by PhilBixby
Thu Jan 27, 2011 8:50 pm
As Darren says, you can start off riding with an older age group in LVRC events if you want to "find your feet" a bit. Having said that, as Muzzy has noted, LVRC races don't feel a lot slower as you work up through the age groups - my passage from 40-49 to 50-59 was distressingly Not Much Easier.
I'd still reckon LVRC races are fairly "newbie-friendly" though. They're no slower than 3rds/4ths BC races, but they are generally safer due to better riding skills, smaller groups (generally a bunch of 30-40 rather than 60+ in BC races), they're usually less stop/start, and friendlier. Part of that's down to the same faces sticking around, which isn't so much the case with BC and people heading off up the categories to stardom. Given that everyone ages at the same rate, start at 40 and you'll be seeing a few of those fellas in your age group for a long time to come. There's pluses and minuses to that, of course.
Pretty much anything on the LVRC calendar would be a good first race - with the possible exception of any which are part of the Percy Stallard series (you'll get a load of fast blokes turning up) or anything which the LVRC race calendar lists as "Hilly" unless you really like hills. Persistence is the name of the game; you may well get dropped in your first race - I know I did - but keep at it and you'll be increasingly competitive. Learn, and enjoy!
I'd still reckon LVRC races are fairly "newbie-friendly" though. They're no slower than 3rds/4ths BC races, but they are generally safer due to better riding skills, smaller groups (generally a bunch of 30-40 rather than 60+ in BC races), they're usually less stop/start, and friendlier. Part of that's down to the same faces sticking around, which isn't so much the case with BC and people heading off up the categories to stardom. Given that everyone ages at the same rate, start at 40 and you'll be seeing a few of those fellas in your age group for a long time to come. There's pluses and minuses to that, of course.
Pretty much anything on the LVRC calendar would be a good first race - with the possible exception of any which are part of the Percy Stallard series (you'll get a load of fast blokes turning up) or anything which the LVRC race calendar lists as "Hilly" unless you really like hills. Persistence is the name of the game; you may well get dropped in your first race - I know I did - but keep at it and you'll be increasingly competitive. Learn, and enjoy!