Racing
So I'm planning on bumping up my training significantly in the next year to get prepped for next season.
I would like to try getting involved in a bit of racing but I'm a tad confused as to how the category system in Ontario works.
Is there anyone who can explain it? The OCA website doesn't seem to have a clear description, and is not very helpful.
For example, I'm 26, but not sure where I fit in. Every race I see registrations for Juniors, Masters and Elites. I know juniors are U19 I believe, Masters are 30 or 35+? I'm guessing Elites are just that, elites and probably not meant for someone just starting to race. So which category would I register for? And what's the deal with these upgrade points I keep seeing? Are those O'Cup only?
Overall, just looking for some advice on where to start when getting into racing.
Cheers,
-Tom
You will have to start in Senior 4, if you do well, go to Senior 3, and so on.
Upgrade points: the better you do, the more you get. They post a list after each race. If you get enough you'll be put on a list saying you can upgrade, if you get even more, they will force you to upgrade. yes they are OCup only. You'll figure out how the points work pretty quickly, no need to worry about that. You only get them if you come in top 5 though.
Masters starts at age 35. They don't have an M4, so you would start in M3, if you ride in group 2 or 3 you should be ok if you stay in the group and race intelligently.
To not crash, don't swerve and keep an eye out ahead, no sudden movements, braking, etc. If you let your guard down you will either crash, or you will cause a crash. The lower groups can be filled with people who seem like they have never ridden a bike, so you have to be careful, and try to move up, so long as you yourself are a competent bike handler ;)
Thanks for the info, that clears up some questions!
I'm actually going to try out a race on the Labour Day weekend in Windsor.
The Tour di Via Italia, 40km (20x2km) flat circuit, signed up for the Sportif race (Senior III/IV).
I think this should be a good learning experience to find out what I'm getting myself into.
Anyone else doing this race? (http://tourdiviaitalia.com/schedule/ for anyone interested)
So much to learn and figure out, but if you're just starting, I can give you a few very important things that I took away from my 2 seasons (40+ races) from back in 92/93....
- Ride at or near the front group in a crit.
- Stay the hell away from everyone in a Cat.4 sprint.
- Always listen to the race marshall(s)
- Can't stress this enough....really pay attention in Cat.4. There is a huge disparity in skill at that level.
Tom,
I contemplated it for about an hour last weekend. Then figured, I need to get a long ride in for the Centurion. I never made it out to Blue Mountain last week. :( Just did a couple of really hilly 100's.
See you tonight.
Alain
Alain,
Just come on down and do it! It'll be fun, don't resist peer pressure! =)
We can do a long easy ride on Thursday!
-Tom
I just sent an e-mail to Mike to see how he is and noticed you come on-line. They need some sort of "chat" or social media app. ...just for the us I guess !
I can NOT believe I got dropped on that last hill again. :( But, that was a great group ride. Thanks to everyone and....um...what was his name again...of the 15 year old with the upper heart rate of 250??? He's racing with you this weekend? Anyway, he came back to get me a couple of times. ;)
I need to think about the race. Let's talk about it on an EZ Thursday ride.
Will check in tomorrow to confirm weather etc.
Alain
I had a double take on that 250!!!!!
I setup http://waterloocyclingclub.ca/racingchat (EDIT: THIS LINK NO LONGER WORKS... I MOVED CHAT TO THE LEFT SIDE SO ITS EASY TO ACCESS) if you guys want to give it a try. I'm not sure this social networking stuff will ever catch on though :) Don't hesitate to offer any suggestions to make the site better. I have limited time during riding season, but I'm already planning some work for the cold months. Cheers, Scott
Can we get a link on the side bar for quick access?
Also Scott, I do some web dev for work, mostly php and ajax using jquery. I'd be willing to offer a hand in helping out with the website if ever needed.
Cheers,
-Tom
Alain,
Suppose to rain this evening - if it looks like it will hold out I'll still be out tonight for our 'ez ride'. I think it's only calling for rain till 7 or so, it might change and end earlier. Otherwise how does a Friday night ride sound in lieu of tonight?
Hey Tom,
Thanks. I just threw that chat module online quickly today and put one test message on it. I'll put a menu at the left side under forums that points to Chats, then this Racing Chat under that. You guys can see how useful it is and maybe it's something we can expand to other chats.
Maybe we can get together for a coffee and talk about how we could work together. There are alot of ways depending on what you want to do. There are a few fun projects that you could have complete control over, or we could work cooperatively.
I'll send you an email with my contact information after I post this.
Thanks,
Scott
Thanks so much Scott.
Great responsiveness !
As they say in social media...."Conversation Is The New Content". ;)
You are right, only a small percentage of the members/visitors will engage and immerse. But, there are many silent readers. It's not for everyone. But Social Media is about community building.
