Author Topic: Upcoming cycle race  (Read 5361 times)

Upcoming cycle race
« on: 15 October, 2018, 03:51:24 pm »
Hi Guys

I have entered a cycle challenge race which is 100 km. I have entered with my 2 sons, in their early twenties. We have done this before but this time they so lazy. How do motivate these kids? And please note, they are too scared to not do the race because they will be ashamed.
Your underfloor heating guy.

Re: Upcoming cycle race
« Reply #1 on: 15 October, 2018, 04:13:29 pm »
A race? An actual race with closed roads and support teams and stuff requiring licenses?

Or do you mean a Sportive type event which is not really a race but might have finish times and a possibly a finishers medal at the end?

I'm afraid I don't know how you motivate 20 somethings, I just got on my bike and rode it back then but given the possibility of achieving something they want to do then they might go ahead and do it. If they are negative in the first place it's an uphill battle.

Sportive events are however, ridden by all sorts of different people, some do it for fun, training, charity or a challenge to try to better themselves. I can guarantee there will be people slower than them and there will be people on all sorts of equipment, it's rarely just people in expensive lycra riding expensive carbon. let them get on with it and you go out for a family bonding session or whatever.

If people don't want to do stuff it's quite likely they won't, especially once they consider themselves to be grown up.
Duct tape is magic and should be worshipped

Re: Upcoming cycle race
« Reply #2 on: 18 October, 2018, 12:28:55 pm »
Wow, now you stumped me! The event has road closures, road side support with time limit and medals at the end. Would that be a Sportive event? As for the kids, you right, can't force them to train. Their 53 year old dad will just beat their asses, Lol!!
Your underfloor heating guy.

Kim

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Re: Upcoming cycle race
« Reply #3 on: 18 October, 2018, 12:50:38 pm »
By way of clarification: For hysterical raisins, cycle racing isn't permitted on British roads.  Hence the options are to either close the roads (which is incredibly expensive and difficult), not use public roads or to make an event Technically Not A Race (eg. a sportive, audax or time-trial).

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Re: Upcoming cycle race
« Reply #4 on: 18 October, 2018, 12:57:52 pm »
Sounds like a sportive.  100km isn't too far - do a 40 mile practice ride the weekend before and you'll be ok.
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

Re: Upcoming cycle race
« Reply #5 on: 20 October, 2018, 09:09:18 am »
Cycle racing isn’t permitted on British roads? That’s news to me*. So what exactly have I been a commissaire for in the last 8 years? Groups of riders, numbers on their backs, set off together, first one to finish wins; looks like a cycle race to me.

*The Cycle Racing on Highways Regulations,1960
I am often asked, what does YOAV stand for? It stands for Yoav On A Velo

Re: Upcoming cycle race
« Reply #6 on: 20 October, 2018, 12:07:30 pm »
How do motivate these kids? And please note, they are too scared to not do the race because they will be ashamed.

I don't understand. The kids will feel ashamed by not doing the event, and they still need another source of motivation to do it?

A

Kim

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Re: Upcoming cycle race
« Reply #7 on: 20 October, 2018, 12:51:20 pm »
Cycle racing isn’t permitted on British roads? That’s news to me*. So what exactly have I been a commissaire for in the last 8 years? Groups of riders, numbers on their backs, set off together, first one to finish wins; looks like a cycle race to me.

*The Cycle Racing on Highways Regulations,1960

I defer to your superior knowledge - I'm only regurgitating what I've learned from this forum.  Under what circumstances (other than closed roads, as I already covered) are races permitted?


ETA: Skimming the regulations, it looks like under 40 competitors, no riding at dusk or dawn, the route has to loop back on itself, and something really obscure about avoiding long stretches of roads with speed limits.  And notifying the police as per time trials.

That explains why things like the TCR can't take place in the UK.  I suppose the limit on the number of competitors dooms such races to relative obscurity.

Re: Upcoming cycle race
« Reply #8 on: 20 October, 2018, 03:20:40 pm »
Kim: road racing at regional level takes place on open roads (i.e. not closed to other traffic). Courses are usually circuits of around 10 miles, on country roads. The local council and police are informed. Fields of up to 80 can be allowed. Often we run 2 races on the same course at the same time. Each race gets support vehicles, motorbike escorts and static marshals at junctions. No police support for these events.

