Saturday 26th May - Go Ride at Stocks Green

The combination of the school holidays and the summer term led me to believe we'd be low on numbers today; eighteen riders signed on, so low by recent standards but a lovely number to work with, including a few new starters.

If the summer term means one thing it means the opportunity to try out some track style riding and racing.  After some clock style sprints on the track to get everyone warmed up, we split into two groups and headed off to our own respective grass tracks.  Working on the grass is a great introduction to the discipline of track riding but with less of the risks.  Observation and awareness of other riders are key skills to master for track riding along with following other riders and moving around in a group and on the track.  We had plenty of time to practise this before moving onto some racing.

Ella and Charlie go head to head in the last lap of The Devil.  

The Elimination race or 'Devil' as it's commonly known requires riders to use their skill and judgement to ensure they are not last across the line.  We opted to eliminate one rider every other lap, down to the final two riders, who then sprinted for the line.  Charlie beat Ella on the final lap to take the win for Damian's group.

Finally we ran an Italian Pursuit race.  This time two teams ride against each other, starting on opposite sides of the track.  Riders work together in their team, peeling off after each lap until one rider is left from each team.

It wa great to see everyone enjoying the sunshine and some fun racing.  Well done to all our riders who worked hard on their skills and put them to good use on the race track.

Next Week our riders are invited to the Club Cluster at Cyclopark.  We'll be back at Stocks Green on 9th June.