Drumlanrig Root Rats Coaching 2nd October

Just a quick note to remind everyone that the coaching is not on this week. We'll be in touch soon with details of the winter activities that the club will be running.

Some of you with better memories will recall that we were going to produce cycling water bottles with the club logo on them for the Root Rats - well, the good news is that they have arrived. Root Rats are invited to claim their water bottle by showing their club membership card to Rik or Ginny in the shop.

Drumlanrig Root Rats Coaching Thursday 24th September

The Sprogs coaching is on this week as usual, starting 17:15 and ending at 18:30. However, this will be the last evening of coaching for the Sprogs until further notice. We will be in touch in the near future with the winter events timetable for the club.

In the meantime, don't forget about the Dalbeattie Hard Rock Challenge, which is on on the 3rd (U16) and 4th October (Adult). More information can be found at http://www.dalbeattiehardrockchallenge.org/. There is also cyclo-cross racing on for under 16s this weekend with at Linwood the Johnstone Jets, see http://rootrats.blogspot.com/2009/09/johnstone-jets-cyclo-cross-27th.html for more details of this event.

Well done to everyone from the club who entered one of the SXC races at the Castle last Sunday and to the club members who braved it out in the woods with the midgies to do the marshalling. A brief summary of race results for the club is given on the blog at http://rootrats.blogspot.com/2009/09/drumlanrig-sxc-race-report-20th.html. If you have any additional information to add to this race report, or any photos that you'd like to put up on the blog, please e-mail them to me.

Drumlanrig SXC Race Report 20th September 2009

The senior races were conducted on a race course made up from established sections of the Drumlanrig red route joined by the new section of singletrack that was developed during our July trailbuilding sessions.

Jack Taylor was forced to retire from Youth the race with a snapped chain close to the end of his first lap. Frustratingly, this came when it seemed that he was set to achieve his best result of the season. Next off were the Veterans and the Drumlanrig Rik's Bike Shed team were represented by Graeme Scott and Richard Cantillon who finished 21st and 19th respectively. Next off was Cameron Scott in the Juvenile race. Cameron put in an excellent lap to finish in 18th place. Last off at 11am was Andrew Taylor in the two lap open race who finished in 18th place, a considerable improvement on his dismal 32nd at Aviemore two weeks ago.

The Primary Schools race was set on a new course running up the start of the blue route into the woods before descending down some singletrack to a tight grassy turn for the return loop. This made a fun but challenging course. Well done to all of the Root Rats who took part. First off were the P1-3's with Ariana Willoughby coming in 2nd in the girls race and Kyle Colchester 7th in the boys race. Having raced throughout the season, Ariana finished 3rd overall in the series. The next race to go was the P4&5 age group and the Root Rats were represented by Eloise Coombs, Glen Howat, Fergus Hiddleston and Jamie Willoughby who came in 3rd, 11th 8th and 2nd in their respective races. Equalling younger sister Ariana's performance of the season, Jamie finished 3rd overall in the series. Cameron Scott, who competed in the Juvenille race came 5th in the P6-7 boys series even though he didn't even enter the Drumlanrig race.

The last Drumlanrig Rik's Bike Shed team member of the day to race was Ewan Clark in the Junior category. Ewan had to win the race in order to claim the overall series title for the year and this was going to be a real challenge with an ever stronger Kenta Gallagher lining up on the start line as a Junior. After the fist lap, Kenta came through in the lead with Ewan close on his tail with no sign of series contender Jamie Maxwell. However, as the race progressed, Kenta consolidated his lead and eventually took the victory with Ewan finishing a strong second.

Johnstone Jets Cyclo Cross 27th September

Following the success of last year’s event the Johnstone Jets Youth Cycling Club are organising a fun cyclo-cross / mountain bike event at Linwood Sports Centre on Sunday 27th September 2009. The races will be open to club riders and newcomers alike and will incorporate an inter-schools competition for Renfrewshire school children. Bridge of Weir Primary School were the winners of last year’s competition.

Races will be run in different age categories and all you need to take part is your bike in safe working order and your helmet.

Date: Sunday 27th September 2009 Venue: Linwood Sports Centre, Brediland Road, Linwood, PA3 3RA

Riders must sign on no later than 30 mins before the start time for their respective race. However, please note that sign-on for the Youth A, B and Junior categories will close at 11:00am
Age categories: Under 8’s 10:30am Under 10’s 10:55am Under 12’s 11:20am Under 14 11:50am Under 16 and 18 12:30pm Entry Fee Entries received in advance £2.00 per rider Entries on the day £3.00 per rider To enter please complete the entry form on the http://www.johnstone-jets.org.uk/downloads/linwood-flyer-2009.pdf and return it to Kenny Steele before Friday 25th September or else enter on the day.

