how fast do I need to be...

[maillotpois]

Even "just" road racing requires good (SAFE) bike handling, group riding and cornering skills. Work on this first. Please.

[Mimosa]

I'll give my 2 cents also.
Cornering is a vital element, you can loose a lot of energy/power if you brake to much or stop hitting the pedals to early before cornering and getting too late on the pedals after the corner. But the only way to learn is to try it. Look for a club (womens) ride on a closed circuit with cat.4/fun racers. When you feel comfortable in those races then you can step up to crits.
And like eden sated, be prepared to get dropped, don't feel disappointed it happens to EVERYBODY! It could take quite a few rides before you finally say 'I did it! I finaly rode like I was a member of the pack'. And that is a great feeling

[aicabsolut]

Even "just" road racing requires good (SAFE) bike handling, group riding and cornering skills. Work on this first. Please.

+1 My friend got pushed off the road and fell into a ditch because of another rider in the pack with poor handling / cornering skills moved into her last weekend in a road race (at least, I hope she didn't do it on purpose!).

[madisongrrl]

Before you race, maybe try a few group rides, attend a clinic and/or watch a womens Cat 4 race. It will give you some confidence and understanding of what you need to be safe and have fun while racing. Then try one....the only way to get good at racing is to race. You can always line up in back of the pack if you are unsure of yourself.

The hardest part of racing (in general) is the pace changes and hills. Don't even bother worrying about how many MPH you average on solo rides. Women's racing fields can be so small (depending where you live) that you never know what the level of competition will be from week to week in any given category. In Cat 4 there aren't as many team tactics to contend with. The race won't be as crowded and aggressive as many of the men's races are. Escape and accident avoidence are a bit easier.

I'm primarily a mountain bike racer, but I'll be racing in a few crits and road races this year. I don't really have any "road" skills, but I'm not too worried about. I've raced in Cat 3 Cyclocross against many of the Cat 3 roadies....and let me tell you, I think some of them also lack general bike handling skills.

Also, if you can maintain a 18 - 22 mph average over 35 miles, you should try a time trial or triathlon relay. You would do quite well without the worries about pack riding...though you have to worry about staying out of the draft zone (which is a little stressful when you're figuring out if you have enough in the gas tank to pass people who are going your speed).

Bottom line is to go for it.....you will do just fine and hopefully have fun too.

[smilingcat]

yeeks!! Listen to Eden and some others.

half wheeling is really dangerous for the person in front and you!! During one practice ride, one of the less experienced rider half wheeled while trying to work on a pace line. The inexperieced rider's front wheel caught the skewer of the girl in front and the inexperienced riders bike "jumped". She ended up flying over the handlebar and ended in hospital.

Pace line can be an exilerating experience cause individually you can't go that fast and keep it up for many miles.

And definitly, learn to group ride really close to each other without getting spooked. If I sense you are bit nervous, it makes me nervous and I stay away from you.

[PinkBike]

i agree, definitely get into some group rides

[missymaya]

This may seem silly of me to ask but I've never heard of "halfwheeling", even though I've been group riding for about a year now. Please explain. Thanks

[Eden]

when you are riding in a group you want to either be behind, shoulder to shoulder, or shoulder to hip with the other people. If you are half wheeling, basically you are doing just that - half of your front wheel is overlapping with half of someone elses rear wheel (you are beside them). If anything happens and you or they move your front wheel touches their rear and you will likely fall. The person who is in the front usually does not fall.