Issue 09/10                                                                        March 11, 2009

UPCOMING EVENTS

March 15 - Hill Climb Series #3 - Fairmont Southampton - 8:30AM

March 22 - IBC Front Street Races - Hamilton - 8:00AM

March 29 - Capital G Time Trial Series - Shelly Bay - 7:30AM

April 5 - Road Race Series #2 - Southside - 8:30AM

April 7 - Mid Week Training Crit - Morgan's Point - 6:30PM

April 12 - Capital G Time Trial Series - Harrington Sound - 7:30AM

April 14 - Mid Week Training Crit - Morgan's Point - 6:30PM

CYCLING NEWS

2009 MEMBERSHIP

Road racing season is here and you need to be a paid up member to race.  Time to renew your membership for 2009.  Fees are remaining at a modest $20 per individual adult or $10 for juniors.  Family membership  (includes all household members) is merely $30.  If you became a member as part of a bike purchase in 2008 then the free ride is over.  The form can be downloaded here or you can get one at Winners Edge, Sportseller or Bicycle Works where completed forms can be put in the BBA drop boxes.

CAPITAL G RETURNS AS SPONSOR OF TIME TRIAL SERIES

Capital G has generously agreed to sponsor the time trial series again in 2009.  The series will include 9 events over three courses.  Racers will have three opportunities during the year to set a best time on each course and the cumulative time of these will determine the overall winner.  Not only is Capital G providing sponsorship but we also get the skills of John Whale as the coordinator.  The first event in the series is March 29th on the "short" course starting at Shelly Bay Marketplace at 7:30AM.

SHARE THE ROAD, FOLLOW THE RULES

OK, time for a little rant.

We've all had that moment when we are nearly (or actually) run off the road by some mindless driver who thinks that getting to Southampton 2 minutes sooner is going to make a difference.  So many times we see cars, trucks and motor bikes taking huge risks and breaking the road laws.  And we always think, mutter or yell some thought that maybe they should follow the rules of the road.

Now let's put the shoe on the other foot.  It is against the rules of the road to go through a red light.  Simple.  The rule applies to cars and bicycles equally.  If you want equal treatment then follow the rules of the road.  Also, failure to obey traffic lights, especially when motorists have stopped, does more to hurt the image of cyclists as co-owners of Bermuda's roads.

I was reminded of this by a former BBA President who spends a good part of the day rolling around the island's roads in a motorized vehicle.   He sees people doing this and is probably more sympathetic to the interests of cyclists than the average driver.  His suggestion is to make a contest out of the interruption and offered the following:

"All cyclists as a pack should attempt to stand still at the traffic light until it changes - and I mean and say "stand still on the pedals - not a foot on the ground - train and acquire the discipline, if one falls on its a$$ well he/her will learn quickly! When the light changes to green - consider it as a start gun and race to the next bus stop - that will be an effort and certainly a challenge for improving skills."

You are individually responsible for your relationship with the law but your failure to follow the rules has an impact on the rest of the cycling community.

Time for decaf!

RACING MATTERS

IBC FRONT STREET RACES, SIGN UP OR VOLUNTEER (please)

The season opening IBC Front Street Races are just around the corner and you need to register in advance for the race.   The registration form is below as well as the entry form for the pee-wee races.  Once again this will be an awesome race for all levels of participants.  The schedule for the day will be:

8:20AM - Junior B, Junior C, Social start

9:00AM - Pee-Wee 6's & 7's

9:20AM - Pee-Wee 4's & under and 5's

9:45AM - Pee-Wee 8's

10:15AM - Junior A, Male B, Female B start

11:00AM - Male A, Female A start

Race director Martin Bolton has sent this request for assistance.

Jeff are still looking for help with the IBC races – please volunteer before we start calling you directly. We need marshals, finish line crew, lap counters, people to assist with late number pick up for the PeeWee races. Please email us at martin@transact.bm or jeff@conrads.bm

Registration Form(Adult and Junior)

Pee-Wee Entry Form

RACE DIRECTORS - SIGN UP OR GET SIGNED UP

You can either pick your date to help direct one of the races or be told which one you are responsible for.  Jeff Amaral commented:

"Email me with your preferred date.  If you have already signed up then please encourage others to do so.  Next week I will be taking all names and placing them on the schedule where there is a blank.  It will then be your responsibility to find a replacement f the date you are given does not work for you."

