Quick Start Go-Ride 15th March 2014

Another great session focused on manoeuvring our bikes.

We started off with a slalom and quickly had to make the positioning of the gates more challenging to put an end to the cries of “too easy”.  Some really tight turns had us thinking about speed and positioning and looking ahead to the next gate.

We then looked at cornering and the best line through a right angle corner; everyone seemed to enjoy the opportunity to draw on the playground with chalk and some great artwork helped us establish “the racing line”.  Then it was time to put that into practice, joining our three yellow “dots” - starting out wide, moving across to the inside to the apex of the corner and exiting the corner wide again; when it comes to cornering at higher speeds this line will really help you get through safely and quickly and is a key element of racing.

We finished with some “pin end” races, with pairs of riders racing around two cones.  The tight turns around the cones forced riders to think about adjusting their speed before the turn (other wise it was impossible to make the turn) and using all the available space (starting out wide and finishing the turn wide) to complete the course; remember racing is not all about going as fast as possible at all times; you have to adjust your speed to the conditions.  We also introduced the idea of keeping the inside pedal (ie the one closest to the cone) up when cornering to stop it scrapping on the ground and causing an accident and by the end of the session there was some very clear signs of improvement.

Well done to all riders; there was quite a lot of information to get to grips with in the session and you all did fantastically well and showed some great ability to control the direction of your bikes.

Some key points to consider:

·           Adjust your speed before you start turning

·           Look ‘through’ the corner to where you want the bike to go

·           Use the ‘racing line’ – wide-apex-wide

·           Keep your inside pedal up


Next week we are starting earlier than usual – sign on from 12.45 for a 1pm start (2pm finish) – this is because we having a Go-Ride racing session for our regular Go-Riders at 2pm; Quick Starters are more than welcome to stay on and take part in the Go-Ride racing if they wish to do so after our session has finished (or perhaps just stay and watch for a while so you can get an idea of what it’s all about – we will be having another Go-Ride racing session towards the end of April)