THIRD PARTY INSURANCE
All Members taking part in competitions or touring activities are requested for their own financial security and that
of their fellow club members, to obtain adequate third party insurance cover through the CTC or British Cycling or other personal
arrangements.
ACTIVITIES
The activities of the Club can be broadly grouped under three headings; competitions, touring and social.
(1)
COMPETITIONS
Competitions fall into five distinct categories: Road Time Trials, Road Racing, Track Racing, Cyclo-Cross Racing and
Mountain Bike Racing
(i) Road Time Trials
Road Time Trials are held on open public highways under the Rules and Regulations of CYCLING TIME TRIALS, an incorporated company limited by guarantee, which is the national governing body for cycling time trials.
Riders start individually, normally at minute intervals, and race against the clock. The rider with the fastest time
is the Winner.
Recognised distances are 10, 25, 30, 50 and 100 miles. All time trial events are held on courses approved by Cycling
Time Trials (CTT) and the Police have to be notified in advance of each event.
(ii)
Road Racing
Cycling Road Races are held under the Rules and Regulations of the BRITISH CYCLING, which is the operating name of
British Cycling Federation.
Cycle Road Racing, originally known as “Massed Start Racing” can be held either on open public highways
or on closed circuits. Riders usually start together, but handicap starts often
feature in circuit events. The first rider home is the Winner. Specific Police
permission and assistance is required for all events held on open public highways.
(iii)
Track Racing
Track Race Meetings are held under the Rules and Regulations of British Cycling.
Track races can be held either on Hard Tracks, specifically constructed for the purpose, or Grass Tracks, but both
are subject to the British Cycling Rules.
Track events are many and varied including Sprints, Time Trials, Pursuits and Madisons. The nearest hard track is at the Mountbatten Centre, Portsmouth.
(iv) Cyclo-Cross
Racing
Cyclo-Cross Races are held under the Rules and Regulations of the British Cyclo-Cross Association (BCCA).
Cyclo-Cross Races are held on rough tracks and across fields as a cross country race on a closed circuit.
Riders all start together, as for road races, and the first home is the Winner.
(v)
Mountain Bike Racing
Mountain Bike Races are held under the Rules and Regulations of the British Mountain Bike Federation (BMBF).
Mountain Bike (MTB) Races are held off-road on closed circuits.
There are several categories of races including downhill and massed start events.
MTB Race Promoters arrange meetings with events for each category of rider eg; Elite, Master, Experts, Youth, Juniors,
Veterans, Women and Fun.
Most cycling clubs tend to focus on one of the five categories of racing described above and this will vary with the
shift in membership. At present, the Bognor Regis Cycling Club is predominantly
a Time Trial club and this year will see the promotion of four Open Time Trials plus over twenty Club Events.
This has not always been the case. In the 1950s the Club was prominent in Track Racing. Mick Hasler, was National Junior Track Champion in 1952. The
1970s saw a growing interest in Road Racing and the introduction of the Annual Kermesse on the Eastern Esplanade. This was dropped in 1982 due to a change in the demand by the members. There was a renewed interest in
2002 when Sophie Terry was the under 10 years Criterium Champion and the Girls under 12 National Circuit Race Series Champion.
Liam Terry was Junior Divisional Circuit Race Champion and Gyles Wingate was Youth Divisional Circuit Race Champion.
In 1999, the Club won the Team Award in the Cycling Time Trials National 24 Hour Championship with Paul Cribb, Trevor
Rush and David Palmer recording an aggregate distance of 1,125.801 miles.
With limited resources, the Club needs to be flexible in organising the right type of event to meet the needs of its
current members.
(2). TOURING
Touring falls into three main categories;
(i) Club Runs
Regular club runs are held most Sunday mornings. The usual meeting place
is at The Royal Oak Public House, North Bersted at 9.00am. Members who wish to
enjoy a cycle ride in the company of other club members turn up on the day and the route is decided by the Club Runs Leader.
There is an annual one-day tour of the Isle of Wight normally held in May and there are other occasional special rides
on Sundays.
Potential new members are always welcome to join the club runs and further details can be obtained from the Club Runs
Leader or the Assistant Club Runs Leader.
(ii) Audax Rides
For the more experienced and dedicated cyclist, there are Audax or Randonnee Events. These events differ from normal
club runs in that they are more organised. There is a planned route and riders
are timed through a number of control points.
Riders are issued with a route/record card (or brevet card) which gives the control points through which riders have
to go within a set time zone. Riders leave at a specified time and have to get
back to the start before the finish time of the event.
The idea of AUDAX originated in Italy in1897 when cyclists had to cycle 200 kilometres in 14 hours, which was approximately
the time between sunrise and sunset.
British interest in Audax Events was generated in the 1970s by long distance cyclists who wanted to ride the challenging
Paris-Brest-Paris 1200km Randonnee (PBP). In order to qualify for this event,
cyclists had to ride a 600km randonnee in 40 hours. Audax UK was founded in 1976
and instituted a 600km randonnee, the Windsor-Chester-Windsor (WCW) as a qualifying
event for the PBP. Audax UK then drew up suitable rules and regulations to ensure
their rides comply with Audax Club Parisien (ACP) who organise the PBP.
This branch of the sport has grown rapidly in recent years and there is now an extensive calendar of Audax events
run under the conditions set down by Audax UK which is recognised as the overall organising body. Audax UK Rides now range from the 50km Brevet Populaire to the 540km Peneperiphery.
There are several local Audax-Randonne departing from Denmead.
The Club promotes a 70km Randonee to mark the annual anniversary of the founding of the Club. This is known as the
“John Pilbeam Memorial Randonee” and is held in April each year.
(iii) Sportive Cycle Events
Cyclo-Sportives are mass-participation, semi-competitive events over challenging terrain.
The best known is the Etape du Tour which gives cyclists the chance to test themselves on the actual route of one
of the mountain stages of the Tour de France.
There are several other well known Sportives on the Continent including the UCI Golden Bike Cyclo-Sportives offering the Tour of Flanders; Amstel Gold; Gran Fond Gimondi;
Ariegeoise; Quebrantahuesos; Rothaus Riderman;
Cyclo Sportive events represent the fastest growing category of organised cycling in the United Kingdom. The best known ones include; The Dragon Ride, Bike Wales
and the Autumn Epic in Wales; Etape du Dales and the Yorkshire Tour Ride
in the Yorkshire Dales: The Fred Whitton Challenge in the Lake District; The Polka Dot Challenge in the Peak District and the Tour of the Cotswolds.
Local Cyclo Sportive Events include the Willier South Downs Sportive, the Willier New Forest Sportive, the Southern
Sportive, Tour of the Surrey Hills, the Circuit of Kent and a three day Tour of Wessex.
With the sudden explosion of interest in Cyclo-Sportives in the UK, it is likely that many more events will appear
on the calendar
(3)
SOCIAL ACTIVITIES
Club Members meet every Tuesday evening at St. Ninian’s Church Hall, Pagham Road, Nyetimber, from 8.30pm to 10.00pm.
(4) ANNUAL LUNCHEON AND PRIZE PRESENTATION
The Club holds an Annual Luncheon & Prize Presentation in November.
