First Race Ever, Seeking Advice

[campbelljen78@gmail.com]

Hi everyone!

I have not read the FAQ for this group and apologize in advance.
Just looking for a few things, as I have decided that I want to enter
a cycling race. It is a burning desire that I have and have been
discouraged by everyone I have discussed this with thus far.

I have been told that,

"It is really not the season. You're too late. You should wait."
"You can't just go enter a race. It's really hard. Racing is really
hard, especially if you've never done it."
"You need a good road-racing bike. You can't just race with a cheap
bike."

I still want to race. I'm doing my research because I don't know a
thing about racing. Thus I am asking folks here if you could direct
me toward the proper sources:
1. Books, articles or whatever -- for learning the basics to be
prepared for a first race.
2. Other newsgroups and/or email lists to join.

I am hoping to go to Tuscon. I will have to fly. I will need to rent
a bike, as I cannot afford to ship my own bike. This looks like a
good first race. Again, I just want to race one time before I die.

I don't have much in the way of gear either -- frankly, I'm poor.
(Ah, but I have frequent flyer miles...) I have spoken to folks in my
town. One guy I rode with told me I should really buy some cleats....
I can't afford them. I've got just the basic stuff: the biking
shorts; gloves and helmut -- the necessary items that I can't do
without (the first two are necessary to avoid lots of pain, of
course.)

I appreciate the time anyone has taken to read this post. I hope you
can tell me where to go to learn what I need in a hurry! And if you
prefer to email me, this forum has the wrong email for me. I
generally check my yahoo account more frequently:
campbelljen78@yahoo.com

Thanks for anything you can tell me!
Jen

[Simon Brooke]

in message <1192255033.706537.302320@q3g2000prf.googlegroups.c om>,
campbelljen78@gmail.com (' campbelljen78@gmail.com') wrote:

> Hi everyone!
>
> I have not read the FAQ for this group and apologize in advance.
> Just looking for a few things, as I have decided that I want to enter
> a cycling race. It is a burning desire that I have and have been
> discouraged by everyone I have discussed this with thus far.
>
> I have been told that,
>
> "It is really not the season. You're too late. You should wait."
> "You can't just go enter a race. It's really hard. Racing is really
> hard, especially if you've never done it."
> "You need a good road-racing bike. You can't just race with a cheap
> bike."

All this is bollocks. Go and race. Don't expect to win - expect to be
dropped. Don't be upset if you're dropped humiliatingly early - quite
often the fast boys will set a high pace for the first few miles just to
burn off people like you (and me). Try to finish the course anyway - it's
good discipline and good practice. You may find that there's a group of
other not-so-experienced riders who also get dropped quite early, and you
can continue to ride in a group, even if it isn't a group that's in
contention.

If you get a taste of racing now, and if you train steadily over the
winter, you'll be in a much better shape for next season's racing.

Racing is really hard. Everyone wants to win; a lot of them are stronger
than you, and when you're a beginner all of them are more experienced than
you. As you gain experience and strength, as someone said, it doesn't get
easier, you just go faster. But just because it's hard is not a reason for
not doing it.

Finally, as someone else once said, it's not about the bike. I ride as
fancy a bike as anyone in my club, and I'm not going to win anything.
Good, strong young lads on much cheaper bikes beat me easily. Yes, a good
bike is a wonderful thing to have, but...

You'll find that many races require you to be in a particular licence
category, and you can only earn those categories through racing; so you
may need to start with smaller, less prestigious races than you'd like.

--
simon@jasmine.org.uk (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

my other car is #<Subr-Car: #5d480>
;; This joke is not funny in emacs.

[Ron Ruff]

On Oct 12, 11:57 pm, campbellje...@gmail.com wrote:
> Thanks for anything you can tell me!
> Jen

Yes racing is hard and you probably get dropped right off the bat and
pulled from the race shortly thereafter (if it is a crit). If it is a
road race you will probably be riding by yourself. Since you are poor,
I question how much that experience would be worth to you. Plus,
renting a bike seems silly. If you can't afford to ship your bike then
how can you afford the cab fare, hotel, racing license and entry fee,
etc?

