alright who else is racing c(r)a(sh)t 5

[shoe]

man is it a jungle out there or do people just not know how to stay upright in new jersey...seems karin kirk did such a great job teaching the ladies- do you think she would come out and teach people how not to crash or take others out ..and then how to handle the crash....a crash course in crashing..so today was my 4th race ..last one 2 weeks ago last stretch of the last lap...guys front wheel gets swept who i happen to be drafting... i am on the ground before i even know what happens...(luckily i came in second to last since he had to walk his bike to the finish) this week four laps....granted the road was wet...1st lap guy slides out in a corner...3rd lap my team mate makes a move so i jump -we open it up- same bad corner...he slides out right in front of me....i see it and think man here i go again...stay calm watch the action..think alright i am going to try hop up to roll over his bike cause i don't wanna go down...last second he slides out past my front wheel and just make it by...needless to say these were all in the front group and heard other stuff going on behind...how is it going for the other cat 5's out there....it is one sketchy field out here...it is still fun though i must admit...dave

[J.Greene]

.

[regularguy412]

Try to hang in there until you reach age 30. It gets better, since most everyone in the 30+, 40+ and 50+ group(s) have to get up and go to work on Monday. I only raced one race as a 4 and that was enough for me. No crashes, but it was hairy.

Mike in AR:beer:

[learlove]

I raced 5 seasons as a junior/cat 4 then cat 3 (when I started there was no 5) and was a cat 3 on the track also. over 100 races and 2 crashes. One at a cat 4 race just west of Reading , PA - some supermarket sponsored road race on mothers day in the early 90's. Down hill into a right turn with a wet road I was about half back from the front. Guy further up slides out inside of me - I try to go over him as there are guys on each side of me and my front wheel gets cought in his pedal/crank - I go down and am out with my spokes ripped out/taco'd wheel.

Brad Purfirst (sp?) is working the pit - says wheel can't be fixed - gives me his card and tells me "to come buy the store PS&S and he'll build me a new one". I' m like dude - "you see where it says junior on my racing license - that means broke a$$ high school kid - I'm going home and putting the wheel in a vice and bending it back along with some creative trueing". Alittle stomping/pulling and banging then some twists here and there with a spoke wrench and that baby was no where as good as new or safe but you bet i raced it again. Ingorance is bliss when your 16.

The other was with 2 laps to go at Somerville in 1992. Whole pack was together and i was sitting about 5 back into turn 3 (left off the back straight stretch) and the kid right infront of me rolls his front tire. I T-bone him and go head first over my bars into a superman imitation. I land hands first then chest slide into curb - still have the scars from that one.

By the time I get my bike from the bottom of the pile the field is already comming down the back stretch on the bell lap. Shame - somerville was my favorite race and I could confidently say i could have outsprinted (the only thing I was good at) the rest of the juniors that day plus it was 1992 and Hincapie wasn't a junior anymore.

[GregL]

Try to hang in there until you reach age 30. It gets better, since most everyone in the 30+, 40+ and 50+ group(s) have to get up and go to work on Monday.

What a difference it makes! In last weekend's race, the masters field was combined with the 1-2-3 field. It was the safest race I ever had the pleasure of riding in. No panic stricken silliness, just good, hard, attacking racing. When any bumping happened in the pack, it was just no big deal, all parties stayed calm and collected. Let's hear it for the old guys!

Regards,
Greg

[toaster]

man is it a jungle out there or do people just not know how to stay upright in new jersey...

Or, stay upright wearing a new jersey!

[avalonracing]

That is why there are separate categories. If fitness alone was a factor they could just mass-start a field of 500 and let it shake out. Sad to say racing cat5 is part of paying your dues, as 4 will be... and 3...

Use the others inexperience to your advantage, get fit, break away strong, most people are too scared to chase a good break in a cat 5 or 4 race.
If you are stuck in the field do your best to stay away from the squirrelly guys and don't sprint for 22nd place in a group of guys who are falling apart (don't sit up either because guys will try to ride through you... Just don't be there).

Good luck and wear your gloves! :D

[Too Tall]

Great storys Learlove :)

[shoe]

learlove- i'm looking forward to somerville...i'll try to win it for ya(insert yeah right) need to work on those sprints...tried to brake off from the sleeping pack yesterday a couple times but people couldn't hustle for long and the strong guys just chilled knowing that their race was the last 1/2 mile...luckily only a couple guys can sprint so not such a bad day all and all...dave

[katematt]

Didn't get there but sounded like fun.

[Bob Ross]

Try to hang in there until you reach age 30. It gets better, since most everyone in the 30+, 40+ and 50+ group(s) have to get up and go to work on Monday.

That is why there are separate categories. If fitness alone was a factor they could just mass-start a field of 500 and let it shake out. Sad to say racing cat5 is part of paying your dues, as 4 will be... and 3...



I'm obviously a noob to racing (never done it, but getting curious), so bear with me: are there separate 30+, 40+, & 50+ races within each Category? IOW, I assume I still have to start at CAT5...but if I'm over age 40 would I only be racing against other 40+ CAT5 racers?

[avalonracing]

You wish!
No, the age groups are open. So, that said, you could be racing a former pro or cat 1 racer in your 40+ race. Fun huh? :rolleyes:

[Bob Ross]

You wish!
No, the age groups are open. So, that said, you could be racing a former pro or cat 1 racer in your 40+ race. Fun huh? :rolleyes:

Wait, so as a 40+ racer I would not have to ride against the 20-year-old testosterone-fueled Cat5 yahoos? Or any Cat5 racers, for that matter?

Sounds like a great deal! I think I'd rather take may chances in a field full of former pros!

