Getting started racing - part 2

This is part 2 of my quick run down of the things that made me the most nervous before my first Cat 4 race. Let's get straight into it, then...

2)  How fit should I be?

Other versions of this question: How much power do I need? What should my power to weight be? What should my weight be?

None of these questions can be answered. If you are sharp enough tactically, you can race successfully with minimal power and maximal weight. If you are super-powerful, you can pull away on certain courses no matter what your weight. If you're super-light, you could well finish with so little fatigue that you can mix it with the big sprinters.

None of this comes close to assuaging the fears of a first-time racer, though, so let's try to be more concrete.

Firstly: if you can, join in with a chaingang at least once or twice. Regardless of whether it fits in with your training, getting your head in that wheel-following, high-speed zone is going to make far more difference to your success in racing than a missed interval session. Most chaingangs are considerably faster than a C4 race - expect to get dropped at some point, but try to hang on for as long as possible.

So, if chaingangs are faster than a C4, how can you tell if you're fast enough?

Ok. If pushed, and I had to put a number on it, I would say that I would have been happy enough racing when my fitness was at a level where I could sustain, without being on the rivet, 20mph for more than 25 miles over undulating terrain. So there you go. If that's a struggle, you may find your first race a rather demoralising experience. If that's not a struggle, you may still find your first race a demoralising experience if you don't use your head and follow the race.

C4 races can be viciously fast. 40kph averages are quite a step about the low 30s a reasonably sharp club run will be running. However, they can also stop dead - very frustrating if it's because the bunch is being controlled to let a dangerous break go. If you don't have the fitness to go all the way, it's better to just sit in an accept the will of the peleton for the time being. You will be left to dangle if you find yourself in no-man's land.

I guess that those are the two biggest points I wanted to address, but I guess there's time for a few quickies:

3) Will I crash?

Maybe. People will undoubtedly crash into you. If the questions are: Will I hit the deck? Will there be damage? The answers are yes, and yes. Sorry.

4) Will I be shouted at?

Yes. Sometimes it's because you're doing something dangerous. Sometimes it's because some people have a lot of pent-up aggression. Just watch your line and learn when you can.

5) I can't corner. Can I race?

Sadly, yes, and if there's one thing that you can guarantee, it's that you won't be the worst. Less facetiously:  if you can hold a line, yes. You may make it harder on yourself and whoever's behind you, but that's their tough luck. Most races take very safe lines and speeds around all sharp corners and roundabouts, since everybody's tyres are different and nobody wants to be the guy to slide out or to be next to the guy that slides out. If you're in a break, expect to push things quite a lot harder, and descent speeds can be quite scary in a bunch, especially in the wet, so a little bit of confidence won't go amiss, but so long as you're not a danger to anyone else, and you're willing to make back any lost ground, you can learn on the job.

6) Can I cross the centre line?

Commissaires will tell you that you cannot cross the centre line of the road, and that riders doing so will be removed from the race. This does happen, so don't get stuck out there, but it's a simple fact that a bicycle race doesn't work if people can't change their position in the bunch, which frequently occupies the entire lane. If you need to move up, do so on a clear piece of road, do it quickly, and slip back in as soon as possible. There is a considerable advantage to be had for groups attacking on the opposite side of the road around blind curves, but don't be that guy. You could have a serious accident and, worse, get the race called off.

7) What's the best regional-level racing bike?

Why, the Cannondale CAAD 10, of course! Although, if Glasgow Green Cycle Club's new sponsor, Dales Cycles, wishes to lend me some test bikes to try and change my mind, I'm open to experiment...

Good trails!

Getting started racing - part 1

It's that time of year when mildly obsessive people in possession of bicycles (or who have in their possession bicycles - I never really understood the former sentence construction, no matter how apt it might be in this particular case) start thinking about what to do with them when light returns once again to the world. One of the things that the more competitive and less self-preserving bike-nuts might wish to do is race them, but, if they haven't raced before, they might have a few questions about how best to go from now (being mildly inclined to race a bicycle) to then (being a taller, more suave Mark Cavendish and/or Marianne Vos. Maybe not taller than Marianne Vos. Maybe I should stop being heightist and get on with it...).

If they are you, or at least, you number among they, this post and the next one may be for you, providing clear but massively biased answers to the questions that come first to my mind when talking about British Cat 4 racing, based on one season's experience. Clear, I should clarify, in the way that these first two paragraphs aren't.

Enjoy.

1) What kit will I need?

This is a biggy, so let's break it down.

The Bike

"It's not about the bike." Except when it is. We need to subdivide further.

Frame/Forks

I've seen people win on all sorts, but there is a noticeable trade-off between skill needed and how easy your frame makes it. Fundamentally, weight doesn't seem to be as huge an issue in C4 as just riding a bike that you can make work for you. If you're a powerful rider, anything that fits will do you fine. If you're flexy, lightweight, and a bit of a wimp when it comes to putting the power down (like yours truly), you'll need something that's going to allow you to get into an aerodynamic position.

