This year there are loads of opportunities to have a go at racing.......
Rowe and King SeriesThere is the Rowe and King Series at Maindy every week for 18 rounds. Currently the Cat 3/4 races are on a Friday @7pm and Round 3 was the latest one last night. Round 4 is next Friday and lasts for 20minutes +5 laps. The speeds in the ones I've done so far have been around 27mph and have been relatively consistent (not a huge amount of surging). I can honestly say anyone that can just about hang on at chaingang would be capable of staying with the bunch. I think after Round 11 or 12, these move to a Wednesday evening. There are also age races for 40+ and 50+. Check out Round 4's info below or search for the series on British Cycling Events......
https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/174427/Rowe-&-King-Series-2018-Round-4Llandow CritsThese start on 8th May and look like they are almost every week on a Tuesday evening. They vary in length from around 30minutes to 45minutes and are held at Llandow Motor Circuit. I did one of these last year and although they are slightly harder than the Maindy races in my opinion this is mainly due to the corners and therefore the concertina effect (position yourself at the front) and the wind (hide behind the fat bloke). There are a lot more variables and so make for more exciting racing.
https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/176015/Spring-Crits-1OthersThere are races at Odd Down and Castle Combe weekly, both near Bath. There is a city centre crit in Bristol at some point during the summer, a new cycling specific track opening near Pembrey at some point and a city centre crit in Aberystwyth on 26th May which I'm very tempted to sign up to. There are numerous road races if that's your thing too, although these aren't for me as I would never keep up on the hills!
https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/175892/Odd-Down-Summer-Series-Round-1https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/174122/Castle-Combe-Summer-Series-2018--1https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/172009/Aberystwyth-Seafront-Criteriums-&-Welsh-Criterium-Championships-I've spoken to 4 or 5 people in the club that seem reasonably interested in giving something a go and all are more than capable at holding their own.
As a minimum to get racing you will need.....
British Cycling Silver Membership - This comes with a provisional licence which allows you to buy a day licence for a race for £10
Race Licence - Either a provisional licence and a day licence....or buy a full race licence (think they are £38)
Race Fee - Most are about £10-£12 to enter
Insurance (not a necessity but I would recommend) - Make sure it covers you for racing. I went with the one recommended by BC, think it costs about £10 a month and covers for racing, theft, medical etc.
https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/membership/raceIf anyone has any questions feel free to post on here or send me a private message. Would be great to see a few familiar faces over the course of the season...... #OVWRaceTeam
Nick
