June 14::: I'm late, again

Posted Jun 14, 2005
2,315

Sorry, but I've been riding and ENJOYING IT!

Bordeline Irrelevance???

With all the cool kiddies going to google.com and starting their own little dear-diaries, I'm starting to wonder if anyone cares or reads all that is Marco on bikeiowa.com. Alas, Fastlane and O-Dawg haven't seen their name in the print lately, so I'm responsible to oblige as a good friend and get back into the fray.

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So, you wanna be a bike racer, eh?

(Okay, a little lame title, but originally intended for Bike To Work Week!)

Welcome to the 'dark side' of bikeiowa.com. You thought that the party riders were the 'dark side'? They're a bunch of furry little Ewoks compared to the Sith that call themselves racer-dudes.

I'm going to guess that you've already got two wheels and a little free time on your hands, so here's how to get started.

1. Goalsetting: Start reasonably and build from there...

I've been riding bikes since I was a little kid and raced when I could. I didn't hit the USCF seriously until college... and that was after watching some of my coworkers start racing and winning. I figured, if they can do it, I can do it better. This is a great way to start - competition is always good. But also a bad place if the guys you're gunning for are Cat1-2 caliber. They're great sparring partners and motivation, but maybe just finishing that first race is a better place to start.

Set reasonable goals that show a progression in fitness and skill. Set short-term, intermediate and long-term goals as well.

2. Training: This ain't a garden-variety tour.

Long miles in the saddle can help, but interval training is the way to go. Racing is about pushing your physical limits, recovering and redlining it again. I don't recall doing that on RAGBRAI too much, but it becomes the standard if you've been to the Des Moines Tuesday Night World Championships.

3. Equipment: Do you really need that Madone Lance Edition?

Yeah, you'll look cool and everyone will give you a new name... 'Fred'. If your bike has two wheels and is safe, use it because you're going to crash it at some point. Better learning how to ride in a group on the dusty old rig than challenging gravity on your brand-spanking new bank-buster.

4. Racing: Start local and keep it simple.

Pick some local events to start with and gauge your training, comfort level and fun-factor. Racing is more collegial at this level and you can learn from the rest of the group as well.

5. Goalsetting: Note that this one appears twice. You need to constantly remind yourself of the reason why you're on the road in the first place.

Bike racing is not an easy sport and there are many different levels of racing, strength and ability. You may be able to throw down with quick accellerations or burst of power, but lack the drive and focus for maximal time-trial style efforts. You may be a mountaingoat on the climbs, but get shelled in the spring Belgium-like crosswinds. Set goals based on your strengths, continue to train your weaknesses and make best use of the tools you have available. If you want to read more in-depth versions of this article, refer to Lowell Kellogg's entries on Wisconsin Cycling Association's website. http://www.wicycling.org/

Fast-guy update::: Bikeiowa.com has been fortunate to be able to follow quite a few young 'uns through the pack... and watch in disgust as they ride the collective group off their wheel!

Wes Hartman has been sending us updates from Europe for the past month - apparently he has recovered nicely from his spring crash and was the second USA U-23 finisher at Paris-Roubaix.

Nick Frey returned with all of his body parts intact from a few weeks of training and racing in Europe. He proceeded to rip it up on Memorial Weekend and looks to be in fine form for Junior Natz in a few weeks.

Andy Cornelison is recovering nicely from his pre-race crash at Snake Alley that ruined his weekend. Homeboy is out in Colorado acclimatizing and riding out of his mind to prepare for a return to the Stars and Stripes.

Respect My Authoritay::: Ex-Iowan (Reads like an escaped POW) Johnny Lieswyn flapped his jaw pretty hard last weekend in Minneapolis at the Nature Valley Grand Prix and came off like a whiner after his unfortunate crash at the end of the race. I'll have to say that I was impressed at Stillwater, though, when he rode like an animal, chasing down attacks and eventually winning the overall.

FAST@SS CAT1-2 TEAM::: In the NVGP throwdown, the last Iowa team standing was the ICCC/Specialized team of 'Angry' John Olney, Brian Eppen and Paul 'Detonator' Deninger as the majority of the All9yards.com/Ralph Henderson Realty team of 'Fast' Lane Anderson, Jim 'Donger' Holmes, Chad 'Chops' Vandelune, Lee 'Socks' Venteicher and Terry Beenken was eliminated by timecuts and overzealous officals.

Iowa Games Update::: We're about a month away from Iowa's largest non-USAC event! Get signed up and beat the rush for the time trail, mountain bike race and road race!!