Yet Another Cycling Forum
General Category => Freewheeling => The Dark Side => Topic started by: Kim on 25 January, 2024, 09:35:53 pm
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Since we now have a date, a venue and the skeleton of a website, I suppose there should be a thread...
(https://www.ductilebiscuit.net/embedding/yacf/20240401_whpva2024_banner.png)
https://wc2024.bhpc.org.uk/
If you haven't been there since 2018, the Shiny! New! facilities are a major upgrade. The track is still smooth, wide and fast. Camping will be up by the track, rather than the thistle-fest overflow car park. May contain coal dust or traces of coal dust.
In classic BHPC style, if it's human powered and meets our (minimal) safety requirements, then you can race it. Athleticism is strictly optional. Comedy entries encouraged. (Yes, even those uncomfortable bikes with the pedals in the middle.) Registrations will open later in the year.
Spectators welcome. Should be a good day out.
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Volunteers also welcome for marshalling, cat-herding and [“You can’t say that about Barney!” – Ed.]
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Very much so. We'll also welcome anyone who thinks they can help us out with publicity or soliciting sponsors, and the logo/T-shaped-shirt design is still up in the air if anyone has any clever design ideas.
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Dates added to calendar. :thumbsup:
I’ll also put a mention on the club’s fb page.
Don’t really have any excuse not to be there for at least one of the days, with it being so close. Doubt I’ll participate as a competitor but I shall have a think about volunteering - might be fun.
I’ve not yet visited Betteshanger since they finished the work - last time I was there it was a building site.
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the logo/T-shaped-shirt design is still up in the air if anyone has any clever design ideas.
I might possibly be in touch about this at some point. Please don't hold your breath.
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looks amazing, is there a very rough idea of the race programme… or to rephrase it, is there any uphill or undulating race, where non faired, possibly upright bicycles might be able to compete on par with the velomobiles?
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If it's anything like last time we dunnit there'll be a variety of circuit races and a flying 200 metre sprint. We didn’t do a hillclimb last time though it’s quite a steep drag from the car park up to the track itself. Perhaps a member of the Politburo might suggest it :demon:
Being built on an old spoil heap from the Kent coalfields the circuit(s) aren’t pan-flat but the chances of an unfaired machine of any layout beating Slash in the Beano or the faster velomobiles tend to zero.
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If it's anything like last time we dunnit there'll be a variety of circuit races and a flying 200 metre sprint. We didn’t do a hillclimb last time though it’s quite a steep drag from the car park up to the track itself. Perhaps a member of the Politburo might suggest it :demon:
Being built on an old spoil heap from the Kent coalfields the circuit(s) aren’t pan-flat but the chances of an unfaired machine of any layout beating Slash in the Beano or the faster velomobiles tend to zero.
Basically this. Expect a 100m flying sprint, a 1-lap time trial on the short (1.5km?) loop and a 3-hour endurance race on the whole track, along with some other circuit races (probably on the lower track) in between. The track is flattish with easy corners, so lends itself to speed, so the more aero machines are at a substantial advantage.
We've got a Shiny! New! sprint timing system that makes processing results a lot easier, so I may put the case for using it for more than just the flying 100m. A standing-start (nominally) uphill sprint might be a good equaliser for the unfaired machines, and we could run the two back to back without having to move the timing equipment.
I'm tempted to run an unofficial who-can-ride-the-slowest-50m competition (trikes permitted only if they keep one wheel in the air at all times, and anyone caught track-standing will be sent to the reëducation camps) in one of the evenings.
We've joked about a hill-climb on the access road. Might be doable, but it would complicate logistics. Barakta wants an egg-and-spoon race :demon:
FWIW, there's going to be a BHPC event at Gravesend Cyclopark at the start of June (https://www.bhpc.org.uk/events/2024-races/). That one's twisty with distinct lumps, which disadvantages the velomobiles (See also: Stourport, where the hairpin is an bastard (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVKECvEQm_g)). Slash still wins thobut, even if he goes flying off the track and needs to restart. We opted not to host the World championships there on account of the anticipated body count with fast unfamiliar riders at the bottom corner.
