Some Road Racing questions...

jmass03

As some of you might know I recently started road biking. I'm not new to the sport-- transitioning over from mountain biking. I just moved to Orlando (lived here my whole life, but have spent the past 4 years in Atlanta, GA), and I'm looking to get involved in road biking. I haven't come out for a local windermere ride yet, its still on the to do list. My main concern with those rides is, I'm not really looking forward to doing 40 miles everytime like some of you do. Not sure if I'm allowed to cut it short. Also, a friend of mine told me to start racing--he said go ahead and try a Category 5 crit and see how you do. So just wondering, what is involved? How do these races go? How long are they? Is there anything special I have to do? Are they held on a track or a course? Thanks so much for the help guys! I look forward to seeing some of you soon!

Jonathan

daveryanwyoming

Call a local bike shop and ask about nearby races. Go out and watch a crit or local road race and see if it looks like fun to you. Racing is great, but the learning curve is very steep at the beginning. Crits in particular go real fast and require some very fast riding in close quarters and good bike handling skills. Road races are a bit more relaxed at times but awfully hard during the crunch periods. I highly recommend racing if riding fast, hard and with others appeals to you, but it is very tough at the beginning so it pays to know what you're getting into. Watching a couple of local races might help you understand what the racing scene is all about.

Also ask the local shops about clubs and open club rides for various ability levels in your area. A good and supportive racing club can teach you a lot about high end bike riding and be a good stepping stone to sanctioned racing. Many shops sponsor teams, but try to find a club or team that's open to newer racers and willing to help you learn the ropes.

Good luck,
Dave

Eden

Wow where to start...
A criterium race is usually held on several closed city blocks. The course can be as simple as a rectangle or as complicated as a figure 8 or worse, the more corners, the more technical the course usually is. Fast downhill corners make the course more difficult, flat crits are technically easier, but the pace can be brutal.
Crits are generally run by time + a certain number of laps, usually between 2 and 8. For beginner men (cat 5's) crits around here are not usually more than 35 minutes.
I would suggest before you run out and jump into either your local crit or your local road race you get some experience riding in with other people ina group. You want to know how to paceline safely and how to corner well before you get out there. If there is a crit series in your area, often before the racing starts there will be a beginners clinic.