So, you wanna race your bike?
Well, here it is. The 'off-season' has officially begun, and for some, in epic style. Those of you new to the sport might wonder what people mean when they refer to the 'off-season'. For some this means not riding a bike very much at all until February or March the year after...but don't let other people's bluffs scupper you, most folks won't do this. In fact, you'll find that for most it's entirely the opposite.
While, indeed, this is a time for most of us to gather our minds and let our hair down a bit, it doesn't
deflect from the fact that as of October we're usually already planning everything ahead of March. Training goes back to basics and we look at building fitness over the coming months, using long, steady hours, weights, diets, all manner of things to get into shape at the right time for the right amount of time.
So for those of you that are new to the sport, or are simply thinking about trying your hand at road racing or time trialling - then, surprisingly enough, now is probably the time you should start
planning for it. Today's post is to help you find some direction into how to actually make those big steps into the wonderful world of racing.
It's October, what should I be doing now?
Don't panic, when I say you should be thinking about planning for next season - you should really be focusing on your base fitness. Don't go out smashing yourself and your legs to peices, in fact, have plenty of days off, but when you go out - go long. What I mean by this is you need steady base miles, ride comfortably, not overly fast, and get a good long ride (2+ hours) in you when you do. Every so often, when you're busy during the week, do some easy 1 hour rides on the turbo and some squats, planks, etc. My coach and I have already basically planned what we're doing right up to next season, but this will inevitably change as we go, the key is not to panic or overdo it. You can basically ride steady and long right the way up to the start of January - what this does is build you a great aerobic endurance, something you really need for road racing.
OK, I know what I'm doing, but what else can I do?
Firstly, you need to look at your bike. Once you know you have a good base fitness, and have figured yourself out a nice little training plan then you need to think about having a bike that's worthy of racing, ready for the new season. During winter, most of us ride what's called a "winter bike" - this is a bike that's old, a bit cranky and generally considerably heavier than our race bikes. If you only have one bike don't panic, a quick fix come race season can be a new set of wheels - so a good tip for winter is to ride on heavier training wheels, and swap to some lighter, quicker wheels when the weather turns good.
That's the first half of winter sorted, what now?
Alrighty, so come January things are going to change a bit. By now you'll feel much fitter, and hopefully you'll be starting to get a little leaner from all that calorie burning easy riding you've been doing! Now you need to start thinking about logistics. To race, you need to be a member of a club. If you're on the Isle of Man, there are a choice of road clubs - some of you may already be members, for example I ride with the Manx Viking Wheelers, however there is also the Manx Road Club and Ellan Vannin. These clubs are all registered with British Cycling, which is important for my next tip!
The other HUGE benefit of joining a club is the weekend "club runs" - these are normally long, fairly hard but steady enough rides - they can feel quite daunting at first but if you're thinking of racing they are a must. You absolutely NEED to learn how to ride in what's commonly known as a "bunch" (peloton).
January is also the time you need to think about where you're going to race. If you're on the Isle of Man and you're happy racing locally, then you need to register with TLI cycling, which is the regulatory body which covers the Island. If you're in the UK, or you're Manx and you fancy trying races across, then you need a British Cycling Licence. If you're going to race with British Cycling then you need at least a Silver Membership as well as a Race License - this usually costs somewhere around £70 per year.
What opportunities are there in the UK?
The Manx TLI cycling races are great fun, they're mixed category and gender which means you can have a go against anyone - in our example this sometimes means mixing it up with the pros! To get good women's specific racing experience you don't really have to go too far either. There are currently a few leagues in the North West of England which are specifically designed to help lower category racers (British Cycling categories run from 4, which is novice, through 3,2,1 and ELITE). CDNW in particular is a brilliant way to gain experience in road racing, the races are around 40 miles and throughout the league covers many different types of course. They're all around Lancashire and they're always at the weekend, meaning you can simply hop on the boat and drive or rail over to them. Simples! For me, these have been the best step into real racing so far. There are also weekday leagues if you fancy taking a day off, Salt Ayre being very close to Heysham Port.
For those of you who do want to stay local and live on the Isle of Man there are the TLI races as I've mentioned (and even Ireland and across many parts of the UK) - and there is an extremely full calendar of Handicap races (where ability groups are split and set off in time intervals to give all racers a fair chance), Road Race (mass start, usually with A and B ability groups) and Time Trials (my personal favourite, on the Isle of Man these are very regular and if you've never raced before these are the PERFECT place to start testing your ability).
For those of you in the UK, there are many other beginners leagues and for women there are more and more leagues cropping up designed for novices to be able to learn racecraft. If you need a hand finding anything, please feel free to give me a shout on Twitter! @mooleur
So I've got my license, I'm feeling fit and my bike feels great! Surely that's all!?