2009 RACING CALENDAR - IT'S HERE!!!

The Racing Committee has produced a guideline for the road race season that deals with points series, categories, distances and all sorts of wonderful tidbits.  You can read it all here.   Questions?  Contact Jeff (jeff@conrads.bm), Martin (martin@transact.bm) or Duncan (duncansimons@gmail.com).

2009 RACE SEASON GUIDE

2009 RACE CALENDAR

NEW - 2009 SERIES PRE-PAY REGISTRATION FORM

JUNIOR GEARING  - 2009

Junior gearing is a topic that is widely endorsed by cycling federations around the world and the BBA executive has concluded a look at our regulations relative to those of many of the leading cycling nations.  At it's essence, by restricting the size of gearing permitted to be employed by younger riders they do not overly tax their growing bodies.  Our review looked at many standards , including those of Australia, Great Britain, Canada, USA and the Caribbean counties.  We have concluded that we will amend out standards to be consistent with our regional cycling body (Caribbean Cycling Federation) as follows:

Riders 17 & 18 years of age: maximum roll out distance of 7.93 metres

Riders under 17 years of age: maximum roll out distance of 7.4 metres

Below you will find a document explaining this in greater detail and providing guidelines for gear ratios.

Junior gearing restrictions will be enforced through the race season starting with the IBC Front Street Race.  We have four individuals who will help us with this process during the year and they will make sure that all riders are in compliance and do so in a supportive manner.

We will allow gears to be blocked during competition but the option of using a different cassette and chain ring is the most effective way to be compliant and utilize that range of functional gears on your bike.  For this you should chat with your favorite local bike shop.

If you have any questions on this then please contact Jeff Amaral (jeff@conrads.bm).

Junior Gearing Guideline

2009 RACE CATEGORIES, A BIT OF INSIGHT

If you are wondering where you should race this year in the modified categories, don't be afraid.  More than one person has sat alone in the dark of night wondering if they are an A or B, Junior or Adult, Male or Female.  We've taken an informal poll of some well-known riders who have agreed to have their category selection revealed.  Hopefully this will help you make up your mind:

Male A: Martin Bolton, Jeff Amaral, Darren Glasford, Neil de st Croix, Arthur Pitcher, Chris Faria, Charles Dunstan, Grant Goudge, Garth Thomson, Ian Port, Greg Reid, Peter Dunne, Mark Lombardi

Female A: Kim Naude, Dee Thomson, Karen Bordage, Karen Smith

Male B: Nigel Godfrey, Arthur Glasford, Spike Tomlinson, Jason Piney

Female B: Hayley Evans, Clair de st Croix

Junior A:Mark Godfrey, Dominique Mayho, Izabella Arnold, Sophie Adams

Junior B: Daniel Oatley, Christian Oatley, Daniel Hetzel, Molly Pilgrim

Junior C: Jessie Godfrey, Max de st Croix, Cameron de st Croix

Social: ?

Parents, the race committee has provided a bit of background on the junior categories and this document is below:

Junior Categories Letter

HUBBARD STILL KING (BUT DON'T TELL HIM)

EH is still beating everyone to the top of the hills and this Sunday is the final event of the pre-season warm up.  Even if you have missed one or two of the early climbs you can still participate and try to be the record that Mr. Hubbard set more than a few years ago.  Congrat to those who braved the longer Harrington Hundreds course last week.  Full details are below as well as the series standings.

Harrington Hundreds Results

Cumulative Results (Race 1 & 2)

Picture of the week

Not sure what to say about this.  High marks for ingenuity?  Nice trousers?  Lovely potted plants?  What is mom doing with that frying pan?

If you want to submit a picture or two for the next newsletter then please forward the image to newsletter@bermudabicycle.org.