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how many of you race?

892 Views 17 Replies 16 Participants Last post by joshed, Jan 18, 2010

FiveDogCycling

Discussion Starter · Jan 15, 2010

How many of you on the commuting section of MTBR race as well?

I'm starting my first MTB race season this year and I am considering commuting to save on fuel. Just didn't know if the commuting would be helpful, hurtful, or indifferent to my race performance

1 - 18 of 18 Posts

CommuterBoy

· #2 · Jan 15, 2010

I have raced, but not regularly and not seriously.

Commuting definitely helps to maintain that base level of fitness that makes it way easier to build on for a race or event. I do a century or two every summer, and coming out of the winter with the 1800 miles that I put in commuting already under my belt makes preparation for an event like that much, much easier than starting from scratch.

I try to work in intervals or other sprints into my commute a couple times a week, and treat (the ride home especially) like a short training ride. I would say that it could certainly be helpful to your race performance...assuming that you don't get hit by a car.

FiveDogCycling

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jan 15, 2010

thanks for the reply CommuterBoy, I was figuring as much. I used to commute to work for training purposes when i raced road bikes but that was a different type of commuting what what I would be venturing into now.

and yes getting hit by a car would put a damper on things for sure lol

pop_martian

· #4 · Jan 16, 2010

I did 22 races last year. Didn't win a single one!:thumbsup:

FiveDogCycling

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jan 16, 2010

yeah i'm not worried about winning any as it will be my first season on the dirt just want to competitive (hanging in the middle and up)

Normbilt

· #6 · Jan 16, 2010

I used to race. Spent all my money on Registration Fees. A couple years back I decided that the last race I Did it was $65 on Registration. $120 on a Place to sleep and a 9 hour drive up and a 9 hour drive home $75 in gas. 2009 I took my 75 year old mom up to our old cabin for a little vacation. we left on a Sunday and came home on a Wednesday $60 in gas $60 for a couple nice dinners Then that same week Friday I went to Gnome Fest. $40 for camping $60 on gas to drive there. I rode 125 miles that week on some nice mountain bike trails.

Today I participate in the Human Race. Last Years Commuting Miles 5210
.
Miscauno Island 2009

Gnome Fest 6 2009

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mtbxplorer

· #7 · Jan 16, 2010

No, I just ride for fun, but commuting will help you develop the razor sharp reflexes of the car-avoiding commuter, the sprint and braking skills of the dog-evading commuter, and the mental toughness of the abuse-slung commuter. These should all serve you well in your races, a piece of cake! Also, I have found that commuting builds up your mileage and strength more sensibly (assuming your commute distance is reasonable) than the weekend warrior approach.

Gary the No-Trash Cougar

· #8 · Jan 16, 2010

No races under my belt and no desire to ever do one, though I do try to "train" as much as possible on my commuting rides. I try to improve my speed, climbing ability and fitness so I can ride longer, farther and harder on the weekends, but I never do it to the point of "suffering." I always try to make it a point of having fun while doing it!

mechBgon

· #9 · Jan 16, 2010

FiveDogCycling said:
How many of you on the commuting section of MTBR race as well?

I'm starting my first MTB race season this year and I am considering commuting to save on fuel. Just didn't know if the commuting would be helpful, hurtful, or indifferent to my race performance

Yeah, I race both road and XC. Commuting can help, just make sure to throw some good intensity in there so it's a de facto training ride and not just transport. How far is your commute, and over what sort of terrain (hilly, flat, stop-&-go, etc)?

but I never do it to the point of "suffering."

Hehe

Last summer I was doing ~1-hour races in our nearby State Park, and I was running my heart-rate monitor. My heart rate was averaging around 175 over the course of the races, with surges to around 190(!), and I'm 40. Intensity! That's XC racing for ya...

fux

· #10 · Jan 16, 2010

I race MTB and road.

I have 3 kids so need to cut down on time away from the family. At the moment I use the commute as a warm up and throw my leg over the trainer for an hour when I get home.

Bicycle tire Bicycle frame Bicycle wheel rim Bicycle wheel Bicycle part

As soon as the temp hits + I extend my ride home with an hour and do intervalls on my way home as well as longer rides when I get home just in time for dinner.

