Team Bigfoot, which includes some much needed new faces in the team,
is planning a full calendar of events for 2010
For many of us the focus for spring will be to race in the SERRL and Surrey League road races. Both are very well run and provide an excellent opportunity to race in well-controlled races for all catagories.
Online entries are now available for the SERRL races. Places will go very quickly, especially for the 3/4 cat road races. Make sure you sign up and pay via RiderHQ to ensure your place.
The first four SERRL races are at either the Fowlmead or Hog Hill circuits, providing an excellent closed-road environment to try if you're new to racing. Here's the SERRL calendar
The provisional calendar for Surrey League is available here. Online entry will be available soon. More to come
I've just signed up for the 20th March at Hog Hill. I need to check the calendar before I can sign up for any more but I'm thinking of also doing one of the early Fowlmead ones, Kirdford on the 7th March, Dunsfold 14th March and the Surry League 3 day event at Easter.
Steve (or others),
Can any of you hardcore guys give the lower levels some pointers here?
I'd like to join up for as many cat4 races as I can but don't really know where to start or even how to gauge my fitness. I'd prefer to do cat4 only not combined cat3/4 if there is such a thing.
Any chance of a pub night meet up to plan your racing and give a talk to newbies? Or maybe at the cafe one saturday after the ride?
Matt, no problem. I'll write something up to guide newbies and can follow-up with a meeting. I'll try and get something on the forum for this weekend.
In terms of gauging fitness etc. it's a case of diving in and giving it a go. The key is getting used to riding in a close bunch and taking benefit from the shelter of the wind. Average speeds of races will always put new racers off because they think that they'll never be able to avg 18-22 mph for an hour, but it's much easier in a bunch - as long as you don't overdo it on the front too much that is...
Aside from some of the 4th only races which I'll post details of, there will be some novice races throughout the summer at the Ford test track in Essex, which is a great place to start.
Today was the opening of my 2010 season of racing as I joined Paul Callaghan in racing at the Hillingdon closed circuit. Paul convinced me to enter the Elite/1/2/3rd Cat race to get a more thorough work out so I was very apprehensive given my training so far has almost exclusively been base work but looking back now it was the right decision.
We were both looking to stick with the bunch and were making a good fist of it until 15 minutes in there was a crash, in a split second I had to decide whether to go left or right; I chose right which rapidly proved to be a poor decision as two more guys ploughed into the stricken riders, with nowhere to go I took to the grass - Armstrong style, went wide around two other riders on the grass and wheelspinned through the mud to get back on the track. Paul clipped one of the bikes on the track and was equally disrupted and we watched the bunch ride off. Two laps of flat out riding resulted in us not being able to get back on so we sat up and joined in again as they came around to lap us.
Back in the bunch we were comfortable again, putting in some good digs to gain places, close gaps and get on the wheel in front. A lap down we didn't contest the sprint finish too keenly but feeling strong and comfortable as we finished, and while others faded I had a little dig to see how I'd feel and made up a handful of places to finish somewhere between 15th-20th I think.
All in all it was a productive day, objectives achieved and we put in a good show, it was a shame the crash held us back but if anything we worked a lot harder as a result.
As promised some time ago, I have finally got around to writing-up a brief beginners guide to road racing.
Racing in the UK is controlled/managed by British Cycling, whose rules apply to all levels of ability from novice Cat. 4 racers to Elites in the Premier Calendar. The classification of riders is based on a points system with points awarded for various placings in races; the accumulation of sufficient points within one racing year (Dec to Nov, rather oddly) sees you elevated through the various categories. All novice races start as a 4th Cat, with 10 points required to be elevated to 3rd Cat. status. A further 40 points are required for a 2nd Cat. licence, 200 for a 1st Cat. and 300 to become an Elite. Unfortunately, once you get elevated to the next level, all points are zeroed. The good news is that once you've gained 3rd Cat. status you will never be relegated back to a 4th Cat. as long as you renew your racing licence each year.
