How long to be a credible Cat 4 or am I just crap (road content)

I’ve got one definite race to go (Tickhill GP) and two possibles (ladies circuit races at York – one is an evening race, one is on a Sunday). Plus the club hill climb at which I will totally suck but I need the club championship points.

Today I ventured into cross. Just the novice race while I get a feel for it, but for the first time I finished a cross race without crashing and/or breaking my bike so we’ll call it progress…

Good luck for Tickhill, I’m racing in the 3/4 race so I might see you there.

Some great successes on this thread, well done all.

Thanks for starting it Kryton

No cross for me this year but that frees up a little time so I can use that to train a bit for a low pressure run at the Hillingdon winter series. I like that the road season doesn’t stop these days – there’s always a circuit race going on!

…low pressure run at the Hillingdon winter series.

That’ll be three of us there.

I’m considering entering the Cyclopark winter series starting in October, but I see they are insisting on 100 Cat4’s on the starting line again. I’m nervous of breaking me and the bike from all the horror stories I hear about that circuit TBH.

100 cats 4s in 1 race at Cyclopark?

Good. God.

Edit: Cyclopark or Velopark? Cyclopark would be ok.

I’ll be racing the Winter Series in the E12/3s this year. Get in early on Rider HQ because entry fills up very quickly due to the lack of other racing. I raced 8/9 of the races last year. Nil points 😉 . It’s really not my circuit, despite it being local. Fantastic training though.

I raced a 90 minute Surrey League Vets race at Cyclopark on Saturday. Ninth place after a crash that saw me over the bars to avoid the rider in front (who rolled a tub). Then I raced the 60 minute 2/3 race after – best not speak of that, I was dropped on the second lap but did not finish last. It’s not often that the Vets races are longer than the young’uns! Was trying to make the distance up to a standard road race, but the pace in the second race was brutal.

100 4th Cat riders should really be split into two races as a minimum – just for development and points opportunities. I think people lose sight of the fact that 4th Cat is really a development stage. Each circuit has a limit, I believe it’s 80 at Hillingdon, but may be 100. 100 on the circuit at Cyclopark would be fine in two races. I’ve yet to race Velopark as it’s difficult to get to for me and a bit of a crash-fest.

Well, my MTB calendar has been announced with more races in Mud Sweat and Gears. So now I have Merida Brass Monkeys Nov, Dec and Jan, then MSG at weekends from March – September, with Beastway weekly from May to July.

Not to mention the Bonty 24/12 in August.

Not sure I’ll be able to squeeze any road racing in!

Busy schedule there! You doing the 4hr Brass Monkeys? Thinking I’ll have a go a the 2hr ones. Need to get some practice in on the XC bike though, it’s been sorely neglected recently.

I’m still deciding but probably the 4hr yes. If you’re going let’s say hello!

I think I’m going to start back up with XC next year.

Tickhill GP for me today. My preparation wasn’t ideal as I was still in gran canarian at 9pm last night! Very tired and I had no expectation of being in the front group, just wanted to ride in a group further back for as long as I could.

Not in a great position for the start and in danger of going straight off the back at the first bend but I chased back on to a group of three ahead of me, then realised that I’d dragged another four or five along behind me. So we ended up in a decent sized group, dropping some stragglers behind us. We also gathered some more people who’d been ahead of us solo.

We then got pulled off the course when we got lapped. Annoyingly there were people riding solo who had been behind us who avoided the attention of the commissaries and who were allowed to finish the full distance.

No worse than I expected given how tired I was at the start! Last road race of the season I think.

Didn’t fair too well at Tickhill. Just at hospital waiting for the prognosis now. Had someone change line and take me and another rider out. Bike has come off worse I think. Snapped the forks and both wheels have seen better days.

Might just stick to CX, landings are well softer!

Karl

Ouch!

Tickhill was on my pre injury to do list this year, as its round the corner, didn’t know it was today, would have popped and had a look

sounds like carnage Karl 😥

Fark!! I thought I was having it semi bad with this horrible chest, last race of the season on Sunday 🙁

Bad luck Karl, hope you and he bike get sorted soon.

A local race on a narrow track still entering 100 cat 4’s over the winter after carnage in every race last year has really put me off. Plus I grew up on MTB, and as above, falling in a bush isn’t so bad.

Bad luck karl, hope you’re OK.

There are some end-of-season crit races at Salt Ayre in early October, I’ll try and do one or two of them. Maybe on my SS… 😉

Sounds a sore one, hope everything is OK.

Last road race of the season for me (although i probably said that a few weeks ago too…but this time i mean it). Was an APR which is usually alot safer than a mass start so mentally a fairly relaxed end to the season, despite working hard from the gun. Never caught the groups in front, the time gaps were just too much.

Morning,

Nothing broken but just a lot of skin lost and an appointment with the physio to assess my knee which is still battered.

Been looking at some Orbea bikes this morning though, look nice they do 🙂

Ouch! Hope you aren’t too sore. I trust you have bike insurance? If you are going to race, either choose cheap or choose insurance! One of our club has had two bikes in the past two seasons due to crashes. The beautiful Colnago C60 I almost ran over was also a write-off (or a very unglamorous carbonrepairs fix).

