I can relate to this, 47 myself, been racing since my teens. At a pretty high level. I’ve been noticing the decline for the last couple of years. XCM used to be my playground as well.
I’ve shifted goals. I simply enjoy the process, messing around with training strategies. But you need goals for this.
I go for longer events now, where it is not so much about beating others but beating myself. I use shorter/normal XCM races as prep for these longer events, hence, ranking is not so important anymore.
Then, I want to slow my decline as much as possible. I adpat the training to my age, see what works. The process!
Then, as a long/mid term goal, I’m building towards a ultrarunning “career”. Building the foundation is a multi-year process, running is a beast. I’ve always been running a lot but I do it more structured now. And it is a good reminder to see how easy/fast progress is made as a beginner.
I’ve started running too! Been doing the local 5k Parkrun since September on and off.
First time I did 21mins and had it down to 18min15s within 5 runs.
Seems like cycling fitness is pretty transferable.
Have entered a half marathon in the spring, and a sprint triathlon too. Like I say, I’m not short of inspiration.
Seems like both these sports are a bit more about beating your PB rather than each other.
There is definitely some transfer from cycling to running, however, I’m struggeling more with the biomechanical aspects of running. In the flats I can’t even run so fast to bring me heart rate into vo2max zone. This only works on hills. Have never really trained speed in running though. Always just steady trotting along. I live in the Alps, running is different here. Going long, up&down, hike&run. Including strides and so improved overall running mechanics greatly. Just a few weeks and I entered a new level. As said before, this beginner progress is great. And puts a lot in context when you browse the web forums and read about people who say that certain training strategies worked.
Sryke.
What’s the xcm scene for vet50 riders like in the Alps?
I’ve always been a pure climber and it’s been a disappointment over my racing career how little climbing there’s been.
I did the BeMC 3 day mtb race back in 2016 and loved all the vertical ascent (2,500m/day). It’ll be interesting to see how I go at altitude in the Alps Epic.
If I enjoy myself then perhaps working towards one serious mountain race in the Alps each year would be a new and exciting target? I’ll be eligible for vet 50 in three years so that’s a good amount of time to work on the craft before trying to be competitive for a few years.
Splash. Yes that was always kind of the plan, at least for cyclocross
My thread title should perhaps have been: should I stop racing for a few years whilst I wait to be in vet 50, or should I keep my hand in?
I don’t know France but in DE/CH/AT age groups are not really such a thing. For me the only realy age group race are the XCM nationals. Most other races do have age groups but those who take it competitvely are few. Especially in the >50 group. Must admit, this one source of frustration for me. It’s different in IT though, there is a different cycling culture. Everyone has a racing license, not matter how big the belly. Here they often just have one racing license category, you get thrown together with the young elites. Well …
But then, some consider it as achievement when they are on the podium irrespective of how many true competitors they had. Difficult to judge others’ drive. Personally I’m prouder about my overall top 20 rankings in UCI XCM races than the podium in smaller events.
Brutal. You can start around April and finish by October, racing almost every weekend. Covid messed it up but it will bounce back.
Level is very high going up and down. There is always some masters dude flying by like you stay still.
If you are a masters racer with a mtb Euro mountains is the place to be.
As a 50+er I think about quitting often too. But, in cycling at least, being in a race, is a lot of what fuels the stoke. I’m into other sports (snow and water) that I can go out and lose myself. Never thinking about training or competing. I just can’t do that as well with cycling. Especially where I live with metroplex type riding. Pretty boring and frustrating. I always need a goal or a reason to ride. So, it training for an event; or riding to ride with a group; or riding to do errands; or riding to check something out. Trying very hard to make it more of a lifestyle in an area that is heavily Americana leaning has been hard. Haven’t quite figured it out yet.
The wife and I are starting to think about the next move. I fly into San Francisco a bit and every time we come up from the south looking down at the land in and around San Jose and to the south and west towards Santa Cruz I easily imagine our life there. Cycling heaven and the Pacific playground so close. Problem is everyone else has the same idea. $$$
I found myself in the same boat a few years back. I stopped any form of structured training and just rode how I liked. I fell back in love with the joy of riding a bike. And as a completely unexpected bonus, ended up stronger than I’d ever been!
(I plan on returning to XC mtb again next season - based in Scotland)
Without writing too much, you are definitely not alone. At a certain age you know your PRs are set and the effort to get back to a peak w/kg or FTP is very high if that objective is even achievable. A couple years before Covid I realized my motivation to road race was waning and that I enjoyed the training and the people more than the actual racing.
I made the switch to gradually remove myself from being a local association officer but to continue to help organize some race series and season long competitions. Mostly because a very good friend does the heavy lifting and I support him with extra hands and time.
My group of friends splits into three groups. Some have decided to not race again and will ride, run, lift weights and stay fit but not let racing dominate. Others decided to race a bit but not as much and to not worry about results. Still others are all in and training like mad hoping 2022 is a more normal season.
Regardless of A, B or C above, we all agree that we miss gathering with friends at the races and miss the energy around race day. So while I’ll focus more on fun and fitness (and mountain biking), my plan is to stay in touch with road racing and do some time trials in 2022 and to organize non-race events to keep the gang together (usually this involves food and beer). If the spark comes back in a year or two, then maybe I’ll go all in and train hard for the next age group when that comes around. If not, that’s fine too.
Hope that helps. Everyone just finds their own way on this stuff and I think we all go through the internal dialogs and discussions.
We were just chatting today on WhatsApp about including novice/non competitive races into the cx calendar so that would be another load of organisation to be involved in.
Highlight of my season this year was without a doubt the weeks leading up to our cx league race then the actual weekend itself. It was an enormous amount of work designing and then building a 3km cyclocross course but we all pitched in and pulled it off.
Come race day, over 500 people raced our course which gave me such a buzz. I spent the day chatting with friends and solving issues including an emergency re-route when a bees nest was discovered on track! I got stung in the arse sorting that one!
Course building is an art. It’s not as straightforward as you think. There are so many ramifications to every decision. It’s something I’d like to pursue further.
Well I’m glad you asked!
Someone told me back in the summer that the park had permanently closed, however I’ve just had a look on the Internet and it looks open to me.
Maybe they were just talking about racing there? We haven’t had a local race for years but that could be because of covid.
I’ll ask around.
Are you referring to the 2012 Olympic XC course at Hadleigh Park? It’s complicated … there are issues around funding and accommodating other users of the park, per the thread here:
I am not aware of a centralized portal. I follow many races from their own web pages and social media. Also there are some “cups” that have a series of races. Here is my followed races list:
if year is not 2022 that means we do not yet know the exact date for this season.
M: mtb, R: Road, HC: Hill Climb
