Race

An Austinbikes Tutorial

So you know a friend who races, but she tends to keep all the secrets to herself. Really, you are a bit shy to just come right out and ask her how your quadriceps can be as big as hers and how she got all those cool scars. All the while, you really miss the challenges and comraderie of 8th grade track practice and meets. Well have no fear, we're about to give you the quick and dirty and allow you to dive right in head first to the thrilling world of bike racing. On second thought, try not to go head first but we'll try to get to that too.

Here is a quick to-do/how-to get started racing bikes this year ›

In this order...

Decide (perhaps with the aid of your doctor) if your body is ready to embark on an extremely rigorous adventure that I sometimes liken to being shot out of a cannon. A simple physical exam usually does the trick. These are cheap and handy ways to check for other icky things that may be sneaking up on you too.
Find a new job that offers health insurance. If you're already set up in your current job, you be sure to thank your lucky stars. Best case scenario: the insurance card will NEVER be used for anything more than a place-holder behind which you can stash your racing license in your purse or wallet.
Go to your local bike shop and either buy yourself a race-worthy bike, or tune up your bike to make it ship-shape. The bike does not need to cost you much more than a thousand dollars but can easily cost upward of 10K. The value of the bike is not as important as if it suits your purpose. In the end, find the one you are comfortable with. If you already have a bike designed and built in the current decade chances are it is more or less immediately ready to race! A safety check can be conducted at any shop. If the service tech finds any thing iffy on your bike he will let you know.
You are also going to want to use this opportunity while in the shop to meet the on site bike fitter(s). Have them explain the procedure and grill them on how many successful and pain free bike racers they have produced atop their fit stage recently. Most shops will likely include some type of free bike fitting with the purchase of the bike. The bad news is that this fitting is usually not worth your time if you plan on getting an "actual fit". Word to the wise: If your fitter a)is younger than your family pet b)squints one eye and licks his thumb looking for the direction of the prevailing wind c)ever asks you: "What pro-cyclist do you WANT to look like?" or d) all of the above, I would politely decline this free "service."
Ask about your local shop's group ride or zip over to Austin Cycling Association's (ACA) Ride page by clicking HERE. Another great resource for other published group ride opportunities is Austin on Two Wheels. They have a jam-packed calendar you can navigate to right HERE. Group rides are the ideal way to determine if, and to what degree, you are comfortable riding handlebar-to-handlebar in a group setting at speed.
Decide what genre of racing you are most excited about.
For beginning road races check out driveway series in east Austin. For Beginning MTB races check out the dirt remedy or the dirt derby.
Join a team. May we suggest Austinbikes/Revenant?

TXBRA - Texas Bicycle Racing Association (An Asphalt Adventure) ›

Txbra is short for Texas Bicycle Racing association. Txbra is THE authority and sanctioning body behind all road, cyclocross, and track events in the state of Texas. Founded and run by avid roadies delicately sprinkled throughout this great state, it is an organization of race promotors, USAC officials, elder statesmen, and concerned citizens. In the chain of command -with respect to the governing bodies of cycling- it goes like this:

UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale)---->USA cycling---->Txbra

The UCI lords over ALL bicycle racing worldwide. USACycling is the National governing body. TXBRA's umbrella of responsibility exists only at the state level.

TMBRA - Texas Mountain Bike Racing Association (Asphalt isn't for everyone) ›

from tmbra.org:

The Texas Mountain Bike Racing Association was formed in the summer of 1996 by the promotors of the Texas Championship Series races in an effort to bring added continuity and professionalism to the series. Today, The TMBRA calendar has races all across the state of Texas featuring a wide variety of race courses. Ranging from Desert singletrack in the western part of the state to the twisty trails in the Piney Woods of Eastern Texas and Louisiana, The races promoted on the TMBRA calendars offer mountain bike racers all conceivable types of terrain.

All TMBRA races feature USA Cycling recognized classes and categories, as well as an active Junior program and the groundbreaking "Kids Kup" program. Thus, regardless if you are a seasoned veteran in racing or if you are looking for your first race opportunity, there is a race for you.

ACA - Austin Cycling Association (Become a Member!) ›

The Austin Cycling Association (ACA) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in existence for 24 years. The ACA is dedicated to furthering bicycle access, safety, education, and enjoyment in Central Texas by sponsoring weekly bike rides, training, informational programs and an annual charity bike ride; the Armadillo Hill Country Classic (AHCC). The AHCC benefits bicycle safety education and free helmets for kids.

Membership is open to adults and families, and includes a one-year subscription to Cycling News, access to online ride maps and free classified ads. Allow four to six weeks for your first issue of CN.

Map access is granted to membership. The website account will be created automatically for those who signup online, and those who chose to signup manually through mail or onsite will receive notification when account is created.

Most importantly (with respect to your quest to become a bike racer), ACA will help expose you to group rides throughout the greater Austin area. Chances are, you'll get really fit, really fast AND meet some really cool new friends.