Strictly speaking you do not need an annual race licence to compete as some events will allow you to 'buy' a day licence. The downside is that any points you do earn will not accumulate and count towards gaining a higher catagorisation. Racing licences are issued by British Cycling and are available to buy if you are a Gold or Silver BC member. Details of the membership and licence fees can be found on the BC website.
An alternative set of races is available for the over 40’s organised by the League of Veteran Racing Cyclists. These are based on age rather than ability, with the categories split into 5 year bands although a race may be for 2 or 3 age groups in one race, i.e. 40 - 50 or 40 – 55. Being age based does lead to sometimes racing against ex-pros, but the races are normally shorter than BC races. The standard of racing is generally better with a greater ratio of experienced to novice rider. http://www.lvrc.org/documents/2010/LVRC-2010-handbook-calendar.pdf
In general terms road racing consists of two disciplines (if you exclude time-trialing); circuits races (or crits (criteriums)) and road racing. Circuit races are held on 'closed' circuits such as Hog Hill, Fowlmead, CrystalPalace, Dunsfold Park etc. and are generally fast-paced affairs lasting 1-1.5hrs, depending on the classification of the race. Road races, which generally reward winners/high placings with more BC licence points than circuit races, are held on open roads, but are usually very well marshalled and supported by National Escort Group (NEG) outriders on motorbikes, which stop the traffic for safety. Road races, which generally consist of a number of laps of a particular route, can vary in length depending on the classification of the race and the categories of racers participating; races for 3/4 Cats. last about 2.5-3hrs. The LVRC have several series of closed circuit races taking place at Hog Hill, often without the hill, Dunton and Hillingdon and a selection of local road races. One big advantage to starting road racing on a closed circuit is if you do get dropped than you will not be on your own for to long before you catch someone or are caught; at most events you can rejoin in the bunch, but not take an active part in the race.
For beginners there are some racing options which will quickly give you an idea of what it's all about. I started at the Ford Test Track in Dunton, Essex in the Heron Cycle Sport Ford CC summer race series. Details haven't been published for 2010 yet, but once they are they'll be posted here www.londoncyclesport.com/
The best place to look for upcoming races is the British Cycling website in their road racing event calendar section. Alternatively you can use the Rider HQ website.
Leg Shaving
Often debated, with the benefits never truly agreed upon. The fact of the matter is that most racers shave, few don't. Try it, you might like it; at the very least it'll make you feel more like a pro. Here's a humourous article that might help you decide. http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/humour-leg-shaving-advice-for-cyclists-14792
The below web pages are all full of great information about road racing too.
I rode another race today; once again it was more for a warm up to the season than a race where I had any real aspirations of performing. This time it was at Hog Hill, a 1 hour race for E/1/2/3s.
The pace was surprisingly slow, I felt way too comfortable, and in fact I think I’ve found some training rides with Paul Nixon and the guys tougher. Part way through two little breaks went off the front and joined up to form a break of ten so I jumped the gap as it looked promising but within half a lap we were back in the bunch. Things continued at a sedate pace, with 5 laps to go a break of two went clear and in hindsight I should have attempted to go with them. With half a lap to go I realised my options were wait for the sprint finish with everyone else or try jump off the front; I chose to try the jump for a change but was unsuccessful. That took a fair bit out my legs and put me in a rubbish position for the sprint and I came home in the middle of the bunch.
It perhaps wasn’t the hard work out I was looking for but it was fun and I think has helped prepare me for racing at Hog Hill later in the year.
I admit I'm struggling with all the different websites and calendars, and think the British Cycling website is just horrible to navigate.
It seems to me I have to race in Cat4 until I accumulate 10 points so I can join the Cat3 races. Is that correct? Is there any chance of joining Cat3 races without having raced in Cat4? Reason I ask is that there doesn't appear to be many Cat4 races on the calendar.