Are you feeling a little overwhelmed? Don't be. There's lots more to discuss but really I think we have the basics for now. Here's the checklist just to wind things up for you;
deflect from the fact that as of October we're usually already planning everything ahead of March. Training goes back to basics and we look at building fitness over the coming months, using long, steady hours, weights, diets, all manner of things to get into shape at the right time for the right amount of time.
 |
| (c) Huw Williams |
planning for it. Today's post is to help you find some direction into how to actually make those big steps into the wonderful world of racing.
It's October, what should I be doing now?
Don't panic, when I say you should be thinking about planning for next season - you should really be focusing on your base fitness. Don't go out smashing yourself and your legs to peices, in fact, have plenty of days off, but when you go out - go long. What I mean by this is you need steady base miles, ride comfortably, not overly fast, and get a good long ride (2+ hours) in you when you do. Every so often, when you're busy during the week, do some easy 1 hour rides on the turbo and some squats, planks, etc. My coach and I have already basically planned what we're doing right up to next season, but this will inevitably change as we go, the key is not to panic or overdo it. You can basically ride steady and long right the way up to the start of January - what this does is build you a great aerobic endurance, something you really need for road racing.
OK, I know what I'm doing, but what else can I do?
Firstly, you need to look at your bike. Once you know you have a good base fitness, and have figured yourself out a nice little training plan then you need to think about having a bike that's worthy of racing, ready for the new season. During winter, most of us ride what's called a "winter bike" - this is a bike that's old, a bit cranky and generally considerably heavier than our race bikes. If you only have one bike don't panic, a quick fix come race season can be a new set of wheels - so a good tip for winter is to ride on heavier training wheels, and swap to some lighter, quicker wheels when the weather turns good.
That's the first half of winter sorted, what now?
Alrighty, so come January things are going to change a bit. By now you'll feel much fitter, and hopefully you'll be starting to get a little leaner from all that calorie burning easy riding you've been doing! Now you need to start thinking about logistics. To race, you need to be a member of a club. If you're on the Isle of Man, there are a choice of road clubs - some of you may already be members, for example I ride with the Manx Viking Wheelers, however there is also the Manx Road Club and Ellan Vannin. These clubs are all registered with British Cycling, which is important for my next tip!
The other HUGE benefit of joining a club is the weekend "club runs" - these are normally long, fairly hard but steady enough rides - they can feel quite daunting at first but if you're thinking of racing they are a must. You absolutely NEED to learn how to ride in what's commonly known as a "bunch" (peloton).
January is also the time you need to think about where you're going to race. If you're on the Isle of Man and you're happy racing locally, then you need to register with TLI cycling, which is the regulatory body which covers the Island. If you're in the UK, or you're Manx and you fancy trying races across, then you need a British Cycling Licence. If you're going to race with British Cycling then you need at least a Silver Membership as well as a Race License - this usually costs somewhere around £70 per year.
What opportunities are there in the UK?
The Manx TLI cycling races are great fun, they're mixed category and gender which means you can have a go against anyone - in our example this sometimes means mixing it up with the pros! To get good women's specific racing experience you don't really have to go too far either. There are currently a few leagues in the North West of England which are specifically designed to help lower category racers (British Cycling categories run from 4, which is novice, through 3,2,1 and ELITE). CDNW in particular is a brilliant way to gain experience in road racing, the races are around 40 miles and throughout the league covers many different types of course. They're all around Lancashire and they're always at the weekend, meaning you can simply hop on the boat and drive or rail over to them. Simples! For me, these have been the best step into real racing so far. There are also weekday leagues if you fancy taking a day off, Salt Ayre being very close to Heysham Port.
 |
| (c) Kevin Kissack |
For those of you in the UK, there are many other beginners leagues and for women there are more and more leagues cropping up designed for novices to be able to learn racecraft. If you need a hand finding anything, please feel free to give me a shout on Twitter! @mooleur
So I've got my license, I'm feeling fit and my bike feels great! Surely that's all!?
Are you feeling a little overwhelmed? Don't be. There's lots more to discuss but really I think we have the basics for now. Here's the checklist just to wind things up for you;
- Long rides - get plenty of good quality, steady base miles in.
- Off the back of this, winter is the time to eat healthily but WELL. Don't overdo it, but don't starve yourself.
- Join a club! You need to be a member of one to be able to race.
- Go ride with your club! Or at least a group of experienced riders, the stuff you can learn from these groups is phenomenally important.
- Get your licenses! Decide where you want to race and what types of races you want to to and become a license holder for any respective regulatory body.
- Think about some fresh parts for your bike - come March you will want to lighten her up a little.
- Don't panic, just enjoy riding your bike.
- Don't be afraid to ask anyone questions, we all started somewhere - the worst thing you can do is go into this with questions unanswered, no matter how silly you think they are.
- Most importantly, no one will EVER judge you for giving racing a try, so don't EVER let that thought hold you back!
- Enjoy your winter. :)
Hope that's helpful, I know some folks I've spoken to recently are keen to give it a go - so why the hell not! The best thing you can do is enter a season well prepared and confident.
Go get em x
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