My first big fat race...

bonkstrong

Right, that's it!! I've just entered my first ever road "race"- the Velo29 Winter series on February 18th.

After reading endless amounts of "bunch postioning" "advice for a first time racer" "which race should I enter" "how fit do I need to be" "how fast do 4th cat crits go" I got thouroughly bored of the same responses. (Very good responses I might add!)

Here's the low down on my and my training...

Age: 28
Height: 5'11
Weight: 17 stone
Miles ridden since September: 14 (yes, fourteen)
Resting Heartrate: beating
Threshold Heartrate: beating really fast
Diet: poor

I have the advantage of having done a fair amount of bunch riding, although I did weigh 4 stone less at the time so my spacial awareness might be out. But at least I should be safe, even if I am at the back..

I'm entering it because a: I love cycling and b: it sounds like a fun thing to do. My adice to others is this... If you are safe in a bunch then you're safe in a race. You mighy not stay with it but who cares? Get entering in to those races.

I'll follow this up with a report of what happened shortly afer "race" day...

nochekmate

I'm sorry to say but given your training & current weight, it's likely to be very short report on your time in the bunch IMO. I think that you will quickly be 'off the back' rather than 'at the back'.

On the other hand at least you are having a go and it can only get better I would imagine!

napoleond

But how fast have you been on your bike?
If you've managed to get over 30 you may win.

bonkstrong

11 months ago I did Leeds to Kendal in 5hrs 23 minutes (80+ miles) up and over the Dales through Grassinton and Hawes. Since then I got fat after quitting smoking, I used to top out flat sprints at around 33-34 mph... the key though is the "used to".

I have wanted to race for years but was always in the "am I fit enough" "which race" "how fast do I need to go" category of potential entrants/forum users. Now I have zero expectations since piling on the weight after quitting smoking. It's a blessing in disguise!!

Herbsman

£5 says you get dropped after the first corner

MikeWW

Good luck and great you are giving it a go
Just puzzled why only 14 miles in the last 4 months if you love cycling?
If I'm off the bike for 2 days I start to get withdrawal symptons

DavidJB

MikeWW wrote:

Good luck and great you are giving it a go
Just puzzled why only 14 miles in the last 4 months if you love cycling?
If I'm off the bike for 2 days I start to get withdrawal symptons

+1

bonkstrong

MikeWW wrote:

Good luck and great you are giving it a go
Just puzzled why only 14 miles in the last 4 months if you love cycling?
If I'm off the bike for 2 days I start to get withdrawal symptons

It's been a combination of back injury, new job, no bike, pregnancy (the Mrs. not me), poorly child, illness and a mental breakdown (again, not me but I had to get involved). To be honest it's been a bad 4 months, so bad in fact that I didn't even notice I wasn't getting out. In the past Mrs. BonkStrong would get annoyed at me for being grouchy and moody because I hadn't been out on my bike for a few days. I think the force is returning to this one though, my belly fizzes every time I see a bike on the road.

And as for chappy betting £5 I get dropped by the first corner?? Very insulting, I am aiming to make at least 3!!!

danowat

Its a go-race / 4th cat on a large, wide motoracing circuit?, depends on who enters, I've done some go-race / 4th cat races and the level of competition ranges from "someone having a go on a hybrid" to "he's never a 4th cat mentalist on top class machinery".

Whatever happens, it will be a trial by fire, after such a limited amount of training I'd have said finishing is going to be an achievement!!!, chances are you'll get dropped on the startline, do whatever you can to keep with the/a pack, because once you are off the back, you've had it!

racingcondor

Your 80+ miles in under 5h30m and top speed of 34mph should mean you'd be OK in a 4th Cat race, unfortunately it sounds like that was a while ago while you were fitter. The mileage since September figure is... not encouraging.

Enjoy it though, you'll have a blast once you're fit enough to stay in the bunch and it'll get you fitter than you've ever been in no time.

Tom Butcher

Yes try and stay at least mid way up the bunch - early season there will be other newbies who get shelled out early on - if you are behind them you are sprinting across a gap just to keep in contact - if you can survive a couple of laps of a circuit race then you can probably survive at least half of it so put everything into those early laps if you have to.

MikeWW

I normally really encourage people to have a go at racing but not so sure in this instance from what you describe
I think you need some sort of base preparation for it to be remotely enjoyable
Personally I'd get 3 months of training ( 5 days/week,6-10 hours riding time) before I got on the start line

Not trying to be negative just realistic

ju5t1n

14 miles is insufficient training …but I suspect you know that and this is a bit of a joke post designed to provoke a funny response or two.

Good luck!

amaferanga

Racing is hard. Even 4th Cat races. I'm not a 4th Cat, but I would expect to be out the back on the first lap as well if I'd only ridden 14 miles since September.

mamba80

Stick at it and you never know where it may end

Good luck!

jgsi

The trick is to do the race and then NOT to get totally discouraged when you see the amount of work you have to do to get competitive in whatever sense you want to use that word.
My first race / season after a huge layoff in terms of time was probably a bigger mental shock as it was a body shock, having to push to those limits normally reserved to near death experiences....

