4th cat and nearly 40...is there hope!
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Right you have the bike ,you have the fitness ,but no experience !!! That is why you have cats!!!! as soon a you get good enough learn your race craft you get points and move up,simple...it might take a couple of seasons just stay away from the kids and the numptys that won't get out of the drops !I had to Slam on the brakes or crash the other month I know the risks........
There is all sorts of racing that won't kill you ,cyclocross for one, you might get frostbite though !!! chill out it's meant To be fun
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djbarren wrote:Tom BB wrote:Shame that NapD is in 'guest' mode whatever that is?......it maybe a good idea for him to take a step back from the forum though at the minute.....plenty of trolls on here enjoy baiting him, and in all honesty he is labouring the point about his crash.
The sheer amount of crashes in circuit racing do put me off.....I race mtb and have done one road race-will race more road races next year for training......I do worry about getting knocked off though! Plenty of interval training should help the OP out imo.
Has any one actually stopped for a while and think to themselves that NapD might have been off his head when he was commenting on this thread? Cut him some slack. Of course he is going to be in bad form he has a broken back for crying out loud.
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Im 56 and only been riding for 3 years and the fastest 10 Ive ever ridden is 23.50 and that was exceptional. Ive ridden about 6 4th cat races and came 6th in the last one out of over 30 riders. I could have even won it but was boxed in at the end with riders dying in front of me instead of accelerating. I wasnt even out of breath at the end. I probably should have gone slightly earlier in the sprint but the race before I went way too early and came last. It was more a lone break. So I am learning something in 4th only races. I agree that just trying to get easy points so that you can be cat 3 is unrealistic but a mixture of kickings and victories keeps morale up. I have no ambition towards Cat 2 at my age but cat 3 will be a small achievement. Four of the races I have ridden featured accidents and it does worry me, I really cant afford to end up like Nap D. The other downside about racing is the cost of entry and petrol not to mention the time traveling.Pegoretti
Colnago
Cervelo
Campagnolo0 -
on-yer-bike wrote:. The other downside about racing is the cost of entry and petrol not to mention the time traveling.
I suppose firing the Delorean up to 88mph must get through some fuel.0 -
celbianchi wrote:on-yer-bike wrote:. The other downside about racing is the cost of entry and petrol not to mention the time traveling.
I suppose firing the Delorean up to 88mph must get through some fuel.
Nicely done, sir. 0 -
celbianchi wrote:on-yer-bike wrote:. The other downside about racing is the cost of entry and petrol not to mention the time traveling.
I suppose firing the Delorean up to 88mph must get through some fuel.
Sorry, was that a joke?Pegoretti
Colnago
Cervelo
Campagnolo0 -
on-yer-bike wrote:celbianchi wrote:on-yer-bike wrote:. The other downside about racing is the cost of entry and petrol not to mention the time traveling.
I suppose firing the Delorean up to 88mph must get through some fuel.
Sorry, was that a joke?
something to do with 'time travelling' I think....
Anyway, congrats on mixing it up at 56 - I hope I can still do the same when I get there....0 -
on-yer-bike wrote:celbianchi wrote:on-yer-bike wrote:. The other downside about racing is the cost of entry and petrol not to mention the time traveling.
I suppose firing the Delorean up to 88mph must get through some fuel.
Sorry, was that a joke?
No need to apologise.
Dig out a copy of Back to the Future and you'll see how this hilarious pun works.0 -
celbianchi wrote:on-yer-bike wrote:celbianchi wrote:on-yer-bike wrote:. The other downside about racing is the cost of entry and petrol not to mention the time traveling.
I suppose firing the Delorean up to 88mph must get through some fuel.
Sorry, was that a joke?
No need to apologise.
Dig out a copy of Back to the Future and you'll see how this hilarious pun works.
Traveling time. Ha ha! Didn't see the film.Pegoretti
Colnago
Cervelo
Campagnolo0 -
I wish 4th cat middle aged men would stop crying. Enough riders in the TDF are mid 30s so there isn't really an excuse. You're just genetically weak, it's not your age.
4th cat racing is fun anyway, think more about living the moment in the race than trying to get up to another category. There is not much point in racing if all you're going to do is sit in the bunch and maybe pick up points in the sprint for a promo once every 10 races. More to racing then that. Of course you could get into 3rd cat if you got what it takes.....but if you're struggling already do you want to be racing in races where you're on everyones coat tails or ones where you can have some fun and attack?The British Empire never died, it just moved to the Velodrome0 -
Try some other 'high profile' events like the 3 Peaks CX or Isle of Man TT - just for fun, it'll give you a different outlook on road racing.
If you really want to improve sprint finishes, consider taking up track racing if that's possible. It'll help.0 -
BG2000 wrote:Try some other 'high profile' events like the 3 Peaks CX or Isle of Man TT - just for fun, it'll give you a different outlook on road racing.
If you really want to improve sprint finishes, consider taking up track racing if that's possible. It'll help.
+1 it does indeed. Doesnt do anything for your climbing though0 -
Lots of good tips here so far.
I'm well into my 40s had my first go at racing a couple of years ago. I got hooked by the buzz, despite regularly getting spat out at first. After a few races, I learnt to look out for and respond to the changes in pace and was able to finish in the bunch. Followed this up with some regular weekly interval sessions and presto, I was getting in the points and am now able to compete ok in most 2/3/4 races.
