A few of us are doing some road racing this year. The LVRC is a racing league open to cyclists over 40 years old. This will be my first season racing in the LVRC but I'm told by other riders that the races are safer than BC races, and can be more competitive. This is because the riders are more experienced. There are six of us (that I am aware of) that have joined the league and entered some early season races. It is my intention to get a group of VCC riders together to participate in road races and do some race specific training together. This would involve, for example, a weekday evening chain gang, or specific training rides on Saturday or Sunday when not racing.
What you need to know:
- The LVRC racing league is open to riders 40 years of age and older.
- Riders race together, but on the scoresheet will compete against others in age group (Band A:40-44, B:45-49, C:50-54, D:55-59 etc.).
- To encourage all abilities, riders can enter to compete in a different age category and race against others of a similar ability. For example a 42 year old can choose to compete in the 50-54 year old age group.
- League membership is £20 annually.
- Each race is £10.
- The league is open to both male and female cyclists.
- Closing date for entry is 2 weeks before the race, but races are popular so 4 weeks in advance is encouraged.
- Entries are accepted on the basis of first received, first accepted.
- Entry forms must be accompanied by a £10 cheque to the organiser and a self addressed stamped envelope (although some races will issue start sheets by email and no self addressed envelope required)
- The league is organised regionally - we are in Region 9 but can race in any Region. Some races in Regions 7 and 10 are quite close to St Albans for example.
- Most of the races we are doing are within about an hours' drive from St Albans.
What you need to do now:
Join LVRC - you can join and pay the membership fee online. It takes about 3 minutes to do. The link is: www.lvrc.org.uk/online%5Fmembership/
- Email me to confirm that you have joined the league and will be racing this year. I'll then create an email distribution list. My address is:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - Enter some races:
- Complete a race entry form (also available on the LVRC website under the Event Org & Safety tab)
- The 2012 calendar of races is on the LVRC website under the Racing tab. Link is www.lvrc.org.uk/documents/2012/LVRC-Domestic-Calendar-2012.pdf
- Races that we have entered so far are:
- 18 March Ciclos Uno Spring RR in Blackmore, Essex
- 1 April South Western RC Follicly Challenged RR (MSTINA Jersey series 1) in Surrey
- 15 April GS Vecchi Spring Classic RR (MSTINA Jersey series 2) in Basingstoke
- Remainder of our races TBC
I'm happy to:
Facilitate the training rides (eg. weekday evening chain gangs etc.) but these will only be open to those actually road racing.
- Communicate to the "VCC racing team" the list of races that we propose to participate in.
- Let you guys serve as my domestiques and lead me out for sprint finishes.
The obvious question is why are we not riding the BC races. Because as a club we do not organise and promote a BC road race ourselves and we are not a member of a BC league and therefore it is extremely difficult to get into the BC races. For example a few years ago I entered 7 BC races and did not get into any of them. Additionally, the LVRC races are safer and at least as competitive.
We have a group of strong riders in the Club, as evidenced by our success on Sportives and club runs. It would be great to put some of that fitness to good use and race this year.
Many thanks
Matt Pumo
Article by Doug Driscoll. Photos by Richard Marriott. Ride: 10-Sep-2011
5 VCC riders headed down to Dorking last weekend for a "killer loop" (according to MTB Rider magazine) across the North Downs:
The handsome chap in the middle is me, flanked by Miles Allen (left), Hazel Davies (back) and Justin Neville-Rolfe (aka Splasher) - right. Photo taken by Richard Marriott ... and yes, we did ride down those steps behind us!
We started off with the classic Box Hill climb. I rode this off-road a few months ago and was disappointed. In typical biker-friendly style the trail had rescently been relaid with shingle; Plus, the route was closed in with no views. So this time - following the published route - we went up the switchback road which will be used for the Olympic road race next year. And ... I was disappointed again. Nice views this time and a nice Alps feeling about it, but "oh so easy". Trust me, Mark Cavendish will have no problems getting up there.
Then we headed off-road for some fun. Plenty of single track and woohoo descents. Time was spinning by and we'd clocked up some serious altitude gain, so a stop was needed for our favourite cyclist's feast: energy bars & gels. Yummy!