My OTB last weekend was benign, save a sore hip and wrist. No racing for a couple of weeks (in fact not a lot of riding due to sickness), then Club Championships and three brutal road races (sponsored by our club). More rest and Winter Series 🙂

Heal fast. 3M Tegaderm dressings are simply the best for road rash. Not cheap but your wounds will love you. I buy mine on Amazon.

we done the 3rd Cat doper?

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/british-cyclist-dan-stevens-banned-for-failing-to-provide-anti-doping-sample-192254

https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/points?person_id=174467&d=4&year=2013

So who does bike insurance for racing then? I just assumed it was something that you wouldn’t be able to get, given the likelihood of it.

Bloody hell, surely not! Cat3 in 2013 and 2014/15 have been removed?

Last race for me was Sunday just gone, local LVRC…felt much less ‘twitchy’ than the BC stuff and every bit as competitive.

I’ve really overlooked the vets stuff, definitely going to do a few more of these!

Mtbtomo – bike is insured with BC for theft etc, cost a few quid extra for race cover but nothing significant.

An out of competition test for a 3rd cat is quite odd, i guess it must have been known beforehand that he was doping.

Cant imagine how embarrassing it must be to be caught doping and only be a 3rd cat….serves him right!

44 points at the end of that season would have seen him move up to 2nd cat though? Must have been causing suspicion other than that though, cos his results don’t look startling

Well that’s my time trialling season done. Only a club 10 but a nice way to finish with a course PB and a win. Bit of a stop start season with not nearly enough racing but is my first proper-ish go at it and got some good data to work on over winter now. Going to be hard to resist the new bike itch too.

Now for some winter xc racing 🙂

might as well slot this in here, no better place i guess

Planet-X Exocet 3

first thing i thought is that it looks like a BMC – plenty of similar thought out there

It is very similar, just a bit uglier…

Interesting, I’ll keep an eye out for reduced Exocet 2’s!

Aero bike is very old Venge but actually prettier!

I’ll keep an eye out for reduced Exocet 2’s!

Down to £499 right now.

Assuming new one will be about a grand. Worth a look.

So……was that my last race or not?! Irritatingly I’ve got 9 points again haha, what a mincer!

Oh, that last race, Bob Swailes Memorial RR (2-3-4) pretty tough day out but a proper stunningly beautiful day! 3 or 4 riders went up the road from the gun, they were joined by 3 more and the lot stayed away until the last lap (I think) when 4 dropped back in. Pretty hard day out and my legs were protesting big style on the last climb (it’s a bloody horrible course!) feeling a bit crampy, managed to “sprint” for 10th which I’ve got to be pleased with to be honest, everyone at work and home has been coughing their guts up, just happy to have finished!

Yeah I’ve had the ‘coughing guts up’ thing for a couple of weeks, getting there but struggled in the LVRC last week and bailed todays 2/3/4 since it’s kicked my asthma off.

Cheered myself up by booking a week with VeloCamp in Mallorca for March…

Raced on Saturday. Feeling great was up the top 10/15 all through the race keeping out of trouble. Final bell went and suddenly loads of people turned into full retards.

Not keeping their racing line, and then *bang* first crash happened, behind me. Took down about 10. Then on the final kick to the end, another rider cuts across a kid who goes down and another rider who I know goes into them full bore.

Lad I know needed airlifting to hospital. Its really scared me. He is still in hospital. He’s a good lad, wife and kids. He needed CPR and had a collapsed lung and was in a serious way, still isnt out of it yet.

The lads who IMO caused this were AFAIK were unattached. They were clearly not used to riding in a bunch 🙁 After this I just dont know if I can race road again, its scared me. Maybe a steady winter season of base I may change my mind.

Stay safe out there guys and gals.

He needed CPR and had a collapsed lung and was in a serious way, still isnt out of it yet.

Ooof nasty. Hope he’s ok.

Cheered myself up by booking a week with VeloCamp in Mallorca for March…

Think we could all do with a bit of this ^^^.

Yep, that is bloody grim! Max speed for the weekend was 44mph, in a bunch of 60 that’s actually rather silly ain’t it, it’s little wonder things get messy! On the note about people being out of their depth – my mate noted he was stuck behind a couple of blokes on Sunday who were clearly absolutely smashing themselves just to stay with the bunch on the first climb, the fact it was neutralised is worrying!!

First tough turbo session done last night in preparation for a bit of winter circuit racing over at Hillingdon, suffice to say I have a far bit of work to do! Thankfully December is still a little way off but I’ve said that before with other events and before I know it I’m on the start line and unfit.

Adam… get to work!

TBH, finding it hard getting back on the turbo here. Needs to be done but just can’t get my head in the right place for it.

Right then, we have a babysitter. Season extension – Salt Ayre Autumn points grabber…hope it stays warm 😆

You should be so lucky, I’ve just been diagnosed with viral Meningitis…

…by the internet so it could be wrong. 😀 Off to the docs tomorrow.

I might still ride those Hillingdon races, and if I win it might convince me to continue road racing* 😉