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Following
are some general points about clubs and teams. Many riders recommend
being a member of a club but there are many riders who are BCF
private members and race in plain jerseys. You can do both of
course as many clubs will have special memberships for those that
want to be a member but still ride as a private member, or perhaps
as a sponsored rider with another team.
Like
with any sport, there are good and bad clubs. Ones where you will
get along with the other riders and others where you will not.
Over time, you will get to know the riders and learn which club
is suitable for you. Being part of a club/team has many advantages
with training and racing and learning the ropes. You can read
all you want, but experience is what counts!
Where do you go to learn about clubs? Ask prospective
clubs what type of races they mainly ride. Many clubs will concentrate
on time trialing while others will do road racing or both. If
you want to road race and the club is mainly involved in time
trialing, they may not be that helpful to you.
Find out if the club you want to
join can offer you coaching about training, race tactics and so
on. Some clubs have training evenings.
If
you want to ride as a sponsored rider outside of a club, the sponsor
needs to be registered with the British Cycling which allows you
to place the sponsors name on your clothing for racing. You can
however train in such clothing without it being registered with
the British Cycling.
Clubs affiliated
to British Cycling are organised in geographic divisions,
the boundaries of which are detailed below. These links produce
specific pages from the BCF site from whom we appreciate the assistance.
Racing
Circuits
Many races in this country are held
on purpose built cycle circuits, or on roads not open to cars
and other road going traffic (such as on Motor Racing circuits).
Circuit racing is an ideal way to start racing. Following
is a list of circuits in the UK.
Hillingdon
- West London
Milton Keynes Bowl - OFF THE M1
BARNSFIELD HEATH circuit
Eastway Cycle Circuit - North
East London
Thruxton Motor Racing Circuit
Mallory Park
(Leicestershire-Nr Kirkby):
Goodwood (Southern England)
Castle Combe (South West England)
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