Upgrade Dilemma
Do I do it?
I raced on Saturday in Livermore - did a 3/4 crit. Had a solid but not outstanding race, ended up winning two primes and coming in 3rd in the finish. Which puts me over the 25 points necessary to become a cat 2 woman. What to do?
Instead of hitting up the rest of the races for the weekend, Mt Hammy and the Memorial Day Crits, to get in some more experience in a 1/2/3 field, I decided to go mountain biking. A nice mellow Santa Cruz ride on Sunday went as planned, with some rippin singletrack descents and sustained climbs.
Today... well, it was awesome, but not as planned. We headed out with 9 people, a bunch of these guys, Mel, two Amys, and me. Everything started out fine, but by the end of the ride we were trickling back to the vehicles two at a time. But all in all we came away without losing anyone, and no injuries requiring hospitalization. Not bad!
So, to sum up the three-day weekend--
Mornings that I woke up even earlier than I do for work: 2 out of 3
Money earned racing in a 45 minute crit: $17
Total PB&J sandwiches consumed: 4
PB&J sandwiches donated to hungry riding companions: 2
BBQs attended: 2
Number of times I heard someone say the words Bar-be-que: 1,849
Number of hours directly occupied by my bike obsession: 23
Indirectly occupied: the rest.
But tomorrow it's back to work!
I raced on Saturday in Livermore - did a 3/4 crit. Had a solid but not outstanding race, ended up winning two primes and coming in 3rd in the finish. Which puts me over the 25 points necessary to become a cat 2 woman. What to do?
Instead of hitting up the rest of the races for the weekend, Mt Hammy and the Memorial Day Crits, to get in some more experience in a 1/2/3 field, I decided to go mountain biking. A nice mellow Santa Cruz ride on Sunday went as planned, with some rippin singletrack descents and sustained climbs.
Today... well, it was awesome, but not as planned. We headed out with 9 people, a bunch of these guys, Mel, two Amys, and me. Everything started out fine, but by the end of the ride we were trickling back to the vehicles two at a time. But all in all we came away without losing anyone, and no injuries requiring hospitalization. Not bad!
So, to sum up the three-day weekend--
Mornings that I woke up even earlier than I do for work: 2 out of 3
Money earned racing in a 45 minute crit: $17
Total PB&J sandwiches consumed: 4
PB&J sandwiches donated to hungry riding companions: 2
BBQs attended: 2
Number of times I heard someone say the words Bar-be-que: 1,849
Number of hours directly occupied by my bike obsession: 23
Indirectly occupied: the rest.
But tomorrow it's back to work!
posted by karla at 10:33 PM
9 Comments:
Don't upgrade yet.
Soak it all in and win a bunch of cat3 races and learn how to win...atleast that is what others have told me to do...now I just need to get to the winning part.
The upgrade police will get you for that one, I say upgrade...
btw... HI KJK!!!
i'd take a look at what types of racing you've garnered the majority of your points at. If you're not sure whether you should upgrade, check into trying types of races that you haven't scored points with in the E3's.
try those, see how you feel/do.
take a look at what your strengths are and what you think your weaknesses might be. do some races that you might be at a disadvantage at. challenge yourself.
now you've got the points to upgrade ... and after seeing you race a couple times in crits, i do think you're Cat2 quality ... you don't have to worry about results as much.
so, take on some new terrain and see how you do in the 3's. If you can excel in races that you consider hard for you, then you know you're ready to upgrade. if you feel as though you're in the hurt bag and getting hammered by 3's ... then, train those weaknesses.
it'll only make you a better racer.
Overall? If the question is asked about upgrading ... the answer is usually in the affirmative.
but, i'm a proponent of SR's advice in that learning to win in many different scenarios does loads of help for your overall ability as a racer.
'cuz them 1/2's in NorCal can ride quick sometimes.
~m
nice meeting you!!
congrats on the upgrade points--you kept quiet about that on saturday!
Thanks for the advice guys! I really appreciate it. Always good to hear all the different points on both sides of the equation.
Hi Skibby!
Nice to meet you too, x bunny, and NICE job at the crit on Sat!
See you out there again soon!
more unicorns.
That doesn't seem like enough PB&J sandwiches to withstand the number of hours occupied by biking....
found you...wandering aimlessly in green on the river road...glad things are going well
ITB, sister julia
>grumpy power rankings
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