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Review of confined events calendar


Darryl Gunson
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Hi folks

At the AGM it was agreed to form a short-life working group with the task of reviewing our confined events calendar for 2022 and beyond. Over the last few years, numbers participating in confined events have dropped significantly with the current levels of participation now making some of the events unviable. The feeling is that there is a need to explore how we can make the confined offering more attractive to club members. With this is in mind we’d like to invite interested members to be part of the working group. Joining this group will not commit you to anything more than looking at ways we can enhance the confined events. The aim is to put together a proposal that we can share with the wider club.  I know from discussing this informally with many of you that there is interest in a revamped calendar, and that there are some good ideas out there. So, please contact Darryl or Gerard in a pm via the WhatsApp group or The Bunch, and we will get this started asap. 

 Thanks

Gerard and Darryl

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My tupence worth

Firstly , date clashes with Renfrew bunch so you loose maybe 3/4 possible riders, second these events should be open but low key CTT events , facilities some extra competitors , lastly link the events to help members compete at national/ regional competitions, so run some tens before the CTT national 10 / and same with 25 , find another flat course that’s not the west ferry , maybe use part off the 25

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36 minutes ago, XXX said:

My tupence worth

Firstly , date clashes with Renfrew bunch so you loose maybe 3/4 possible riders, second these events should be open but low key CTT events , facilities some extra competitors , lastly link the events to help members compete at national/ regional competitions, so run some tens before the CTT national 10 / and same with 25 , find another flat course that’s not the west ferry , maybe use part off the 25

Just the sort of positive stuff we need to hear.

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We need to hear from more members on this.  What would encourage yourself to take part in the confined events?  What is it about them that stops you from participating?  This is a great opportunity for us all to shape the club and the events that we do together.  Post up here or message me if you prefer.

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On 12/30/2021 at 3:48 PM, XXX said:

Saturday could be better , however you still loose a chunk of riders that ride with the bogs , so maybe every second Saturday, But what do I care as second claim member I can’t ride in them 

I can’t think of any bogs riders that race? They just spend their lives rolling round the coast or going up the Clune 🤣

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How about a revamp of the old Tourist Trial event ??  a sort of BAR club event 

A)  long ride  of 100 miles ie 5 ferries , double Arran or  nominated sportive which has to be completed in different times for each standard  Gold , Silver , Bronze (  dated events to allow qualification)

b)  a 10 mile TT ( part of League of 10s) again with standard times 

c)  a Georgetown TT ( Chocolate series) with standard times 

d)  a hill climb with standard times  ( 2 events to allow qualification time)

possible addition of confined circuit race , APR , cyclo cross or track event 

Gold , Silver ,Bronze awards  with Platimum for riders who qualify and also attend nominated whole club runs 

Separate category for e bikes as we must embrace that these bikes will become more and more prevalent in the future .

 

 

 

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You know the problem is the club is made up of loads of different groups ( not a bad thing ) which all go out in their own separate groups  and currently Traditional Sunday Club Runs and Time Trials are not really that important to the current membership . Maybe we should deliver something different and bin testing maybe do  Timed Gravel Rides ( not races) would save the committee some time and stop trying to get a non racing club racing . At the moment we have one racing track , maybe one racing road and at best 2 doing time trials , we have more riding gravel than riders racing . So maybe we should focus our time getting all the bunches back out on a Sunday , jus a thought  

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A pretty spot on observation from Billy.  There are currently many different small groups of people riding different bikes at different times.  As club members we really should be be trying to ride together as much as possible.  In the past the planned diary of club runs and events have defined what you needed to do as an active club member but that model is not getting participation and we are now looking for a new way to do things.  As time is progressing on this matter I will put up a provisional diary based on what we would normally have done, a starting point from where we can work from.  Quickly following on the next task is to decide what we should keep and what we should change out with.  Darryl has proposed a working group for discussing this and the invite is still open to everyone.  Widespread contribution is vital, we all want to ride our bikes as club members, what would get us doing it together?  This may also involve doing it over a video conference call that I have zero knowledge of setting up!  I would rather bribe/encourage everyone with a drink at Amaretto.

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It's a tough situation and I think other clubs are experiencing similar issues with participation in confined events.