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Being built on an old spoil heap from the Kent coalfields the circuit(s) aren’t pan-flat but the chances of an unfaired machine of any layout beating Slash in the Beano or the faster velomobiles tend to zero.
What’s more, it’s very close to the coast and there’s very little shelter on parts of the course. So it’s not just the terrain that puts uprights at a disadvantage, the wind is a factor too.
On the plus side, as one of my club colleagues said in response to my facebook post, you won’t get officious types checking the angle of your brake levers.
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If it's anything like last time we dunnit there'll be a variety of circuit races and a flying 200 metre sprint. We didn’t do a hillclimb last time though it’s quite a steep drag from the car park up to the track itself. Perhaps a member of the Politburo might suggest it :demon:
Being built on an old spoil heap from the Kent coalfields the circuit(s) aren’t pan-flat but the chances of an unfaired machine of any layout beating Slash in the Beano or the faster velomobiles tend to zero.
Basically this. Expect a 100m flying sprint, a 1-lap time trial on the short (1.5km?) loop and a 3-hour endurance race on the whole track, along with some other circuit races (probably on the lower track) in between. The track is flattish with easy corners, so lends itself to speed, so the more aero machines are at a substantial advantage.
We've got a Shiny! New! sprint timing system that makes processing results a lot easier, so I may put the case for using it for more than just the flying 100m. A standing-start (nominally) uphill sprint might be a good equaliser for the unfaired machines, and we could run the two back to back without having to move the timing equipment.
I'm tempted to run an unofficial who-can-ride-the-slowest-50m competition (trikes permitted only if they keep one wheel in the air at all times, and anyone caught track-standing will be sent to the reëducation camps) in one of the evenings.
We've joked about a hill-climb on the access road. Might be doable, but it would complicate logistics. Barakta wants an egg-and-spoon race :demon:
FWIW, there's going to be a BHPC event at Gravesend Cyclopark at the start of June (https://www.bhpc.org.uk/events/2024-races/). That one's twisty with distinct lumps, which disadvantages the velomobiles (See also: Stourport, where the hairpin is an bastard (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVKECvEQm_g)). Slash still wins thobut, even if he goes flying off the track and needs to restart. We opted not to host the World championships there on account of the anticipated body count with fast unfamiliar riders at the bottom corner.
Definitively standing start sprint!
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On the plus side, as one of my club colleagues said in response to my facebook post, you won’t get officious types checking the angle of your brake levers.
In 2018 I waltzed through scrutineering with a "Hello Kim, are your brakes wearing a helmet?".
Basically, we only care that you can stop, don't have dangerous sharp bits and are complying with the magic hat requirement.
(Barakta may hunt you down if you stick your timing tags to carbon fibre, thobut)
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I'm tempted to run an unofficial who-can-ride-the-slowest-50m competition (trikes permitted only if they keep one wheel in the air at all times, and anyone caught track-standing will be sent to the reëducation camps) in one of the evenings.
Watch out for a Quattrovelo cleaning up. A 50m slow race course may take a long time to complete, depending on your definition of a track stand.
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Barakta wants an egg-and-spoon race :demon
Barakta for Queen!
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I'm tempted to run an unofficial who-can-ride-the-slowest-50m competition (trikes permitted only if they keep one wheel in the air at all times, and anyone caught track-standing will be sent to the reëducation camps) in one of the evenings.
Watch out for a Quattrovelo cleaning up.
They'd have to work out how to attach a timing tag first ;D
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the chances of an unfaired machine of any layout beating Slash in the Beano or the faster velomobiles tend to zero.
Slash still wins thobut,
It's nice that there are still immutable laws in the universe.
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Will there be a limit on entry numbers, and does one have to be a certain fitness/ athletic standard to enter……thinking Moi ?
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Will there be a limit on entry numbers, and does one have to be a certain fitness/ athletic standard to enter……thinking Moi ?
Hell no! There was a huge range of abilities at last year's world championships.
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Will there be a limit on entry numbers, and does one have to be a certain fitness/ athletic standard to enter……thinking Moi ?
