I want to hear about your first xc/road/etc race, The nerves you felt. The nearly throwing up, getting shelled on the 1st lap. Annihilating the competition.. or just not feeling the racing bug

anything really!

I’ve got my 1st road race in April and a few summer circuit criteriums coming up (with the odd xc race thrown in for good measure)

Almost all of mine have been road races lately, with the exception of a couple of short mtb ones over winter.

Never really feel nervous or get close to the point of throwing up, since I know I’ll always win. I cant remember the last time I was beaten.

The competitors are usually lads in high vis jackets and rigger boots riding full suspension apollos (with soft tires) on their way home from a day shift.

Or overweight, middle aged men on long travel trail bikes pootling round grizedale forest.

ah.. the art of commuter racing.. Is that cat 5/6? 😀

I often get the ‘imposter’ syndrome – looking around at the others at the start thinking ‘oh shit these guys all look really good, maybe I’ve bitten off more than I can chew’.

Once it gets underway it’s normally all good.

I tend to do longer races though, mainly because I’m not that fast, just a stubborn bugger. I enjoy watching people sprinting off while thinking, see you in a couple of hours fella.

Racing roadies is a different kettle of fish though, done a few and there are always some freaks of nature there. Always good fun though, all the races I’ve done have been really friendly.

lumberjack> what races were these? cat 4?

I’ve got my first road race at the weekend…both nervous and excited. Not sure what to expect. Have been on really good form with good improvements in my riding, but after the weekend i’m feeling run down/fighting off the cold.

First road race when I was 15 (over 20 years ago now…), it was a crit, got dropped on the first corner and bailed a lap later :p

First MTB race not long after, for some reason I hadn’t considered I might need to get off and run/walk so wore my expensive (for a 15 year old) Time carbon road shoes (same as Lemond used to wear). Was a rocky muddy climb you had to push up, I was like bambi and everyone passed me, ended up finishing mid-way down the order and only had muddy, scragged-up road shoes to show for it. Second race I face planted and despite blood everywhere (as I walked dazed and confused back to the start area) my father was more concerned about how much the front wheel was going to cost to replace, happy days!

Good luck dirtygirl 🙂 hope you do well

Post up afterwards be interested to hear how you got on.

Careful, davidtaylforth is a riding god who commutes to work at an easy 25 mph average speed!
🙂
davidtaylforth – Member
Depends how fit you are and how hilly it is and all that. But the thing I find with a road bike is its easy to keep a high top speed on the flats. If you dont have a head wind you’ll probably be able to zip along to work at 25mph.
POSTED 3 WEEKS AGO # REPORT-POST

Careful, davidtaylforth is a riding god who commutes to work at an easy 25 mph average speed!

Not all of that is true as I commute to work on foot. Even with my legs and fitness, I cant run at 25mph.

Raced downhill a few times. Boring.
Tried a couple of endurance XC events – Bonty 24/12 about 4 years ago was a wash out. Pissed it down from 12 hours onwards… shame because up until that point I was doing really well but then went to bed and didn’t bother getting out when I woke to the rain hammering against the tent. Was in the pub having Sunday lunch by the time the race was meant to be ending…
Hit The North #1 – one of the least enjoyable experiences I’ve ever had a on a bike. Filthy, ‘weatherproof’ course riding around in what smelt like raw sewage (in the few places it was actually rideable). Wore through a set of pads in one lap, piston popped out of the caliper and it was game over. I was glad to get home.
Singletrack Classic Weekender #1 – awesome. Great atmosphere, good setup, good weather etc etc. Gutted to have missed last years and going to be missing this years too.

First and maybe last XC race was 10 Under the Ben… I took the first lap, which was a lot of fun with the mass start til I hit the traffic jam, which lasted for pretty much the entire descent. What I remember of the day is rain, fire roads, a cold grey car park, and being held up by people walking down the descents with not the slightest interest in not being in the damn way. Gave up after 3 laps from complete indifference, just couldn’t see any reason to get back on the bike (I did think of just taking my race number off and going for a ride). It ended just being like any other day out on the bike, only crap- I’ll go back to Nevis Range and ride the route again but not in a race with a thousand other people trying to squeeze down it at the same time.

So, something different, did the innerleithen enduro at the start of the year… Absolutely fantastic. Big climbs but not timed, long technical descents under the timer, mixed terrain, just about seeing red by the end of the stages. Loved it. Wasn’t exactly competing but still had to shave every second I could. Just seems like a better format, and never seen so many smiling faces at an event- nobody had a bad word.

