untrained(unqualified) in pro races?

Karma

I am a member of a cycling club(shocking i know:D) and i have no licences for track(no accreditation either!), MTB or road racing, but want to try it out. can i race without a licence? what is the ettiqutte about this as well?

any answers would be helpful.
regards
.c

ba

you can road race provided you buy a one-day license at that particular road event. not sure about mtb... but presume you'll need a license to do track.

how do you fair in group? dja think u might be shakey in a bunch racing?

Chips Lovell

Most clubs have a club league, so racing in that (which is perfect for beginners) is simply a matter of signing up. Our club league charges a small fee for the year to cover ambulances and stuff. I'm sure others are the same.

Open races require a license, but if you're a member of Cycling Ireland, which you should be if you're in a club, you can pay a for a one day license on sign up.

There's a track league in Dublin over the summer. You need to get accredited and there's also a fee to race. Accreditation only requires showing up at Sundrive Road on a Saturday at the beginning of the summer and doing a few drills before they sign off on you.

Greyspoke

One day licences are available at mtb races

Raam

Karma wrote: »

I am a member of a cycling club

Which club did you join?

happygoose

slight hijack but on a similar topic, if you are non-club and turn up to race is it true you can't wear branded gear, e.g. gear from a pro team?

Chips Lovell

happygoose wrote: »

slight hijack but on a similar topic, if you are non-club and turn up to race is it true you can't wear branded gear, e.g. gear from a pro team?

As far as I know, you're not allowed wear kit from a team you aren't a member of.

Chips Lovell

From the rule book:

ARTICLE 2 - COSTUMES AND IDENTIFICATION

1. All riders shall when racing, wear a jersey with sleeves and a pair of shorts, possibly in the form of a one piece. By shorts it is understood that these come above the knees. Jerseys without sleeves shall be forbidden.

2. Wearing of rigid safety headgear shall be mandatory in all Cycling Ireland approved cycling events and during training sessions on track, mountain bike and cyclo cross.

3. Riders belonging to a Cycling Ireland affiliated club must when competing in an open road race or time trial authorised by Cycling Ireland and organised under Cycling Ireland rules, wear the registered jersey of their affiliated club.

4. In competitive events where registered club clothing is not mandatory then, with the exception of clothing as referred to in rule T5.A2.5 below, such clothing should not carry any advertising other than the manufacturers logo.

5. Where a rider is competing as a member of a representative or composite team or is entitled to wear a classification leaders jersey or a champions jersey then the conditions as laid down under rule T5.A2.3 above should not apply.

6. For un-attached riders or these riders competing under a Cycling Ireland one-day licence then the conditions as laid down under rule T5.A2.4 above shall apply.

Karma

So all these rules say i have to qualify to race? the gear aint the issue. and i cant say what club( dont want to ruin their rep ) i hate group racing but thats me, so i get on with it and push back

So to clarify, i can not just turn up and race a Professional race?
thinking that answer is no but i need that clarity.
there is relevance to this.
cheers.

Chips Lovell

The only thing you have to qualify for is the track league and that's a piece of cake. I got accredited the first day I ever rode a track bike.

Road racing, you can just show up and race as long as you pay the fee. (I'm assuming you've Cycling Ireland Membership if you're in a club).

steinone

I payed 70 quid to my club for a cycling Ireland membership and insurance to race in any licensed events, good value?

sy

el tonto wrote: »

.... Our club league charges a small fee for the year to cover ambulances and stuff.

:eek:

Might frighten a few people away with that kind of comment el tonto!

My advice to anybody is, as el tonto said, join a club and get into the club races. Don't be intimidated as there is always somebody at your level and probably many below it. Riding in a bunch can be a little scary at first but club races are the ideal learning ground and lots of the "pros" will only be too delighted to offer advice and encouragement. Just ignore the freds.

E@gle.

steinone wrote: »

I payed 70 quid to my club for a cycling Ireland membership and insurance to race in any licensed events, good value?

are you a student? because a full race licensce costs €120, students get it for 60

E@gle.

Karma wrote: »

So to clarify, i can not just turn up and race a Professional race?
thinking that answer is no but i need that clarity.
there is relevance to this.
cheers.

your jumping the gun a bit here, Most races in this country are not professional. yes if you are a member of a club you can show up and race as long as you a full racing licensce cost €120 (€60 student) plus whatever your club membership charge. if you dont have a race licensce you can take out a one day licensce cost €10.

Also if you dont like group riding, i'd stay as far away from a race as i could

Raam

sy wrote: »

lots of the "pros" will only be too delighted to offer advice and encouragement.

Very true. After last Sundays Dublin Wheelers race, the guy who was driving the lead car came up to me and was giving me some tips and pointers. It's all very appreciated and I welcome all advice that others can give.

Karma

well really i was looking for yer viewpoint but its ok.
what do you think of non messengers racing in alleycats.(professionals racing to see who is the fastest.)
I think with the lack of experience comes trouble in the race and its not for non messengers. a friend and i were talking about it and the inherant dangers of it. a roadie died in a alleycat last year in the states(full speed thru a red light into a suv) why race in something that you are not involved in???

Chips Lovell

Karma wrote: »

why race in something that you are not involved in???

Because its a race.

For what its worth, some of the worst riding I've seen on the streets of Dublin has been by couriers, so I'm not sure if it gives them a positive safety advantage.

niceonetom

aaahhhhh, i was wondering all the emphasis on "pro" was. and i thought karma in lycra lining up for a club race could only be the result of a drunken bet (probably with Tiny) gone awry.

i've no opinion on whether non-couriers should be taking part in alley-cats. isn't risk an inherant part of their appeal? wouldn't rules as to who can turn up or not be counter to the whole underground (pfff yeah right) anarchic nature of the beast? have there been incidents in dublin that raise this issue? is this really a way of excluding the poseurs and fasionistas who, you think, haven't earned the right to be in your gang? do you really want to apply the legalistic roadie mentality to your particular niche?

