Darley moor races 3/4 cat - any Matlock riders ?

Hi,
Noticing there seems to be a lack of Matlock members riding Crits and road races why not come and do some Crits up at Darley moor .
The dates in March are the 10th, 24th and 31st.
Hope to see some more Matlock riders up there,
Patrick S

I might give some of these a go. Are any other 4th Cat novices going to keep me company as I get dropped and lapped?

I do most darley moors i ride for a team but im second claim matlock and i race on the road in the summer
Bruce

I could be tempted Derek. Not looked at diary though yet. I know nothing about road stuff, but I'm thinking I'll need a licence to race even cat 4 ?

Must admit it's not that clear for a novice (that's me too).
Taken from the BC website:

"Regional B

Eligibility: open to Senior and Junior male 3rd and 4th category riders and Senior and Junior female riders of all categories with a Full Racing Licence or holders of a Day Licence.
Distance/Time:

- Single Day Event: maximum 90 km.

- Circuit Race: minimum time 40 minutes."

For Regional B (Cat 3/4 riders at Darley) you can get a day licence . £10 if you're not a BC member or have bronze level membership and £5 if you have silver or gold BC membership.
Day licences don't give you eligibility to points whereas a full licence (£32) would.

That's the way I read it anyway, phew :o)

That sounds about right Mike.
Much like Alan, I could be tempted if I can find time but havn't looked at the diary yet.

We could be your lead out team Patrick!

To be honest Richard I would love to have some help with some other Matlock riders in the events.
A

s far the the entry is concernd I would recomend buying a GOLD racing lisence, for road.
With this you will be supplied an events list every time a new one comes through via post .

Entry fees for Darley Moor are £13 pre entry or £16 on the day, event run by Aurther Gamble.

Would love to see some Matlock riders as personally I feel Matlock is lacking riders competiting in Road races and Crits.

So who is up for the first race on the 10th? If Patrick is in then that makes two of us. Bruce will be there fresh from his Spanish training camp but he'll be riding for someone else. With Richard, Mike and Alan on board that's five. Enough for an Olympic Road Race team ;)

I can quarentee il be there :) The more the better :)

Iam going I'll see you there pat and anyone else who's going

So who is going to do the first Darley Moor crit? I had a chat with Chris Green on Saturday and he says there will be lots of elbows, shouting and general unpleasantness. Is this going to come as a shock to someone used to the polite overtaking practices of MTB XC events or the "Any contact and we're all going to die!" discipline of the track?

Derek
I've entered, so that makes three so far with Patrick. It'll be my first venture out on a circuit also.
Judging by what Chris said it sounds a tad worse than an average cross race. There you get the shouting and the odd elbow but little in the way of unpleasantness.

I'm just going to treat it as a learning exercise and to see how long I can stick with it before getting dropped.
I'm also hoping it's not going to be too wet as high speed argy bargy group racing combined with a slippery surface may be one step too far for my limited novice skillset :o)

One positive though...at least there shouldn't be any potholes to avoid.

Hi Derek

Over the past two years I've raced up at Darley Moor and other courses and Chris is bang on but it's the same at any road race.
I find if you sit top 20 you keep out all the trouble it's normally at the back of the group where it gets interesting.
Am sure you'll have a great time Derek and with the other Matlock riders going will be a good team ride.

Carl's right - stay at the front, out of the way of the people who can't ride in a straight line and those with the big mouths and you'll be fine. It's easier at the front anyway!

I've had a look at the BC website and the Ashfield RC site and there doesn't seem to be an on-line entry. Will I be OK to enter on the day?

Can we tempt Alan and Richard to join us?

Derek am 99% sure you can enter on line mate ave

Derek

Reproduced (not verbatim:o) from the Ashfield RC info sheet sent through the post confirming my entry(hope they don't mind).

"Cat3/4/W/Mc+/J Start time 1000 (not sure what Mc+ is)
Cat E/1/2/3 Start time 1300.

