thinking of doing some racing

anthony59
anthony59 Posts: 13
edited December 2010 in Amateur race
Hi thinking of doing some racing next year and just wonded if anybody would know a bit more has i have only been cycling for a short time and dont know how to start any info would be greatfull thanks.
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Comments

  • blackhands
    blackhands Posts: 950
    Join a club is your first thing to do.
  • anthony59
    anthony59 Posts: 13
    that sorted joining essex roadsin the new year
  • racingcondor
    racingcondor Posts: 1,434
    Ride with them until you can stick with their fast group then go find a race, there will be plenty of other Essex Roads riders racing so they'll be able to tell you when you're fit enough and guide you through a race or two.

    Good luck, racing is a whole lot of fun.
  • danlikesbikes
    danlikesbikes Posts: 3,898
    blackhands wrote:
    Join a club is your first thing to do.

    +1 on that advice.


    Was new to racing & riding this year so joined a local club who were all really good to me and helped me out.

    Hope you have a good time & keep us posted on your exploits!
    Pain hurts much less if its topped off with beating your mates to top of a climb.
  • lancejambo
    lancejambo Posts: 147
    high paced riding my last race we averaged 38kph was a huge shock to me but hung on to 11th place lol
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/lancejambo/7872222626/

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/lancejambo/7872231406/
  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    It's highly unlikely that anyone without some fast group riding experience will even finish a race - you need to train to get used to big changes in pace and riding at speeds few can manage riding solo. There is no 'jogging along at the back" option in a road race, when the pack surges down the road you can either bust a gut hanging-on or simply tail off. Few beginners even finish their first race - but it's part of the learning experience and gives you some good focus for your training - there's no easy option but that's what makes it so exhilarating.
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • zpin
    zpin Posts: 14
    hi all, i'm in a similar situation to the original poster, I was wondering what weight i'm looking to get to? I'm 6ft2, and weigh 75kg. i like to tell myself its mostly muscle but..... :) How much should i weigh?
    Thanks,
  • Pokerface
    Pokerface Posts: 7,960
    zpin wrote:
    hi all, i'm in a similar situation to the original poster, I was wondering what weight i'm looking to get to? I'm 6ft2, and weigh 75kg. i like to tell myself its mostly muscle but..... :) How much should i weigh?
    Thanks,


    Weight isn't the determining factor. Power and the type of races you do (flat, crits, hilly) will be more important.

    At your height and weight, you're already better off than a LOT of racers. In fact, in line with what a lot of Pros weigh for that height.

    But you need to have an appropriate power level. Doesn't matter if you are 50kg or 100kg - it's how fast you can keep that weight moving along the road!

    (I'm 6 feet and looking to get down to 75kg for racing next year from 82kg last year - I did fine in flat races, but suffered badly in hilly ones.)
  • jonmack
    jonmack Posts: 522
    I'm a sliver over 6ft and currently weigh in at around (just weighed) 66.4kg. What I'm lacking however is power...
  • zpin
    zpin Posts: 14
    okay, thats cool. how do you work out your power output? using an excercise bike down the gym? or can i do it on my own bike?
  • cyco2
    cyco2 Posts: 593
    zpin wrote:
    okay, thats cool. how do you work out your power output? using an excercise bike down the gym? or can i do it on my own bike?

    Respectfully, why don't you start your own post? this is anthony59's
    ...................................................................................................

    If you want to be a strong rider you have to do strong things.
    However if you train like a cart horse you'll race like one.
  • Pokerface
    Pokerface Posts: 7,960
    cyco2 wrote:
    zpin wrote:
    okay, thats cool. how do you work out your power output? using an excercise bike down the gym? or can i do it on my own bike?

    Respectfully, why don't you start your own post? this is anthony59's

    Don't think that's necessary. It's all relevant to the topic at hand and the original poster got his info already.

    You're both very new to the forum and it's common for threads to take different twists and turns.

    As for power measurement, you need something like a powertap or SRM. Or you can do some testing on a decent gym bike.

    Or just go race and see how hard it is!
  • P_Tucker
    P_Tucker Posts: 1,878
    Pokerface wrote:
    Or you can do some testing on a decent gym bike.