National races get police cover as well as team cars, publicity vehicles, TV motorbikes etc. Not even the Tour of Britain gets the roads completely shut from start to finish. the British police is very reluctant to do this, what they do is provide a rolling road closure where oncoming traffic is stopped about 15 mins before the race arrives, all the junctions are closed off and normal traffic resumes once the race has passed. Only the Tour de France got the entire route closed off on the day, as that was a condition of the race coming to Britain.


I am not entirely sure why the TCR couldn't run in Britain, as it seems to run like a competitive audax, but I'm not an expert in law.
I am often asked, what does YOAV stand for? It stands for Yoav On A Velo

Karla

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Re: Upcoming cycle race
« Reply #9 on: 20 October, 2018, 03:41:17 pm »
The TCR did run in  Britain in its first instance!  I think Mike just decided that the dash to the Dover ferry didn't add anything to the race. 

The absolute ban on road racing ended in Britain sometime around the late 1950s. Google 'BLRC' to find out more.

Re: Upcoming cycle race
« Reply #10 on: 20 October, 2018, 07:08:02 pm »
I’ve been a driver on a couple of the regional races described above. They’re very tightly planned and only work with a small field of well matched riders on a carefully chosen circuit. They’re certainly not going to work on anything like the OP describes (or TCR type events that ban drafting).

Though I’d actually describe it as a form of rolling road closure rather than racing on open roads. The hope is definitely that the race group has minimal interaction with other traffic. Traffic is stopped by marshalls at major junctions as the race group approaches, but there’s usually still oncoming traffic and the risk of vehicles joining from minor junctions.

Re: Upcoming cycle race
« Reply #11 on: 22 October, 2018, 06:58:21 am »
Bunch road racing on open roads was never made illegal in Britain, it was just that the national cyclists union (forerunner of British cycling) banned it in 1890 fearing it would be made illegal. It still took place on closed roads (usually airfields or motor racing circuits) until Percy Stallard came along but that’s a long story, well covered elsewhere.
I am often asked, what does YOAV stand for? It stands for Yoav On A Velo

Re: Upcoming cycle race
« Reply #12 on: 23 October, 2018, 03:38:39 pm »
How do motivate these kids? And please note, they are too scared to not do the race because they will be ashamed.

I don't understand. The kids will feel ashamed by not doing the event, and they still need another source of motivation to do it?

A
Hi. I think you misunderstand. The kids will be doing the race, I just need to get them to train properly else they will lag behind and suffer somewhat.
Your underfloor heating guy.

Re: Upcoming cycle race
« Reply #13 on: 23 October, 2018, 03:47:59 pm »
How do motivate these kids? And please note, they are too scared to not do the race because they will be ashamed.

I don't understand. The kids will feel ashamed by not doing the event, and they still need another source of motivation to do it?

A
Hi. I think you misunderstand. The kids will be doing the race, I just need to get them to train properly else they will lag behind and suffer somewhat.

But they're in their early twenties, according to your first post - they're not "kids", they're adults. If they want to do some training, all well and good. If they don't, that's up to them. It seems odd to enter a race without any intention of doing any training, though. Do they actually want to race? ???

Karla

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Re: Upcoming cycle race
« Reply #14 on: 27 October, 2018, 03:50:59 am »
Also this is a sportive not a race so please stop using that word!

Re: Upcoming cycle race
« Reply #15 on: 28 October, 2018, 11:51:52 am »
This does seem very heavy parenting.  These kids are adults, what they do is entirely unto them. 

Re: Upcoming cycle race
« Reply #16 on: 29 October, 2018, 12:25:46 pm »
Also this is a sportive not a race so please stop using that word!
The definition of a race. This is what we'll be doing, racing against a set time with 30 000 other entrants.

race
/reɪs/
noun
noun: race; plural noun: races
1.
a competition between runners, horses, vehicles, etc. to see which is the fastest in covering a set course.
"Hill started from pole position and won the race"

synonyms: contest, competition;

Your underfloor heating guy.

Karla

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    • Lost Byway - around the world by bike
Re: Upcoming cycle race
« Reply #17 on: 29 October, 2018, 02:14:58 pm »
Also this is a sportive not a race so please stop using that word!
The definition of a race. This is what we'll be doing, racing against a set time with 30 000 other entrants.

race
/reɪs/
noun
noun: race; plural noun: races
1.
a competition between runners, horses, vehicles, etc. to see which is the fastest in covering a set course.
"Hill started from pole position and won the race"

synonyms: contest, competition;

The event is officially non-competitive.  If you were racing each other, you'd definitely know about it - there are strict laws that govern competitive races and you'd need a license to even enter.  A sportive and a bike race are different things.