Entries on the line always accepted, signing on closes 20 minutes prior to each event.
Event HQ open from 9am.
No helmet no ride, no licence no ride (day licences must be available as I entered needing one).
Basic changing facilities, toilets, no showers.
1.5mile circuit."

Have fun folks, I won't be there as I'm running (well staggering actually) the Grindleford Gallop 22 mile run.

Cheers Mike. I'll see you and Patrick about 0900 on Saturday.

yep :) Really nice to see some Matlock riders take part in crits, maby a matlock cc crit race type campaigne to get some more matlock riders intrested sounds a good idea :)

As an ex-2nd Cat roadie that used to love racing at Darley Moor, I can only offer my encouragement. For me, road racing was the most exciting branch of the sport. There's nothing quite like the feeling of a bunch sprint or making it across to a break.

Ten years ago, I was about the only Matlock rider regularly riding road races - it would have been even more fun with a few team-mates to play with!

We will be there on Saturday to cheer you on Lads!

Phil Smith

I'll be there to. see you lot there cart wait for a good race

lovely too see much enthusiasm and encouragement ! :) Lets get more Matlock cc riders road racing ! :)

Really fancy it and seem to be riding quite well, but I'm fell running this year mainly and not bike racing.

If this thread would have been up last year - I'd have been at the front of the queue !

Good luck Richard with the Grindleford Gallop. I'm doing the Long Tour of Bradwell route Saturday, then Calderdale, then Fellsman. Injuries permitting !

That's a shame Alan - I was counting on hanging on your wheel!

Well that wasn't too bad. I got dropped after a few laps (as expected) but I didn't fall off (quite a few did!) and nobody shouted at me. It was good to meet Patrick, Mike and Kyle and at one point there were three Matlock riders working together. We even got some support from the crowd.

If any one else out there fancies a go I would strongly recommend it. It's pretty fast and furious up at the front (so I've been told) but it's perfectly feasible to hang on the the bunch for as long as you can and then when you've been dropped form a smaller group with some slower riders. You can then work together to either get back on or try to postpone being lapped for a long as possible.

I've got an MTB race on the 25th so I'm not sure if I will be doing the next crit on the 24th, but I will definitely be there for the 31st.

Yes, hard work but good fun...I enjoyed that but think I'll be suffering tomorrow. Good to meet you too Derek.

Very fast pace in the bunch. I topped out at 32mph somewhere around the course which by the third lap was too much for me and I got dropped.

As Derek says though there are a number of groups that get together at various points around the course to keep the pace up.
You then get a good tow from the lead bunch for a lap or so as it whizzes past (must remember "LEFT" means I need to move left not that they are coming through on the left!!!!

One bonus was that the stragglers (i.e. me) get pulled out 5 laps before the end so the suffering ends sooner than you think.

I'll definitely be back for another go...might even last four laps next time.

I'l be up for the both Darley moor races this month and would really recomend it, was nice to meet Derek and meet up with one or two of the other Matlock riders, next time I, along with others have an idea of what to expect !

Great fun, hope to see Matlock riders contine to race at Darley Moor and hopefully get more people involved :)

Well done chaps and keep persevering. Soon you will be able to stay in the bunch for the whole race. Then you will find you are not just hanging on but enjoying it. If you keep it up, you will eventually find yourself towards the front, responding to attacks and maybe even starting some! And as Lee says, it is better to ride near the front because: 1) it is safer 2) you are not on the end of the elastic around the corners and 3) if an attack does go, you will see it and if strong enough, you can respond.

Will, George, Reuben, Louis and Ellie all enjoyed themselves in the youth races. In the U12's race Reuben came 8th, George was 13th and Ellie finished 18th and 2nd Girl.

We will be going to the next one. See you there.

Yeah - great effort guys. Really good to see folks getting stuck into it for the first time! Keep up the commentary on here - great to see how you all fare.