[Mr. Hankey]

Well, I decided Saturday I am going to embark in my first road race. I have MTB raced as a young child, and motocross raced, and raced motocross quads since then, as well as some car racing. None of them I have been as anxious about as my first road race. I am really just looking for pointers. Ways to prepare, how much should I pace myself, and what to expect in the race itself. I have been ridding allot thinking that, ridding should be good training for it. I figure I won't ride the day before, and rest that day. I rode a good long 82 mile ride on friday, and I took a break Saturday, Sunday I rode a little, maybe 20miles, and today I rode 20 miles as fast and hard as I could. Tomorrow I plan to ride around 50-60 miles as hard and fast as I can. The race being only a cat5 racer is only a 28mile race. I have been ridding lots of hills, and enjoying them at a generous pace. Does any of that sound wrong? Come on guys help a newbie roadie out!

 

[GravityFreakTJ]

IMHO not riding the day before a race is a no no. If i race on Sat i will take of Thursday maybe but Friday i the following :


1 hour ride. after a solid warm-up do 3, 1 minute time trial efforts, followed by 3, 12-15 second sprints. Full recovery. Now do a 5 minute time trial. All out for 5 minutes. Full recovery. Cool down with 10 minutes of soft pedaling. Rest of ride is zone 1-2.


That is the same for my warm up for the race. With that being said , your race is only 28 miles so that may be a bit much but the same principals apply. After a good warm up make sure and throw some hard efforts in. You dont want it to be a shock to your system if someone goes from the start. Not riding the day before a race can lead to dead legs day of.

 

[ire]

I agree about not riding the day before...I think its a mistake. My advice: make sure you ride a straight line I get yelled out when I'm weaving the dotted line

 

[Zutroy]

As stated it's not a good idea to take the day before a race off. The human body isn't a big fan of going from nothing to all out like that. Best thing to do is take an easy ride with some high HR efforts thrown in to get things going.

Warming up before the race has a general rule. The shorter more intense a race is, the more you need to warm up for it. Crits/TT/track events/Cyclocross all require you to be ready to go from the start, so you need to have had your body up to state before you start. In general I tend to do some easy riding around for a while before, then switch over to a trainer for the final warm up, and do some high HR efforts. You should try to get yourself sweating that's a good indicator that you're getting some heat and blood flow into the muscles.

Long RRs you don't need to warm up before as much, since those don't tend to hit it from the start.

That being said it's all a really personal thing. Some people need more, some need less.


Oh yeah, stay up at the front...less likely to get taken out in a wreck.....and try to draft as much as you can. Usually it's the guy that does the least amount of work that wins.

 

[Mr. Hankey]

Ok guys. I'm ridding on friday for sure. I rode 52 miles today. Averaged 19mph ridding solo, including hills, and what not, plus it was windy. I got a riding partner for thursday now, and tomorrow it is raining all day so ridding is out. Maybe I will go to my grandma's and use her stationary bike. I don't have a trainer yet. Is there anything special I need for the race, or stuff I should do to my bike to prepare? Now 28 miles I should be able to do that with one water bottle, so ditch the second cage? Also do people give water to the riders like you see on le tour? That last one might be a hella noob question, but it is a concern of mine.

 

[Mr. Hankey]

Oh yeah I plan to eat spaghetti for dinner on friday night for some good carbs. Then I plan not to eat race day just drink gatorade, and also my bottle will have gatorade in it too.

 

[GravityFreakTJ]

Oh yeah I plan to eat spaghetti for dinner on friday night for some good carbs. Then I plan not to eat race day just drink gatorade, and also my bottle will have gatorade in it too.

not eat the day of the race? another no no.

 

[ire]

Oh yeah I plan to eat spaghetti for dinner on friday night for some good carbs. Then I plan not to eat race day just drink gatorade, and also my bottle will have gatorade in it too.

In Oregon, under OBRA, you have to carry all your own water and there is a neutral support car that carries our wheels. Make sure you've been stretching lots, this can help recovery and performance overall.

For dinner, I would eat some protein as well. A meat sauce should suffice. As for day of, not eating can be a curse. There are two ways to go about (this is courtesy of my friend who was a pro mtbr national champ), if you decide to eat make sure its three hours before the event at the latest....you want the food to be fully digested by race time. If you don't want to do this (and I don't), an hour before the race eat a power bar/cliff bar/whatever.

The rule of thumb is that your body can take in about 30 ounces of liquid an hour and around 250 calories an hour. Anymore than that during competition and you risk gut bonk (too much blood flows to the stomach and away from the legs).

 

[LordOpie]

not eat the day of the race? another no no.

You clearly know more than me, ya know, since I've only raced beginner mtb races and you've got teams pursuing you, but...

the race is "only" 28 miles? That's like 90 minutes for him? Wouldn't the glycogen be sufficient? I agree about eating, but from a biological standpoint, does it matter?