Drumlanrig Root Rats Coaching Thursday 17th September

The Sprogs coaching is on this week as usual, starting 17:15 and ending at 18:30. However for the Yoofs, the coaching will not be on on Thursdays from now on. This is due to the lack of light. We will be in touch in the near future to confirm arrangements for club activities from now until Christmas.

The Yoofs group have the opportunity to participate this weekend in the Scottish Cycling Drumlanrig Regional School of Racing. For more details see the club blog at http://rootrats.blogspot.com/2009/08/scottish-cycling-drumlanrig-rsr-19th.html. This is a great chance to receive coaching from some of the top coaches in the country and don't be put off if you are not interested in racing - RSRs are great fun for all.

Finally, don't forget that it is the SXC MTB race this Sunday at Drumlanrig. Tomorrow is the deadline for advance entries at entrycentral.com and from then on riders will need to enter on the day; Primary School races are entry on the day only. Not taking part? Then why not come along and watch the action. If you would be able to help out with the course marshalling, please get in touch with Rik on 01848 330 080. He is looking for marshals to help during race practice on Saturday (from 12am) and during the race on Sunday (from 9am), but any small amount of time that you spare to help would be greatly appreciated.

Drumlanrig Root Rats Coaching Thursday 10th September

Root Rats coaching continues this Thursday evening at Drumlanrig. It is business as usual for the Sprogs with a 17:15 start whereas once again the Yoofs start time has is at 18:30 with the session finishing at 20:00. Graeme Scott will be with the Yoofs this week and we will be taking a ride in the woods. Please remember to watch the weather and dress appropriately for the conditions. Please also remember to check the condition of bikes well in advance of the session to avoid valuable time being used at the start of the session to deal with problem bikes.

Don't forget that there are just two weeks to go until the Drumlanrig round of the SXC series. See www.sxc.org.uk for more details. Richard Lord has e-mailed to say that there are still places available for the Scottish Cycling Regional School of Racing at the Castle on the 19th September. The event is aimed at those riders aged 12 – 16yrs wanting to race the SXC at Drumlanrig on the Sunday. The aim of this session is to give our younger riders the edge over their competition. For any further questions or to book a place please email or call 07908 672652, or look at the entry on the club blog at http://rootrats.blogspot.com/2009/08/scottish-cycling-drumlanrig-rsr-19th.html. By the way, Rik is still keen to hear from anyone who would like to volunteer to help with marshalling of the SXC event on the 19th and / or 20th September. Give him a call on 01848 330080 if you can help out.

Finally, I am planning to change the timing of the Yoofs sessions again in the near future to accommodate the ever fading evening light, so please watch this space for further details.

Scottish Youth Criterium Championships

The Scottish Youth Criterium Road Race Championships were held at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow on the 22nd August 2009. Jamie Willoughby from Drumlanrig Root Rats took part in the 3 lap race for the Youth D Title. In the field of 13, Jamie got a flying start on the closed circuit around Bellahouston Park and kept the lead until just after the half way point, when Tom Mein from England, riding for Newcastle club Hetton Hawks, managed to overhaul him and go on to win. Jamie maintained second place to head the list of Scottish riders and be presented with his prize by Chris Hoy. Chris then signed Jamie's Drumlanrig Rik's Bike Shed racing shirt, and also his new Revolution Flyer 650mm road bike. The picture above shows Jamie leading the field and the picture below shows Sir Chris signing Jamie's bike after the event.

Drumlanrig Root Rats Coaching Thursday 3rd September

New start time of 18:30 for theYoofs!


Root Rats coaching continues this Thursday evening at Drumlanrig. It is business as usual for the Sprogs with a 17:15 start whereas the Yoofs start time has been moved to 18:30 with the session finishing at 20:00. This is to make the most of available light. This week, Richard Lord from Scottish Cycling will be joining the coaching team and we are aiming to do some skills specific to the SXC race route.

Remember it is race day on the 20th September, and Scottish Cycling are running a Regional School of Racing on the 19th, which should be of interest to all of the Yoofs. Please also don't forget to get in touch with Rik if you available to help with marshalling of the SXC course on the 19th or 20th of September. Marshalling is required for a few hours on the 19th, because the race has been classified as a UCI event in which riders compete for international ranking points.

Further to the above change of time for the Yoofs coaching session, we will only be able to run for short time before changing again. As a result, we are in the process of considering what to do for the winter and it would be helpful if you have any suggestions or views on the following options : (1) coaching sessions to every other Saturday; (2) one club event per month during the winter (3) evening coaching sessions every other week under floodlight.

Finally, I understand that there are still places available for this Saturdays Mini DH RSR at the awesome Freeride Park in Newmilns. It’s just £10 for the day and there will be plenty coaching before your timed runs to get your best effort on the board. For more details, see the entry on the clib blog at http://rootrats.blogspot.com/2009/08/scottish-cycling-coaching-events.html