TinyExplosions

niceonetom wrote: »

aaahhhhh, i was wondering all the emphasis on "pro" was. and i thought karma in lycra lining up for a club race could only be the result of a drunken bet (probably with Tiny) gone awry.

I wouldn't mind seeing that... and we're not always drunk and engaging in bets...

Personally, I think that if you stick info about alleycats onto the web, for all to see, it's fair game for anyone to join in -if you want to keep it for messengers only, let word of mouth do the trick -the network is such that everyone could hear about it.

TinyExplosions

And while I'm thinking about the subject, there isn't really any training as such for messengers. I'd argue that there are people on here that have never tried that career path, but are every bit as competent and skilled as certainly a green messenger, and possibly some of the more experienced ones. Bike handling is bike handling at the end of the day.


The only way to decide who's fit to race or not is to have some form of accreditation, but that'd be a logistical nightmare!

Caroline_ie

TinyExplosions wrote: »

The only way to decide who's fit to race or not is to have some form of accreditation, but that'd be a logistical nightmare!

Alleycats accreditations ...? " Go young Padawan, as fast as you can through these lights, whatever colour they are, thought them you must go, this messenger bag, confidence will bring you'. ( sorry ... )

Karma

i cant speak for anyone elses cycling, and by god do i hate just lycra(and tinys shaved legs :P ) but there is danger in alleycats but it is danger that you put your self in.
I agree that there are bad couriers, as there are bad cyclists, bad drivers and pedrestrians.
I worked over a 15 year period and raced in some amazing races and only in the last few years decided to quit the racing as (the reasons are many- lets go with old and slow for now). i got to see some mental stuff, as 3/5 guys racing over a 1 way bridge against traffic onto the north quays and most of them crashed into each other and other cyclists on the quay, no control.I see these guys about now and thankfully have learnt some control. guess the frst time is the crazy one.

I always beleive that these "Alleycats" are for messengers and ex-messengers(very large support group) all it is, is a replication of work, to see who is the fastest. this brings out the "in it to win it" mentality and people push that crazy bit futher(some/most can back this up with experience, and not get into trouble) some really dont give a F{}K about other road users and do anything to anyone(not my way!)
it just got silly. we had people turning up to race in a international race who were not messengers and lying saying that they were.
alleycats were formed to see who was the best of the messengers. (see that, full stop)

go organise your own street races if you wish, nothing against you for doing so, but i get fed up the messengers always protrayed in this underground/reckless light.
tonights race is a bit lighter, as it is based on cluedo, so more a scavenger hunt. see you there i guess

steinone

Hmm... What your saying is very true indeed.. But personally if there were non-courier(alleykittens) organised im not sure if I would feel great about racing in them...I know the alleycats were originally organised for couriers only but where do people like me come into it....? I cycle every free minute I have every day, I am very safety concious(even racing) but for my own reasons I cant become a courier now, does that mean if there was a clamp down for the people entering the races I would be left out, despite the few alleycats I have under my belt? Now im not saying the alleycats I have done are some sort of qualification or something to me or anything....Suppose its like lots of other debates(helmets etc.) it would be very hard decide and enforce if it wad decided...Anyway see yeee all tonight, and thanks Karma for helping with it.

Chips Lovell

Karma wrote: »

...i got to see some mental stuff, as 3/5 guys racing over a 1 way bridge against traffic onto the north quays and most of them crashed into each other and other cyclists on the quay, no control...

...I get fed up the messengers always protrayed in this underground/reckless light...

I think I've spotted the problem.

blorg

Is Tiny allowed enter these things? On the other hand I know there is at least one messenger in our ("roadie") club

ROK ON

A bit ff topic, but I have seen a courier recently in full lycra plus helmet, cycling a nice looking Lapierre.
Is this accetable to the courier community: I would have thought that this guy was way too Euro.

petethedrummer

Stick a hi-vis vest on the non-couriers, with 'non-courier' printed on the back. The other contenders will know to be wary and if they become roadkill everyone will know they weren't a courier.

TinyExplosions

blorg wrote: »

Is Tiny allowed enter these things? On the other hand I know there is at least one messenger in our ("roadie") club

I'm afraid I have a dirty little secret from my past Blorg... I used to work on the bikes in Cork

blorg

TinyExplosions wrote: »

I'm afraid I have a dirty little secret from my past Blorg... I used to work on the bikes in Cork

In the Scottish sense?

Karma

el tonto wrote: »

I think I've spotted the problem.

they weren't couriers. they are/were now after that.:rolleyes: one travelled across the 2 lanes without touching the road. another lucky escape...


look, all i am saying is that the original idea was a simple one. a race for messengers/couriers. things change and yes there are good cyclists(i mean those who can fly thru traffic and not cause a problem) who are not messengers and are better than the bad messengers. yes i am concerned about who races, more from a safety issue than elitism(i am not fast at all:p) and the "what if something happens", if a 16 year old enters a race, crashes/gets hit and turns out he was drinking at this event...bet his folks would be ok with it. and joe duffy starts again...:rolleyes:


i dont race now as i dont have a brake and so would not be in complete control in a race.

just a point on all cyclists, very rare that you hear of something good about a cyclist in traffic, we are always seen in a bad light. even by ourselves. so off to le hogans for the carlsberg soup...

and always ride safe.