race training advice and power

ives.

Hi...Ive been riding on my own for a while and the other day whilst walking my dog through Crystal Palace park, I saw a race going on.

I'd like to give it a try but I'm not sure if I could keep up.
I know the only way to know is just to do it, but can anyone advise me on what kind of training I should be doing in order to race at CP?

For the record I'm 50 years old, have been riding about 4 years just for fitness doing some longish rides in surrey when the weather is nice. I saw a couple of people racing that were about my age so I think it's possible.

Over the winter I borrowed a turbo trainer with a power meter and I could manage half a hour at an average of about 230watts. Is that too low do you think?


thanks for any help,

Cheers
Ives

jibberjim

Crystal Palace is probably they hardest circuit in the South East to start trying a road race on, it's very narrow, it's very busy with riders and it's a 3/4 race, so far from just racing other new racers, you'll be up against plenty of strong and experienced racers (as a 4th cat, the inexperience of the strong ones often leaves them wasting energy so don't make it as tough...)

As to 230 watts, without knowing your weight (as even though it's not that hilly, weight will still give a good idea of how much power - 206 watts average for the 30 minutes was enough to win the womens race - http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopi ... 8#16108088 two weeks ago, although it's not simply average power that matters since you have to react to surges, and particularly at palace with the hill and the sprints out of corners.

The only way to know is to try, so I'd encourage you to try a race, but I'd suggest not starting at Palace, maybe a 4th cat surrey league race at Goodwood, or an LVRC race (League of Veteran Cyclists).

Good Luck!

Bronzie

ives. wrote:

Over the winter I borrowed a turbo trainer with a power meter and I could manage half a hour at an average of about 230watts. Is that too low do you think?

Caveat #1 - those things are notoriously unreliable - that's why accurate powermeters start around £500

Caveat #2 - power to weight ratio is a better guide to potential performance rather than watts alone......and that's based on your 1 hour steady state power (Functional Threshold Power or FTP for short)......but the best way to find out is to give it a go.

Your FTP will be in the region of 95% of your 20 min max steady state power. You'd probably be fairly comfortable hanging on in a 4ths only race with around 3.5W/kg and may be able to get placings if you've got a bit of a sprint.

Haven't raced at Palace myself but I think it's quite a tough circuit requiring lots of accelerations out of tight corners and up the climb. Work on improving your FTP to start with and then focus on repeated short, hard efforts.

ives.

thanks guys. Some good advice.
I thought CP would be a good idea since my back garden backs onto the park !!
Anyhow, maybe I'll try an easier race

Toks

ives. wrote:

thanks guys. Some good advice.
I thought CP would be a good idea since my back garden backs onto the park !!
Anyhow, maybe I'll try an easier race

Yeah definitly not the ideal place to start. If you want to race in London, the easiest circuit would be Hillingdon. As a newbie that would be the starting point.Also see links below
http://new.britishcycling.org.uk/road/a ... oad-Racing
http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/web/si ... oad+Racing

ives.

thanks for the links

racingcondor

[shameless plug]
Don't know if you're with a club Ives but if your garden backs on to CP then you could do worse than go for a few rides with Dulwich Paragon and ask people there about starting racing.

http://www.dulwichparagon.com/
[/shameless plug]

Otherwise Hillingdon is probably Londons 'easiest' circuit, Goodwood and Dunsfold Park are also simple races (but not so close) and Hog Hill is excellent (my personal favorite) but can be a little hard on self esteem if you can't manage the hill as well as the bunch so may not be the place for your first race. As others have said CP is pretty technical (tough corners to get right) so I'd recommend racing somewhere else first.

Your alternative is of course to go out, throw yourself into it, don't worry about the result and see what happens. In the end that's what you'll be doing in your first race wherever it is.

ives.

racingcondor wrote:

[shameless plug]
Don't know if you're with a club Ives but if your garden backs on to CP then you could do worse than go for a few rides with Dulwich Paragon and ask people there about starting racing.

http://www.dulwichparagon.com/
[/shameless plug]

Otherwise Hillingdon is probably Londons 'easiest' circuit, Goodwood and Dunsfold Park are also simple races (but not so close) and Hog Hill is excellent (my personal favorite) but can be a little hard on self esteem if you can't manage the hill as well as the bunch so may not be the place for your first race. As others have said CP is pretty technical (tough corners to get right) so I'd recommend racing somewhere else first.

Your alternative is of course to go out, throw yourself into it, don't worry about the result and see what happens. In the end that's what you'll be doing in your first race wherever it is.

thanks mate.
I know the Paragon ride from CP most weekends.I;ve been on a few saturday rides with them and other clubs in South London but truth be told, I'm not a club person.
All those people wearing the same jerseys talking about how great their club is etc... turns me off. Makes me feel like I'm in some sort of cult. I'm a bit of a loner I guess....but not in a serial killer kind of way ( I hope )

Anyway, I think you're right. Hillingdon seems a pretty safe bet for me. Less chance of total humiliation and shame.


cheers
ives.