Forum Racers Poll

[trymorecowbell]

With all the comments in the "Riding Habit" and "Are Serottas Heavy" threads about racing I'm curious as to what category racers we have on the forum. If a racer (road, track, mtb, cross) share your ability level via the poll.

[e-RICHIE]

i'm cat 2 on road and track atmo -
and completely relenteless when i give the look.

[cs124]

where i was or where i am now? two very different things, sadly!

[djg]

Aw, what the heck. My ability? Slight. Once upon a time I was a Cat 3 mediocrity. Life, family, career, and who knows what took me away from racing for a long, long time. So the mediocrity is rusty, which is to say, lousy. I have a decent base. I know how to ride in a group without falling off my bike. I've been riding a bit with a local team again. I just did my first race (cross) in about a hundred years the weekend before last. Cat 4 -- me and 99 other guys -- and I was pretty terrible, but I realized my three great dreams for my first race back (I finished, I wasn't last, and I didn't hurt anybody). I sucked wind and perspired heavily. A river ran from me. There's no way I'm doing that again until the day after tomorrow.

[saab2000]

Used to be a 2. Then a USPRO license for one season. Then back to Amateur Elite in Switzerland.

Haven't raced in 10 years or so, but still think of myself as a (badly out of racing shape - 30 lbs over racing weight) racer.

Racing now consists of trying not to get dropped on the fast group rides I attend. Usually unsuccessfully.

[Fixed]

bike mess and cat 3 i know enough to hurt myself
cheers imho

[regularguy412]

I raced for eleven years from 1989 through 1999, though I haven't raced in about 8 years. I started out as a Cat 4 at age 30, before there was a Cat 5 category. As a result, I always raced with the Vets/ Masters. Little did I know at the time, most of them were 2's and 3's. I spent 3 years getting dropped, until I finally stayed on in a crit. I never podiumed in a mass start event, but I had 2 third place finishes and 3 first place finishes in the State Time Trial Championships (in various Vet age-graded categories). The District Rep probably would have catted me up, but I figured it was not worth the bother since I was doing age-graded racing anyway. After I became proficient, it sure was a lot of fun. :) :beer:

Mike in AR

[Ti Designs]

I'm a coach. That means I have the gut hanging over the belt with a stopwatch in one hand and a clipboard in the other.

[Sandy]

I'm a coach. That means I have the gut hanging over the belt with a stopwatch in one hand and a clipboard in the other.

When you coach me, please use the second hand for intervals, and the hour hand for rest breaks. I assume there are lots and lots and lots of rest breaks. Right coach?? :) :)


Sandy

[mflaherty37]

Frankly I haven't found a group around fast enough. I kind of laugh inside at all the others on deep carbon wheels and light stiff bikes. Red blood cells make me go fast, I don't think a new bike would help.

[zank]

14 points from cat 2.

[Ti Designs]

Frankly I haven't found a group around fast enough.

What size helmet do you wear?

[cloudguy]

I am Cat 4 here in bike-concentrated CO (with no hope of Cat 3), but I have heard the racing here is much harder than elsewhere. Is that true or am I bad everywhere?

[cleavel]

Hi,

Been racing since 1974. Some years were pretty light (only a couple of races) but typically 20-30 per year. Had enough points in the 1980s to move up to Cat 2 but never did because when I did cat 1-3 races I was pure pack fodder instead of partial pack fodder. :rolleyes:

Raced as a 50+ this year and did some 40+ races. This was my first year of zero Cat 3 races. Sitting on the start line with guys (and gals) less than half my age wasn't appealing this year. Maybe next year for old time's sake. ;)

[kerrycycle]

I'm a coach. That means I have the gut hanging over the belt with a stopwatch in one hand and a clipboard in the other.

Believe me. TiDesigns ain't got no gut & will tear your legs off when he gets in the mood.

[Ti Designs]

Believe me. TiDesigns ain't got no gut & will tear your legs off when he gets in the mood.


2 pints of Ben & Jerry's a day and still no gut - what am I doing wrong???


OK, to be honest I could never be one of those coaches who sits on the sidelines. If you're gonna coach on the bike you need to be able to earn their respect on the bike. I'm still working with a few cat 2's, so I have to ride up to their level.

I would say I'm getting too old for this crap, but John Allis is 23 years older than I am, and he's still going strong.

[soulspinner]

What size helmet do you wear?
:p

[Tom]

I'm a coach. That means I have the gut hanging over the belt with a stopwatch in one hand and a clipboard in the other.

If you're not hand rolling your cigs with the stopwatch hand you're not a real coach.

I'm a 45 year old cat 5 that realized he hasn't the burst speed or the nerve. So I quit. Ha ha.

[davids]

I'm in my own category. At least, I was.

[djcrimmins]

Frankly I haven't found a group around fast enough.
Judson? Alberto's? Lake/Harlem? None of those are fast enough? :confused:

--Dan.