As I said at the top of the thread, no need to be athletic - usual BHPC rules (or lack thereof) apply. There will be a wide range of speeds, vehicles and abilities. And it's not uncommon for people to tour halfway across Europe to the Worlds and take part on whatever they're riding.
As for limiting numbers, it's unlikely at this point. There were something like 120 competitors in 2018, and the track and improved facilities can easily accommodate more. How much of an impact Brexit will have on entries from ABROAD remains to be seen. Camping capacity shouldn't be a problem with those kind of numbers.
We had a meeting earlier this week and were able to pin down The Mgt on assorted costs (looking reasonable) and whether they were going to dig up the track to build a wave pool (not by August at the rate things are going), so it's all looking very promising.
My own contribution to proceedings at this point is mostly software development, of the sort that will help to make things run smoothly but won't really be visible to punters, and making sure that nobody forgets that the timing system requires a supply of voles.
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Registration opens tomorrow at hours 09:00: https://shop.bhpc.org.uk/wc2024
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For those interested in such things, it's looking like the race formats are going to be:
- 1lap time-trial on the upper loop
- 60 minute criterium on the lower loop
- 100m flying sprint
- 100m standing-start sprint
- 15 minute criterium on the upper loop
- 3 hour criterium on the whole track
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Programme of events now confirmed on https://wc2024.bhpc.org.uk/
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For values of 'confirmed' that include me pointing out that a 300m sprint is going to involve anna ditional 180m of cable between the timing gates, which in our case we have not got. To say nothing of competitors going full pelt into a corner, which might be unwise.
(I think that's been copied from an earlier draft of the running order.)
There's also an unofficial competition underway to see who can b0rk my purchase-notification-email-to-CSV-to-HTML SCIENCE. The smart money's on FOREIGNS with their non-ASCII characters, but we've had a couple of other creative edge-cases.
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Whomever decided grey on blue was a good combination didn’t want you to be able to easily see those bits.
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Whomever decided grey on blue was a good combination didn’t want you to be able to easily see those bits.
Which bit? (I may be being colourblind)
Andrew's currently in the process of fettling the website, which was gratuitously lobachevskied from the 2018 version. Part of that involves the new colourscheme (recently finalised by the poster design), which is why it's all a bit inconsistent, but the priority has been making the registration and information for competitors work.
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The countdown timer which is the grey on blue. The fact you can’t see it, says a lot.
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The countdown timer which is the grey on blue. The fact you can’t see it, says a lot.
Ah, I see. That is a bit low contrast, yes.
Will suggest Andrew change it (likely to the pale green and darker blue from the poster, or something).
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I hadn't seen the webpage yet...
I'd drop the yellow a bit and make the text proper black too cos I can't read the blue on yellow.
And yes, the count down timer needs more contrast. Is there a weird font being used there?
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Apparently the countdown widget is a legacy of the Previous Web Designer, and the only configuration options are the date it's counting down to, and the spelling of 'Hours', 'Minutes', etc. I expect it'll get bodged/replaced/removed in due course...
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For those interested in such things, it's looking like the race formats are going to be:
- 1lap time-trial on the upper loop
- 60 minute criterium on the lower loop
- 100m flying spring
- 100m standing-start sprint
- 15 minute criterium on the upper loop
- 3 hour criterium on the whole track
Ooh, I like the idea of a "flying spring" race 8). Is that for airborne hpvs? And how do the rules work for the spring, is anything and everything permitted or must the spring have a mechanical function in the vehicle? ???
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Ha! This is probably related to the part of my brain that flagged up the potential problem with the webby SCIENCE not allowing you to say your HPV has no wheels. Our web-monkey suggested that we were unlikely to get many pogo-stick entries.
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It would be quite good to have walking-machines entered though. Or even human-powered flying machines.
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It would be quite good to have walking-machines entered though.
Yes!
If anyone wants to enter one, rest assured that I'll h4xx0r the registration system appropriately.
Or even human-powered flying machines.
They have their own event (which may also contain Barney or traces of Barney), on account of needing wider tarmac, fewer trees, indoor cycle parking and an audax o'clock start:
https://bhpfc.co.uk/icaruscup/
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I look forward to singletrack / multitrack options being joined by bipedal / quadripedal / snake, etc.