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Novice Racers Coaching Days
Yesterday, I went on a really good 'introduction to racing' course, down at Ardingly Showground in West Sussex.
Down in that neck of the woods (and as a reaction to the reputation 4th Cat races were getting as a bit of a crashfest), before they are allowed to ride in any Surrey League or SERRL events, All 4th Category riders must attend 2 Novice Racers Coaching Days. This system was introduced by the Surrey League in 2015 and it has proven to be extremely successful in improving riders skills, knowledge, bike handling, confidence and expertise.
I'm not particularly planning on racing any of their events, but the dates suited me and I wasn't aware of anything closer to home being run at the moment. The days (well, long morning, really) consist of mainly practical coaching, but also a fair chunk of classroom tuition. I found it really helpful getting practical experience of how to move through the peleton (about 40 of us) whilst not under the pressure of an actual race, as well as practising team time trials and through and off. I missed most of the classroom work, as I was borrowed to make up the numbers in another riding group, but I'm going back next weekend for the second session, so should catch up on it then.
I'd heartily recommend it for anyone considering circuit racing (mixed sessions, yesterday was maybe about 10% women), details can be found at:
http://pbcyclecoaching.co.uk/novice-road-race-coaching-days
(Oh, and £20 quid for a 4 hour, 40mile session seemed pretty reasonable to me)
Down in that neck of the woods (and as a reaction to the reputation 4th Cat races were getting as a bit of a crashfest), before they are allowed to ride in any Surrey League or SERRL events, All 4th Category riders must attend 2 Novice Racers Coaching Days. This system was introduced by the Surrey League in 2015 and it has proven to be extremely successful in improving riders skills, knowledge, bike handling, confidence and expertise.
I'm not particularly planning on racing any of their events, but the dates suited me and I wasn't aware of anything closer to home being run at the moment. The days (well, long morning, really) consist of mainly practical coaching, but also a fair chunk of classroom tuition. I found it really helpful getting practical experience of how to move through the peleton (about 40 of us) whilst not under the pressure of an actual race, as well as practising team time trials and through and off. I missed most of the classroom work, as I was borrowed to make up the numbers in another riding group, but I'm going back next weekend for the second session, so should catch up on it then.
I'd heartily recommend it for anyone considering circuit racing (mixed sessions, yesterday was maybe about 10% women), details can be found at:
http://pbcyclecoaching.co.uk/novice-road-race-coaching-days
(Oh, and £20 quid for a 4 hour, 40mile session seemed pretty reasonable to me)