If you use your commute as training I would reccomend you vary your speed and intesity on different days so you dont end up as a one speed wonder or dont get enough rest. On my rest days I ride realy slooow to work, loads of hills here so in interval days I ride real hard on those and steady in between.

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Schmucker

· #11 · Jan 16, 2010

I race... but I also drink... so sometimes the hangover stops me from racing at my fullest... but I still try and I and one-up the elite racers anyways by partying better than them! ONE GEAR FREE BEER!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOo
I'm currently drunk BTW.

KeylessChuck

· #12 · Jan 16, 2010

I race cyclocross, which is a very similar riding environment to my commute. I feel commuting has really helped my fitness, plus then I have my bike at work for lunchtime rides.

I used to race mtbs, but cyclocross has been a lot of fun, has cheaper entry fees, and is much less time consuming. I have a local series which I can ride to, race, and ride home in less than 3 hours every Wed evening in the Fall, and a regional series where every race is 2 hours or less away. Cyclocross has been a lot more fun for my whole family.

pinkrobe

· #13 · Jan 16, 2010

I used to race, but I got better.

I raced back in the 90's, road and mountain. Commuting did help a bit, but I found that I had to consciously slow my commutes down. I had a bad habit of riding my commutes like a race, sprinting from light to light, chasing cars, etc. That left me tired for training rides, so I didn't get in the quality of riding I needed to. I think commuting can provide excellent base miles, especially in the winter. Riding through snow and ice can help increase coordination for mtn biking as well.

jrm

· #14 · Jan 17, 2010

Endurance stuff

Mostly 8, 12 and 24 hour with anything from 2 to 10 people on the team. If i ride in and do a long after work ride on the way home one or two days a week i can put some miles down.

rodar y rodar

· #15 · Jan 17, 2010

The only racing of any kind I`ve ever done was for a few years back in the 80s in an anual 30K cross country ski event. Even though it was (and still is, I think) technically a race, most entrants thought of it more as a tour, some even stopping for lunch along the route. I have zero competetive impulse in me and don`t understand that chasing instinct that a lt of riders refer to, but I have to say that the Cyclocross videos I`ve watched sure look like a lot of fun. I might try it one of these days and see how I like it.

nepbug

· #16 · Jan 18, 2010

I commute and I race. Last year was the first year that I started doing more XC races, previously having done 1 or 2 and several endurance races.

I think the commuting helped me, I get two hours of riding in a day; it's great base building right now. I keep the intensity fairly low this time of the year and once it starts warming up start turning my ride home into more of a workout with intervals, cadence drills, etc.

Last year I was racing sport and came in 2nd in the series, this year I'll be racing expert and bumping up to a faster age group so now I will really see how this pans out for me.

I do a lot of run-racing and adventure racing as well so I'm not just on the bike and commuting helps me get in bike time and still have time for running/paddling/hiking.

I think you have to be careful with pace depending on the distances. If you have a short 20-30 minute commute you have to be careful enough to not go too fast (very tempting with short commutes) and burn yourself out before your planned workout, the way home in a short commute is a good warm-up before any other workout. For an hour commute, it's a lot easier to burn yourself out without intending to so pacing plays more into it. You can turn more of the hour commutes into a useful workout than you can with short ones. With long commutes 1.5 hours and more each way you might not be doing much more than commuting for quite a while. You probably won't have the motivation/energy to go out for any additional miles until you get a big base built up so your dirt miles can start hurting if you're trying to commute everyday and be prepared to start needing 8+ hours of sleep.

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dskunk

· #17 · Jan 18, 2010

pinkrobe said:
, but I found that I had to consciously slow my commutes down. I had a bad habit of riding my commutes like a race, sprinting from light to light, chasing cars, etc. That left me tired for training rides, so I didn't get in the quality of riding I needed to.

I race. Mostly 8hr and 24hr solos but I've also been doing a weekly mtb race series for the last few years which is way more fun than I ever dreamed it would be.
I also found myself in the same mind set as Pinkrobe. I really have to concentrate on slowing down my commute occasionally. I've started thinking out my week a bit more in advance so that I know before I start each commute whether it's a hard, medium or recovery ride.

joshed

· #18 · Jan 18, 2010

I race mtb and commuted for over a year.

I really think it helped with my overall fitness and pedaling stamina when it came to racing.

Something I know helped was doing hard sprints to and from work.

I highly suggest it.

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