I can't speak for any one else but the reason I don't do many confined events is that in the summer i'll usually do the Georgetown league on a Wednesday night rather than the club event on a Tuesday. Partly this is so i can do the Renfrew Bunch on the Tuesday but also with the success of the Georgetown League it now has a big draw as the local event to compete at. And unfortunately i don't like TTing that much to do it twice a week!

So that is a bit of a negative comment...for more productive then Kenny's idea about a club BAR sounds an interesting idea - potentially would keep interest going across the whole season and in different disciplines. Although not sure about using standard times for it -  for a Jet to win they would need to be going sub 10 minutes on the Georgetown to beat Ian A!

Also to encourage whole club participation in TTing then perhaps a one day special event instead of a club run in the summer? Sort of like a mountain bike enduro event but on the road. 3 x TTs in a row - a 10 on the hilly course, a Georgetown TT and one lap (5 miles) on the restricted gear circuit.  Starting and finishing at club rooms and all the riding (including the TTs) is about 60miles.  Race all events or just do one if you like. And if you dont want to race could help timekeep or even just have a cafe stop while others are doing racing. Finish at the club rooms for a bbq. More of a social sort of race event rather than any trophies at stake. I realise this suggestion sounds like a lot of extra work :D But i'd be happy to help organise.

 

 

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Just throwing in some events ran in past which proved popular

I used to run a two day event at Glengarnock circuit  it started with a prologue TT 1.6 miles followed by a crit of an hour plus 5 laps in afternoon. Followed up by a RR at Gateside on the Sunday all done with 3 marshalls per day .

We ran a series of APRs  at various locations a) Peesweep at top of Braes  b) Gateside  2 circuits  c) Kilmacolm d) RNAD always popular events

A hill climb series 4 climbs one after the other starting at Howwood then Club hillclimb then 2 climbs off Beith Road heading to RB at Lochwinnoch

Hill climb followed by cyclocross event  we ran this for a few years first as a confined then as an open event.

Place to place TTs instead of out and back great if you ride with tail winds only  or reduced distance one year we were getting great numbers at Georgetown and light was fading so we shortened distance each week down to a final 3 mile event everybody loved it .

We rented a field off a farmer near Howwood and had a series of MTB races for different categories on a weekly basis ( riders paid £2 each ) before that we built circuits at Bluebell woods Elderslie  , vacant ground opposite clubrooms , quarry near Georgetown road and Gleniffer braes 

Two ups where teams were chosen from hat on the night so you could have the fastest and slowest rider riding as a team , great for team bonding or not depending on the individual LOL

We used to traditionally follow up club hill climb championship with a sports day which had slow cycle ,obstacle race , speed judging , freewheel , plus novelty events ie throwing the welly a sort of shot putt on bikes . WE invited other clubs to event , traditionally Lomond Roads and Regent.

We did a couple of cyclist v Harriers events with Kilbarchan Harriers these were popular down south ( a couple took place in Irvine as well) 

we did try to organise a bike v horses event but failed to find a suitable circuit 

Sometimes you have to think out the box 

ie when I started the Millport events again we had a 3 up 10 mile lap of the island . Everybody told me it was too short for a team TT nobody would ride it  the first year we had over 120 riders and more the next year . It was only discontinued due to island becoming too busy .

The same was true of TTT championship when I reduced it from 100K to 50K everybody said it wouldnt work it went from 6 teams to 24 teams 

We also held open event series with other clubs ie

Early season APRs at RNAD Beith 36 , 45 56 miles an extra lap per week we did that with Inverclyde Velo and Fullarton Wheelers

We also ran a summer crit series at Glengarnock with Inverclyde Velo , Fullarton and Inverclyde CRT helping to run the events 

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Glengarnock circuit was in a terrible state for ages but part of it resurfaced last year so might be suitable again. Would be good to have even a club training APR up and running again...my first year in the club it was on the Peesweep circuit and it was good fun, but gradually the numbers reduced so it was no longer viable.

 

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22 hours ago, thejanullrichdietplan said:

Kenny's idea about a club BAR sounds an interesting idea - potentially would keep interest going across the whole season and in different disciplines. Although not sure about using standard times for it -  for a Jet to win they would need to be going sub 10 minutes on the Georgetown to beat Ian A!

Sorry I didnt explain properly by Standard I should really say Category ie riders who have beaten  a 23 for a 10 , riders Who have beaten  a 25 minute for 10 but over 23 mins  and riders who have 26 + for a ten or something similar rather than standard so are chasing PBs or achieving at their own levels . As the existing series events will be still in operation that is where fastest riders will get rewarded . The BAR is a personal achievement first and foremost but a reward for participating in club events throughout season. 