Herbsman

Maybe he meens he's ridden 14 miles at a certain velocity rather than at a certain speed. Think about that for a minute.

turboslave

Good luck and please do come back on and let us know how it went.......................................

atb

Mettan

JGSI wrote:

The trick is to do the race and then NOT to get totally discouraged when you see the amount of work you have to do to get competitive in whatever sense you want to use that word.

Very true.

OP - good luck, and watch out for a fast start - after your first race you'll have a good idea where you currently stand - then it's down to some hard training. Joining a club and doing the mid-week chaingangs are one of the best ways to improve.

bonkstrong

I came dead last in a Cyclo-Cross race on Sunday at Ilkley, the gearing on my pompino was too big to cope with the conditions but that's the risk you run when on a single-speed bike I guess. Still, I had a great day out.

My hard training over the next few weeks has been hampered somewhat by a nasty ongoing chest bug, I'm on Amoxicillin capsuals for the next week so will be off the bike this week - Very frustrating!!

Some great advice so far, I'll keep you all updated on how things are progressing.

PS. Down to 16st 8lb's so that should help a little...

carbon337

I'm doing the same race series. My first race too, however I've been training hard all winter for it. Good luck.

bonkstrong

Last day of the penicillin today but still feeling a little chesty. I managed 10 miles on Saturday at a snail’s pace due to a) not wanting to push it when on antibiotics and b) a headwind of doom for half the ride.

As an indication of how bad/good the aforementioned headwind was, I averaged 19.8kmh on the 5 miles out and 37.4 on the way back on a fairly even profile route.

I was pleased with how restrained I was on the effort yesterday, I wrapped up well and didn't push it at all for once. Bit of a cough this morning but I'm hoping it's just a Monday morning thing and I can get out on the push-iron (or push-plastic in this modern era) tonight. I've got the afternoon off for our 20-weeks scan so I should be home in time for a couple of hours of daylight for some desperately needed miles tonight.

Neil Buckley

danowat wrote:

Its a go-race / 4th cat on a large, wide motoracing circuit?, depends on who enters, I've done some go-race / 4th cat races and the level of competition ranges from "someone having a go on a hybrid" to "he's never a 4th cat mentalist on top class machinery".

Whatever happens, it will be a trial by fire, after such a limited amount of training I'd have said finishing is going to be an achievement!!!, chances are you'll get dropped on the startline, do whatever you can to keep with the/a pack, because once you are off the back, you've had it!

lol, i'm going to be one of them on Saturday, after much TLI racing i'm having a go at BC, Croft is a fast un' so hold on to your hats lol

bonkstrong

Neil Buckley wrote:

Croft is a fast un' so hold on to your hats lol

GULP!! How fast??? :shock:

Neil Buckley

BONKSTRONG wrote:

Neil Buckley wrote:

Croft is a fast un' so hold on to your hats lol

GULP!! How fast??? :shock:

Last one I did there last TLI of last year was 25mph ave and I put 230w out for 1hr 20m

carbon337

Did the cat4 race today - bloody good fun. Some sketchy ground conditions but all very good.

1st race ever and nailed a 3rd place - schweet

andysol

I was there too, but missed the burst of speed out of the penultimate chicane due to my tactical naivety / ability and finished in the pack. About 20-30th. Its was an excellent event. Ill be back to challenge for the next one.
Andy

carbon337

My secret today was stay anywhere between 1st and 8th on the main pack - and just hop onto the breaks as they happened. See Danny Hart and his mate have a big crash on the 1st lap?

andysol

I saw Danny Hart at the start an that was it. I didn't see him crash, i was trying my best to stay out of trouble.

Also i almost got dropped at the start when i slipped off my pedal but manage to recover quickly.

Mostly I stayed at the outside of the pack for the race and moved forward in the last 3 laps.

I was caught a bit napping on the last lap, the flag in my brain to move right to the front did not switch on in the back straight.

Generally on 2 of the corners it was a bit slippy and i thought the outside line was by far the best. If i stayed inside, i slowed down too much for the acceleration from the corners.

Well done on the 3rd place btw!

Lessons learnt...... move forward earlier and be more alert at the end.
Great fun though
Andy

amaferanga

So how many laps did the OP last?

Neil Buckley

andysol wrote:

I was there too, but missed the burst of speed out of the penultimate chicane due to my tactical naivety / ability and finished in the pack. About 20-30th. Its was an excellent event. Ill be back to challenge for the next one.
Andy

Its always the same at croft, people go stupid into the chicane and it all gets swamped so its balls to the wall to get your positioning into the final corner, dunno why? wish they swept the track, wrecked two tubs with all the glass....