The rules for the 2008 British National Point Series (NPS) races are now out and it looks like there are some not insignificant changes in licences and entry rules. In prior years, I have raced in the Sport class, which was for those aged 19 and upwards, based on ability. Above Sport were Expert and then Elite. In addition, there were the aged based categories of Masters (from age 30) and Veterans for the next age group above that.
However, many racers who were eligible for Masters (in age terms) raced in Expert or Sport. Not any longer. As a result of my 30th birthday approaching fast, I can't choose my category any more for 2008, unless I request so especially, but will be automatically upgraded to Masters. Sport do 3 laps at the NPS, while Masters do 4 (the same as Expert) and Masters racers tend to be quite a bit faster than Sport, at least at the front of the grid. It looks like I'm going to need a lot more training to be able to even hide in the middle of the pack this year!
The other interesting impact of the rule changes should be fewer people changing category/in the wrong category, or trophy-hunting by dropping down a class from perhaps where they 'should' be. Apparently you will only be able to ride in your particular BC licence class unless you have requested an exemption in advance.
However, there is some good news in my quest to not be embarrassingly slow in 2008. I've shed another 64g from my Inbred courtesy of some On-One 'clever cam' skewers, which cost me a mere £7.35 including postage and packaging! At only 101g, and looking very similar to the Mavic composite levers, I'm very happy so far. If they perform as well as my 1993 Shimano ones have over the years, but with a weight advantage, they will be a good buy. The Inbred still weighs around 11.63kgs (25.6lbs) even now but then it has never had serious money thrown at it. For a (relatively) cheap build, the weight is good, and I love that it is almost certainly unique in its current specification.
Thursday, 21 February 2008
Saturday, 9 February 2008
Wasted rides and wheel tape
Looking out of the window this morning to see clear blue skies and sunshine, it was definitely time to get out on the bike, only for me to get two minutes down the road and experience some distinctly soggy handling, courtesy of a front wheel puncture.
No problem, I thought, having been a sensible boy and packed a spare tube, tyre lever and pump as usual. One quick (-ish) tube change later and I was on my way. With warm sunshine and no breeze, riding conditions were perfect, and I was soon at Richmond Park, looking forward to a couple of laps at speed, and hopefully no crashes this time. After around half a lap, I hit a right-hander at speed, and cranked the bike over to get some more cornering practice in, only to hear a horrible sound of air escaping a few seconds later. *Another* front wheel puncture :(
With only an already punctured inner tube, no CO2 and sealant canister and no money with me, it was time to walk home, which I knew would take me the best part of 2 hours. Oh well. At least it wasn't raining.....
That's 3 front wheel punctures in the last few months, but I never seem to find thorns, glass or nails in the tyre, and they are not snakebite punctures caused by too low pressure either. I think it is time to bin my rim tape and try some electrical tape instead, as the rim tape keeps moving and I suspect it is the tube hitting the spokes/valve hole which keeps causing the punctures. I really must go tubeless soon....
In other MTB news, while the British NPS XC race list has now been finalised, the licence requirements (or lack thereof) have not been clarified yet, and I'm waiting to see what licence level if any will be required before I renew my British Cycling membership. A number of people seem to think it will cost them lots of money to get a licence, but I suspect and hope that the Bronze membership, costing £13 including a free Provisional Racing Licence, will be sufficient to race the NPS this year. With only one of the rounds having UCI points this year, it will be interesting to see if all the UK-based riders do every race, or if they go chasing points in the rest of Europe, and how many overseas riders race over here.
As excited as I am about doing more 24 hour team racing in the UK this summer, in the long term I hope we can do some events in the rest of Europe too. After looking at a number of races listed here, it seems that many of the events have very short lap distances, seemingly in a very compact area, with the winning teams completing 60 or 70-odd laps in 24 hours, compared to say 48 laps from team Giant at Mountain Mayhem 2006. The courses don't look particularly interesting either, at least from the YouTube footage I've seen. I'll keep looking as I'm sure there are events with longer lap times (and hence less chance to get bored) and more interesting terrain out there.
No problem, I thought, having been a sensible boy and packed a spare tube, tyre lever and pump as usual. One quick (-ish) tube change later and I was on my way. With warm sunshine and no breeze, riding conditions were perfect, and I was soon at Richmond Park, looking forward to a couple of laps at speed, and hopefully no crashes this time. After around half a lap, I hit a right-hander at speed, and cranked the bike over to get some more cornering practice in, only to hear a horrible sound of air escaping a few seconds later. *Another* front wheel puncture :(
With only an already punctured inner tube, no CO2 and sealant canister and no money with me, it was time to walk home, which I knew would take me the best part of 2 hours. Oh well. At least it wasn't raining.....
That's 3 front wheel punctures in the last few months, but I never seem to find thorns, glass or nails in the tyre, and they are not snakebite punctures caused by too low pressure either. I think it is time to bin my rim tape and try some electrical tape instead, as the rim tape keeps moving and I suspect it is the tube hitting the spokes/valve hole which keeps causing the punctures. I really must go tubeless soon....
In other MTB news, while the British NPS XC race list has now been finalised, the licence requirements (or lack thereof) have not been clarified yet, and I'm waiting to see what licence level if any will be required before I renew my British Cycling membership. A number of people seem to think it will cost them lots of money to get a licence, but I suspect and hope that the Bronze membership, costing £13 including a free Provisional Racing Licence, will be sufficient to race the NPS this year. With only one of the rounds having UCI points this year, it will be interesting to see if all the UK-based riders do every race, or if they go chasing points in the rest of Europe, and how many overseas riders race over here.
As excited as I am about doing more 24 hour team racing in the UK this summer, in the long term I hope we can do some events in the rest of Europe too. After looking at a number of races listed here, it seems that many of the events have very short lap distances, seemingly in a very compact area, with the winning teams completing 60 or 70-odd laps in 24 hours, compared to say 48 laps from team Giant at Mountain Mayhem 2006. The courses don't look particularly interesting either, at least from the YouTube footage I've seen. I'll keep looking as I'm sure there are events with longer lap times (and hence less chance to get bored) and more interesting terrain out there.
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