What is expected from a club racer?

mr.b-campag

Hi

I'm hoping to start racing again this year after a few year's lay off. I was always a lone wolf (mostly because my old club were testers) but am thinking about joining a club with more of a road racing focus this time 'round. I'm wondering what is expected of a club member at my level (3rd cat). Is it just turn up and not chase down guys wearing the same jersey as you, or is it something more structured? I'm guessing it varies a bit so I'd be interested to hear people's experiences of different clubs in the London area (I'm in SW London).

Cheers

B

imposter2.0

Turn up and race - is what's expected. The rest is just common sense. Although chasing down a break with one or more of your own club-mates in it is never a popular move, post-race.

okgo

I don't think there is much choice in the area. All 3 big clubs are full with waiting lists I think.

jibberjim

okgo wrote:

I don't think there is much choice in the area. All 3 big clubs are full with waiting lists I think.

There's lots of smaller clubs though too, but I would really recommend getting to know some club mates, and then race together - not necessarily everyone with the same jersey us as you, but people you know and train with and trust will be a lot more interesting.

As well as not chasing down a team mate, just not being a dick is even more important, as it rubbing off on your teammates which will make them dislike you even more.

Blonde Cyclist

I think it really depends on the club. I know the guys in our club (Twickenham CC) have started to get themselves more organised over the past couple of years, planning tactics in advance and working for specific people and it's really starting to pay off (a win and 2 others in the top 10 at this weekend's Surrey League Road Race). But the basics about not chasing down and being a nice person to hang around with before and after count for a lot too at club level. DM me if you'd like more details and I can put you in touch with our Men's Team/ Road Race rep. We're not full at the moment but still a mid-sized club (250 members at the end of last year) with an active racing scene particularly road but also time trial, track and CX.

iPete

All of the above. There isn't an expectation to go out and train as a team, you can if you wish but otherwise just turn up and race; show some common sense, have fun, know how to ride in a bunch and volunteer to help at one or more races.

You've got a good choice of clubs that will have plenty of Cat 3 racers but you may need to join a waiting list.

Kingston Wheeler here.

DavidJB

Also a massive PITA if you have too many team mates riding.

tgotb

iPete wrote:

volunteer to help at one or more races.

^ this. It takes a lot of effort to organise a race, and that work is almost invariably done by volunteers. If you want to benefit from all that effort by taking part in races, the least you can do is find a way to make your own contribution to the sport...

mr.b-campag

Thanks all. I've plenty of racing experience (and experience helping at events) so I think I'll ride a few events as a lone wolf to begin with and see who I click with. Perhaps some of the people I used to race with/against a few years back at Hillingdon are still on the scene and I can reconnect. Hope to be back in the bunch soon!

B

jgsi

If you are of an age (over 40), then don't forget the LVRC. Strong calendar presence in southern areas.

Pross

Clubs full and with a waiting list? What's all that about? Why is there a limit on club numbers?

As for tactics etc. I've seen clubs trying to organise riding tactically but more often than not it's a semi free-for-all at 3/4 level. Providing you don't blatantly chase down a club mate I'd say ride for yourself unless the club is paying your entry fee and / or prize money is getting shared.

jibberjim

Pross wrote:

Clubs full and with a waiting list? What's all that about? Why is there a limit on club numbers?

Because the benefits of being in a club disappear when the club gets to big, instead of being able to go out and know you're riding with a safe group of people who even if you don't know well, you know people who ride with them and instruct them, you end up riding with a group of strangers who barely know each other.

This means there's little advice and instruction on teaching people how to ride safely and considerately, when most of the group are inexperienced and don't know each other even if they know someone is doing something wrong they often aren't confident enough to say it. Also by being one of six hundred, rather than one in fifty, people are more badly behaved, so the club gets a negative reputation from few bad riders jumping red lights, riding dangerously etc. With a small club, they're shamed into good behaviour, or shamed out of the club, when it could be any one of a hundred nothing happens.

Volunteering goes the same way, when there's only fifty members, half will turn out for the road race to put it on, to help out their mates and because they know it won't happen if they don't, when it's five hundred and you still only need 25, most people just think "someone else will do it". My 2nd claim club of six hundred members, which requires every member to volunteer for something, is really struggling to get enough marshals together for single mornings road race.

It's too late, but as okgo said the three largest local clubs have all placed a limit and all three require volunteering in some way as part of it (one of them two events a year, the other two one event).

Also, even logistically, many over 100 turning up for a club run then it becomes very difficult to keep group sizes manageable and not to get the combining into massive groups blocking the roads as people head out the only few directions there are.

okgo

I think between Dynamo, Kingston and Dulwich there are over 2000 members now! Which when you consider a big club like High Wycombe 'only' has 290-300 it shows just how large these London clubs are now, and all the issues that go with that as mentioned.

BeaconRuth

okgo wrote:

I think between Dynamo, Kingston and Dulwich there are over 2000 members now! Which when you consider a big club like High Wycombe 'only' has 290-300 it shows just how large these London clubs are now, and all the issues that go with that as mentioned.

You would think that more riders would opt to set up new clubs. I wonder if there's something about the type of people cycling in south London which makes them tend to want to be in stupendously large clubs? Or perhaps the quality of the leadership in the clubs is very high and they're doing an excellent job of providing exactly what everyone wants? My gut feel is that most clubs tend to fragment and result in breakaway groups going off to do their own thing as soon as they become very big and/or the quality of leadership is called into question.

Ruth

DeVlaeminck

Yes I feel my club has gone that way, don't know most of the riders, cliques within it who do their own thing. I think Ugo said it a while back but clubs work best when they are of a certain size and with people of similar cycling interests. It'd make for a more vibrant racing scene too with friendly competition between smaller clubs.

jibberjim

BeaconRuth wrote:

okgo wrote:

I think between Dynamo, Kingston and Dulwich there are over 2000 members now! Which when you consider a big club like High Wycombe 'only' has 290-300 it shows just how large these London clubs are now, and all the issues that go with that as mentioned.

You would think that more riders would opt to set up new clubs.

I don't think the members who aren't interested in volunteering for their current club are likely to go to the effort of creating a new a club, and the original core of the club is likely quite loyal to it and want to keep racing under it's banner, and just organise rides outside of the club-run etc. to avoid having to deal with the main group.

I still go to my 2nd claim club's pub nights often (after being involved in setting up a new club as you would've thought, it's the only new club that's taken members from the three that I know of), there's often more non-members than members, and not met anyone who's joined in the last 2 years, despite the majority of the club having joined in that time. Those members are not the same as club members of old I think.