We then started Holmbury Hill - a favourite hangout for mountain bikers. Trails galore and quite easy to get lost ... so we discovered! I always advise the group to keep straight ahead if they fall behind because I will always stop if we need to take a turn. Well, guess what happened? Seems Richard decided that he would rather follow two fit young ladies that crossed our route rather than follow me (said he thought it was me & Justin. Hah!), and led Miles & Hazel with him. Unaware of all this I then rode all the way down Holmbury Hill to the bottom (where I last saw them) and then had to ride all the way back up again. Thanks Richard! We had mobile phones but the signal came and went. From the top I finally made contact and we arranged a meeting point. Thank goodness for mobile phones.
Next and final challenge: Leith Hill (the second highest point in south-east England at 965ft). I nice climb, rewarding views, and best of all, a cake shop! After 4hrs of riding we felt we deserved a treat and made the most of it. Some took a trip up the tower which gets you to 1,000ft and above the tree line, hence magnificent views all round.
The descent is fast-and-furious and we supplemented this with a bit of off-piste. Jolly good fun but a bit of over excitement from some left them 'wrong-way-up'. We're made of tough stuff us mountain bikers though, so no harm done.
We managed to lose each other again on the way back, but were soon back together for the final slog back to Dorking. 5hrs of hard riding and we were all feeling it at the end. What a great day though. If you haven't ridden the North Downs then put it on your to-do list!
Report by Doug Driscoll
One week on from our epic ride of The Ridgeway Trail, Suzannah and I took part in a South Downs Way event called 'The Lemming Trail' (because it ends at the top of Beachy Head. Get it?). Fully supported by Trailbreak and split over 2-days - stopping overnight at Shoreham-by-Sea Youth Hostel (or camping).
We rode this event on the tandem last year. 100-miles off-road from Winchester to Eastbourne doesn't actually give justice to just how hard this ride is. Think of riding up Ditchling Beacon - off-road - up and down, up and down, non-stop for 100-miles. Now you're getting the idea!
For anybody into mountain biking, this is an absolute 'must do'. I've seen some reports saying it is one of the best MTB rides in the world. And I wouldn't disagree. Stunning views all the way, mega climbs, awesome descents and I reckon it must be 98% off-road. Forget cafe stops. You are on your own up there. It's like a different world. Love it!
There are around 200 riders each year and some really good camaraderie. The tandem is always good for generating attention. It goes like a bullet on the descents and causes no end of expletives from other riders grovelling along on their lightweight carbon, full suspension exotica :)
However ... this was not be our year. The dream is over and the tandem is dead (RIP). We had only gotten a couple of hours into day-1 and were getting a little over-zealous because we were running in 2nd place. Giving it full welly on a gritty descent at around 30mph, the frame split in half. One moment we were full gas in top gear and the next we were lying in a heap - both fairly concussed. Miraculously Suzannah lept to her feet with obvious concern for me: "Wicked!" she said. "We've killed the tandem!". I, meanwhile, had to stay laid out for a couple of minutes whilst I tried to ascertain how many bones I had broken. My wrists were in agony and I was convinced they were both broken. And I kept coming close to blacking out. 10-minutes later though, other riders were arriving and I was back on my feet.
Our next challenge was what to do next? I didn't have a clue where we were and my Satnav had disintegrated in the crash. I called the event organisers and thankfully Martin (who I spoke to) worked it out from my description of the last climb and the surrounding scenery. Impressive! Turned out that we only had a 1-mile walk to a road crossing. We then had to suffer the indignity of around 100 riders catching us up and gaping in disbelief as we walked on carrying bits of the tandem.
Martin picked us up, but as he had 200 other riders to support, we had 2 choices. 1) Sit in the sag waggon for the next 2-days or 2) Pay for a taxi to get us back to the start and our car. £40 later ...
I'm glad to report that we are both well. Suzannah took a thump on her head but her crash hat saved the day. My wrists swelled up to the point I decided I'd need to go to hospital. But by the time I got home and cleaned up, the swelling was already starting to go down. I'm a lucky boy!
So that would seem to be the end our tandem days. Suzannah is too big and ugly for it now anyway. Next year she's on her own bike :)
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