And then had a wee crack at downhill racing, which was interesting but too much of a time and money sink for me I think, certainly can’t afford a DH bike in order to be in the bottom half of the results, put it that way. Also spending the whole weekend just to get in 8 or less runs is hard to justify for me. But still, a lot of fun while I was riding. Good atmosphere despite the stinking weather.

First ATB race in Wales back in the late 80s.
They were all mincing about while I styled it with all my moto X
skilz 🙄 . Couldn’t believe I won so easily . I should have stopped there ,but no, I entered all the nationals and found out the hard way. 😆

I think my first race might have been a 10 mile roadie TT. No nerves or anything but I knew I wasn’t going to win ! Just wanted to test fitness. Most nervous was first Expert/Elite race in Scotland, but being on the front row is SOOOOO much better then in the pack (well such as it is in the womens event) just pedal as hard as you can for as long as you can and don’t look back !

What road race are you doing DGOAB ?

I am doing the Gravity Enduro at Innerleithen in July and I am a bit scared, it is seeded and everything. Sneaky practice coming up…

Start line stuff is funny, people all deal differently, some get quite keyed up. I chat and make stupid jokes, have been told off for that.

My racing experience is vast, it usually involves coming in near the rear or crashing a lot.
I have raced DH, XC, SS, DS and Criteriums and TTs on the road.
First TT race I was so nervous I was shaking for the first mile. First XC race I went over the bars 4 times on the first lap and recorded a DNF with a set of bent and cracked bars, a broken set of forks and two buckled wheels.
I love racing, but I only race for enjoyment so I stick to SSUK and SSWC where racing is a dirty word.

First and maybe last XC race was 10 Under the Ben

Proper XC races are much more fun, generally a far higher caliber of rider, they don’t get the same volumes of people so you can have more singletrack, more technical courses and not get traffic.

My first XC race I was 14, I had no idea what it was going to be like, I crashed hard on my practice lap and was really nervous! Ended up coming 3rd, which I thought boded well. Didn’t worry the podium again for a year!

First road race I was about 16, handicap evening race at Goodwood, lasted until the Elites came on and went straight out the back! First (and only to date!) proper road race they decided last minute to amalgamate the E/1/2 and the 3/4/J/W race, I tried to stay out of trouble in the bunch, then flatted and rode back to race HQ. Liked having hills, didn’t like traffic, potholes, manhole covers and the relatively high likelihood of serious injury through someone elses error!

I love MTB racing, can take or leave road racing although it’s good for fitness.

A lot of the crit road races i’ve seen (cat4) are only 30-40 min long?!

Seems a bit strange really.

Hmmm, I’ve done a couple of crits where 30 minutes was plenty!

“A lot of the crit road races i’ve seen (cat4) are only 30-40 min long?!“

that’s because they’re crits and meant to be short

i’ve been racing for 25 years, i always get nervous before a race

that’s me being dumb.. Seems to be loads of crits around but not as many road races (which cat4 can enter). Found 2 local road races (50 miles) but 15 crits (castle comb)

So it’ll be a bit like the cyclo cross race i did in december. Blowing out my ass for 50 minutes wanting the pain to stop tasting blood in my lnugs

I’ve been a little depressed all week after my first race of the year. I finished last season the best I’d ever felt on a bike (bare in mind I was coming from NOTHING). I’d got PBs on all of the club TT courses, and I was looking forward to racing ‘cross over the winter to keep fitness up. As well as cross I was losing weight, swimming, started running and doing circuit training, spin classes and turbo intervals. You’d think I would be well placed for the spring wouldn’t you?

Last weekend I entered a closed circuit cat 3/4 on a purpose built cycle track in Shrewsbury. I held onto the bunch for 6 laps (10 minutes) but somehow found myself off the back despite all my best intentions to try and stay mid-pack. Once you are off the back, you are finished. The elastic is nigh on impossible to gather up again once it’s snapped. I soloed around the course until the bunch caught me at about half distance and tried to jump on again but my solo TT pace had left me with nothing in the legs to get back on and stay there. I was gutted and pulled up at the commissaires the next time I passed.

I’m back again tomorrow for another go and will be fighting like hell for position, trying not to get trapped and boxed in. Maintaining my line and not getting bullied into letting a gap open. The racing is brutal but addictive. If I don’t fare well on Saturday I’ll be driving down to Llandow for the 4th Cat race on Sunday morning. THe likelyhood is that I will do 9 hours of driving for around 30 minutes of riding in the bunch all weekend if last week is anything to go by.

Race stats: Paramount CRT at Sundorne Circuit Cat 3/4, average bunch pace 25.5MPH, Max bunch pace 32.5MPH

I take it you’re asking about proper XC races, trickydisco, not marathons ?
I’ve only done one.
My race report copy & pasted from my training log.