[bjw@mambo.ucolick.org]

On Oct 12, 10:57 pm, campbellje...@gmail.com wrote:
> Hi everyone!
>
> I have not read the FAQ for this group and apologize in advance.
> Just looking for a few things, as I have decided that I want to enter
> a cycling race. It is a burning desire that I have and have been
> discouraged by everyone I have discussed this with thus far.
>
> I have been told that,
>
> "It is really not the season. You're too late. You should wait."
> "You can't just go enter a race. It's really hard. Racing is really
> hard, especially if you've never done it."
> "You need a good road-racing bike. You can't just race with a cheap
> bike."
>
> I still want to race. I'm doing my research because I don't know a
> thing about racing. Thus I am asking folks here if you could direct
> me toward the proper sources:
> 1. Books, articles or whatever -- for learning the basics to be
> prepared for a first race.
> 2. Other newsgroups and/or email lists to join.
>
> I am hoping to go to Tuscon. I will have to fly. I will need to rent
> a bike, as I cannot afford to ship my own bike. This looks like a
> good first race. Again, I just want to race one time before I die.

I'm confused. Are you talking about doing the
El Tour de Tucson? That is basically a mass-start
century ride that some large fraction of people
treat as a race. It's somewhat different from a
typical USCF sanctioned race, which is what most of
the respondents are talking about. The people who
actually treat El Tour as a race are very fast. On the
other hand, anyone, including non-fast people, can
complete it if they are prepared to ride a bit
over 100 miles. That doesn't require extreme fitness,
but it's a good idea to have ridden some long
distances before to build up endurance and recognize
and avoid the problems that can happen on long rides
(cramps, bonking from not eating enough, etc).

If you need to rent a bike in Tucson, contact some
local bike shops. http://www.bikegaba.org/Bike_Rentals.htm
Make clear you want a road bike not a hybrid or MTB
or something.

Regarding beginning racing, the best way to do it is
to hook up with some local cycling club that is friendly
to newcomers and start going on group rides with them.
You'll learn stuff about riding in groups, riding fast,
training and so on better than you can pick it up from
any text medium.

Ben

[JK]

Thanks for all this. I was already feeling that just because it is
hard and might suck and be humiliating that this is no reason not to
do it (hasn't stopped me from doing a lot of other things that have
kicked my ass.)

I did read through the FAQ. And I've gotten my hands on books already
(library today.) I've already been in touch with local organizations.

Thanks again!



On Oct 13, 5:39 am, Simon Brooke <si...@jasmine.org.uk> wrote:

> All this is bollocks. Go and race. Don't expect to win - expect to be
> dropped. Don't be upset if you're dropped humiliatingly early - quite

> Racing is really hard. Everyone wants to win; a lot of them are stronger

> But just because it's hard is not a reason for
> not doing it.

> Yes, a good
> bike is a wonderful thing to have, but...

> si...@jasmine.org.uk (Simon Brooke)http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

[Tom Kunich]

"Simon Brooke" <simon@jasmine.org.uk> wrote in message
news:bsj6u4-jco.ln1@gododdin.internal.jasmine.org.uk...
>
> All this is bollocks. Go and race. Don't expect to win - expect to be
> dropped. Don't be upset if you're dropped humiliatingly early - quite
> often the fast boys will set a high pace for the first few miles just to
> burn off people like you (and me). Try to finish the course anyway - it's
> good discipline and good practice. You may find that there's a group of
> other not-so-experienced riders who also get dropped quite early, and you
> can continue to ride in a group, even if it isn't a group that's in
> contention.

And sometimes the pacesetters for the front guys burn out and wait for the
laughing group to come along and then they get on the front and set a
"finishing" pace that most can match.

As Simon says, you WILL get dropped and it WILL be extremely early - maybe
within a mile of the start. And also as he says, don't let that bother you
or give you the idea that the front guys are super-human or whatever. If you
keep racing and training, in a couple of years you'll be riding with the
front group.

> Finally, as someone else once said, it's not about the bike. I ride as
> fancy a bike as anyone in my club, and I'm not going to win anything.
> Good, strong young lads on much cheaper bikes beat me easily. Yes, a good
> bike is a wonderful thing to have, but...