Finally - I can't figure out which race is the 3 day race over easter. Can anyone give the proper name as I'd really like to join it if I'm eligible.
I realise the question wasn't aimed at me but hopefully I can still help.
Categories. Your assumption is correct. You will be a 4th cat until you pick up 10 points on a full licence (Silver/Gold membership - not provisional). You will then have access to many more races. Some races limit what category riders can enter it in order to make it fairer on those competing. For example, the race that 3 of the guys are doing this Sunday is for 3rds only with a seperate race or 2/3s in the afternoon. You basically end up racing against people nearer your ability/experience rather than getting your ass kicked by some semi-pro.
As a Cat 4 there are still plenty of races available. Heres a link for all the races you'd be eligible to enter this month just in the south east region. I think a couple of the other Level 5 guys have entered some of the Hog Hill ones so it may be an idea to go watch/cheer them on before committing to a race.
The 3 day easter stage race is for 3rds only and has now been changed to 2 days as they couldnt get a club to marshall the final day. I think Paul Callagan/Paul Sewell are thinking of entering so maybe contact them for more info.
In fact...contact any one of us by PM and we will all be willing to give you as much info as you need.
A few of us are starting our season properly this weekend. I've been on the lookout for the easiest race possible and tomorrow am likely to do a short 32 mile cat 2/3/4 crit to get me back into it. On Sunday Steve Salmon, Paul Callaghan and Andy Colvin will be at Kirdford for a 3rd cat only 55mile Surrey League road race.
We'll try to stick a report up here whether they went well or bad.
Went to Milton Keynes for the crit which turned out to be literally around the mk bowl. Imagine the circuit... you start, you turn right, you go down the hill a bit, you turn right, you go along a bit, you turn right, you go up a slight hill, you turn right. Anyway I digress.
I wanted an easy start and certainly got that. Cat 2/3/4 race but didnt seem particularly quick. After 10 minutes I had a little dig off the front to encourage a few more to join but no-one was interested. The next lap while I was recovering the winning break formed. I also got my timing wrong again later in the race when I went off the front just before the start of the prime lap. Another sure fire loser. After that it was pretty much tuck in and wait for the sprint as no-one was interested in getting the break back.
Two laps to go and things were getting a bit dangerous as no-one wanted to go on the front and the bunch would spread out accross the road. Come the last lap I was boxed in on the inside so didnt really contest the sprint (which would have suited me as it was slightly uphill). Think I finished around about the 20th mark but am not too bothered.
Overall, I'm happy to be in one piece and know roughly what sort of condition I'm in. Possibly Fowlmead next Saturday depending on how my week goes...
Sunday saw 3 of the Bigfoot race team head down too Alford in Surrey for our first road race of the year .They were Andy C ,Steve and myself Paul C.
The day was dry and bright ,but with a temperature of freezing. After a quick warm up ,then a talking to by the race officials telling us to avoid pot holes ,we were off.
The pace was quite fast at first and it did not take long before the first break started to form off the front of the main group .Although the gap was closed to a few bike lengths at one point by our team, no one else wanted to do the final few meters at the top of a small climb to close the gap . The break slowly rode away again with a couple more riders joining it ,it looked liked it had a good chance of staying away .The chase was then back on with some colourful use of the English language.
Into the final lap ,the bunch was all as one . Andy had got a flat and was left to fend for himself .Bad play by the Surrey league ,they should of had a car to give him a spare wheel.
Steve then had a go off the front and looked like he may ride away with it ,only to be let down by his fellow escapes who were after a free ride .
As we passed the 1km marker I joined Steve at the point of the bunch and waited for the final throw of the dice.All of us waiting for a move or gear change to signal the start of the sprint.As a rider passed me going into full flight I jumped onto his wheel ,this would be my lead out man .I saw Steve get boxed into the curb and his charge for the line would end there unable to pass anymore riders with the momentum he had.