My first XC race and I got a bit of a shock.
Midland XC Series Round 1 at Hanchurch, Staffordshire.
As soon as we got there and had a look round the car park, we could see it was a bit different to the typical marathon.
Most of the other riders were in team kit, a lot of them had awnings and bike stands, some were warming up on rollers, they all seemed to be taking it very seriously.
I entered the four lap veterans (40-49) class in race 1.
There were several classes in the race with staggered starts at one minute intervals. We went off at 11.02
The first lap started in the middle of the course with a long straight fire road to get everyone spread out before we got on to the course proper.
Most of the other riders sped off ahead of me, leaving me thinking “Ha ha, they’ll never hold that pace, I’ll catch them up after a couple of laps”. I didn’t see them again until they started lapping me.
50th/59 veteran male.
I’ve asked around and it seems the veterans class is pretty competitive. If I’d entered in Fun class I would have been top third, Open class, top half. You don’t get the large numbers of slow riders in XC races as you do in marathons making the average riders like me look good.

I have only done one ‘proper’ xc race, and that was the midlands xc at cannock.

The nerves were pretty bad but disapeared once the race got going. I made two big mistakes though.

Firstly i didn’t take an alternative tyre choice and ended up racing on dry packed trails on Mitchellin XC mud tyres. It was very sketchy to say the least.

But the biggest mistake was not enough liquid. I only had one small bottle in a bottle cage, used it up on the first lap and then got so badly dehydrated that i was seeing flashing lights.

It took all of my will power not to drop out but i finally limped over the line 38th out of 48.

I was very dissapointed in myself and sorely regretted not being more prepared.

I was chatting to a mate who used to race expert xc years back. He said he had a go at road racing a few times and he actually found cat4 races harder then cat2 because it was disorganised with everyone chasing every attack down and lots of juniors barging to the front. Cat2 on the other hand was very organised.

He also said he p*ssed off a few roadies by turning up with his mtb shoes with the studs still in. Luckily he has the fitness to answer his critics

first xc race was a couple of years ago aged 14, got annihilated by most of the other kids that had raced their entire lives, after i had just switched from competitive swimming. i suffered on the climbs and the descents. now i still suffer on the climbs (although not in relation to the competition) but find the downhill is getting easier as the years go by. actually, the standard of the guys i race, coming up through the SXC series right now is immense, future champions for sure. It feels weird not heading down to Kirroughtree right now for the first round of the Series, but exams are just around the corner so racing has to take a backseat.

[edit]Remember frantically trying to get gridded further up the field and then being blitzed on the firetrack. first race was SXC round 3 (aberfoyle 2009) and was amazed at the technical difficulty. turns out it was an exceptionally difficult track in the conditions. went over the bars 8 times in a race.

First XC race as an 18 y/o with running shoes and toeclips. OMG how fast is this start?

First time trial as a 31 y/o. OMG all that pain and I’m *how* slow?

First MTB enduro as a 32 y/o. This mud is s–t and my back is killing. I’m going to sell this sodding bike and just ride on the road.

First cross race as a 32 y/o – bing bing bing was the sound of my HR monitor for an hour. Pain. Bottom third finish.

First (and only) track race as a 33 y/o – v short (15 laps?) beginners’ race – new max HR reading. Finished third.

First road race as a 33 y/o – feels OK then whooosh. Faaark I think I’m going to die and we haven’t even got to the first bend. Three laps of a crit circuit I lasted….

Last year was a bit of a washout, as will this year be (babies, illness, house moving, etc.).

I struggle with the idea of how crap I am at riding a bike fast. But I’ll be back and give it another crack.

1st TT (thurman merman coaxed me into it) – very little warm up. Very nervous as i’d only ridden a road bike for a few weeks. Had an old raleigh steel road bike. Pain and more pain the whole way. Tasted blood in my lungs towards the end

1st Cyclocross race (again thurman merman coaxed me into it). Wasn’t nervous at all. Absolutely loved it. Came 16th out of 30 odd people. Just kept pushing and pushing and digging in fiercely for the whole 50 minutes

No road or xc race experience yet (obviously loads of enduros: mayhems, kielder, sits, HONC)

My recent experience has been great, as I’ve always started right at the back of fairly big bunches, which meant a whole race of slowly picking people off until I finish pretty much exactly where I deserve, i.e. mid pack 😀

Started with DH, but never really figured out how to ‘race’ properly, for me it was always a case of holding on as fast as I could.

Got two big sportives this year, don’t know why I’ve entered actually as I tell myself I have no racing aspirations, and neither course interests me particularly, so I’m hoping I’ll find myself amongst people of similar paces for some overtaking fun!

