Friday and Saturday were nothing to write home about...so I won't...!!
Apart from meeting the club bike run at the end coffee stop...that was good, even if I did go by car.
Today I went to watch a cyclo cross in Linlithgow...good practice sorting a route..the non-motorway route was ten miles shorter! And interesting, even though it did cross various bits of moorland. The weather was damp and drizzly.... until a couple of miles from the town! And the same on my return three and a half hours later!!
Luckily the races were running late and I was in time to see the 50+ and 60+ riders doing their practice lap...then catch the bag of our Fife friend as they lined up ready for the start, with his and a friend's jacket in it...
Then they get ready the riot act..i.e. Behave!!
Then ticked off the list as they go up to the line
After lining up, the 60+ go off a short while after the 50+
The course devisers had been creative....using zig zag taping to get the length of course in...the course is supposed to take a top rider about eight to ten minutes and be 90% rideable, with a couple of obstacles..some pick up their bike and others "bunny hop" over them.
Each race is for a time not a distance, and after the first lap or two the commissaires can judge how many laps will be needed for the time and the lap board goes up... there's a bell for the last lap...and when the leader finishes, everyone that comes in behind has finished, whatever lap they are on. Every rider has a transponder on their ankle, so the number of laps completed can quickly be read off the transponder.
Our Fife friend was second in the 60+...and his friend beat him!
The juvenile ( under 12, 14, 16) races and the 40+race had finished by the time I arrived, but at the same time as the 50/60+ race was on, the under 8s and 10s were having fun on their own separate and easier course
Then the womens' race was on ... seniors (18+) and juniors (16-18) together, but with prizes for the age groups. Good to see about thirty riders.
No photos as I was having lunch!! As well as the usual coffee carts
There was a van selling burritos... so I had one with vegetarian haggis, rice with lime, guacamole, salsa and black beans....even the smallest "regular" size was a decent meal.
Then the podiums...
And the "yob with the gob"... keeping up a commentary all day!!
I didn't stay to see the main senior race ( ie not specifically veterans who are 40+, but if they think they are capable they can ride the open event) as I wanted to get home in daylight...and it was 65 miles..
But a nice day out, good to see quite a few friends and enjoy the craic.
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8 comments:
Sounds like a good set of races for all age groups. How organized they are! Yes to arriving home before dark. Tonight is my first with no Daylight Savings...so at 6 I came home from women's group in the dark. Had to force myself to eat dinner at 7:30. I'm so messed up!
I had to look up 'craic', lol. It does sound like a nice day out, but I am curious that there were so many age classes for the men, and just two for the women, <18 and >18. There would be a great deal of difference between a 25 year old, a 50 year old and a 75 year old's abilities. Is it done that way because so few women compete? It seems almost an afterthought.
It is actually an improvement! The women used to have to ride in with the men, and you used to get the token First woman and First female Junior..now with thirty plus women they have their own race, with the age categories racing each other within that.
They know who is in their category!
They judge which categories to combine to have a decent number on the course and especially at this time of year they have to allow for shorter daylight hours.
From the smaller kids up to the 60+ we have had a total number of riders of 650! Not so many as that this time, but a new venue so there may be more next time it is used
It’s funny to me that there aren’t more women bike racers – – or bike riders overall – – it doesn’t seem like a sport or an activity that is more specifically one gender/sex or the other. But that’s what I hear is the case here too. I’ve always biked for transportation not for sport though. I love the podiums looks like they are Strengthened coffee tables!
That sounds like a really fun day! Rick would especially like that.
Looks like a popular race, alot of people have turned up for it.
Women on bikes are gradually increasing at last, but often enough study or family commitments hamper that..which is a pity because it has always been a family activity
The local clubs there are good organisers, people know it will be done well
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