 

[GravityFreakTJ]

think about though Opie. if he eats supper the night before at say eight pm. assuming the race is at 10am or so the next morning thats 14 hrs of fasting. not a good strategy for racing

 

[LordOpie]

think about though Opie. if he eats supper the night before at say eight pm. assuming the race is at 10am or so the next morning thats 14 hrs of fasting. not a good strategy for racing

no no, I'm sure you're right. But doesn't the muscle hold upwards of two hours worth of energy?

Please ignore me as I've got nothing real to contribute. Just fantasizing about actually being able to race

 

[Mr. Hankey]

think about though Opie. if he eats supper the night before at say eight pm. assuming the race is at 10am or so the next morning thats 14 hrs of fasting. not a good strategy for racing

This is why I am asking guys, and believe me I appreciate all of your help. W/o you guys I would have lost before I started. The race is at 9am, so I should eat at 6 am to make sure it is digested? I never wake up that early anymore, but if it is what I need to do, I will be up at 5am. So what should I eat the morning before the race? I usually never eat breakfast, usually don't have an appetite in the am. Usually two poptarts, and a glass of milk is all I ever eat for breakfast. I could probably go over to my mom's house, wake her up, and have her make me a real meal like 2 eggs, toast, and bacon, if that is preferred.

 

[GravityFreakTJ]

Please ignore me as I've got nothing real to contribute. Just fantasizing about actually being able to race

no reason you can't race my friend

 

[GravityFreakTJ]

This is why I am asking guys, and believe me I appreciate all of your help. W/o you guys I would have lost before I started. The race is at 9am, so I should eat at 6 am to make sure it is digested? I never wake up that early anymore, but if it is what I need to do, I will be up at 5am. So what should I eat the morning before the race? I usually never eat breakfast, usually don't have an appetite in the am. Usually two poptarts, and a glass of milk is all I ever eat for breakfast. I could probably go over to my mom's house, wake her up, and have her make me a real meal like 2 eggs, toast, and bacon, if that is preferred.

i usually go for pancakes and oatmeal. but if i were you i wouldnt pick race day as a day to try something new. could be bad news

 

[loco-gringo]

Pop tarts work for me when I do a hard ride. I don't race, but our paces will be much like 4s on most occasions, so I think I could manage 5s, if I weren't scared of some meat fondler taking me out.

 

[gonefirefightin]

give up now, it will save you greif and you wont have to move in with your parents when you realize you are 32 and trying to make a living riding bikes........still


so a friend of mine says anyways....

 

[Serial Midget]

My favorite meal the morning of a race - oatmeal, butter & 1/2 & 1/2 - about 500 calories worth.

This worked well for 10K foot races.

For long races like marathons I would eat maybe 1000 calories of the same but spaced out over a few hours.

You really should eat - it helps prevent stomach & muscle cramps.

 

[ire]

^^ I agree with SM. Pop tarts won't be a very good breakfast. I eat oatmeal and typically two eggs (but that what I like to eat).

 

[Heidi]

I would have started eating real breakfasts a while ago. You should not race on an empty stomach, but trying something new before a race is the biggest no no in race history. I say eat something less sugary like real oatmeal or maybe pancakes. Try that for the next few morning and if you can, do a hard ride after it.

I didn't read everyone else's response so maybe this has been said. In a CAT 5 race there is danger everywhere and I mean EVERYWHERE. Stay very attentive and don't focus on the guy's wheel in front of you. Look around him, look around you and stay towards the front if you can.

Be safe and good luck.

 

[ire]

In a CAT 5 race there is danger everywhere and I mean EVERYWHERE.

LOL, I race 4's and its the same. I watched a guy going up a climb next to me, drop his water bottle, run over it, and dump it. I couldn't help but laugh

 

[Heidi]

LOL, I race 4's and its the same. I watched a guy going up a climb next to me, drop his water bottle, run over it, and dump it. I couldn't help but laugh

LOL! Yah, I've seen some dumb stuff happen because of newbies.

 

[Wumpus]

So what should I eat the morning before the race?

You should already know that...it's whatever you eat before your training rides.

 

[MtnbikeMike]

LOL, I race 4's and its the same. I watched a guy going up a climb next to me, drop his water bottle, run over it, and dump it. I couldn't help but laugh

And there are still a bunch of sketchballs in the Pro, 1, 2 races...you can never get away from it, you just get lucky

 

[Mr. Hankey]

I am ready for the carnage. I've been hit by a car in the past few months so crashing doesn't bother me. I just hope I don't screw the bike up, just got it. I usually never ride real early thats why I have no idea what to eat. I usually eat a hamburger or two cooked on the grill before training rides. Not sure if that is good or not. I registered for the race online, so no turning back now!

Oh yeah I just took a pic of the new bike, while we were talking about her. Sorry for the crappy quality of the pic. Here she is, I'm going Postal lol!

