am i too old to start racing/ trying to be a pro

[DCLane]

I am going to do my own time trial friday night but theres no club time trial till the 28th april

Then look at CTT for time trials near you; e.g. I'm doing a 10 on Saturday.

Also pick up local races, particularly given there's a circuit nearby.

 

[mattobrien]

I am now tempted to start my own thread entitled 'Too old to try to be a pro' as sadly at 38, I suspect that ship has sailed.

That's not stopping me getting quicker and harbouring ambitions of doing a couple of TT's this year.

I would class myself as a competent cyclist, but understand that I have a long, long way to go before getting to a level where I would do anything other than embarrass myself if I pinned on a number.

We have embarked on weekly chain gang rides, which I am hoping will start to see me improve my fitness and speed little. Last night we managed to average 22.9mph over 39 miles with four of us doing 2 minute turns, although I am still waiting for my lungs to cross the end line. Looking forward to see how we get on next week...

 

[Cuchilo]

I am going to do my own time trial friday night but theres no club time trial till the 28th april

Enter someone elses then

https://www.cyclingtimetrials.org.uk/events/find

 

[Dec66]

I fancy doing a spot of time trialling, but not to the extent of buying a TT bike. I'd hardly use it.

When I did the London-Surrey 100 last year, I averaged a shade over 20mph for the first 40 miles, and a little under for the next 60. That's on a B'Twin Triban 500SE, with nobody helping me out, riding well within myself as I didn't know how much the ride would take out of me.

I'm pretty confident that on a 10-mile flattish TT in good weather, I could do 25-27mph if I emptied the tank.

I'm 49, and I really don't make any claims to be a great cyclist, or even a particularly good one. If there were an SI Unit for being bog-average at everything, it'd be called the "Dec66".

I think the OP has a bit of a way to go to get to semi pro status... But I'm not going to discourage him. If you don't buy a ticket, you don't win the raffle.

 

[OskarTennisChampion]

I am now tempted to start my own thread entitled 'Too old to try to be a pro' as sadly at 38, I suspect that ship has sailed.

That's not stopping me getting quicker and harbouring ambitions of doing a couple of TT's this year.

I would class myself as a competent cyclist, but understand that I have a long, long way to go before getting to a level where I would do anything other than embarrass myself if I pinned on a number.

We have embarked on weekly chain gang rides, which I am hoping will start to see me improve my fitness and speed little. Last night we managed to average 22.9mph over 39 miles with four of us doing 2 minute turns, although I am still waiting for my lungs to cross the end line. Looking forward to see how we get on next week...

Nearly 23 mph over that distance is not too shabby btw.
Same goes for @Dec66

 

[vickster]

@Dec66 Aren't TTs mostly run on open roads though? Unlike RLS 100...and without the aid of other cyclists

 

[Ian H]

Club TTs are where you learn. In ours, everyone turns up, whether on road bikes, TT bikes, skinsuits, baggy shorts, whatever. The slowest are cheered to the finish.

 

[Dec66]

@Dec66 Aren't TTs mostly run on open roads though? Unlike RLS 100...and without the aid of other cyclists

Well, there is that. I could always hang onto an Audi

EDIT: and, as I said, no-one helped me on the 100... Very much a lone wolf (I spent a lot of the first 20 miles with waves of club cyclists flying past)

 

[DCLane]

Club TTs are where you learn. In ours, everyone turns up, whether on road bikes, TT bikes, skinsuits, bagy shorts, whatever. The slowest are cheered to the finish.

True. My youngest wants to start as soon as he turns 12 in July, given he can't until then. That's why we've built this to share which has it's first competitive outing in 8 years on Saturday (it's a Small frame which will be big-ish for him and is small-ish for me):

 

[jamma]

[QUOTE 4225496, member: 76"]How far do you comfortably cycle in a day, and how fast?[/QUOTE]
Usally do 30-35 miles at average 15 mph

 

[jamma]

Well looks like the cervelo has won my heart got plans to change the components on it and also looks like i won't get out over this weekend due to getting stuck with overtime at work hopefully i can get the new guy to take it ()

 

[Ajax Bay]

Various advice themes, some candid, some polite:
1) Give it a go; live your dreams (comment: doesn't address the OP's question)
2) Yes, you are too old / too slow for age or haven't got the genes (assumed)
3) Compare your current performance and circumstances with what pros or 'good-chance-to-be' pros can do, yourself
4) Join and ride with a club (to inform (3) and (4)

Congratulate the OP on generating 7 pages of discussion/comments, without anyone openly doubting your sincerity. And my view: yes, but find the type and level of cycling that you enjoy and get out there.

 

[smutchin]

Congratulate the OP on generating 7 pages of discussion/comments, without anyone openly doubting your sincerity.

It's something we can all relate to - we all have that moment when we realise we're never going to win the Tour de France, it just comes at different stages of life for different people.

If the op has a competitive spirit, he should certainly get out there and do a bit of racing. As well as TTs, he should try a bit of track and cyclocross too - competitive but lots of fun, and will have great training benefits for his road riding too.

 

[Hacienda71]

To be honest TTing and road racing are rather different disciplines.
On a TT it is a measured effort. On a 10 balls out. If you don't feel sick at the end you haven't tried hard enough.
Racing crits or on the road are far more tactical. You need to learn the craft. The fastest guy quite often will not win. Tactics play a big part. A guy who can do a fast TT will not necessarily be a good road racer.
Imho you need to be able to ride a 20 mile loop at about 20mph average on a road bike to be at the sort of fitness level to start racing.
You will find racing your fitness needs to be different to TT fitness. You need to be able to attack and respond to attacks, you therefore need to be able to recover and respond quickly. A really good racer can attack be caught and then attack again while the chasers are still in the red.

 

[ColinJ]

Hang on a minute - you do an 11 mile TT at 13.5 mph, but your typical training rides are 30-35 miles at 15 mph ...!!!

Do you tow a car tyre behind you on TTs for some reason?