Quote Originally Posted by Pink Kona
You totally should go for it! But make sure that if you do race that day, you put down nutrition no more than 2 1/2 hours beforehand. I had a teammate choke down a Cliff bar minutes before the crit and she didn't feel so good.

Do you not have many women racing in Ohio? We nearly set a record on Sunday with 39 women in the race. The average speed was 22mph. Female participation in the PNW has grown significantly, despite 50% chance of showers. And typically they will separate the Cat 4's from the rest of the group. The 1/2/3s always race together. But I look forward to the races with the combined fields. I strongly believe that you're only as good as your riding partners.... advancing up a field can certainly boost skills.
I'm not really sure yet. This particular race is just the weekly local crit, 2 mile lap through a business park. There's an A and a B group, split approximately 1/2/3 and 4/5. I'm told there are about 5 women who ride regularly enough to be "known", one of whom rides with the As.

There are women's races out there, but I think the turnout is low and they usually combine all categories. I understand it can be kind of demoralizing to be brand new and riding with the Cat 1 women!

I think I'll skip out for this week, it'd be too tight to get home at 5:15, get some food in me, prep my bike, drive the congested freeway for as much as 45 minutes to an hour, register and start at 6:30. But if I like what I see as a spectator I'll think about ways to streamline the prep for next week.

The only reason I want to race is as a benchmark. I read somewhere that some people train to race and others race to train (ie to keep motivation up for regular riding). I think I fall in the latter group. So you're right that the challenge of riding with those better than I is just what I need!