    Unless it's got strain gauges, its a random number generator.
  • cyco2
    cyco2 Posts: 593
    zpin, if you want to know a lot about power measurement do a search for it in the posts.
    ...................................................................................................

    If you want to be a strong rider you have to do strong things.
    However if you train like a cart horse you'll race like one.
  • SteveR_100Milers
    SteveR_100Milers Posts: 5,987
    P_Tucker wrote:
    Pokerface wrote:
    Or you can do some testing on a decent gym bike.

    Unless it's got strain gauges, its a random number generator.

    Converting rotational movement into joules per second isn't rocket science. You certainly don't need a strain gauge to measure power output.
    http://www.pontypoolrcc.co.uk/
    www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=44397853765
  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    Don't be fooled into thinking that you 'need' a power meter to go faster or to train for racing - a bit like all the guys turning up for Cat 4 racing with deep section carbon wheels - a lot still get dropped if they haven't do the training. Looking like a pro doesn't mean you can ride like a pro.
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • P_Tucker
    P_Tucker Posts: 1,878
    SteveR_100Milers wrote:
    P_Tucker wrote:
    Pokerface wrote:
    Or you can do some testing on a decent gym bike.

    Unless it's got strain gauges, its a random number generator.

    Converting rotational movement into joules per second isn't rocket science. You certainly don't need a strain gauge to measure power output.

    Accurately, you pretty much do. How else would it work?
  • Richa1181
    Richa1181 Posts: 177
    Does anyone know the cheapest way to get set up with a power meter? My Garmin will let me use one with it but I have no idea where to start in terms of hardware..

    Back to the original question though, I don't think anything will prepare you for your first race. I'd done a lot of riding over the last year and thought I'd be OK turning up to race on the track, but I was quite wrong about that! Even at the lowest level you've got to be prepared to have your legs ripped off just trying to stay on the back of the pack.. My legs hurt more after 1 night of racing than they ever had after any "training" I'd done. My advice would be to work on intervals with a high cadence, if you're OK with not being allowed a full recovery in between efforts then you're half way there!
  • jonmack
    jonmack Posts: 522
    Powertap is probably cheapest, base level model comes in at £650 built into a wheel.
    http://www.cyclepowermeters.com/powerta ... -470-p.asp
  • cyco2
    cyco2 Posts: 593
    Richa..You're new to racing and training so why do you think a gismo will help you get better? The gismo will only confirm what you already know.
    ...................................................................................................

    If you want to be a strong rider you have to do strong things.
    However if you train like a cart horse you'll race like one.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,589
    A power meter with a structured power based training plan can be a big help. Spending hundreds just to record your power output without a plan isn't much use. A cheaper option to start with would be to get a pulse monitor and find a good heart rate based training programme. Many people will argue that training with power is more effective and they may well be right but the key is having the structured plan in place and if a power meter is out of reach then heart rate will allow you a reasonable way of doing this.
  • Richa1181
    Richa1181 Posts: 177
    I didn't say anything about the gizmo making me better cyco; it would just be a decent training tool as Pross suggested.. I've been doing heart rate based training for a while and I don't think you can go wrong with a bit of additional data such as power output. Being able to compare power outputs with people of a similar size/weight is much better than comparing heart rates eh?
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,589
    Being able to compare power outputs with people of a similar size/weight is much better than comparing heart rates eh?

    Yes, but don't get hung up on it. The only comparison that counts is the results sheet of a race. British Cycling have lost some excellent riders due to over reliance on numbers!
  • cyco2
    cyco2 Posts: 593
    Richa1181 wrote:
    Being able to compare power outputs with people of a similar size/weight is much better than comparing heart rates eh?

    If you are going to compare yourself to your friends and get a truly outstanding bit of data then all of you must do the test together on the same machine at the same time. Otherwise other factors come in to play that affect the result. With me comparing power is like comparing washing machines, cars etc..
    You will never be able to look at another rider again without thinking ' He's the same size as me, same bike etc., so how come he beats the pants off me, I Know, he's more powerful'.
    Take a gorrilla and a monkey. Which do you think would be faster going up hill. Likewise if you had two riders of equal power at the same cadence then I would put my money on the fittest one. Road races are not won on power alone they are won on dozens of things and each and every one can be like a thorn in the tyre of a more powerful rider.
    I guess I am old fashioned about training and only found out too late to make it pay but it's what's between your ears is your best training and racing tool.
    ...................................................................................................