I ran out of clear road myself 3 or 4 meters before the line and was pleased to finish 7th .
All in all a good day to get back into the swing of Road Racing .More of the same next week .
Well done Paul! Good result to get the season started with.
I've just signed up for a SERRL race at Fowlmead on Saturday as it looks like I cant ride Sunday. Seperate race for 1/2s and 3/4s (although everyones on the tarmac at the same time interfering with each others races).Sign up here http://www.riderhq.com/events/fowlmead-3
£10 league affiliation and £15 to enter.
I cant offer a lift at the moment as I may have to make a diversion to Tunbridge Wells either on the way there or on the way back.
I dont need to go to Tunbridge Wells now so am fine for a car share. I notice Matt has entered as well so it would be good if we could all travel down together (assuming everything can fit in one car).
Can we arrange travel details on email rather than boring the rest of the world on this forum.
Matt - sent you a PM
This weekend we've got 8 people competing. Tomorrow we have Dave C, Matt, Reuben and myself down at Fowlmead for a 1/2 and 3/4 circuit race. On Sunday we have Andy C, Steve, Paul S and Paul C racing at Dunsfold in a 60 mile 3rd cat only road race.
Once we got there we found out they'd changed the format from a 1st/2nd race and 3rd/4th race to a 1st/2nd/3rd race and 4th cat only race - good news for me as it gave me an easier time, but bad news for Dave. Bit unfair too really not running it as advertised.
Not too sure about the other races, but the 4th's stayed together pretty much the entire time. There was one rider who kept on trying to leap off the front and then refused to work in any break that formed - his teammate won in the end I think so it might have been a clever ploy to tire everyone out.
On the last lap the main field of 1st/2nd/3rd cats were caught by the 4th's (we'd been lapped barely two minutes beforehand). Much confusion followed trying to work out who was who and it ruined the sprint for everyone. I got 9th in the end which (I think) gives me my first BC points so happy with that. Jeremy ended up 15th after putting in a few hard efforts throughout the race to try and bridge to various breakaways (I think...) - I'll let him update.
Sadly without stats as my garmin recorded the first 11secs and last half hour.
Thanks to Dave for driving and Steve for the loan of a jersey!
First time in a senior race; did two youth races last year at Crystal Palace but they didn't really seem to compare (field of 5 vs field of 30ish).
Sitting in the bunch was comfortable and moving up or down wasn't an issue either - might be different somewhere else with a hill or two - or some 3rd cats.
Not the race I expected but a good workout. Well done Reuben for getting to the front of a chaotic finish.
Some numbers:
Distance 59km
Duration 1hr30
Av speed 38.9
Max speed 57.6
Av cadence 72?
Av hr 148
One word of caution, SERRL have changed their transponder mounting system, they now use a metal bracket that fits between the fork dropout and the front q/r nut. Unfortunately my front skewer was not long enough to allow this. I was lucky to have a spare steel skewer from my spare wheels that I was able to use without that I would have been stuck. The transponder does not fit so well on forks that still have their tabs on.
4 Quality riders jumped away on the first lap with the main field not bothering to give chase. Luckily Billy Jo Whenman missed the break so everyone was watching him waiting for the next chance to escape. A few small breaks formed and I made 4 serious attempts to get away, but couldnt make anything work.
With about 3 laps to go another 6 riders chipped off the front and were too strong to be caught again. With one lap to go we lapped the 4th cats but with a mixture of bad planning and bad luck it all came together on the final lap. As everyone had been told not to interfere with the other race, the sprint finish was an absolute joke as you couldnt follow the wheel in front if the riders number was a different colour to yours.
I finished 15th in the 1/2/3 race with Dave C just behind.
A big well done to Reuben for finishing in the top 10 in his first senior race despite the course really not suiting him.
Race stats
1hr 30mins: 37 miles
Av Speed 24.4mph
HR Max 181bpm (96%)
Hr Ave dunno- monitor slipped and I spent half the race with it around my belly.
