Drumlanrig Root Rats Coaching Thursday 26th November

Our second floodlit coaching session takes place this Thursday at Drumlanrig from 7pm to 8:30pm. Following on from the brilliant session that we had two weeks ago, we'll be continuing on the theme of cyclocross with help from Richard Lord of Scottish Cycling. Everyone is welcome.

Well done to everyone who entered the race last Saturday - a full set of results is available on the blog at www.rootrats.blogspot.com . The Drumlanrig highlight of an excellent days racing has to be Cameron Scott's victory in the U12 age group. The next race in the series is at Heathall on the 12th December - more details can be found on the blog.

Drumlanrig Youth Cyclocross Race Results

Here are the results and a few photographs from today's race. Well done to everyone who participated in this second round of the South of Scotland Youth Cyclocross Series at Drumlanrig Castle and thanks to Rik's Bike Shed for sponsoring the race. The weather was kind to the Under 8 racers, but deteriorated from there on for the remainder of the 30 race entrants with heavy rain for the last race of the day making for some memorable "cyclocross" conditions.

Don't forget that the next race of the series will be hosted by the Stepping Stanes in Dumfries on the 12th December.

Under 8 Boys (10min + 1lap):
1st Calum Johnson 5 laps
2nd Callum Reid 5 laps
3rd Jamie Magowan 4 laps

Under 8 girls (10min + 1 lap):
1st Kirsty Reid 1 Lap

Under 10 boys (10min + 1 lap):
1st Tom Aitkin 6 laps
2nd Ewan Mackay 6 laps
3rd Cameron Mason 6 laps
4th William Macartney 5 laps

Under 12 Boys (15min + 1 lap):
1st Cameron Scott 8 laps
2nd Jamie Mason 7 laps

Under 12 Girls (15min + 1 lap):
1st Erika Allen 8 laps
2nd Katherine Malone 6 laps
3rd Katie Allen 6 laps
4th Lizzie McCreadie 6 laps

Under 14 boys (25min + 1 lap):
1st Morgan McConnel 8 laps (Would have been 3rd overall)
2nd Calum Magowan 8 laps
3rd Adam Hughes 8 laps
4th Sean Noon 7 laps
5th Hamish McCreadie 6 laps
6th Ben Forsyth 6 laps
7th Rory Perkins 6 laps

Under 14 Girls (25 min + 1 lap):
1st Jenna Fenwick 7 laps

Under 16 boys (25min + 1 lap):
1st Scott Lindsey 8 laps
2nd Stuart McCluskey 8 laps
3rd Craig Owen 8 laps
4th Ewan Jenkins 8 laps
5th Jordan Crawford 6 laps
6th Daniel Wright 6 laps
DNF Ross Green
DNF Tom Arnstein

Latest News on Drumlanrig Youth Cyclocross Race

Good news - everything is in place for tomorrows U16 cyclocross race at Drumlanrig. The course was set up this afternoon and it is in good shape. Although there has been a lot of rain recently, the ground is still pretty firm. The picture to the left shows the course at the Chimes where the U8/U10/U12 loop splits off from the longer U14/U16 loop.

Drumlanrig Youth Cyclocross Race Day - 21st Novermber

This is a final reminder that Saturday is race day at Drumlanrig. Please come along and give it a go - entries on the day are welcome and sign on starts at 10:00. With 70 entrants of all ages and abilities having taken part in the first race run last Saturday by Peebles CC, this second race of the South of Scotland Youth Cyclocross series promises to be hotly contended. Although the race is part of a series, riders are welcome to come along to just the Drumlanrig race. See the South of Scotland Youth Cyclocross series entry at on this blog for full details. (Picture shows Drumlanrig's Jamie Willoughby leading the U12 SCX race at Auchentoshen on the 18th October).

Drumlanrig Youth Cyclocross Race Route

Here is a map of the race route that will be used for the Drumlanrig round of the South of Scotland Youth Cyclocross series. For those familar with Drumlanrig, the start line is at the top of the first forest road climb of the Drumlanrig Red Route. Rider access to the race from the car park is strictly via the forest road (just follow the Red Route (5) signs to the top of the first climb - this is about 500m. Riders must not ride on the footpath. The cours is not open to cycles until race day. Double-click on the map to view a larger version. The race runs anti-clockwise and the U8-U12 loop is about 600m, whilst the U14-U16 loop is just over 1100m. Both courses are rideable by both cyclocross and mountain bikes. Note that the first lap will start up the forest road. Please feel free to post a comment against this blog or get in touch with the race organiser if you have any questions.

If you are coming from afar and need directions, Drumlanrig is just off the A76 about three miles north of Thornhill. See http://www.drumlanrig.com/default.asp?PageId=46 for more details. Riks Bike Shed should be open on the day as will be the snack bar in the Castle Stableyard which serves amazing pasties.

Drumlanrig Root Rats Coaching Thursday 12th November

We are all set for our first ever floodlit coaching session at Drumlanrig from 1900 to 2030 next Thursday at Drumlanrig. This will be the first of a series of three fortnightly coaching sessions open to the U16 Yoofs group in anticipation of the South of Scotland Cyclocross league that is being run over the next couple of months. The coaching will be on a micro cyclocross course that we have developed at the Castle and Richard Lord from Scottish Cycling will be there to provide the his expertise and support. As we are coaching in otherwise pitch black conditions, riders will be asked to remain within our floodlit zone and it would be useful if those that have them could bring along a working set of lights. Please ensure too that riders wrap up warm including gloves and come with their bikes and helmets in full working order.

An interesting new course has been set for our round of the Youth Southern CX Series which is coming up on the 21st November and we are hoping that the club will be able to field a strong entry on the day. Michelle Clark, our treasurer is taking pre-entries and full details of the race together with an entry form can be found at http://rootrats.blogspot.com/2009/10/drumlanrig-round-of-south-of-scotland.html. Please get in touch if you have any questions about the race.

Finally last but not least, we are looking for volunteers to come forward to help out with the club. In particular, we are planning to run a Trail Cycle Leader training course in the near future and Scottish Cycling have just published their 2010 timetable of Level 1 and Level 2 coaching courses. Please get in touch by reply to this e-mail if you would like to find out more or put your name down for one of these courses. If you don't feel quite ready to get involved in this way, perhaps you could come along to our AGM to give us your support. The club AGM will be held in February.