New to road racing & Surrey Cycle League

karlosh

I get my first road bike on Saturday. After years of road running and mountain bike racing i want to extend my competative streak to road cycle racing. After having looked on the Surrey Cycle League website they say only 2 competitors per team per race (Rule 5.18). Coming from a road running background this seems a little mean!

Has this affected you entering races?
Do most people usually get in regardless?

I hope to go on my first club run on Sunday and will obviously find out as much info as possible but because of my competative nature i need to find out now!

Advice and help appreiciated.

blackhands

Read the rules again - they say that clubs are entitled to 2 riders - this is because races are generally limited to 60 riders (on open roads) and this rule is applied only if the event is oversubscribed.

jibberjim

karlosh wrote:

I get my first road bike on Saturday. After years of road running and mountain bike racing i want to extend my competative streak to road cycle racing. After having looked on the Surrey Cycle League website they say only 2 competitors per team per race (Rule 5.18). Coming from a road running background this seems a little mean!

Has this affected you entering races?
Do most people usually get in regardless?

I hope to go on my first club run on Sunday and will obviously find out as much info as possible but because of my competative nature i need to find out now!

Advice and help appreiciated.

I've never seen it as a problem, and this as a member of one of the larger clubs that compete in Surrey League races. With cycling huge teams could be a problem as they would get to control the race and get it very boring for everyone else, but that rarely happens anyway as no team is strong enough to make it a problem in the E/1 area, and in the 2/3/4 areas, full teamwork is rare!

Lozgriff

Hi Karlosh
I have just signed up for this years Surrey League after I had a great time in a trial race last season. I'm sure you won't regret giving it a go.

Laurie

barrybridges

In fact, my advice would be: DON'T read the rules.

Just book your place, turn up and they'll explain the rest (if you're going to the 'introductory race' that is).

As per one of the other popular posts on here, rules can be confusing. For a beginner, there's unlikely to be anything that's going to catch you out and if it will - I'm sure a member of your local club (if you join one) will happily talk you through any RR etiquette basics before the big event.

Just enjoy!

zues

Don't be tempted to take your spanking new stead to your first few races. Get used to racing in a group and watch out for the numpty's that aren't. i've seen and heard alot of carbon fibre bite the dust, my advice is get a cheap aluminium/steel bike until you move up a category and ride with more experienced racers or until you can ride off the front. Don't be embarrassed cos you don't have the latest kit. ignore this advice if money is no problem..!

Damien_KW

my advice is get a cheap aluminium/steel bike until you move up a category and ride with more experienced racers

Wise words! A club mate summed it up nicely with 'don't race what you can't replace'. It's also worth putting aside a bit of money every month to pay for general wear and tear, as well as in the unfortunate event of having to replace a frame, wheels, components, etc.

G-Wiz

When's the introductory race this year? I did it last year and have a few mates who want to give it a crack, can't find anything on the site.

jibberjim

Goodwood on the 28th March is the closest you'll get I'd've thought, the Dynamo promoted beginner races at Chertsey don't seem to have been replaced with anything else.

G-Wiz

Is it possible to just enter any of the cat 4 races and buy a day license or do you need more than that?

jibberjim

G-Wiz wrote:

Is it possible to just enter any of the cat 4 races and buy a day license or do you need more than that?

Yep, that's pretty much it. If you think you'll want to do more than one, a licence is well worth it, you'll need it for points, and you'll save money over day licences pretty quickly.