Regarding circuits we have moved about due to many factors over the years so a matter of looking to see what is suitable. I can recall holding circuit races round Corseford special school one year and the car park at Chrysler in Linwood another season. 

Circuit round Caldwell up past Golf course round to Brewers Fayre on Lugton road  another past circuit , suits the climbers LOL

We had a couple of circuits in Linwood as well over the years and Houston ( down toward Georgetown turn left back up through Houston LH onto B.O.W road and back down thru R/B

There will be something suitable for APRs etc just need searching out and creative thinking . Unfortunately I dont get to ride these roads frequently enough anymore 

 

 

 

 

 

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On 1/2/2022 at 1:36 PM, Kenny MacDonald said:

How about a revamp of the old Tourist Trial event ??  a sort of BAR club event 

A)  long ride  of 100 miles ie 5 ferries , double Arran or  nominated sportive which has to be completed in different times for each standard  Gold , Silver , Bronze (  dated events to allow qualification)

b)  a 10 mile TT ( part of League of 10s) again with standard times 

c)  a Georgetown TT ( Chocolate series) with standard times 

d)  a hill climb with standard times  ( 2 events to allow qualification time)

possible addition of confined circuit race , APR , cyclo cross or track event 

Gold , Silver ,Bronze awards  with Platimum for riders who qualify and also attend nominated whole club runs 

Separate category for e bikes as we must embrace that these bikes will become more and more prevalent in the future .

 

 

 

That’s very interesting Kenny. I didn’t know about this at all.

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 From club website under confined events  :- 

Standard Award requirements for Seniors

Gold Award

  1. 100 miles in under 6 hours
  2. 10 miles in under 25 minutes
  3. Hillclimb time on new course to be decided

Silver Award

  1. 100 miles in under 8 hours
  2. 10 miles in under 26 minutes
  3. Hillclimb time on new course to be decided


Bronze Award

  1. 100 miles in under 10 hours
  2. 10 miles in under 27 minutes
  3. Hillclimb time on new course to be decided

Junior and youth standards on request from Race Secretary. Not sure what new Hill climb course it referred to  but if I recall sen Gold was under 1:40  on existing climb  , Silver was 1:50 and bronze over 2 mins 

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Re standard times , think they would need updated considerably, but you still have the problem, nobody is actually racing, and all these are races so how do you get a non racing membership to take part in races ? Plus you still have to ask the 100 odd members what do they want, as you won’t get the answers on this forum , so you will then have to poll the individual members, that then has the added difficulty of designing the questions so they are not leading and that they give you the information required so you can then design and implement what they want 

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On 1/13/2022 at 10:46 AM, Kenny MacDonald said:

 From club website under confined events  :- 

Standard Award requirements for Seniors

Gold Award

  1. 100 miles in under 6 hours
  2. 10 miles in under 25 minutes
  3. Hillclimb time on new course to be decided

Silver Award

  1. 100 miles in under 8 hours
  2. 10 miles in under 26 minutes
  3. Hillclimb time on new course to be decided


Bronze Award

  1. 100 miles in under 10 hours
  2. 10 miles in under 27 minutes
  3. Hillclimb time on new course to be decided

Junior and youth standards on request from Race Secretary. Not sure what new Hill climb course it referred to  but if I recall sen Gold was under 1:40  on existing climb  , Silver was 1:50 and bronze over 2 mins 

I really like the idea of this.  What would the 100 mile circuit be?  If ferry involved it might go over the 6hrs, so hope the ferry time doesnt count lol.  

This is the type of thing that would motivate me to train hard to try and get Gold award, so my vote if for this (and a Single and Double Arran :) )  

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It’s interesting, but are you going to get 8/10 testers every TT , you would need to recalculate the standard times as they are far too generous, and lastly 100 miles round the coast compared to 100 miles over mountains, how do you work out standard times over various courses, and lastly who’s going to do all the work . The idea is good but can JWCC implement it, I would doubt it , you would need at least 2/3 people spending a lot of time re working standard times for 10 TT , Georgetown and a hill climb , never mind finding two or three similar distanced and elevation events , so I think it’s back to the drawn board for those on the committee that are looking at this .

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