I think this is the key to getting competitive and the best way to learn is by racing. Just enjoy it; don't go looking for the points - you easily have the base fitness needed to progress, so just ride your own race and the points will come to you.
Good luck!0 -
Wow, am really surprised (and a bit saddened) at some of the responses here. A real-life cautionary tale of how things can go seriously wrong is most definitely NOT out of place here. Granted, maybe the moral of the tale shouldn't be 'don't race', but particularly for us over 40 or so, our bodies heal slower, and we have less opportunity to rebuild careers. A bit of caution ain't a bad thing.
'There are old pilots, and there are bold pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots'.0 -
Oh god.Pseudonym wrote:surista wrote:'There are old pilots, and there are bold pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots'.
actually, there are. I know plenty of 'veteran' racers who fit both the 'old' and the 'bold' descriptions....
CAPTAIN BUCKFAST'S CYCLING TIPS - GUARANTEED TO WORK! 1 OUT OF 10 RACING CYCLISTS AGREE!0 -
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er, I think both of you monkeys are missing the point a little bit. 'Surista' implied that there are no 'old, bold' racers. I said that there were. Whether it is obvious or not, ain't the issue...0
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Pseudonym wrote:er, I think both of you monkeys are missing the point a little bit. 'Surista' implied that there are no 'old, bold' racers. I said that there were. Whether it is obvious or not, ain't the issue...
I think you have missed the point yourself. He didn't actually say that there are no old, bold racers, and he obviously didn't mean that. He simply recided a well-known quote from a TV show; it's used to imply that people who aren't careful generally don't last very long, whereas people who have lasted long are generally very careful.CAPTAIN BUCKFAST'S CYCLING TIPS - GUARANTEED TO WORK! 1 OUT OF 10 RACING CYCLISTS AGREE!0 -
Herbsman wrote:Pseudonym wrote:er, I think both of you monkeys are missing the point a little bit. 'Surista' implied that there are no 'old, bold' racers. I said that there were. Whether it is obvious or not, ain't the issue...
I think you have missed the point yourself. He didn't actually say that there are no old, bold racers, and he obviously didn't mean that. He simply recided a well-known quote from a TV show; it's used to imply that people who aren't careful generally don't last very long, whereas people who have lasted long are generally very careful.
you must be very clever to have assumed all that.....0 -
Pseudonym wrote:Herbsman wrote:Pseudonym wrote:er, I think both of you monkeys are missing the point a little bit. 'Surista' implied that there are no 'old, bold' racers. I said that there were. Whether it is obvious or not, ain't the issue...
I think you have missed the point yourself. He didn't actually say that there are no old, bold racers, and he obviously didn't mean that. He simply recided a well-known quote from a TV show; it's used to imply that people who aren't careful generally don't last very long, whereas people who have lasted long are generally very careful.
you must be very clever to have assumed all that.....
No. I must be stupid to have assumed that you could read and understand basic English.CAPTAIN BUCKFAST'S CYCLING TIPS - GUARANTEED TO WORK! 1 OUT OF 10 RACING CYCLISTS AGREE!0 -
Pseudonym wrote:Herbsman wrote:No. I must be stupid to have assumed that you could read and understand basic English.
whatever you say, fella. Perhaps with your expert grasp of English, you could explain what 'recided' means..?
I'll leave that with you.....
'Recided' means you are an idiot in Estonian0 -
Pseudonym wrote:Herbsman wrote:No. I must be stupid to have assumed that you could read and understand basic English.
whatever you say, fella. Perhaps with your expert grasp of English, you could explain what 'recided' means..?
I'll leave that with you.....
Read this, if you can understand it.CAPTAIN BUCKFAST'S CYCLING TIPS - GUARANTEED TO WORK! 1 OUT OF 10 RACING CYCLISTS AGREE!0 -
The funny thing is, I noticed the typo last night and couldn't be arsed to correct it - I didn't think anyone would be that pathetic that they'd need to pick up on it to score 'points' in a childish argument.CAPTAIN BUCKFAST'S CYCLING TIPS - GUARANTEED TO WORK! 1 OUT OF 10 RACING CYCLISTS AGREE!0
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Herbsman wrote:The funny thing is, I noticed the typo last night and couldn't be arsed to correct it - I didn't think anyone would be that pathetic that they'd need to pick up on it to score 'points' in a childish argument.
which is exactly what you're doing now, incidentally. Anyway, I'll leave you to have the last word - you sound like the kind of fella that likes to have it.....0 -
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oldwelshman wrote:monnet wrote:
TT imes are irrelevent with respect to racing, unless your talking about 30 minutes for a 10 in which case dont race.
Out of interest, what sort of TT time for a ten would be a reasonable point to start thinking about entering a few races...27mins...25mins?0 -
Duncanandthemachine wrote:oldwelshman wrote:monnet wrote:
TT imes are irrelevent with respect to racing, unless your talking about 30 minutes for a 10 in which case dont race.
Out of interest, what sort of TT time for a ten would be a reasonable point to start thinking about entering a few races...27mins...25mins?
An hour and a half if we judge by my standards
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