to race or to wait

[Firestorm]

Does that 28 miler start and finish at the same place ?
struggling to see how there is an elevation gain on a loop ?
Am I missing something

 

[jamma]

Does that 28 miler start and finish at the same place ?
struggling to see how there is an elevation gain on a loop ?
Am I missing something

Yes it start and finishes outside my street exact same places

 

[Specialeyes]

Does that 28 miler start and finish at the same place ?
struggling to see how there is an elevation gain on a loop ?
Am I missing something

Yes. Strava only counts climbs, not (climbs-descents), so unless you're on the Bonneville Salt Flats or something, there'll always be elevation gain, even in a loop.

 

[Andrew_P]

Does that 28 miler start and finish at the same place ?
struggling to see how there is an elevation gain on a loop ?
Am I missing something

Elevation gain means going upwards as opposed to his house gaining 1300ft since he left for his ride..

 

[cyberknight]

Seriously ?
This year get out and ride , get used to riding in a group at pace , untill you can average 20 mph i wouldn't consider racing . @MickeyBlueEyes has started racing maybe he has some input?
He can drop me anyday of the week and i did this the other week
https://www.strava.com/activities/576915914
read ...
http://road.cc/content/forum/126357-how-fast-categorised-racer
http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12609614
http://www.cliftoncc.org/competition/start_rr

 

[screenman]

If this 60 year old only averaged 16mph on his rides he would go and stick pins in himself, and his tyres. Start trying you lazy git.

 

[Firestorm]

Yes. Strava only counts climbs, not (climbs-descents), so unless you're on the Bonneville Salt Flats or something, there'll always be elevation gain, even in a loop.

Ah right, my Garmin has a total climbing figure and an elevation gain figure, for some reason my loop has me gaining 3ft whilst climbing 560ft....

 

[screenman]

Ah right, my Garmin has a total climbing figure and an elevation gain figure, for some reason my loop has me gaining 3ft whilst climbing 560ft....

Easy to explain that one, you get a natural high from riding your bike.

 

[mustang1]

Years ago I happened to spend a couple of days with an ex racer. I proclaimed to him I can ride 10 miles in about 40 minutes and he changed the subject. I figured he didn't hear me or something so I mentioned it again. Once more he changed the subject. "why isn't this guy impressed with my stats" I wondered. After bugging him some more he finally told me that I was doing great on my way to getting even faster. He gave me good advice and a knockoff at the same time.

It didn't long after that for me to realise how slow I really was. I still feel silly just recalling that story.

While I do not know much about racing, I think you should carry on improving and perhaps one way to do that is to enter a race: it will give you a baseline from which you can excel.

 

[outlash]

Get out and race.

You will ride harder than you ever have before.

You will see where you are really at, and be inspired to truly work hard.

You will be able to look back, as I have just today, and see how far you've come.

While I do not know much about racing, I think you should carry on improving and perhaps one way to do that is to enter a race: it will give you a baseline from which you can excel.

That's bad advice IMO, if the OP gets spat out the back after 1\2 mile and pulled off shortly after, thats embarrassing and soul destroying. It's one thing 'giving it a go', but it's another to be a joke.

 

[Justinslow]

As @cyberknight says it's not just a matter of riding pretty quickly, I don't race I TT but some of my mates race and talk of holding 25mph + in the peloton shoulder to shoulder bar to bar up and down the hills, (alright, the speeds vary and it's easier attaining higher speeds with people in front of you for you to draft) obviously you've got to be comfortable and skilled to ride like that IMO as you could end up taking a load of people down if you're not, it's not just about the speed. In fact one of them raced last night and in the sprint to the line - yes the sprint where you turn it on like Cav, there was an almighty pile up which he narrowly avoided.......

 

[Tin Pot]

That's bad advice IMO, if the OP gets spat out the back after 1\2 mile and pulled off shortly after, thats embarrassing and soul destroying. It's one thing 'giving it a go', but it's another to be a joke.

Rubbish.

 

[Norry1]

If you really think you average 13.5mph when you are trying - don't race.

 

[Cuchilo]

That's bad advice IMO, if the OP gets spat out the back after 1\2 mile and pulled off shortly after, thats embarrassing and soul destroying. It's one thing 'giving it a go', but it's another to be a joke.

If i got pulled off shortly after i'd throw every race

 

[Justinslow]

If i got pulled off shortly after i'd throw every race