What do I need to go racing....

[Sharpy]

Right, alongside my aspirations for global triathlon domination I also want to do some road racing... However I am not sure what I need to go racing.

And before you all start I have a bike etc...

This is more about licences, membership etc. Also Clifton is not on the club list with British Cycling so how do we go about getting "free" bronze membership?

Ta muchly

Sharpy

[PhilBixby]

We must have temporarily dropped off BC's affiliated list due to late payment of fees or something - give it a week or two and we should be on there. Clifton is a BC affiliated club, and you will therefore be able to get free Bronze or discounted Silver membership. Assuming you're taking it seriously it's worth getting Silver membership and a full race licence (£30?) rather than provisional.

Other than that, talk to people on the Saturday rides and they should be able to give you a run through how categories work, how to enter races etc. Of course, that's assuming they can talk...

[Cyan Skymoos]

I might be wrong, but I think BC silver membership and licence is about £70. Race entry fees are usually between £15 and £20, so it isn't cheap.
BC races have a category system which some people like. You start at 4th cat, but quickly go through the ranks if you've been doing the saturday training rides all winter.

[PhilBixby]

Sorry - poorly worded response from me. Race licence is about thirty and Silver membership about forty, with the "first-timer" discount knocking it back down to about sixty. Out of interest, how do RR entry costs compare with Tri events?

[Sharpy]

Race entries to Tri are £30-£300+ depending on the race... It can be a bit bonkers, most the race I enter are £50-£120 ish.

How do the day licences work? If I do a few races in them (I know I wont accumulate points) but can I race that way a bit to get a feel for it or is it easier just to a full one?

Cheers for the responses

Sharpy

[AndyM]

Costs of day licenses are broken down at the link here: http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/road/a ... ---Track-0

So basically whether it's worthwhile depends on what level membership you pay for, and what classification of event you enter.

[Samuelgm]

Hey Guys,

Are we obliged to wear team kit at races? Not to say I don't want to ride under Clifton of course! But any idea how it works for unattached riders? The BC rulebook seems to have the same amount of clarity as any other federation rulebook...

[mart66]

One of the few questions I can answer as I asked the same around this time last year:

4th Cat - wear what you like;
3rd Cat and above - must wear the latest Clifton kit.

[Samuelgm]

Thanks for that! Out of interest again, would wearing Clifton jersey + Plain black shorts be ok? I'm trying to stop the constant hammering on my student account

[PhilBixby]

Yup, jersey counts as "kit"

[mart66]

If you're a 3rd cat entering 3/4 cat races I can't imagine it'll be checked. Better to play it safe though I suppose.

Just to check on this, Phil: do you only need to have a clifton jersey/gilet and can then wear other shorts?

[PhilBixby]

To be honest I've never heard of anyone having any problems recently, but club jersey and plain shorts (for 3rd cat) really should be fine.

[Sharpy]

I guess the challenge with the kit is that most clubs will do as Clifton do and have a couple of orders a year, so if you miss them and want to race it would be harsh to be excluded?

[like my bike]

Club kit is not just for racing, if you buy a jersey it will last a long time and you can wear it all summer...racing...training...club rides