Learned a few things in my first Crit today...

[AZSpinner]

I was so excited about this Crit. It's part of a series and they have a D race that's suppposed to be just for beginners. Well, apparently the race director didn't think the C,B,& A riders would get enough bang for their buck, so he allowed anyone to ride in the D race. I ended up being the only female, so I knew I was in trouble with all of that testosterone in the air.

Just some notes about my experience...

I need to get better/quicker about clipping in. By the time I got my second foot in, the leaders were already around the first turn.

The leaders took off like rockets. Not good, as I was still trying to get my second foot in my pedal.

Biking into a headwind of 20+ MPH can slow you down a little.

As I was all by myself, I did use the opportunity to try different approaches on the corners. So, now I feel a little more confident about those.

They did not go over any rules before the race. I ended up pulling out of the race because I misunderstood what the announcer said. I thought he said something about if you'd been lapped to get off the course. Which didn't sound out of the ordinary to me, because a Crit that I had watched recently enforced that rule. Not the case in this race, so I ended up not even finishing which is what I'm most disappointed about. So from now on, unless stated otherwise, I am not pulling myself out of a race unless they specifically call out my number or point directly at me. What is the standard rule/etiquette?

All in all though, I was pleased. I set a new PR for my fastest speed on a flat. I felt fast and powerful. And most importantly, my hubby thought I looked fast. So, this hasn't totally turned me off of racing. I'm still planning on competing in the Cinco de Mayo Crit and boy am I looking forward to competing with other Cat 4 women! This was just too much testosterone for me.

For those of you that have raced before - Is it typical for the race director to let riders race down categories? I'm all for testing your mettle against better riders, but what glory is there in beating the rookies?

I'm hoping that I'll have better results to report after the May 6th ride.

[Running Mommy]

WOW! So cool! And I can't believe you raced in this wind!!
You'll have to tell me when they next series is so I can come watch you race. We used to have crits in Santa Rosa and they were wicked un to watch. But I'm a bit too slow to partake..

[SheFly]

They did not go over any rules before the race. I ended up pulling out of the race because I misunderstood what the announcer said. I thought he said something about if you'd been lapped to get off the course. Which didn't sound out of the ordinary to me, because a Crit that I had watched recently enforced that rule. Not the case in this race, so I ended up not even finishing which is what I'm most disappointed about. So from now on, unless stated otherwise, I am not pulling myself out of a race unless they specifically call out my number or point directly at me. What is the standard rule/etiquette?

All in all though, I was pleased. I set a new PR for my fastest speed on a flat. I felt fast and powerful. And most importantly, my hubby thought I looked fast. So, this hasn't totally turned me off of racing. I'm still planning on competing in the Cinco de Mayo Crit and boy am I looking forward to competing with other Cat 4 women! This was just too much testosterone for me.

For those of you that have raced before - Is it typical for the race director to let riders race down categories? I'm all for testing your mettle against better riders, but what glory is there in beating the rookies?

I'm hoping that I'll have better results to report after the May 6th ride.

Congrats! Sounds like you had a great time.

A couple of things: NEVER pull yourself out of a race (unless you have a good reason). Let the officials pull you. for most crits, especially those aimed at beginner racers, you will not be pulled if you are lapped.

Second, it is pretty normal for promoters to combine fields to get enough racers in a particular heat. Typically, however, they combine WOMEN'S fields in this case. I have never (except in a training race) had to race with men in a crit. I would say it was fairly atypical for this to happen. The good news is that racing with the men actually teaches you, and makes you a stronger rider.

You don't mention if you stayed with the pack, or at least with a group. I hope you didn't have to ride alone...

Good luck with the next race! Crits are a lot of fun, and addicting .

SheFly

[Mimosa]

I concur with SheFly. Don't stop until they stop you or if they mention it upfront. What they do over here is to let you continue (no matter how much times you get lapped) and with just 3 laps to go they pull you out of the race by mentioning it at the passing of the starting line.

They don't group races without mentioning upfront. They prefer to cancel the race when not enough racers participate, which is also a bummer.

I hope to ride my first crit on the 21st as long as my license arrives in time (they say it should be there around the 18th). So I am already looking forward to that.

[RoadRaven]

Wow AZ - as always I am well-impressed by you cyclists who do crits. I know they are a big thing in the states (much more of them than over here) but even so... they always seem so scarey to me...

And guess what, with all the enthusiasm in these fora, I am beginning to think that maybe.... just maybe... I might look at doing one one day... maybe...

And what SheFly said, and Mimosa, unless you are injured or your bike is falling apart... never pull yourself out of a race. There's a huge psychological thing between finishing last/near last, and quitting. To finish means you finished, you had guts determination etc etc. To chuck it in can play funny tricks in your head and interfere with the next one you do. However, this pull out was a misunderstanding, so you dant have the mind stuff to contend with.

And you did a PR? Thats a personal best? Congrats!!! What a rush, eh?

[AZSpinner]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I promise I will never pull myself out of another race if me and the bike are fine. I'm addicted. I'm already trying to figure out how I can squeeze in another Wednesday night Crit before the real race on May 6th. I've been practicing clipping in more quickly. Once I get a little more into racing and feel like I can justify another expense, I think I'll look into another pedal/shoe system. Right now I have SPDs because that is what the Spin bikes had that I taught on. The LBS is trying to talk me into Speedplays.

I would really like to see what it is like to be in the pack. I'm trying to talk someother female cyclists I know into showing up. At least then we'd have our own small little pack and the boys can go on ahead and play.

Thanks again. I'll keep you posted on any other attempts at racing.

[CR400]

Good job for getting out there and going against the men. Yes many promoters will combined fields to fill them out. If you are new to racing do the absolute best you can, especially against all male fields. Only the strongest women can beat a men's field or even place. Usually these ladies are pro-1-2's themselves racing against lesser 3-4-5 men.

However, don't think a field of only cat 4 women will be easy. Just ask other ladies like Eden. Some of them have been racing for years and just don't have a need to cat up or are missing a few points a season to upgrade.

As far as pedels I recomend the Speedplays as well. They are very easy to get into, (no look entry)and out of when you want to or need to. Also they have greater pedel clearence which means you can lean the bike closer to the ground on corners without worrying about striking a pedal at 30mph and going to the ER because of it. Oh yeah, great float to if you are into that kind of thing. May take a while to get used to becuase they tend to have way more float then most pedels, even at the entry level.