I haven't raced, mostly due to car wreck, work, surgery, etc., but then there is that whole team thing which I HATED. I am definitely not a team kind of gal. A Tour de France trip, a couple of 1/2 IM races and an IM this fall kind of take up the rest of this year's schedule, but I may try it next year. And yeah, You-Know-Who told me it would be good for me.

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

I have followed through with my committment to road race this year as a way to better my triathlon bike splits. I haven't actually raced yet. I am still fulfilling my race marshalling duties (required before racing in club races). I'm psyched to get into the game! I'm not sure about the team thing either (as Cathy noted in her post). I don't want any drama. Just good racing. ;-)

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Adam Duncan
New York, NY

I did some crits early in the season and they were awesome. My bike handling skills have improved a ton, as has my confidence. The racing is really nothing like a tri, though. There were accelerations after every corner, the pace would just be blistering at certain points in the race, and the crashes are pretty massive.

I plan on doing them again next year.

What is it about the presence of teams that is bumming you out? I race with a few other triathletes and we have a blast. It is great to know that if you attack and get reeled in, you have at least set up a counter-attack for your teammates who were not obligated to work to bring you back. This past weekend, we did a crit with four of us and spent forty minutes attacking, marking, and counter-attacking. We are still learning the best ways to get a guy off the front and it is fun trying different tactics. One of the race officials even commented that it was great to see some organization in the lower categories and tactics being used by people other than the Pro 1,2s. The best thing about teaming with fellow triathletes is that the common feeling is, "when in doubt, work." Unless at least one of our guys is in the break, we can always be counted on to close a gap.

I have not done any bike racing this year but I did join a cycling team last October and have trained all winter with them. One thing that is great about riding with roadies is that they go HARD all the time. Wind, rain, hills, flats it doesn't matter, they are going fast. I have my first tri this weekend, so I will be able to see how my cycling has improved. I certainly feel stronger and more confident.

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"No one ever told me they made black fondant!" - Duff Goldman

1. Way too much structure for me--wearing the same thing, riding the same bike, eating the same food (kidding), too many "required" off the bike things, doing the exact same training for everyone (when there were all kinds of abilities and goals), too many goofy little rules. Do I need to go on?

2. If I race, I race for me. Give up a chance to win because it's your teammate? Hell no! (No, I never did well in team sports, but when I was a wee girl growing up, all there was was softball and bb. No thanks. I was on the swim team, which is really an individual sport.) I would not make a good domestique.

3. Whining and bitching galore! I get enough of that at work.

4. Tris are so much better---lots more guys! And, you race with them. ;-)

5. Ask anyone who knows me....I am NOT a follower. See #1.

6. Early Bird Crits here are January. That's the big mileage time for IM NZ (which is my goal race each year). Why would I want to take a chance on crashing with a bunch of Cat. 4 gals (no Cat. 5 gals here) when I can ride with the tri guys on IM-specific stuff?

That said, and as I said earlier, maybe I'll give it another try again next year.

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

Wow, thats a pretty staunch opposition to joining a cycling team. Honestly Cathy, we aren't talking about you joining Saturn, T-Mobile, or RONA. As a Cat 4 woman, having teammates will likely mean having someone to ride to the race with and a familiar jersey or two that you can pick out of the crowd. You have obviously put much more thought into the downside than I or my teammates have. We just go race. For us, being on a team just means don't attack your teammate and help them if need be. As for being a domestique, why would you assume you would be one? As far as I can tell, at least at the level I am racing, one's role withing the team is pretty self-selecting and likely varies at different points in the race. I know that if there is a mountain top finish at the end of a road race, or a climb in the last ten to twenty miles that will be the selection, then I either try to get into an early break or, if I miss the break, make sure that it does not get away so that a teammate who is a better climber is in a good position to take advantage of the climb. On the other hand, if it is a flat or rolling race or a crit and we get toward the end without having someone off the front, then I get to set-up to sprint.

Regarding the Early Bird races, well, you don't have to start with those. My first crit was July 4. And even if you did start with the Early Bird crits, there is no ordinance saying that you cannot continue riding after the race to get some miles in. (I did that this past Sunday and any worreis I had as to whether or not a 40 min. crit is a real workout were resolved the moment the road went up.) And actually, if you are training for IM NZ, the early road races are a great way to add some intensity to prepare for your race effort. I know a guy who did that this year and had a pretty good bike leg in NZ. Plus, if your are still doing base mileage at the end of January and in February for a race the first weekend of March, there is a problem with your periodization.

As for the rules, I have no idea what rules could be goofier than triathlon's. Case in point, the one I will see this weekend: a 25 mph no pass zone on the bike course. Ralphs proved last year it couldn't enforce the position rules and now they are adding something else into the mix. But that is another rant that I will save until Monday, if at all.

Anyway, it sounds like you just don't want to race, and there is nothing wrong with that. I was just offering the perspective from a newbie cyclist that its a fun way to spend a morning.

And perhaps I was asked by the wrong team (who has all these rules/conditions). But as a totally free spirit, I'll get my jollys playing Lance and Greg with my buddy Paul.

>For us, being on a team just means don't attack your teammate and help them if need be.< Hmm, that's not part of my makeup. If you don't go hard, why go?

And as for my IM NZ schedule...sorry, I know what works for me, my life and my work schedule. Periodization be damned. ;-)

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

ok.. seriously.. who exactly are you trying to convince.. we hear you over here.

IMHO.. I find bike racing much more interesting than triathlons. Next season I'm all over road racing.. well it depends on how well I do this season at tris... my strengths are definently on the bike, my running is pretty good, BUT I dread the black line at the bottom of the pool. The team dynamic of road racing makes it so much more interesting than time trialing against the clock for a couple hours.

mike

Yo...it's a big world. Different strokes for different folks. I'm not trying to convince anyone. Garth asked, I answered. If bike racing floats your boat, go for it. I'll be watching a lot of it in July.

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

Hey Clm, I am so envious of your summer vacation, just got of the CT working out to video of LA's assault on Ventoux 02. Was in Paris for the grand finale, what a blast that was. Have a big framed pic above the PC of Rumsas and his boys leading a break away down Rue de Rivoli (sic) with a couple of ONCE boys and Stu OGrady on their tails. Never seen humans move so fast on a bike, particularly on the approach on to the Champs E for the first time, with LA and his team at the head of the peloton.

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Simple Simon
Where's the Fried Chicken??