# Resources for teenage racers



## Bremerradkurier (May 25, 2012)

My teenage son is starting to ride with me and at 5'10"/60kg weight with 6% body fat on the Tanita scale (not super accurate, I know) does very well on hills, easily beating me be several bike lengths when I'm pushing 350W at 83kg body weight-any good tips for getting him starting on racing bikes?

Looking to get him away from video games and all, and he has some interest.


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## woodys737 (Dec 31, 2005)

USAC junior cycling club would be where I would start. Having other teen age kids to ride with and develop with will make it more fun and interesting over the long run.


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## Bspboy (Aug 19, 2017)

I'm a 14 year old road and mountain racer. Here's what I do:

1) There's an AMAZING youth cycling group where I live. I participate in everything they offer. Road camp in the spring along with Short Track MTB races. Summer has an MTB program, Early fall has the high school racing team as well as Cyclocross races. Try and find something similar in your area, it really helps. 

2) My local bike shop hosts a mourning ride every Sunday. It's about 45-50 miles and at an intermediate pace. I do this each week I can with a friend of mine. I have found that riding with all those adults really helps me with my endurance and riding in groups. You're bound to have something like this nearby. 

3) My mom and I got a smart trainer last Christmas. This is the best option for me since I can ride without needing my parents to come along. I use Zwift. If you haven't heard of it, it's an application you download on a computer or Apple device. You connect it to your smart trainer and you get to ride with people in real time. It also adjusts the resistance of your trainer as the terrain in the virtual world changes. There are mostly adults there, but quite a few kids. I started the first junior race on it called Zwift Next Generation. I've gotten close to 1000 miles on it this year. This one is expensive, $300-$1000 depending on what trainer you get plus a monthly subscription to Zwift, but it's completely worth it. I use it whenever I can. 

Good luck and have fun!


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## pedalbiker (Nov 23, 2014)

Just get out and race. Don't need to bother with any clubs to do that. 

But since the season is over, you have all winter to find something local. Plug into some good group rides (with people that actually race) and do those all winter and that should give him a big leg up come race time. 

I'd also have him do category racing after doing a couple of junior races. Or even start him out in 5s if he's an older teen. Junior races aren't representative of actual racing unless you live in an area with a huge junior scene. For 15 years and older I'd focus on 5s,4s,3s, etc.


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