First Race Coming Up. Any Advice?

[WindingRoad]

I have my first road race this weekend, Sunday and I am a little nervous. It's a 4 mile loop and we are supposed to do 4 laps. I've heard people say try to stay in the middle of the pack is that good to do? Any advice would be appreciated.

[Tokie]

My fast friend always tries to stay up near the front to avoid sketchy riders. See if you can find a friend to go out on a grassy field to practice bumping (shoulders mostly) (gently) into each other so you know what it feels like and not freak out. It is also good to (again, gently) practice touching wheels riding on grass. You'll probably fall down doing these practices, but you'll be going slow, and on grass, not pavement. Bodies and wheels do touch sometimes during races, so it is good to know what it feels like, and to realize that you're going to be ok. Get in a good warm up on your trainer. Protect your handlebars when you race - keep your elbows slightly wider than your bars when things get crowded up so no one can accidentally get their bars hooked up with yours and take you both down. Try to get on a good wheel and stay there. Watch what's going on all around you, but also try to take in the whole group to watch for opportunities to move up. Be sure to find out if the race course is closed to traffic or not. And most important of all, have fun! Let us know how it goes! Tokie

[Eden]

Tokie gives some good advice.

One other thing about handlebars - if the pack is close and the speed is fast, keep your hands on your drops (and always in the drops around corners and downhill). This also prevents being hooked by other riders and makes you more stable. In a race with a lot of corners and/or a fast pace, like a crit, its best to just stay in your drops for the entire thing.

For your first race, just concentrate on getting comfortable riding in a pack. Even if you've practiced pacelining and group riding, there's still nothing quite like riding in a pack race for the first time. Don't worry it gets less scary. I wouldn't ever say stay in the middle. If you are looking to save energy, staying perhaps in the first 1/3rd is good, but closer to the front is better than dead middle and like Tokie says, closer to the front is usually safer. That said a pack is a very fluid thing and you'll find yourself at the back sometimes without even knowing how you got there, so just try to relax and get more used to moving up and moving back

So now some don'ts
Don't make sudden moves, and look before you move. You do not have to announce your intentions, it is a race after all, but do be sure to always look to your side and behind before you move left or right and try to be fluid about it rather than jerky.

Don't half wheel. Yes this can be a difficult thing to do in a pack, but really do try to keep the half wheeling to a minimum... try to ride shoulder to shoulder or should to hip.

[WindingRoad]

Thanks a bunch. I appreciate the advice. Keep your fingers crossed for me tomorrow.

[SheFly]

Great advice here already. So to add, I will say Have Fun!

And I always tell my team before a race, "Remember that we all have to go to work tomorrow."

Can't wait to hear all about it. Good luck, ride safe, and have a great time!

SheFly

[Tokie]

Oh PS (this may be too late, but it's just an etiquette thing!) don't say anything in the heat of the moment that will annoy your fellow racers. My coach told us "you only get one chance to make a good first impression". You may hear "feed back" during the race regarding your riding skills/strategies, take it in stride ( it may help you be a safer racer) but it's not important to get in a discussion about it. Looking forward to hearing how it went! Tokie

[WindingRoad]

The race was on a four mile loop with one really ugly climb. I was staying with the front group just fine until kerchunk.... I dropped my chain on the hill. The chain got stuck between my chain rings and the bottom bracket. I was trying to pull it out and slipped and managed to bust my hand open on the chain ring (ouch). I did get the chain back on in about 45 seconds and started back up the hill. Always fun starting on a steep incline...I managed to pass a few people after that but I only had a half lap left when my chain incident occurred so I wasn't able to fully recuperate from it. It was quite a blast even with my mechanical. My legs are talking to me tonight after 5x up that freaking hill but other than that I think things went pretty well. I can't wait to do another race now.

[Tokie]

Congratulations! sounds like it was a challenging course - and your first mechanical! A great race story that everyone can relate to! Great that you were able to hang in at the front too...should be a fun race season for you! Tokie

[WindingRoad]

I have a question about 'normal' cycling behavior. OK, yesterday I was on a training ride with 'the guys' as usual. It's a group of racers and enthusiasts that like to ride fast... really fast sometimes. It gives me a good opportunity to ride in an aggressive fast group. One other time when I was riding with them they were getting away from me and another rider was being nice a actually pushed me up to bridge the gap. Well... yesterday I had this same thing happen except he put his hand on my butt. He had it there for about 30 seconds and it wasn't a flat hand either it was a finger tips poking into my butt hand. He did help me bridge the gap but after that I fell back with my riding buddy because I didn't want this guy behind me not to mention they were pushing upwards of 30 - 31 MPH. I feel this was inappropriate???

