 race will have 30-50 women. Combined races tend to have larger fields.

The two primary types of races in Northern California are road races and criteriums. Most of our road races are hilly, so it's more challenging for new racers to compete and get group race experience (unless they're exceptional climbers). Criteriums are a much easier entry into racing from a fitness point of view because most are flat and fast (averaging about 22mph), but they can seem scary and intimidating to new racers. I highly recommend participating in skills clinics and group rides if you decide you'd like to try a criterium. The third type of race in Northern California is a time trial. This seems to be the least intimidating type of race to enter, probably because it's not a mass-start race. Unfortunately, there are only three or four of them each season.

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I'll share some information on a new program I started this season. It's called the Tri-Flow Women's Development Racing Program, and it's a six-week learn-to-race program. During the program, I meet with the racers twice a week -- one trainer workout and one four-hour weekend training. Our first two outdoor training sessions focus primarily on skills -- individual bike handling and group riding. I also teach the women how to read and dissect a course and how to race using tactics. And we begin the six-week program with a great orientation -- basically everything I've learned in four years coaching a race team. There's a day-by-day training program for the group and I review the women's training journals weekly. The program culminates in the group competing in a race together. The goal of this program was to introduce women to racing in a team environment without them having to make a full-year commitment to a team (kind of a silly thing for beginners who've never raced before and don't even know if they'll like racing).

We just completed our third session/race today -- Livermore Hills Road Race. It was 112 degrees and totally miserable (but I'm drifting).

Anyways, we have one more session this season (we started last week) and will begin the program again in December or January (depending on the race calendar). If you've never raced and would like to try it, this is a great opportunity to level that learning curve and learn with a group of women with similar skills and fitness.

[Petra]

... and it is not only the fitness which is important, after all you do not want to hurt yourself (or someone else) while doing a race. You eally should be confident about riding closely packed in the middle of a group, and you should have some practice cornering fast (especially if you want to do a criterium). Cornering fast actually can be great fun (once you got the experience that is and dont freak out or hit the brakes...). Once in a rce with relatively open corners the girl riding next to me told me that it was her first race and that she did not really no how to corner and could I please be slow and keep my distance ... it kind of freaked me out and I tried to move far away quickly.
But having said all this, the racing part is fun. More fun though if you come technically prepared.

[velogirl]

Thanks for emphasizing that, Petra. I personally think skills are one of the most important aspects to successful racing. I cringe when a woman who's never raced tells me she's doing a given race (and I make sure to stay away from her in the peloton). Luckily, because everyone in this area races a lot, you know who's who. Also, most new racers aren't part of teams (so they wear plain jerseys). Or they have other tell-tale signs (leaving a pump or saddle-bag on their bike, using a bento box, wearing a helmet with a visor, etc).

Bike racing is unlike running, triathlon, or swimming. It's dangerous. You can hurt yourself and you can hurt someone else. With the exception of time trials (where racers start at intervals and drafting/close riding is against the rules), bike races are mass-starts. That means that 50 women all start together and remain together until something in the terrain (a hill, corner, descent, etc) or a lack of fitness splits up the pack. You need to be able to handle your bike (hold your line, corner and descend at speed, drink while riding, take a little contact with other riders) and be able to ride in a pack.

In the bike racing world, we fear triathletes (please don't flame me, I'm just telling the truth). Many of them have sub-par skills (and zero pack experience), but a high level of aerobic fitness. However, they can't respond to surges (a reality in bike racing).

The stupidest crash I've seen in a race was a couple of years ago in a road race. There was a tri team from out of district who participated with 6 women. They were nervous about riding in the pack so they sat at the front most of the race. During the entire race, we watched them doing dangerous things -- swerving when they drank, braking when they didn't need to, coasting, etc.

At the final sprint, one of them couldn't control her bike, ran into her teammate on the left (knocking her down), ricocheted to the right, ran into her teammate on the right (knocking her down), then fell down herself. Right behind her were the other three of her teammates (they all went down too). Luckily, the other women in the pack anticipated this, gave them a little gap and had started channelling to either side so no one else went down. It was a horrific finish to a race -- ruined because unskilled riders got in a bit over their heads.

[extra-vert]

Wow,

Very informative stuff! Thank you. I'm beginning to feel like I'm understanding this now. Velo-girl, I am interested in the Tuesday night ride, but isn't it in Woodside? May be a bit far for me to negotiate. Petra, I can't imagine someone next to me asking me to take it slow for her sake while in a race!
I've seen the Tri-Flow thing, but I think I missed the signup deadline for the next one, (I'll have to check out the website again). I do know I definately want to get some skills before considering if racing is even for me. I do love hearing about all this though, because it's wonderful inspiration to take to the road and to improve.