Sorry guys for not introducing myself on Saturday. I arrived about 5 minutes before the start and barely was allowed to ride. And I had an appointment straight away afterwards and had to shoot off.
Having said that I really enjoyed the race!
Check out the stats from my garmin here (split 3 is the last lap): http://connect.garmin.com/splits/26943451
Overall average wattage was only 211 whereas we do 230-250 average on our level 4 weekly rides means to me most of the level 4s and several level 3s could hang with this race.
In general really liked the circuit - very good for beginners. Nothing to difficult like sharp climb or corners. Look forward to my next race at Fowlmead.
Nice video, I remember the incident at 03:00 too well, I had backed off by then just sitting at the back watching the 2nd & 3rd cat riders sprinting for 10th place and the last remaining point, while the 4th cat race was sprinting for victory. You seem to have a good lead out from Reuben for the last lap, does that mean you came 10th?
Sorry for freaking out the Bigfoot riders at Dunsfold today. I was there taking part in the 20 mile run when it clashed with the bike race. Running past, on seeing the hallowed Bigfoot shirts, I shouted
"Come on Bigfoot"
Which left most of our riders bemused...
In the main menu on this site there's a link to a Road Racing 2010 page. The reports section links back to this forum topic at the moment. If anyone wants to learn how to update the page (it takes no specialist knowledge) let me know.
aha, we wondered who that was. Unfortunately you saw us about 30 seconds after we'd sprinted for the finish, which is why you didn't get much of a reaction.
Thought i would give a brief report from the weekends Surrey League Race at Dunsfold.
A much warmer day than the freezing temps of last week greeted us at the start. After a quick warm up and race briefing PaulS, Steve, PaulC and myself were off on 8 laps of a pretty flat course with a bit of climb back up to the finish.
Pace was fairly steady and a group of 3 managed to get away on the 1st lap. I tried to get things moving at the front to bring them back but know one was really interested in helping. So I set off on my own and tried to chase them down. I managed to get within 15 sec of them but just could not bridge the final gap and the legs were saying that’s enough. It was a real shame as the group behind were being held up by horses and blocking by the Bigfoot team so the gap to the lead 3 went out to around 1.30min and had a real chance of staying away.
I sat up and waited for the group which was cruising along steadily. There was not really a great push to catch the lead 3 so after a bit of rest I hit the front again and with a couple of others began to chase them down. I think the other Bigfoot boys thought I was a bit nuts as once I turned around to see Steve shaking his head with that look of what the hell are you doing all the work for. With a lap to go we had them in sight. There were a couple of attacks off the front which for some reason I went with every time, thought I would make sure my legs were really dead by the time I got the finish. Steve and I had a really good dig with about 2km to go and got a bit of a gap but we were shut down. PaulC then hit the front at the bottom of the hill to the finish with PaulS not to far behind and Steve hanging in after his efforts.
In the end PaulS had a great result in 7th (especially off little training over the last 3 weeks) Steve just missed a top 10 in 12th after using most of his energies in the last 2-3 km, PaulC and myself faded and rolled across the line a bit further back in the 30s.
It was a great race and very enjoyable to be out with club. Looking forward to the next race.
This weekend the ever expanding racing squad is in action again. This time 5 of us are signed up for the 3rd/4th cat race at Hog Hill on Saturday. Good luck to PaulN, Dave Milne, Reuben, Matt and me!
Make that 7 for Hog Hill. Just signed up for the 1st/2nd cat race at 3:15pm so will watch the earlier race from the comfort of the club house (hopefully with Milan San Remo on a TV somewhere)
Apologies, I was also running the Spitfire 20 at Dunsfold (finished 13th,not bad for a fat bloke) but was to pre-occupied to notice the BF crew. Maybe I'll join you for the next one...
