Thinkin about entering a race or 2!!!

[Richard1537]

Just wondering what the demands of racing is like, effort required, fitness level required, etc. I'm currently a good weight for cycling, do about 100-150 miles a week, and on an average 40 mile evening cycle on my own I'll average about 19mph.

Should I think about proper training before I even attempt racing?

Thanks in advance! :-)

 

[Joshua Plumtree]

I'll add my two bobs worth before more experienced and wiser members have their say.

19 mph is a very good average for solo rides, but I suspect the guys you'll be racing against will be going faster than that in their pre race warm-ups! Are you prepared for the very high speeds you'll be racing at? And, more importantly, do you have any experience of riding in a group at high speed? If not, then you're asking for trouble and putting both yourself and your fellow competitors in danger!

So, in answer to your question, I would say most definitely yes!

 

[Richard1537]

Awww yeah i'd cycle in a group quite often so that doesn't bother me so much but just not sure if I was ready for racing in sffort and fitness wise!!

 

[ianrauk]

Best think you can do is join a club first and take it from there.

 

[Sharky]

As above. Join a club and find out where the club events are. For time trials, usually just turn up, pay the fee and ride. Most clubs take part in evening 10's through the summer months. This will lead to bunch, track or even cyclo cross as your ambitions unfold.

Your training figures are more than adequate to support racing.

Where are you based, I'm sure somebody here will suggest a good club

Good luck
Keith

 

[Rooster1]

I wish I could get 19mph, I am stuck in the sub 17/18mph category. I just can't get that sort of (average) speed. Though in a group I can keep up.

 

[Richard1537]

Yeah I guess a good club would be the sensible thing to do at this stage, I've tried to get out a lot earlier this year and build up the base miles up over the winter so the increased speed is starting to come to me now thankfully but it's still a big effort over 40-50 miles.

 

[Sharky]

Yeah I guess a good club would be the sensible thing to do at this stage, I've tried to get out a lot earlier this year and build up the base miles up over the winter so the increased speed is starting to come to me now thankfully but it's still a big effort over 40-50 miles.

Don't worry about distance. If you start with 10 mile tt's, they will only last for about 28 mins and if you go in for bunch racing, you'll probably start with ones that are no more than an hour in duration.

So don't hesitate find a club and join.

Cheers keith

 

[oldroadman]

Little tip. Once the base miles are done and you can ride steady state for a couple of hours at a good pace, start doing some fast (flat out) efforts for a minute or so then relax for 5-10 minutes steady state. You MUST be warmed up to do this. It's a first pass at interval training, which is important because proper racing is not steady. Steady riding tends to teach your body how to ride slowly for a long time, which is useless if you want to race with any confidence. Good luck!

 

[Staffordshire Lad]

I've not done any road racing so can't comment. But from a TT point of view, just pop down to a local time trial, pay the fee (usually very cheap) and give it a go. You'll soon get addicted. As someone else suggested, the best thing would be to join a club that does road racing. They'll point you in the right direction and there's always people to give you friendly advice. Good luck!