 

[ire]

I dig the color coordination on the bike. Been a while since I've seen one. Good luck at your race this weekend, I'm heading out to race cross so we know there will be carnage

 

[Mr. Hankey]

I dig the color coordination on the bike. Been a while since I've seen one. Good luck at your race this weekend, I'm heading out to race cross so we know there will be carnage

Thanks for the good luck wishes. Best of luck to you as well my friend. I love the colors of the bike as well.

It is a 2001, and since all the 5200s are basically the same, other than the fork from 2001 on until the TCT(Taiwan Carbon Technology) 5000 series, I got the good looking one imo. The flame graphics, and stuff of the later years I don't like so much. I've ridden lots of the newer bikes '08 Madone 5.2, '07 Spec Tarmac SL, and Cervelo Soloist Carbon. Other than the Cervelo, this thing is just as fast and comfortable, Cervelo was faster. I am sporting 6" of seat to bar drop now. I love it, so fast, so comfy. After going from steel to carbon, oh what a difference.

IS there anything I should do to the bike? Will they be mad I don't have cable ends on it? Cable ends are heavy, lol!

 

[ire]

IS there anything I should do to the bike? Will they be mad I don't have cable ends on it? Cable ends are heavy, lol!

I doubt they'll notice, and the frame is a double triangle so they can't really complain. The only restriction we really up here is that your jersey has to have sleeves (short or long) I had a friend so up to a race in a sleevless and he had to put a shirt on under it.

 

[Mr. Hankey]

ire, do you know where the Bike Gallery in Portland is? That is where the bike was originally purchased it seems. Their sticker is on it. Apparently the guy I got it from moved to South Dakota, because that is where it was shipped to me from.

 

[Mr. Hankey]

Despite my best efforts, all I could muster was 25th out of 40. I got excited early, and started to lead. Couldn't coax anyone else to help, and pull me for awhile. Finally I dropped back into the pack, and first big climb, and I was toasted. Lost the field, and just played catch up, and caught a few. Second lap I found a drafting partner, and things went allot better then. Overall it was a great experience. It was the last race of the season here. Thinking about heading out west for a few months, catch some more races. I am addicted.

 

[ire]

Good Job! Mid pack on the first race is good and I'm glad you're hooked. With respect to Bike Gallery, I've been there but it's been a long time. They have a team that I race against.

 

[Mr. Hankey]

Good Job! Mid pack on the first race is good and I'm glad you're hooked. With respect to Bike Gallery, I've been there but it's been a long time. They have a team that I race against.

Yeah, I thought I was a super hero there, at first, but that caught up to me. I know what I did charging for the lead early was stupid, but I got excited, big time. The adrenaline started flowing, and the cranks started spinning. I did alright, I wanted to do better, but at a certain point in time, I just wanted to finish. Then the drafting partner came, and relinquished my hopes. He was feeling the same way. The hills were killer, probably around a 20-25% grade. It is a hard road to ride. I wished I didn't remove my small chainring. I am going back there all week to train.

 

[MtnbikeMike]

Yeah, that road racing thing can be addicting.

Good job

 

[Serial Midget]

In road racing strategy is almost as important as physical strength - breaking away from the pack too early robbed you of the opportunity to learn the strengths and weaknesses of the competition.

Races are great fun though... sounds like you had a great first race experience.

 

[ire]

In road racing strategy is almost as important as physical strength - breaking away from the pack too early robbed you of the opportunity to learn the strengths and weaknesses of the competition.

I've heard this, and I never follow, hence why I suck at road I've raced XC for a really long time and I'm impatient. I know in this area, its the same guys every race so if you can learn how everyone rides, and their strengths over the course of a couple of races you can figure out how to beat them. There are some, like me, that attack constantly....maybe not a good strategy?

 

[Mr. Hankey]

I've heard this, and I never follow, hence why I suck at road I've raced XC for a really long time and I'm impatient. I know in this area, its the same guys every race so if you can learn how everyone rides, and their strengths over the course of a couple of races you can figure out how to beat them. There are some, like me, that attack constantly....maybe not a good strategy?

If you have the conditioning to do it awesome. I want to be at that level someday. Just completely wear out your adversaries until they hate life, and want to give up. That is the ridding style I like. Very Vino like. I love Vino's style despite blood doping.

 

[ire]

If you have the conditioning to do it awesome. I want to be at that level someday. Just completely wear out your adversaries until they hate life, and want to give up. That is the ridding style I like. Very Vino like. I love Vino's style despite blood doping.

You don't need more conditioning to be like Vino, you just need someone else's blood!!

 

[Mr. Hankey]

You don't need more conditioning to be like Vino, you just need someone else's blood!!

I am trying to be an honest cyclist. Wait was that an oxymoron? LOL. In any event. I'm gonna train as hard as possible. Plus I am trying to get a job at Bike Source so I can pick up a lighter, more aero, more Canadian bike, for cheap. I weighed my Trek in the other day. 19.9 with pedals, and 2 60g bottle cages. I can get it lighter with some work, and money, but I still love that Soloist Carbon.... Or I could just blow the money on PEDs, and go really fast. lol.