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14-03.-2007, 06:53 AM
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#1 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 6
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Should I take up road racing?
I am 16 and have had my road bike for a while now, but only ever use it for rowing training. On an average day I seem to average around 24-26mph without working to hard for a couple of hours, this tends to be far faster than anyone else I cycle with. Just wondering whether this kinda of speed is good enough to think about racing? I was also a national level swimmer in the past and have done x-country at a county level so think traiathalon is a definite posibilty although I have no idea where to start. Any ideas would be great.
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14-03.-2007, 07:45 AM
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#2 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Thornbury, Vic
Posts: 472
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Re: Should I take up road racing?
Find a local club or state sporting institute and ask for 'next steps'.
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14-03.-2007, 10:02 AM
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#3 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 307
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Re: Should I take up road racing?
I have the same question as well. I am 14 and it gets boring riding by yourself for training rides. We sound very similar though, I also ran x-country, ski x-country, and couple of years back I was a state lvl swimmer. My 2 cents...find a local club and get involved w/ them... that is what i am planning on doing but havent found the guts yet. I am sure we could hold are own but its that whole respect, and age difference thing that gets to me.
 And by the way...if you average bloody 24-26 mph quit everything you are doing and go for the pros!!! lol! are you sure your spedometer is calibrated right? Because groups, on good days can average MABYE 23-24mph on extreme ocassions. |
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14-03.-2007, 10:09 AM
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#4 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Virginia
Posts: 296
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Re: Should I take up road racing?
Yeah... about the 24-26 mph... you're either lying, have a faulty computer, or are a freakishly strong cyclist.
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15-03.-2007, 06:53 AM
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#5 | |
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Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 6
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Re: Should I take up road racing?
Quote:
I am not lying and everthing is calibrated right, i do tend to ride alot faster than every1 I have ever riden with, thats why i was wondering whether to take up road racing. |
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15-03.-2007, 07:02 AM
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#6 | |
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Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Virginia
Posts: 296
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Re: Should I take up road racing?
Quote:
In any case, taking up road racing is a good idea at any speed, as long you think you'd enjoy it and are adept at pack-riding. |
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15-03.-2007, 07:24 AM
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#7 | |
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Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 6
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Re: Should I take up road racing?
Quote:
it is actual averages(calculated), i should be reasonably quick as i am an national level rower who trains 11 times a week! all i was wondering is wheter i am going reasonably quick or very very quick and should take up racing. |
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15-03.-2007, 08:30 AM
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#8 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: WA State
Posts: 1,270
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Re: Should I take up road racing?
Sounds like you are more than quick enough to compete with some of the faster guys around here already if you are really going that fast. That's on your own and including in stoping for lights and stop signs, etc? Even if its without any stops 24-26 is pretty respectable for riding on your own (no drafting) and would put you pretty high up in any TT standings around here. I have a team mate who was a rower and she is very strong.
Of course unless its a TT there is more to racing than just going fast..... There are lots of other things, like tactics and how to ride in a group that you'll need to know about. Find yourself a club or a team to ride with, get some experiece with group rides and give racing a try. You'll probably like it and it sounds like you could do very well. |
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15-03.-2007, 11:49 AM
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#9 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 307
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Re: Should I take up road racing?
I'm sorry, there is absolutely no way you can average 24-26mph solo. Unless that is....................................you're DOPING!!!
__________________
This message sent on 100% recyclable electrons. |
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15-03.-2007, 04:01 PM
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#10 | |
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Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: WA State
Posts: 1,270
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Re: Should I take up road racing?
Quote:
Why not? There are people who TT around here faster than that. For a 10 mile TT there was more than one person who did over 27 mph and believe me these are local guys who are not doping |
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15-03.-2007, 10:13 PM
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#11 | |
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Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 466
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Re: Should I take up road racing?
Quote:
are you riding downhill or with a strong wind behind you? is your computer reading kilometers per hour and you think it's mph? I ride in Euro Cat 1 and the race average is 40-45 kph (25-28 mph). There is no way anybody in the world outside of the pro tour is riding that kind of speed alone, especially in training. Also the top professional riders in the world expect to average 40 - 50 kph (25 - 31 mph) in a one hour TT. If what you say is correct - you would not come last in a Pro Tour TT. |
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16-03.-2007, 06:08 AM
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#12 | |
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Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Virginia
Posts: 296
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Re: Should I take up road racing?
Quote:
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16-03.-2007, 07:40 AM
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#13 | |
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Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 6
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Re: Should I take up road racing?
Quote:
I am not making any of the averages up and its definitly MPH, i ride quicker than any one I have ever ridden with, thats why i wanted to know whether or not I should take up road racing. It sounds like I definitly should with the kind of response this topic has got about the speeds I ride at. |
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16-03.-2007, 08:13 AM
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#14 | |
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Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: WA State
Posts: 1,270
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Re: Should I take up road racing?
Quote:
OK - how about a 40K? Most of the non-masters men finished the state TT here in just under 1 hour which means that they averaged more than 25 mph for nearly an hour - many of them were doing upwards of 27 mph. I'm just saying if the kid is really strong its not totally unreasonable. No most people won't start out this way, but we don't know the conditions, they could be quite ideal, maybe "hours" is a bit of an exaggeration, but an hour sure why not - 2 hours maybe. From his background it sounds like he probably already has a well developed cardiovascular system. Give him a break. Lots of factors could be coming together to give him a mile or two more than he thinks he's got, but likely he is really quite fast and he should try racing. He'll find out if he's fast if he tries. Get yourself a pair of clip on aerobars, go find a local TT and give it a try. It sounds like you are probably strong and giving racing a try will let you know one way or the other. You don't really need any special training to try a time trial since you are riding basically on your own against the clock. Just remember you are not allowed to draft anyone and practice pacing yourself. |
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16-03.-2007, 08:14 AM
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#15 | |
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Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: WA State
Posts: 1,270
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Re: Should I take up road racing?
Quote:
OK - how about a 40K? Most of the non-masters men finished the state TT here in just under 1 hour which means that they averaged more than 25 mph for nearly an hour - many of them were doing a little more than 27 mph. I'm just saying if the kid is really strong its not totally unreasonable. No most people won't start out this way, but we don't know the conditions, they could be quite ideal, maybe "hours" is a bit of an exaggeration, but an hour sure why not - 2 hours maybe - especially at the lower end of his speeds. From his background it sounds like he probably already has a well developed cardiovascular system. Give him a break. Lots of factors could be coming together to give him a mile or two more than he thinks he's got, but likely he is really quite fast and he should try racing. He'll find out if he's fast if he tries. Get yourself a pair of clip on aerobars, go find a local TT and give it a try. It sounds like you are probably strong and giving racing a try will let you know one way or the other. You don't really need any special training to try a time trial since you are riding basically on your own against the clock. Just remember you are not allowed to draft anyone and practice pacing yourself. |
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