The Bunbury Guide to Bunch Racing

[Karla]

First, we brought you the Bunbury Guide to Time Trialling: ride 8 miles into a '10, spot a marshal and imagine that they're telling you to turn right instead of going straight on, turn off the perfectly good out'n'back course and don't stop until you're four miles up a hill.

Now in an all-new edition of the famed Bunbury Guides (TM), we bring you the Bunbury Guide to Bunch Racing.

1) Get your bike down from the loft the day before.
2) Check the gears - they seem okay.
3) Ride to the start, thinking WOOHOO THIS IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN MY WINTER BIKE!
4) Start the race, and then start fiddling with the front gears on the first lap.
5) Oh no!  You've unshipped your chain!
6) Try to pedal your chain back on
7) Jam your chain good'n'proper, shout "Stopping!" and trundle over to the side of the track
8.) Get off and try to sort out your chain, but discover that the rear mech hanger is bent, and so are some of the chain links themselves.  Your race is over after a quarter of a mile: at least your racing career can only get better!
9) Try (and fail) to blag a refund on your entry fee
10)Remove the offending links in your chain
11) Limp home to order a new chain, chain catcher and mech hanger. 

[spesh]

PPPPPP.

[Karla]

PPPPPP.

My thoughts precisely.  New adventures in the 6P principle.

[mattc]

Have you worked out where you would have finished?!?

[LindaG]

*snort*

[David Martin]

As an organiser  (9) Ha ha ha! No refunds. You pay for the 'opportunity' to race. If you don't take it up, or decide (voluntarily or otherwise) to allow that opportunity to pass you by, then tough. We still have to pay HQ, officials, levies, photofinish, NEG and goodness knows what else. Next time, go and ask the winner if you can have your entry fee (minus BC levies) back from their prize money.

[Deano]

As an organiser  (9) Ha ha ha! No refunds. You pay for the 'opportunity' to race. If you don't take it up, or decide (voluntarily or otherwise) to allow that opportunity to pass you by, then tough. We still have to pay HQ, officials, levies, photofinish, NEG and goodness knows what else. Next time, go and ask the winner if you can have your entry fee (minus BC levies) back from their prize money.

Usage of the word "blag" covers that nicely.

[giropaul]

Have you worked out where you would have finished?!?

No, that's what testers do 

"X did 22.30 last Wednesday in the club event, and I did 26.30. Yesterday in an open X did 19.30 - so I would have done 23.30 if I'd ridden"

[Frank9755]

Now your bike will be ready for the next one!  Sounds like a fun way to work out what maintenance needed to be done.

[Karla]

The bike was indeed ready for the next one, and I made it to the end in one piece.  As predicted, I didn't have any legs for the final gallop and so went backwards from somewhere near the front to the middle of the pack on the last straight.  Hmm, I need to get away earlier next time, and probably do less work during the race itself.  Hey, at least I got 2nd on the prime!  A clubmate won his first race and so gets his upgrade to 3rd cat, so big congrats to him 

After the race, I dropped my bars, clipped on the clip-ons and converted myself from roadie to tester.  For full details, you'll need to read the TT thread!

[David Martin]

I'll let you know when the club stage race is if you fancy a visit to sunny Tayside..

[Karla]

It isn't the 2nd weekend in April, by any chance?  I'll be in Dundeee on the Monday or Tuesday after that.

[David Martin]

No, it is 18-19 May but not on the BC site yet.

Drop me a line when you are coming up to Dundee.