[avalonracing]

Wait, so as a 40+ racer I would not have to ride against the 20-year-old testosterone-fueled Cat5 yahoos? Or any Cat5 racers, for that matter?

Sounds like a great deal! I think I'd rather take may chances in a field full of former pros!

The 20 year olds are also full of Red Bull.
God knows what is in the systems of the 40 year old former pros. :rolleyes:

I'll warn you in advance while safer, the 30+ & 40+ fields can be VERY fast depending on where you are. The distances will also be much greater than a cat 5 race and finally they won't take kindly to complete inexperience. Just like yourself they don't want to break a collarbone because someone grabs a handful of brake in the middle of a corner or can't ride a paceline.

I would recommend doing some circuit races and training races first. If you have weekly training races start in a "B" race and when you can hold your own move to the "A" race. If you can race cleanly in there and not get shot out the back you can race in a 30/40+ race.

[Ti Designs]

I'm a cat 5 and damn proud of it!

[shoe]

yeah it was the colts neck..fun course.. i talked to my buddy i think there were like 5 or 6 crashes just in our race..wet roads ,some rough pavement gets the crowd nervous and just some inexperience makes for an interesting race...cool course though..as far as racing i believe it is everyone starts out at cat 5. knock out ten races and move up to a cat 4 or age group races....i like the 5's to learn since it is an easier field to race against and it is better at a slower pace than some of the races....cause it's a whole nother beast once you are up in it if you aren't used to racing. i recommend it to anyone that wants to try but you can't be an overly nervous rider...i tell you it is much different than training for the pbp....you didn't really have to do much sprinting for that...pbp isn't an upper thresh hold ride thats for sure...dave

[benb]

The "30+ /40+ field is safer" idiom is true except in one case.. a 30+ or 40+ CAT5 only field.

Those seem to be even worse then the younger Cat 5 crowd.

[regularguy412]

The "30+ /40+ field is safer" idiom is true except in one case.. a 30+ or 40+ CAT5 only field.

Those seem to be even worse then the younger Cat 5 crowd.

+1 on this.

Yes. Typically, the Masters categories are harder and faster. The good news is: if you can hang in there long enough to become proficient, you'll have the opportunity to really learn some good habits, instead of just trying to avoid being taken out. (Although, there _IS_ some merit in learning to do just that!)

It took me three years to just become competitive in the Masters categories. But once I 'got there', the racing was really fun -- even if it was hard as he!!.

Mike in AR:beer:

[Karin Kirk]

...seems karin kirk did such a great job teaching the ladies- do you think she would come out and teach people how not to crash or take others out ..and then how to handle the crash....a crash course in crashing..

Thanks for the invite, but noooooo thanks! :)
I think the timid women are safer than the cat 5 guys, so I'll stick with my own kind.
Stick with it, keep having fun and good luck!

(NJ was where I started racing - lots of great memories!)

[david]

when i first got started in 1743, there was no cat 5.

i remember a t-shirt that said "i survived cat 4."

yup, cat 4 could be tricky. especially in the tired and desperate final miles.

but it seems to me there was more "education" being doled out by the experienced guys than there is now. or, more likely, it's still being doled out but too few guys are listening.

back in the old days, cycling was more esoteric and odd. if you wanted in, you found a club to train with and you listened and learned. if you didn't, the big boys would let you know what you needed to know - and fast.

nowadays, the popularity of cycling has attracted a whole group of athletic types who are pretty strong from the get go. they bring ego and fire and a sense of accomplishment from other sports that don't translate into experience on a bike. strength and confidence, yes. experience, no.

i've only just started racing again (cat 5!) after a 25 year lay-off. but i've already seen quite a few dudes who appear to have had very little guidance in how to behave in a pack. and i'm not sure they're interested.

some are young and, well, young. but the guys who bug me the most are the ones in their 40s or 50s who carry a master-of-the-universe attitude into everything they do - wether they know what they're doing or not.

oh well, i guess i can only hope to someday wear my new t-shirt that says "i survived cat 5!"

[soulspinner]

No 5 when I raced either. Just a bunch of jocks who couldnt handle their bikes. Scar tissue....

[Ti Designs]

No 5 when I raced either. Just a bunch of jocks who couldnt handle their bikes.

The board at USACycling has voted to make me the first cat 6. As a danger to all around me they have opted to make me the only cat 6, thus my races are now just myself riding around in circles and either throwing my hands up in the air at the end in victory or more often than not crashing out.

[Fixed]

bro only 5 cats racing? not many
cheers

[johnnymossville]

I started racing again this year after 15 years away from it. I was a Cat4 back then. Since I'm an old guy now it feels harder to keep up, but the racing is still the same, dicey pack maneuvers, etc,...

There haven't been any crashes yet in the races I've been in (thankfully), but I've seen some bad ones in the Pro 1,2,3's and the Masters Races. Ambulance type stuff.

In racing there's gonna be crashes. Ever watch the TDF, or the Tour of California? Those guys crash too.

[soulspinner]

The board at USACycling has voted to make me the first cat 6. As a danger to all around me they have opted to make me the only cat 6, thus my races are now just myself riding around in circles and either throwing my hands up in the air at the end in victory or more often than not crashing out.


Dont beat yourself..up over it :p

[Your_Friend!]

Friends!


A Very_Wise Penguin

Once Told Me:

Cat 5s Are Otherwise

Known As

Road_Crayons!


Love,
Y_F!

[shinomaster]

Friends!


A Very_Wise Penguin

Once Told Me:

Cat 5s Are Otherwise

Known As

Road_Crayons!


Love,
Y_F!


Now that is a quote worth remembering! It is no wonder that I do not race road. I have friends however that have been racing for decades and never crashed.