[Andrea]

The race was on a four mile loop with one really ugly climb. I was staying with the front group just fine until kerchunk.... I dropped my chain on the hill. The chain got stuck between my chain rings and the bottom bracket. I was trying to pull it out and slipped and managed to bust my hand open on the chain ring (ouch). I did get the chain back on in about 45 seconds and started back up the hill. Always fun starting on a steep incline...I managed to pass a few people after that but I only had a half lap left when my chain incident occurred so I wasn't able to fully recuperate from it. It was quite a blast even with my mechanical. My legs are talking to me tonight after 5x up that freaking hill but other than that I think things went pretty well. I can't wait to do another race now.

Oh yeah, and don't be afraid to cross gear big ring to 20something gear in the back to avoid the potential for chain drop... guess it's a little late for that advice, though! I don't know the size of your hill, either... it could be totally out of big-ring range.

As for the pushing thing, the fact that he used fingers & not a flat hand most likely meant that he was trying NOT to touch your butt more than necessary, however, guys who race bikes are often pigs, so, while he was trying to help you, he probably enjoyed having an excuse to touch your butt at the same time. If you're uncomfortable with that, just tell him to stop next time.

Congrats on your first race!

[chicago]

I have a question about 'normal' cycling behavior. OK, yesterday I was on a training ride with 'the guys' as usual. It's a group of racers and enthusiasts that like to ride fast... really fast sometimes. It gives me a good opportunity to ride in an aggressive fast group. One other time when I was riding with them they were getting away from me and another rider was being nice a actually pushed me up to bridge the gap. Well... yesterday I had this same thing happen except he put his hand on my butt. He had it there for about 30 seconds and it wasn't a flat hand either it was a finger tips poking into my butt hand. He did help me bridge the gap but after that I fell back with my riding buddy because I didn't want this guy behind me not to mention they were pushing upwards of 30 - 31 MPH. I feel this was inappropriate???

what???, somone actually hand their hand on your butt while you were riding?, is that common in racing... I have never seen that.

[Andrea]

Yeah, you can use a hand on someone's low back/rear to help them across a gap or up a hill in situations where they just need a little extra push to grab a wheel & keep from getting dropped. Depending on body position of the push-ee, sometimes the push-er ends up with their hand smack on the butt.

[SheFly]

...however, guys who race bikes are often pigs, so, while he was trying to help you, he probably enjoyed having an excuse to touch your butt at the same time. If you're uncomfortable with that, just tell him to stop next time.

Congrats on your first race!

I actually find this to seldom be true. I have been on many training rides with the guys, and I don't think any of them would be looking for an excuse to "touch your butt". I have been pushed a few times, and have always appreciated it. Take it for what it likely was - a helping hand (sorry for the pun).

SheFly

p.s.
If it does bother you, you can just say so.

[aicabsolut]

Yeah, you can use a hand on someone's low back/rear to help them across a gap or up a hill in situations where they just need a little extra push to grab a wheel & keep from getting dropped. Depending on body position of the push-ee, sometimes the push-er ends up with their hand smack on the butt.

I actually find this to seldom be true. I have been on many training rides with the guys, and I don't think any of them would be looking for an excuse to "touch your butt". I have been pushed a few times, and have always appreciated it. Take it for what it likely was - a helping hand (sorry for the pun).

SheFly

p.s.
If it does bother you, you can just say so.

Agreed. Usually, they will go for the lower back, but depending on the positioning of the both of you and possibly the terrain, placement may be more or less awkward. It is highly unlikely that this was meant in any sort of inappropriate way.

[madisongrrl]

Well... yesterday I had this same thing happen except he put his hand on my butt. He had it there for about 30 seconds and it wasn't a flat hand either it was a finger tips poking into my butt hand. He did help me bridge the gap but after that I fell back with my riding buddy because I didn't want this guy behind me not to mention they were pushing upwards of 30 - 31 MPH. I feel this was inappropriate???

It happens. In one race last year I had three different guys give me a "push". One of them really grabbed my rear end pretty well. It was a tough race, so I didn't mind the help.

If you're not into it just say "Hey thanks for the push, but no thanks".

Cycling is a strange sport, isn't it?