To tell you the truth I have some of the finest racing bikes in the world -
Colnago C40, Time VX, Look KG 241, Eddy Merckx EX Pro, Basso Loto etc. and
the two steel bikes I have are generally the heaviest but best racing bikes
I have.

Your entire focus should be simply to finish the race. Good luck.

[JK]

On Oct 13, 11:53 am, Ron Ruff <rruffrr...@yahoo.com> wrote:


Hi,

Thanks for your input. I actually do not even own a racing bike, so
shipping would be pointless anyway. However the cost of shipping my
bike to Europe from the states (a few years ago when I moved there for
work) was far more than the rental costs that I have already been
quoted.

The experience would be worth it to me because -- as I said in my
first post -- I would like to ride in one race before I die. It is
really that simple. The other costs might not apply to me, as I have
been put in touch with people I can stay with and who will pick me up
from the airport, etc.

In any case, I've been putting money aside for a first race and not
putting it into other things that others might use it for (my car was
stolen a few months back and I would rather put money into this than
save for a car. I've adapted to walking and public transport even
though my little town doesn't have much in the way of public transport
and I have been mugged once... It's just life.)

Thanks for posting and pointing out things that I might not have
thought of -- I wasn't too informative in my first post and didn't
mention that I have already looked into the costs that you mention, so
that very well might have been a rude awakening!

Thanks

> Since you are poor,
> I question how much that experience would be worth to you. Plus,
> renting a bike seems silly. If you can't afford to ship your bike then
> how can you afford the cab fare, hotel, racing license and entry fee,
> etc?

[Derek]

Just go race and stop looking online for reassurance that you're doing
the right thing.

On Oct 13, 3:35 pm, "b...@mambo.ucolick.org" <b...@mambo.ucolick.org>
wrote:
> On Oct 12, 10:57 pm, campbellje...@gmail.com wrote:
>
>
>
> > Hi everyone!
>
> > I have not read the FAQ for this group and apologize in advance.
> > Just looking for a few things, as I have decided that I want to enter
> > a cycling race. It is a burning desire that I have and have been
> > discouraged by everyone I have discussed this with thus far.
>
> > I have been told that,
>
> > "It is really not the season. You're too late. You should wait."
> > "You can't just go enter a race. It's really hard. Racing is really
> > hard, especially if you've never done it."
> > "You need a good road-racing bike. You can't just race with a cheap
> > bike."
>
> > I still want to race. I'm doing my research because I don't know a
> > thing about racing. Thus I am asking folks here if you could direct
> > me toward the proper sources:
> > 1. Books, articles or whatever -- for learning the basics to be
> > prepared for a first race.
> > 2. Other newsgroups and/or email lists to join.
>
> > I am hoping to go to Tuscon. I will have to fly. I will need to rent
> > a bike, as I cannot afford to ship my own bike. This looks like a
> > good first race. Again, I just want to race one time before I die.
>
> I'm confused. Are you talking about doing the
> El Tour de Tucson? That is basically a mass-start
> century ride that some large fraction of people
> treat as a race. It's somewhat different from a
> typical USCF sanctioned race, which is what most of
> the respondents are talking about. The people who
> actually treat El Tour as a race are very fast. On the
> other hand, anyone, including non-fast people, can
> complete it if they are prepared to ride a bit
> over 100 miles. That doesn't require extreme fitness,
> but it's a good idea to have ridden some long
> distances before to build up endurance and recognize
> and avoid the problems that can happen on long rides
> (cramps, bonking from not eating enough, etc).
>
> If you need to rent a bike in Tucson, contact some
> local bike shops. http://www.bikegaba.org/Bike_Rentals.htm
> Make clear you want a road bike not a hybrid or MTB
> or something.
>
> Regarding beginning racing, the best way to do it is
> to hook up with some local cycling club that is friendly
> to newcomers and start going on group rides with them.
> You'll learn stuff about riding in groups, riding fast,
> training and so on better than you can pick it up from
> any text medium.
>
> Ben