The level of fitness in actual races is also a lot higher.  If you're worried about being fit enough for a sportive ... don't even go there.

Re: Upcoming cycle race
« Reply #18 on: 29 October, 2018, 02:32:06 pm »
Have you considered the possibility that, at 53, you may be one of the people coming in behind them?  30 years is a lot to give away, even if you are very fit - and especially if you've pissed them off!

Re: Upcoming cycle race
« Reply #19 on: 01 November, 2018, 02:17:49 pm »
Also this is a sportive not a race so please stop using that word!
The definition of a race. This is what we'll be doing, racing against a set time with 30 000 other entrants.

race
/reɪs/
noun
noun: race; plural noun: races
1.
a competition between runners, horses, vehicles, etc. to see which is the fastest in covering a set course.
"Hill started from pole position and won the race"

synonyms: contest, competition;

The event is officially non-competitive.  If you were racing each other, you'd definitely know about it - there are strict laws that govern competitive races and you'd need a license to even enter.  A sportive and a bike race are different things.

The level of fitness in actual races is also a lot higher.  If you're worried about being fit enough for a sportive ... don't even go there.
Karla, I'm not worried about being fit, I am constantly training as I'm planning a cycle tour through Africa to Europe.
Your underfloor heating guy.

vorsprung

  • Opposites Attract
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Re: Upcoming cycle race
« Reply #20 on: 01 November, 2018, 09:14:24 pm »
ok let's assume *you* can ride 100km no problem

But as for the 20 year olds....
how long until the event?  If it is less than 8 weeks then they need to understand that they can ride 100km

If it is more than 8 weeks they could train and get fitter

Less than 8 weeks, find out how far they can ride and gradually increase until they are doing 110km 2 weeks before the event. Then rest up.  This is basically a psychological training

More than 8 weeks, do a fast ride (maybe more than twice a week) and a long slow ride once a week
In this case in the 2 weeks before the ride cut back the number of fast rides and skip the long ride
The long ride is taking it easy.  I usually do these just breathing through the nose, no panting

The short fast rides will make them faster.  The long ride is for recovery (yeah...sounds odd but that's how it goes) and the psychological aspects


Karla

  • car(e) free
    • Lost Byway - around the world by bike
Re: Upcoming cycle race
« Reply #21 on: 02 November, 2018, 08:32:13 am »
Also this is a sportive not a race so please stop using that word!
The definition of a race. This is what we'll be doing, racing against a set time with 30 000 other entrants.

race
/reɪs/
noun
noun: race; plural noun: races
1.
a competition between runners, horses, vehicles, etc. to see which is the fastest in covering a set course.
"Hill started from pole position and won the race"

synonyms: contest, competition;

The event is officially non-competitive.  If you were racing each other, you'd definitely know about it - there are strict laws that govern competitive races and you'd need a license to even enter.  A sportive and a bike race are different things.

The level of fitness in actual races is also a lot higher.  If you're worried about being fit enough for a sportive ... don't even go there.
Karla, I'm not worried about being fit, I am constantly training as I'm planning a cycle tour through Africa to Europe.

The point is, a sportive and a bike race are two different animals.  This is one of them, not the other.

Paul

  • L'enfer, c'est les autos.
Re: Upcoming cycle race
« Reply #22 on: 02 November, 2018, 09:14:08 am »
How do motivate these kids?
[/quote]

What do they respond to?
Money?
Praise?
Love?
Competition?
Jam?

Find/remember their triggers and exploit them ruthlessly.

Or let them sort it out for themselves...
What's so funny about peace, love and understanding?

Paul

  • L'enfer, c'est les autos.
Re: Upcoming cycle race
« Reply #23 on: 02 November, 2018, 09:40:48 am »
Or just enjoy it with them. Make it into a happy memory.
What's so funny about peace, love and understanding?

Re: Upcoming cycle race
« Reply #24 on: 05 November, 2018, 03:02:46 pm »
I think I will go with this, makes sense.
Your underfloor heating guy.