Frame aerodynamics are almost completely ignorable, and will provide a perceived difference only. Better to get something that handles well than something with slab sides and a flexy front end or BB in my book, but it really doesn't matter so long as you're comfortable.

As a general rule, if it's a cheap or obscure bike, you needn't be embarrassed about it. There are plenty of sporty Allez' racing, and a good few CX bikes with road wheels swapped in. Nobody will pay any notice.

On the other hand, if you have a flash bike, expect to need to hold your own. It's the (second) price you pay...

The range of bike will probably be a bit higher than on most of the local club runs, but will probably stop short of superbike territory. Last year, the field was probably about 3/4 carbon fibre, but the type of bike made no difference whatsoever to appearance or finishing position. Cheaper bikes tended to be ridden by less experienced or fit riders, but with a great many exceptions.

Wheels

Wheels make a difference. Aerodynamics are probably slightly more important than weight in most races, but try to get a pair that suits you. I prefer lighter, shallower wheels with more "snap" if the option is between that and a deep but slow to wind up aerodynamic pair. You can get away with stock wheels, but don't expect to see too many in the field, and if you've ever tried a better pair, you may have a sizable chip to carry on your shoulder.

Groupset

I have never seen Sora or Microshift raced, and I would not suggest you be the first to try. I run a Sora/Tiagra mix on my training bike, and would never take it to a race. You have to be prepared for a sprint finish, and the low-end groups are not suited for those stresses at all. The Sora upshifters are far too awkward to reach in a race situation and even when new both the front and the rear mech are far too reluctant to push the chain over.

The most popular racing gruppo seem to be various marques of Ultegra followed by 105, then Red, Dura-Ace and Force. There are a few riders on Campy, but it would be best to stick to a 10-speed system since it'll be virtually impossible to get a replacement wheel in case of a rear puncture otherwise.

I have yet to see an electronic group on a race bike yet, but with Ultegra Di2 coming out last year I expect 2013 will show 1 or 2. I don't think anyone's daft enough to take DuraAce Di2 to a C4 race - shifters and rear derailleurs are the most easily damaged components in any crash.

Clothing

Firstly - shoes. Mountain bike shoes are ok, but most riders will be in race shoes. Toe clips and flats are non-existent.

Everything else - take everything. If you're racing in Britain, you'll probably need it. Though there are rules regarding leg covering, I've never seen them enforced, so leg and arm warmers are usually a good idea even if just for the warm-up. A gilet is possibly the most useful bit of kit after the standard shoes, helmet, shorts and jersey. If it's raining, you'll be able to pin your race number to the gilet and put it over your coat to save you having to worry about number visibility if you change your mind about the jacket, and it'll help immensely with both aerodynamics and warmth. Do not underestimate how cold you might get if you are idling in an unmotivated group. On a similar note - shoe covers are very useful.

If it's wet, have a strategy for glasses. They will get covered with spray even if it's not currently raining - another good reason to have a gilet handy. I personally cannot deal with rain on my glasses, so leave them at the start if I think there's any danger of the lenses becoming obscured.

As for your own appearance - try to look dapper. A bike race is a beautiful thing, after all. If you're worried about shaving your legs - don't worry, and do it. If you aren't worried but just don't want to - don't. There will be other hairy-legged riders, many of whom probably faster than you.

Food and drink

Most C4 races are about long enough to need one 750ml bidon during the race, and an optional gel or two which are most conveniently located under the leg grippers of your shorts.

That concludes the first part of my anecdotal blatherings. Next time - questions about You!

Time to fly

Today I passed an important ordinal; crossed an imaginary line; incremented a counter. I could pretend that such a thing doesn't matter, but to deny the importance of one arbitrary number feels like a denial of all, and what is competition but an exercise in sorting arbitrary numbers? There is plenty in life above and beyond measuring and ordering things, but I can't deny that there is also satisfaction in incrementing distance, increasing speed, and achieving a numerically low finishing position. 

So I reflect now on my first quarter-century.

 I am the first to recognise my own luck in getting to where I am now. 25 is not old, and to be privileged enough to have the money and time to race bicycles at such an age is a rare gift. If I am capable in a race, it is mostly down to my relative age, and to some degree my opportunities for training. At 25, I know that physically, things will never come easier - never again will muscle build this easily, fat so refuse to take up residence, and training so quickly provide results. My immune system is as strong as it will ever be, my bones are strong and my joints are flexible.

 This isn't to say that I won't or can't get faster or stronger - merely that I recognise that I am at a stage in my life where work towards any goal will never be easier, and if I fully apply myself now, I will set myself up to go the furthest I can possibly go down that path.

 This is my mantra for the year; what I must think whenever I am distracted or depressed. What I do this year will set me up for the next quarter-century. In work and on the bike, unalloyed focus now will allow me to enter full adulthood without regret or shortcoming.

 It's going to be a hell of a year.

 Good trails!