Considering racing: how can i gauge my competitiveness?

mfereborn

I'm looking to start racing in south/west wales as of september, and perhaps in the north prior to then however i have no idea of what level people will be competiting at.

Now i am a fit young lad, with a will to push on and i don't undergo the hitting-of-the-wall syndrome, however i expect there are plenty more people out there like me and beyond!

How can i get a better idea of what level i need to race at to be competitive? Or will this fall down to time and experience?

I understand the more training you put in the better you will become however currently i have no idea who i would likely be racing against, what their levels of ability are and how i would fare in the average open-race.

If it helps at all i plan to enter whatever i can for my age/novice ability at first and see where it goes from there!

My normal riding consists of riding old railway lines, light XC, wooded paths, steep downhill sections, serious hill climbs and plenty of cumbrian/yorkshire stints so i think ive got the ability to race assuming i can do the above competently.

Cheers lads and lasses!

nonnac85

Enter an open / fun / sport category (terminology depends on race or series) and see for yourself how you get on but it sounds like you will manage fine.
Once you have done a race and seen where you come you will be able to judge which category to enter the next time.

mfereborn

Can i ask some noob-ish questions?

Well, i will anyway:

1) How are categories normally graded? By experience level?
2) How do you normally enter, sign up and pay on the day?
3) What kind of fee's are 'the norm'?
4) I assume there are prizes involved for the top 3 or so from each group?

Mc Smiley

Yeah no way you can gauge your fitness really unless you race or ride with someone who races. Oh and if you don't hit the wall it only means you haven't gone for long enough, everyone does eventually.

So just get racing, Soggy Bottom series in the sw that goes over the winterand there are enduro races in south wales.
Oh and you may think you are fit but race fit is differentt. Also as you say you'll need to get used to racing, people don't just get out your way so make your time up on the hills, as unless you a 4x racer passing on the downhills will be dangerous and difficult.

Enjoy though, racing is a good laugh if you don't get too worked up about it, and some courses are incredibly quick and technical.

thel33ter

Enter the eilte catogory, and you never know

What Nonnac is saying is pretty much right, then just don't get overtaken by an 8 year old on a BSO.

thel33ter

mfereborn wrote:

Can i ask some noob-ish questions?

Well, i will anyway:

1) How are categories normally graded? By experience level?
2) How do you normally enter, sign up and pay on the day?
3) What kind of fee's are 'the norm'?
4) I assume there are prizes involved for the top 3 or so from each group?

1. By experience and age
2.Either pay on the day but for most events you can pre book.
3.Between £10-£30 for a normal race up to a hundred or two for 12/24 hour races ect.
4.Yea, normally cash or vouchers

mfereborn

Cheers lads its all good advice.


I assume each race organiser will set their own rules, but is there a general set i should know about?

nonnac85

If you want to overtake, make sure you have room to do so safely and call e.g. passing on your right so they know to move to their left.
Dont drop gel sachets etc if you use them - they are much lighter once empty anyway!
Get off the track if you need to stop. Check before rejoining.

Its mostly common sense but it does seem to evade some people on race day!

mfereborn

Is it common place to shout "passing"?

Coiming from a world of motorcycles i would expect to simply find a good place to overtake and then try and dart past!

nonnac85

Yes most people do - although most of the time you will be aware of someone coming, you need to know which side they are passing on. Also you can get caught out if you yourself are concentrating on passing the person in front of you.
If it is a wide fireroad type section, you can just nip past no problem.

mfereborn

so generally just use common sense then?

Excellent, looking forward to this! i'll have to get the bike ready first though!

cheers

MikeWW

Good luck
Don't leave it too long-season is nearly over by September
Probably the hardest thing to adapt to in racing is the pace. Most of the XC races are around 1 1/2 hrs and are surprisingly quick compared to "normal riding" all depends how well you want to do though

mfereborn

I think I might get msyelf into a race mid summer, just to see whats what, and then train up until the winter when the winter series in south wales starts, perhaps entering that as my first real attempt, i'll need to have a good think and see how the bike copes with its new build first!