Club racing

smiggyontour

Thinking about joining a club before christmas to get four or five months experience of riding in a group

I'm 38 and on the bike 12 months now cycling to work and doing around 80 to 100 km at the weekend

I would like to start racing next year.

Do all clubs enter inter-club races or just a few of the more esteblished clubs?

what level of experience do you need to start A4 racing? or have I left it too late to start at 38 years of age I dont want to make a show of myself

07Lapierre

Its never too late... Go for it!

daragh_

I'm older than you and regularly make a show of myself on the bike.

Where are you based?

couerdelion

I'm not sure how many clubs do inter club leagues. The inter club league in Dublin is probably the biggest with Lucan, Usher/IRC, Tiernans, South Dublin and UCD all taking part and last year I thought all the races were well run with no stupid accidents.

It's run in four categories with Scratch at the top and then Limit at the bottom (semi scratch and semi limit in between). There are different types of racing too - handicaps you get a 2 minute lead and try to stay away from the rest (when you get caught you just try and keep up), DMS are basically individual races so you are only racing against those in your category. There is also TT's and TTT's. I probably only did 5 races last year but found it improved my cycling a lot. Whether that was having something to train for or the races themselves I don't know.

A good way to see if you are capable is to join a club and work your way up to the group who would be racing in the club league. If you are fine sticking with them on a Saturday morning then you should be ok in the pack at a race.
I started racing last year at the age of 39 and didn't feel too old. Cycling seems to be very much a middle aged sport

godtabh

Any of you have any of the races logged on strava? Would be interested to see a few of the routes etc

couerdelion

godtabh wrote: »

Any of you have any of the races logged on strava? Would be interested to see a few of the routes etc

From this year...

Round 1 - Mullagh

Round 2 - Brittas

Round 3 - Dorey's Forge

Round 10 - Brittas

smiggyontour

Based in Blanch Ill head down to meet them Sunday morning for a spin and take it from there

smiggyontour

Thanks for that reply Couerdelion Ill join a club and get stuck in over the winter so hopefully start racing in the spring

couerdelion

smiggyontour wrote: »

Based in Blanch Ill head down to meet them Sunday morning for a spin and take it from there

I'm not too far away from Blanch in Tyrrelstown and I ride with Lucan. Probaby closest club to you in the Club League. we meet 9:30am, on a Saturday morning outside Staggs.

smiggyontour

What kind of distance do ye cover? or does it depend on who turns up which dictates the distance and where they go

couerdelion

smiggyontour wrote: »

What kind of distance do ye cover? or does it depend on who turns up which dictates the distance and where they go

It depends on what group you go out with. There's four groups usually - a beginners/60km group, sportive, intermediates and advanced. Sportive and Intermediates usually do around 80km. Routes are posted in advance on Facebook and are 80-90km at the moment with an average speed of 29km in the intermediates.

This would be typical of a route.

smiggyontour

Sound thanks for that

Idleater

smiggyontour wrote: »

Sound thanks for that

Just make yourself known on Saturday and whoever is organising the groups will help you out.
If you haven't got a cycling Ireland licence yet, you might be best to give Jimmy a shout in the shop about the introductory spin policy.

Beasty

smiggyontour wrote: »

have I left it too late to start at 38 years of age I dont want to make a show of myself

Haha!!

I did bugger-all sports wise since leaving school until taking up cyling in my late forties. I started my racing career at 49....

Lusk_Doyle

Beasty wrote: »

Haha!!

I did bugger-all sports wise since leaving school until taking up cyling in my late forties. I started my racing career at 49....

...and he may as well not have bothered! :P

Ah, relax Beasty! I'm only buzzing off yer head ya mad yoke!

fab5

http://www.blanchwheelies.com/

Lusk_Doyle

Lusk_Doyle wrote: »

...and he may as well not have bothered! :P

Ah, relax Beasty! I'm only buzzing off yer head ya mad yoke!

In all seriousness smiggyontour, beasty is a fine example of how it is never too late and you're never too heavy to start and also to become competitive with much younger cyclists. Trust me on that.

smiggyontour

fab5 wrote: »

http://www.blanchwheelies.com/

Thanks for that

smiggyontour

Lusk_Doyle wrote: »

In all seriousness smiggyontour, beasty is a fine example of how it is never too late and you're never too heavy to start and also to become competitive with much younger cyclists. Trust me on that.

Thanks for that Lusk Doyle

smiggyontour

Beasty wrote: »

Haha!!

I did bugger-all sports wise since leaving school until taking up cyling in my late forties. I started my racing career at 49....

Thats inspiration Beasty fair play

07Lapierre

At 38 your too young for Vets races...

foxer3640

I started racing last year at 41 and I did ok. Don't let your age put you off. Racing is great craic and if you have a competitive streak in you its going to get you hooked pretty quickly. Keep an eye out for Christmas hamper races this time of year they can be a great way of testing the water. Happy racing!

RobFowl

Am (almost) 43 and still ticking away. It's the sort of sport which lends itself quite well to middle age and later. It's relatively easy on the joints (falls aside) and a great way of staying/getting fit.
It's also a great social outlet (especially at coffee stops )

Beasty

RobFowl wrote: »

It's also a great social outlet (especially at coffee stops )

Only the IVCA do coffee stops in the middle of races (and even then it's only the limit group, as they tend to get an extra half hour or so "handicap" start ...);)

Harrybelafonte

36, started racing 2011, have done fairly well in one discipline, not so much in the other.

It's never too late to start. Do your research and get the training in and learn to ride in a group and you'll be grand.

As for embarrassing yourself, wouldn't worry about it, I've always found compatriots out the back of the bunch. You're never alone.