The first race I did involving a bike was a mini triathlon. Not the best idea I’ve ever had, I’d been on a night out previously and imbibed far to much alcoholic beverage. The fact that I was and am a terrible swimmer did’nt help. Even though it was only twenty lengths it was a nightmare, shockingly slow (very nearly the slowest competitor!) and I was nearly sick a few times when getting a mouthfull of water.
Things improved a bit on the (borrowed) bike, picked a a good few places, and then my strong suit (then) the run was great fun as I was passing all the way.
I did prepare a bit more sensibly for my next race….

First proper race was age 17 in 1977. Clarence Wheelers RR, 40 miles.
Had done loads of youth races and TTs before.

Im not or ever will be a podium botherer, first race, ws4 at thetford a few years ago. completely unprepared. Had slick tyres on, a mate suggested I changed them so all the prep time was spent changing tyres. When the race started, I couldnt believe how fast it was.

Started doing enduros, finally finished one at third attempt, failed previously, never took mud tyres to thetford d2d in 08? when it was filthy and was too ill to take up bonty 24 place.

Apart from a few Merida type marathons, I never raced, and thought I’d have a go at the Friday Night Summer Series a couple of years ago. Lined up all nervous on the start line, looking at all the other super fit riders on their £4k hardtails, and thought “WTF am I doing here?”. Ended up coming 3rd in the vets. Did the whole series and came 2nd overall vet – pretty chuffed with that. Then missed a year, and have just done the Thetford series – again, thought I would be way out of my depth, but ended up coming 3rd vet overall. Not bad on my £150 ebay find (Stumpy hardtail) Have to say though, the fast boys are just amazingly fast, but I haven’t been lapped yet!

I find the race atmosphere really friendly, and although there is the odd tit who gets a bit stroppy (not with me yet), I find the races great fun (apart from the breathing out of ones a7se bit – that’s not much fun). The pre race nerves are always fun to watch, and then the “after you, no, after you” politeness some riders offer is great.

Haven’t tried road racing – it looks too blimmin dangerous to me.

I’d done the likes of the Kielder 100 and CRC marathons (which near the front are a race even if they’re not supposed to be) but was never really that bothered as I knew I wasn’t going to beat the eventual winner.

Did the club confined road race and got put in the “never raced before” catagory as they were only interested in road races. My group was naff (never ridden let alone never raced?) so I dropped them and went off solo. Got caught about half way round the last lap after an hour on my own. Tried a break on the climb towards the finsh and blew up coasting in at the back of the bunch. Not really nervous as I never thought I was in with a chance with Cat 2 and 3 racers. Hence the silly break. Doubt I would have done much other than cause a crash in the sprint.

Did the club hill climb. Thought it suited me as it’s all fitness and no technique. Was properly nervous but reigned myself in so I didn’t explode before the first bend. Was properly exhausted at the end and could barely stand for a few minutes. Turned out I won, by 20 seconds over a 4-5minute course course. Next guys in were 4:50’s (about 3 of them). Turns out I was only 3 seconds off the record which has stood for about 5 years.I have been feeling smug ever since and am determined to beat the record this year.

first race ever, 1985 a 3/j crit. nervous? oh yes, didn’t really believe i could do it but came 7th i think. first tt and track races i can’t recall. first mtb marathon about 2004ish, builth wells (the crc series had another name at the time) relieved to finish the full course having totally underestimated the fitness required. first triathlon, 2008 stein triathlon in holland (my employers sponser the event so it was an expenses paid affair). little preparation hadn’t raced properly for years, hadn’t swam since schooldays. open water mass start was a shocker that desroyed me. got round mid-pack. first mtb xc race, 2010 round 1 nutcracker series vets cat, came 7th it was really muddy.
i must have done a few hundred races, some wins and more absolute batterings than i care to remember. xc mtb and tri/duathlon (off road preferred) are most enjoyable for me. can’t be arsed with the tactics involved in road racing, i’d rather just put my best effort in and not concern myself with what everyone else is doing.

How did you get on dirtygirlonabike?

Anyone else race at the weekend?