I did a whole 7 minutes of the 1st/2nd cat race this afternoon. Not one of my finest races. First lap wasnt too bad but my legs were crap when it came to having to make a proper effort at the top of the hill. Half way through the second lap I eased up as it was pretty obvious I didnt stand a chance of doing anything.
But there you go, if you dont put in the effort to do the training you cant expect to get the results.
On the plus side I did spend half the day taking photos with Dave Haywards spare camera, so there should be a healthy amount of bigfoot photos on the SERRL website in the coming week.
I'll leave it to the other guys to let you know how the 3rd/4th cat race went....
Somehow I lined up at the back at the start, on my previous warm up lap no one had lined up, next time around everyone’s there and I am at the back. The first few laps were spent conserving energy and dodging riders who’s legs had given up as they dropped off the bunch. My race then settled down and I could move up the bunch on the hill or when I wanted, but the pace of the others meant that I soon drifted back again. But my race for points and prizes was over by then as too many riders had escaped from the bunch. With a couple of laps to go my lungs and legs cried out for a rest after the hill and I watched the bunch including Paul S ride away. Paul N and Reuben also saw this but they were showered and changed by this stage. Another wet race ticked off, bring on summer.
I thought I'd add a quick review of the race too...
In a word it was brutal. Although the SERRL website describe it as "the fastest 3rd/4th cat race I've seen this year" the stats don't show that (about 22mph) but due to the wet and very windy weather it was way harder than the statistically quicker race I did there a month ago.
After one tentative lap while everyone got a feel for the circuit in the wet the pace ramped up and a solo break went off the front right away. I stayed up in the first 7-8 riders with Dave and Paul close behind I believe. Due to the wind and aggressive riding splits were happening every lap, gaps were opening up in the pack and riders were being shelled out the back the whole time. Paul came and joined me at the front push a quick lap on the front and then I had a little go too. From then on it became very hard to track what was happening as the group continued to fracture and we started to catch back markers. At some point after a spell on or near the front and chasing breaks I dropped back a touch to recover and a break must have gone that I missed. I then continued to slog my guts out to the end doing a lot of work at the front to real people back and at one stage making a break on the climb to join some riders just ahead. By the bell I was in a small group of 9 so I positioned myself at the back and watched them all on the climb. Thankfully they didn't start sprinting until about 150m out which suited me and as one rider moved up the outside I pounced down the inside passing a number of guys to come in second in our bunch half a wheel down.
The race was a lot of hard work and digging deep for 12th and no points but it'll go down as one of my better rides and strongest performances to date. Lets hope next time at Hog Hill isn't so brutal.
Not much to say about my race really - got a bad position from the word go and everything was a struggle. Getting dropped after 15mins wasn't much of a suprise!
Still, I know to line up sooner and in a better position now. And i'm keen to return to Hog Hill and give it another - hopefully more successful - go.
There are a fair few of Bigfoot, the first photo of us smiling was during the warm up, as soon as the race started all smiles were replaced with gritted teeth. Even though it looks grim in the photos it still doesn't do it justice!
This weekend saw more action for team Bigfoot with Paul N and I heading off the goodwood motor racing circuit for a 4th Cat race. You can see my write up here and Paul's here
I attacked 6 or so times but couldn't make the junction to the crucial break when it happened and the two who escaped rode a 2up TT to finish ahead of the bunch. My legs were gone at the end so I rolled through at the back of the pack nice and safe. Paul rode a much more clever race staying out of trouble for the most part - despite the best efforts of some of the other riders who had trouble holding a line. He went off the front a couple of laps from the end, gapped the bunch but was facing 5miles on a windswept circuit and a bunch that was picking up pace all the time.
Distance: 30miles
Avg Speed: 24.22mph
AndyC and PaulC were also in action with Paul getting some points I think, but I'll pass it over to them for more details...
I'm racing again next week at Fowlmead in the 3rd/4th Cat race (although it may end up 4th cat only again). After a lift if anyone else fancies joining me.
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