my first road race (long)

[sloji]

I joined a local club and headed an hour north to the rolling hills of San Ardo where cool weather and rough roads made for an exciting and challenging experience. I entered in the Cat 4/5 Masters 45+ group with 22 other riders. I had little warm up but that turned out ok since it's started with a longish set of hills that the group took at a medium pace and even on the first set of flats the pace remained in the 22 range and with potholes and rough roads it made for some gentlemanly but somewhat precarious times avoiding the occasional water bottle or flat tire...this didn't last too long as the attacks began...25 then 27 then 32 mph and then down some rollers bouncing about and hitting mid to high 30s. Not much room to make mistakes. I felt fine and took the advice of the Serotta forum and took the centerline in the top 10 riders for the first 22 miles and all was fine until we headed back into town (here comes I told you so) and made a mistake and wound up in the last 1/3 of the pack before the hills began and I knew as the pace quickened I'd get dropped so I launched an attack getting back to the front 8 or so but pushing that wind to get there took too much out of me and the pack started to catch up. I stood up and got bumped into the dirt on the right hand side of the course and slowed considerably and watched the first half of the riders blow by me, bummer. At this point there are two groups and i'm in between but the second group is disorganized and quite a ways behind so now i'm solo and can't catch back on so there I was in no mans land...and the novice knows he's a novice. At this point I realize i'm faster than the lagging group so I might as well pace the last 25 or so miles and not give up and doing this I noticed the occasional straggler from the front group get launched and I would pass them. A cat3 rider on a longer course had blown up and we rode side by side back to the finish and had a nice training run. Average speed was 19.6 for the day with more rollers than I expected and I think I placed about 16 or so out of the 22 riders...hey, I finished and did not crash in the dirt and I wasn't last...and with the added bonus that I got to experience that Ottrott St smoothing out that nasty ass road.

Road racing seems to take a lot of luck, training, and strategy...I had a bit of luck, poor strategy, and not enough training for the big boys!

[Sandy]

Great read. Felt like I was there. Seems as if you learned a great deal during and after the race, as you thought about it. Also think that you got bitten by the racing bug....next time...and there wll be a next time.....I believe you will fiinsh higher and one day be "one of the big boys". You should be proud of yourself ,participating in that "exciting and challenging experience".



Sandy

[johnnymossville]

Sounds like you had a great race. It won't be long and you'll be with that front bunch heading for the sprint finishes. :)

Racing is a real challenge and every single race a learning experience, not to mention fun.

Congrats.

[sloji]

Yah, it is an education. A member on the board here wrote how long it took him to not get dropped by a race group and now I understand why. It's rather masterful the way the teams soften you up with their attacks and how they thin out the herd over a period of time. I didn't realize how much it would take out of my legs and know I see I need a lot more sprint training and hill work to add to the list of necessary skills for road racing.

Life teaches us all the time. At 25 I was at the top of my game and ranked nationally in my sport then at 37 I had a spinal injury and was reduced to starting to build my body from scratch and now at 50 in a new sport as a novice with a ways to go...COOL!

[TAW]

Good job, and congrats on finishing the race. In training, you ride at a fairly steady speed, but in racing, especially in crits, you have to train your legs to accelerate. I can remember the first races getting blown because of the attacks, even though I thought I could stay with the overall "pace" of the front group. It's more about being able to accelerate and recover. :)

[avalonracing]

You can learn a lot very quickly if you want... with proper training people who learn do well and move up quickly). On the other hand I know guys who have raced 50 times and they haven't learned a thing... these guys end up pack fodder or getting spit out the back time after time.

Learn to read the race, ride (and train) with experienced racers, and learn the course and learn who the players in the field are you could be fine as long as you train properly.

[sloji]

I'm not fond of being pack fodder nor into losing when winning is possible. I know from my previous sports that coaching and training is essential and up to now i've just been riding. I just joined a club and now i'll look for a coach...thanks for the encouragement!