How much do I have to train to race a bike? ›

The easy answer is: NONE! Depending on the race duration and type you may be able to enter and finish your first race without any legitimate training. For instance: If you're an active outdoorsy type who has graduated with an informal degree in intermediate handling skills you may finish top 10 in your first beginner (8 mile) mountain bike race.

Quite often this isn't the case though. There are tens of millions of books written on this subject matter alone. But one simple rule of thumb is train (as your schedule permits) up to 1.5X the race duration/distance at a moderate pace and occasionally train race distance at full race pace.

A reporter once asked Eddy Merckx what advice he'd give to aspiring riders, Merckx simply stated:"Ride lots." Here's a great article explaining why just riding isn't enough to be a world-class bicycle racer.

What average speed might I expect from my first race? ›

Depending on whether your first race is a MTB race through technical, twisty single track or a timetrial on a pancake flat, windless course the answer to this question varies greatly. But let's be realistic: it's racing we're talking about, not a sunday stroll. If your first race is one of the driveway series weekly criteriums here in Austin, you can expect Category 5 racers to routinely average 25 miles per hour for the entirety of a 30-minute race. Mountain bike cat 3's might expect to be able to average between 10 mph and 13 mph depending on the course's topography. A cat 5 road race may average about 22-23 mph and a 40K cat 5 timetrial will be won in around an hour.

If you are thinking to yourself: WOW, I would never be able to maintain those speeds on the road. Fear not, new racer! With a reasonable draft created by clever pack positioning you can save roughly 20 percent of your energy over those on the front of the peloton. This means that if you have no problem riding 20-21 mph during a solo effort you should fare just fine in a 30 minute crit.

If you are thinking to yourself: Wow, I would never be able to maintain those speeds on the trail during a race......keep practicing, or race yourself into shape. The best way to get better is to be the sweat-rag of your training group. At least for a little while;

How does one determine what category to race? ›

As far as mountain bike racing categories are structured, most people slot in as category 3's to get started. For road,cyclocross, and track racing men start in category 5 and women in category 4. The route to upgrading and the rules of engagement are listed below:

Road

Upgrading from category 5 to 4 can be done after finishing ten mass start races. Category 4 to 3 can be requested when a certain amount of points is earned in races within a 12-month period or race experience, 25 qualifying races with a minimum of 10 top ten finishes with fields of 30 rides or more. 30 points in a 12-month period is an automatic upgrade to category 3. Upgrades from 3 to 2 and 2 to 1 are based on a number of points in a 12-month period. Category 3 to 2 requires 25 points to be eligible and 40 points for an automatic upgrade.

Cyclo-cross

Upgrading in cyclo-cross follows the same upgrade pattern as road but with different points requirements. in this case it is 10 points in a 12-month period to upgrade from category 3 to 2 and 20 points from category 2 to 1.

Race Kit (jersey and bibs/shorts)
Helmet
Shoes
Gloves
Heart Rate strap, computer head unit (garmin?)
Race glasses (clean before you arrive at race)
Extra water bottles
Tools (multi tool, allen wrenches, pedal wrench)
Pump
Flat fixin's (tube(s), lever(s), CO2 cartridges)
GUs/Powerbars/bananas (for pre/post race nutrition)
Beach towel (allows you to change in the parking lot; hopefully you won't have to ask me how)
Lg ZipLoc with clean up stuff (small towel, deoderant, clean wipes)
Bike lock
Clean and not-so-clean rags (for working on the bike and clean up)
Sunblock
Hat (to cover up helmet head)
Safety pins (to pin your number on, in case the promoter runs out)
Extra ZipLoc bags (large for dirty clothes; small for misc stuff and trash (GU wrappers, etc))
Racing License
Credit Card
Cash

How many different types of races are out there waiting for me? ›

LOTS and LOTS!!!! Check out the list:

Where should I train? ›

Find a road or trail that provides safe passage. Ride only roads and trails that are regularly monitored or patrolled by other humans. Other than that it is nice to find routes that allow for a broad range of efforts. The greenbelt (MTB) and Loop 360 (Road bike) are great for starters, but you'll eventually tire of them. Roads are EVERYWHERE....heck, if you trip and fall walking down your driveway, chances are you'll land on one. For this reason i'm leaving road routes up to you, but if you need some hints on good places to train on your dirty tire bike:

MTB rideable spots:

Barton Creek Greenbelt- roughly 30 miles of trails ranging from super-tame (main trail) to uber-advanced (off the main trail...trails)
Walnut Creek Park - 11 to 12 miles of trails considered to be great for beginner mountain bikers.
Emma Long City Park- 6.5 miles of the most technical and raw mtb'ing in central texas. This park was originally dedicted to motorcyclists/trials riders, now adapted for cycling too.
Pace Bend Park
Warda (Bluff Creek Ranch)
Smithville (Rocky Hill Ranch)

What should I eat before, during and after a race? ›

"Eat Lots"....