    If you want to be a strong rider you have to do strong things.
    However if you train like a cart horse you'll race like one.
  • P_Tucker
    P_Tucker Posts: 1,878
    cyco2 wrote:
    Which do you think would be faster going up hill. Likewise if you had two riders of equal power at the same cadence then I would put my money on the fittest one.

    Dunno, I'd put my money on the lighter one.
  • cyco2
    cyco2 Posts: 593
    P_Tucker wrote:
    cyco2 wrote:
    Which do you think would be faster going up hill. Likewise if you had two riders of equal power at the same cadence then I would put my money on the fittest one.

    Dunno, I'd put my money on the lighter one.

    I didn't want to elaborate too much because there are dozens of variants. I was small for a road racer and less power than a taller rider. But, I didn't have to push so much air out of the way. The thing is I was trying to give an answer for Rich where you could visibly and easily measure the differences but the one who was best was where it was for something you couldn't see. Like each and every rider likes to think they have that person inside them that can out climb, out sprint, out ride anybody. My best training mate because mostly I had to be on my own was the Belfast Bee.
    ...................................................................................................

    If you want to be a strong rider you have to do strong things.
    However if you train like a cart horse you'll race like one.
  • P_Tucker
    P_Tucker Posts: 1,878
    cyco2 wrote:
    P_Tucker wrote:
    cyco2 wrote:
    Which do you think would be faster going up hill. Likewise if you had two riders of equal power at the same cadence then I would put my money on the fittest one.

    Dunno, I'd put my money on the lighter one.

    I didn't want to elaborate too much because there are dozens of variants. I was small for a road racer and less power than a taller rider. But, I didn't have to push so much air out of the way. The thing is I was trying to give an answer for Rich where you could visibly and easily measure the differences but the one who was best was where it was for something you couldn't see. Like each and every rider likes to think they have that person inside them that can out climb, out sprint, out ride anybody. My best training mate because mostly I had to be on my own was the Belfast Bee.

    Fair enough. Carry on.
  • cyco2
    cyco2 Posts: 593
    Young man, I'm not sure that asking me to 'carry on' is the right phrase to use :wink:

    Because I may not know what the hell I'm talking about or I may have forgotten far more than you have learned or I may put a different look on things that I may find far to intellectually challenging to explain :cry: All in the spirit of Christmas, of course :)
    .
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    .I have to keep putting these things in to stop my signature getting mixed up with my post
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    ...................................................................................................

    If you want to be a strong rider you have to do strong things.
    However if you train like a cart horse you'll race like one.
  • Richa1181
    Richa1181 Posts: 177
    I agree with cyco, you really can't judge a rider just by looking at them. I have fairly slim legs and I ride with a guy who's a similar height/build but has giant calves. He certainly looks a more impressive cyclist but he doesn't have any more power on the flat and loses out on long climbs because of his fitness
  • maryka
    maryka Posts: 748
    I actually think powermeters might be more useful to beginner racers than to super experienced ones. When I first got mine, which coincided when I began to race seriously, I was very motivated to get fitter, make the numbers larger, hit higher peak power, etc. and also found it useful in a race to look down and gauge how soon I was about to blow up if the numbers were hitting my limit and/or push myself to work harder if the numbers looked low. Power is a great motivating training tool for the right person* and in things like TTs can be invaluable for pacing.

    Nowadays in road racing I spend more time riding tactically and doing what I have to do to achieve the result I want, but I still think a powermeter is a great training and analysis tool. I still pore over my training and race files afterwards to learn from them. The key is you have to invest the time to learn how to use one properly. It won't make you go faster by itself, it's just a training tool like anything else. You have to do the work, and with a powermeter, that work includes getting home and spending some time in front of the computer looking at the data.

    *some people are very driven by data and numbers. some find that distracting and unmotivating. If you're not sure which one you are, you're better off renting a powermeter first for a few months for ~£12/week before dropping big money buying one.
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