Mission Statement

I am a cyclist who is pursuing road racing for the first time. Although cycling, in general, is an engaging approachable sport, the specific niche of road racing is restrictive and difficult to enter due to licensure rules, the level of competition in even entry-level races, and the sparsity of racing opportunities. I started this blog to help people who are interested in road racing get into the sport successfully, to train and race more successfully and to reach their cycling goals.

I have a goal of reaching Cat. 3 on my cycling license by the end of 2018, but do not plan to stop there. In the next 5 years, I want to reach Cat. 1 on my Road and Cross Country bike licenses. For those that don’t know what “Cat. 3” means, road cycling is governed by an international cycling organization called UCI, and on the national level in the US by USA Cycling. USA Cycling sanctions cycling events, supports the sport and provides training for officials such that amateur cycling can occur at a high level. Part of supporting racing is issuing licenses, which are further broken into Categories (sort of like endorsements on a drivers license). Everyone starts with a Cat. 5 license in road cycling, and that restricts the events you can enter. Races requiring a license will restrict entry to those individuals appropriate for the race, with the idea that this prevents very new and inexperienced riders from becoming a danger to themselves or other riders, and also creating multiple levels of competition such that more people can race. It takes ten races to move from Cat. 5 to Cat. 4, and from there upgrading requires successful racing. This licensure system is a barrier to entry to a new cyclist, and I hope I can provide some help for those looking to upgrade.

My background:
-Bachelors in Exercise Physiology
-Cross Country Mountain bike racing for 10 years, Cat.2
-Recreational Road riding for 2 years
-In my first year of road racing, Cat. 4 as of 5/1/18

I’ll post thoughts on training, on racing preparation and execution, on equipment, and on results. If you have any specific questions regarding training, please leave them in a comment and I’ll do my best to provide an answer.