[shinomaster]

I'm a wanna "B" cross racer....I ride way faster on pavement.

[GregL]

Cat. 4 forever (or at least the foreseeable future). Love to ride and race, probably could earn the points to upgrade to Cat. 3 if it meant enough to me. Nah, I like it just the way it is. Nice balance of family, work, and cycling. Four road races so far this year, plus 5-6 local 10 mile TTs. At least one 'cross race in the next month for giggles (plus some local 'cross training races).

Regards,
Greg

[Kevan]

dog.

[swoop]

3. poseur supreme.

[benb]

I won my first and 9th Cat 5 races pretty dramatically.. then took the rest of the summer off.

Came back the next year as a 4, got through most of the year in a mediocre fashion more due to mental & work issues then anything else.. kind of decided I was sick of cycling around industrial parks every weekend. I also got caught up in 2 big crashes, that didn't help. I hit my head pretty good once and got a lot of road rash in the other, as well as another time I didn't crash but got hit with a flying bicycle from a massive crash and had to go to the emergency room to get blood drained from my hand due to huge bruises.

Didn't race the last 2 seasons.. kept saying I would do MTB or something. I did a century with some of my old teammates this summer.. I kept saying I would do at least once race this year.. when I got to the century one of the guys had no front teeth and a wired jaw.. the price of trying to win those mighty Cat 3/4 prizes.. yippee..

When I'm doing good I think I'd go to 3 pretty easy.. but I'm really bad at maintaining fitness.. very susceptible to burnout, etc..

I got plenty of time though.. I'm young. But I've got other stuff I want to do. I want to do a double century.. I want to ride some other parts of the country besides New England.. I want to do Mt. Washington again.. etc.. the parking lot/industrial park racing scene doesn't do much for the soul.

Increasing prices, expensive licenses, worthless prizes.. being away from family & friends, etc.. all conspire to hurt my desire to race. Biggest thing being absolutely no one cares about your success.. all that effort and everyone still thinks you're just the annoying guy slowing their car down.

[dutri42590]

but am also a juinor in 17-18 and just up greaded to cat 4
JPR

[Karin Kirk]

Swoop, is that a homeless person watching your race there?

Anyway, I am like others here who have come up against the upgrade ceiling. When I raced in the northeast I was a 3, then remained there even when I had enough points to move on to 2. At that point, promoters were just beginning to divide women's races up by category and they often did it as 3/4 and 1/2/3. So as a 3 you could do any race.

Off road was a different story, because women's races were divided by category. So I raced expert there.

But that's all past tense now. I hold a coach's license at level 3 (the lowest level) but I would like to get level 2, I think.

I still do race some, but mostly in our Tuesday night series where all the women race together which is perfect. We have critical mass of riders in the state living here, so any given Tuesday is about as fast or deep as weekend races. But they're safer and also free, so it's a perfect situation for me!

[saab2000]

I am Cat 4 here in bike-concentrated CO (with no hope of Cat 3), but I have heard the racing here is much harder than elsewhere. Is that true or am I bad everywhere?

Come to Superweek in Wisconsin sometime and you'll find that the best riders come from EVERYWHERE, not just Colorado.

Cycling is great in Colorado and California, but the racers are not better in those places.

Colorado people got a big head when they used to have a great race (Coors Classic) and a few great racers (Kiefel, Hampsten, et al) but fact is that there are fast riders everywhere and slow ones in Michigan.... :D

[Fixed]

bro you know what ?.....masters racing is always hard cheers imho

[shinomaster]

Swoop "looks" like a pro atmo.

[Redturbo]

I'll be 45 in January and just upgraded last week to a cat2. I swear those kids in the 3's were trying to kill me. :bike:

[Fat Robert]

cat 3

[MRB]

Cat 3 Road

Cat 4 Track (I have never raced track though)

My claim-to-fame is that I was the district RR champ many moons ago. I also dropped Bernard Hinault on Col de Lizard... but then my alarm clock went off. :)

I have my USCF license number committed to memory. Does that count for anything?

[Ti Designs]

I'll be 45 in January and just upgraded last week to a cat2. I swear those kids in the 3's were trying to kill me. :bike:

There are plenty of older 2's, but they became 2's long ago and just kept racing in the same catagory. My the time they reach their 40's it's a matter of pride to race in the Pro/1/2 field, but they don't expect much. It's rare to see a 45 year old upgrade to a 2 - you have to respect something like that!

[Fixed]

There are plenty of older 2's, but they became 2's long ago and just kept racing in the same catagory. My the time they reach their 40's it's a matter of pride to race in the Pro/1/2 field, but they don't expect much. It's rare to see a 45 year old upgrade to a 2 - you have to respect something like that!

red .t
bro you are great imho good job
cheers