I am no bagger of sand

For those who have long been wondering about just when I'll stop beating up on cat 3 races, the answer is: soon. Maybe.

According to USA Cycling, with my results at Syracuse, Bear Mountain, the Tour of the Battenkill and Jiminy Peak, I've accumulated 24 upgrade points in 2009. Add into the mix my third-place ride at last year's Balloon Festival Classic and a handful of other top-ten finishes in the past 12 months and I should have more than enough points to put me over the 25-point threshold need to upgrade to cat 2.

For those who don't know, the jump from 3 to 2 is big. Instead of racing in cat 3 races, and even the occasional 3/4 race, once upgraded, almost all of my races will be pro/1/2, and the competition will be accordingly tougher. But I've never been one to shy away from a challenge.

But before I get to apply a sticker to my racing license, I'll need approval from USA Cycling, which I have duly requested.

Here is what I sent to USA Cycling today:

"I'm writing to request an upgrade to category 2. Please see the following list of relevant results.

2009 results
2nd -- Tour de Syracuse, Road race
3rd -- Bear Mountain Spring Classic
9th -- Tour of the Battenkill
9th -- Johnny Cake Lane #3
2nd -- Prospect Park Spring Series

2008 results
7th -- Union Vale Road Race
8th -- Maltese Team Invitational
3rd -- Balloon Festival Classic"

When I hear a response from USA Cycling, I will post the results here. The upgrade process is not always cut-and-dried, and although I feel pretty confident that I have enough points, there are cases where points don't count for one reason or another. We'll see what happens.

Looking back at my development as a rider, going from a collegiate racer who didn't know a pace line from a yellow line, I find it slightly incredible that I am now on the verge of this next step. When I was a newly-minted cat 4, I used to think that I'd get to cat 3 and stop there, content to race at that level. After all, as a cat three you can race in some seriously competitive events, but you don't have to put in the crazy mileage required to be competitive in 80, 90, 100+ mile races. But here I am. I already do 6-7 hour training rides on my off weekends, covering 100-140 miles at a stretch. Why not apply all those miles to a race setting?

Where I was once content to be able to sit in Prospect Park, I now want to be competitive at a much higher level. Far from staying a terminal cat 3, I now see cat 2 as a step on the way to cat 1. But, racing as a Cat 2 (and, eventually, 1) means that I will be racing at most event with professional athletes.

I fully expect this to be a jarring transition, and fully expect my podium at Syracuse to be my last placing for some time as I adjust to the increased speed and refined tactics at the higher level of racing.

Am I ready for a new challenge? I hope so, and I think so.

Of course, now that I've written this, my upgrade will almost certainly be denied.