This forum is an absolutely great start. I've met a dozen people at WCC this year through this forum. And our conversations are all about cycling. No different than the conversations before the Tuesday night ride. Your new "chat" function allows us to carry on the conversation after and between the rides. And serves to keep the Forum section clean and topical.
Practically speaking, "chat" will allow us to better coordinate rides in real-time and to move quickly from one-way information posting...to two way conversation when people are on-line together and more detail and context is required. I do agree with Tom. In that case, it needs to be a "feed" at the side if possible. People can always ignore it if they find it annoying or self-serving.
Let's give it a try and see if it works? If not, shut it down. ;)
Alain
Alain if you have a strong group 2 presence then you should have no problem in Master 3 road races of moderate difficulty (ie. KW Classic or Bike the Bruce). You'll want to work on lactate buffering and intervals above threshold. The multi sport scene is all slow twitch whereas racing is spontaneous as in surges in pace attacks strategy etc.
To clarify upgrade points are obtained by placing in the top five of a given race that the OCA chooses as enough of a challenge. Get 10 upgrade points and you can move up a category. The O-Cup points are 25 deep and the O-Cup status is awarded to races to draw bigger turn outs and can often be more competitive.
Found this while browsing around the OCA website today. Helps to explain some of the categories and the points system.
http://www.ontariocycling.org/web_doc/mem_forms/ability_rules.pdf
This page has a variety of forms and info docs that explain how some of the licenses work etc.. good info to know.
http://www.ontariocycling.org/web_pages/mem_forms.php
This is a great response. Just the type of "local" comparitive insight I needed.
You are right. In Tri...it's all about "steady". Lock it in at 145bpm for 6hrs. Cardinal sin is to spike or go anaerobic for even a minute. I got into Tri as a cyclist, but I think IM took the speed out of me. ;)
But, it's the spontaneity, speed and strategy which is drawing me back to road. Like a dark mistress.... ;)))
Back to reality. I hang with Group 3. I've ridden...and been dropped by group 2. So, I know what I'm going to have to do over the winter to be strong in group 2. That is a goal.
I run with some of the regions best marathon and ultra-marathon runners. The most important workout we do is Tuesday and Thursday sprint intervals at noon for an hour. Might explain partially why I suck on Tuesday night rides. But, it's made all the difference to my LT. And the Thursday night WCC TT helped alot in preparation for IM.
The OCA points system is quite the little black box. Thankfully, top 5 is not in reach right now...more like....just finish strong.
Curious to know what the WCC will do with the Poll results at the right? That's 32 people who are "considering" racing.
Thanks again for your frank response. KW Classic was on my radar for next year.
Ride well.
Alain
So here's a little follow up on my first racing experience. The race started out very fast, first 3 or 4 laps we were doing 50kpm easy. It cooled off a bit after that. As expected there was a full range of skill on the course, some really confident racers who cornered very well and some not so strong racers that were a tad dangerous to be around. There were a few accidents on some corners, no injuries thankfully but some damaged pride and some poor guys with busted up carbon tubeless wheels (I feel for that guy.) I felt that I kept up to the pace pretty well, stayed with the front half of the pack and took a lead a few times. I learned one of my weaknesses is keepin speed up on corners, I'd lose my position almost every time on them. Unfortunately I was cut off by a rider who was trying to make a move and was forced onto the curb where I ran over a storm drain and flatted out with only six laps to go :(. Heartbreaking. I didn't have the budget to have a spare set of wheels and couldn't replace my tube in time on my free lap so it was over for me. A great learning experience no less! Was worth it just for that alone. I now know a few things I have to work on for next season.
Tom,
Just read your post above. Love to hear more.
So, head over to the the Active Chats section. I'll create a chat called Racing.
Alain,
Are you coming out to this weeks rides at all? If so we can chat on a ride. Otherwise let me know what other rides you're doing during the week and maybe I'll join you.
I'm so jealous that you got to do that race, I had a family reunion all weekend so I was eating. Anyways, awesome job hanging with them and staying upright - next year is going to be a lot of fun.
Adam
A 2 B!
BTW, you didn't beg in the pits? I always gave out one of my wheels when I wasn't racing to someone who needed them.
There was a vendor there who was very willing and eager to 'sell' me a wheel. I declined. I'll definitely go into next season with a spare set though, live and learn.
Congrats on the race Tom, hope to see you out next year, we should definitely look into carpooling :D
I'm one of those people who said "yes" to the poll at the right hand side about "Would you consider racing?"
Tom, I've been on the ontario cycling web site and can't quite figure out how all the points work either?
http://www.ontariocycling.org/web_pages/comp_index.php
Regardless, what I want to know is...can a 40+ year old WCC Group 3...2 rider hang with the Masters crowd?
In Triathlon you just enter. And it's a TT, so no drafting and your time is your time. And if your bike time sucks...then get them on the run. ;)
But how does a newbie enter and finish a road race? And not get dropped, or crash?
Alain