I’ve done, and been crap in, loads of XC races over the past 15-20 years. Now ‘retired’ as realised 10th in the fun race at QE Park during the MTB Tour of Britain is going to be my best result (Rory Hitchens came 9th I believe).
First race was at Stanstead Park – my mate persuaded me to do it by lending me his rigid Cannondale (although we didn’t call them “rigid” as there was no suspension bikes!).
I did ok, and enjoyed it, although couldn’t pee enough times before getting on the start line. The start line nerves never went away over the years, no matter how much I told myself I was just doing it for a laugh.
The race went ok, I think I came 12th, crashed in a bomb-hole, so proudly finished with blood dribbling out of my elbow.

trickydisco, i loved it 🙂 The first 12k was exciting – my group was averaging 34kph – but i couldn’t hold that and fell off the back. Sadly there was no-one in front/behind me for the bulk of the race – the group in front was flying, and the group behind was a distance away and i didn’t want to stop to wait so i rode on my own for the bulk of it after that, but in a way i don’t mind as now i know what i can achieve on my own and what i need to work on for the next one.

hels, i did the lakes apr, 40 women took part in it so it was quite a big field 🙂

wkd dirtygirl! fair play. Was it a crit or road race?

Fairly eventful first 24-solo

Bit of an update.

After last weeks race-based depression, I was up early to drive the 2 hours to Shrewsbury to race again on Saturday morning. Arrived early and watched the E12 race first then made sure to get a full 30 minutes warmup out on track. Before I knew it, the clock was showing race start imminent. I finished my warmup lap and rolled up to the start line.

I had words of wisdom from team mates and forum goers from Bike Radar ringing in my ears as the whistle blew and we all struggled to get clipped in whilst hurtling into the first corner. I fought to hold onto wheels and made sure I made up places when opportunities arose. The racing was close and the bunch was 3 wide for the most part. If anyone’s raced Shrewsbury, it’s a purpose build bike track and quite tight in places compared to a motor circuit.

I soon found myself in the zone and wasn’t worried about riders inside or outside. We were just working as a unit together. I looked down at my computer and we were at half distance already! I’d stayed with the bunch for 30 minutes and felt fine. I should be here for the duration it seemed!

Now I was inspired to move about a bit more, I took a dive down the outside when the group sat up at the same point on every lap, and had a look at the front. Club mates were holding their positions nicely. I moved right to the front but took a poor line into the hairpin and dropped back a few positions. I sat back up in mid pack until the 5 laps to go sign went out. Time to strat thinking about position. I had 5k of racing left and only a couple of good overtaking points per lap.

The pace picked up naturally and spread things a little thinner which gave me room to move around the bunch easier. 2 laps to go and I was well into the top 1/3. I closed down the odd position here and there and going into the last 500m I could see the leader ahead. We were all widing it up to near 100% now and I knew I’d not get into the points but sprinted as best I could as there was plenty of space to take around 13th on the line.

I’d not only completed a 3/4 circuit race but stayed with the bunch and finished in the sharp end of it. I was ecstatic. All I wanted was to be able to compete and actually race. Getting shelled all the time was killing me, but now I knew i could do it. Results were out today and 1 – 10 were all 3rd cats bar 1, so that made me feel even better.

25MH average, 34MPH max
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/73839848

After a 2 hour drive home I went straight down the pub for the 6 nations matches and some Peroni based recovery. 6 pints later I cabbed it home to get an early night, Sunday is another race day and I’m not passing up the chance!

So after a poor nights sleep, partly due to an early night, partly due to pre race excitement, it was time to get on the road again. Another 2 hour drive, this time down to Llandow Motor Circuit near Cardiff. This was a cat 4 race and only 36 in the field on a very open course which is pretty much a rectangle with a chicane which they pull out for the final 5 laps. Should be faster and smoothing I thought.

We lined up on the line and I got clipped in first time for once. I put a few good pedal strokes in and realised there was nobody around me. Had I false started? A glance behind me allayed my fears, I’d just led out the race into the first corner. I held onto this lead for a subsequent 4 laps, even gaining a gap of around 30M on the front of the bunch at one point. Eventually I sat up and the bunch came flying past. I jumped on a mid pack and took it easy for a while. Not sure what the bunch was up to. I’d not been tanking it along, and the bunch was averaging a higher speed now than when I was on the front.

2 primes came and went. I’d not been bothered with these as I was saving my legs after my turn on front. I still thought I might have something for the sprint. However when 2 laps to go came around I knew I only had so much left in the tank. I used this in the only way I knew how, to launch a massive attack on the bunch on the back straight. I swear somebody in the bunch cracked up laughing at this point. Probably thinking my futile attempt was hoping to stay away. I knew it wouldn’t, but it did spread things out nicely for my club mates who got positioned and took 3,4, and 5th positions in the sprint. A GREAT racing experience for me and points and prizes for my mates. Brilliant day out.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/74085692

Shrewsbury again next Saturday and I’m almost gutted I’m doing a Triathlon on the Sunday or I’d be back down to Llandow again for the 3rd and final race in the series. I can almost smell the BC points now.