Scottish champs course preview update No1

Please see our previous course preview here, the resufacing is done now and this is going to be a great event, the improvements in the surface are going to make a huge difference.


After a ride round the newly resurfaced circuit, we can safely say we're really looking forward to hosting the event, a special thanks must go to the people of Balfron & their community council, who have allowed us the opportunity to take the event into the town each lap, without their co-operation this really wouldn't be a possibility.

SPECTATOR VIEWING POINTS

There are also a number of prime viewing points we've identified on the circuit, bring some binoculars if you want to get the full benefit of these locations.
(See map below)

1. The short rise heading East up to Clayland farm also allows views over to the other side of the Endrick Valley where you can see what's happening on a couple of the 'stickier' sections of the race and then the resulting splits on the run into Balfron. We don't really want any cars parked here, so please use this location on your bike or park in a safe location off the road and walk to this point.
2. The climb to Dalfoil is where we reckon the main damage will be done, the gradient changes constantly here and finishes off with a drag of about 1km, spectators will see some action here for sure. There's also an area off the road where cars can be parked, which is right on the steepest section, a good location for those not on bikes. From the drag the opposite side of the circuit can also be seen in a few locations, again binoculars would be very beneficial here.
3. Balfron corner. This area should see a good amount of spectators, we'll have the lapboard here so you can check the progress of the event. Doyles cafe just 300m up the hill from the corner will be serving refreshments throughout the day and from there you'll be able to see live updates from our 'tweeters' on the circuit and hopefully some live telemetry from riders with mapmyride installed on their mobile devices. So you'll know when to go back down to the corner to view the race, Doyles will be our race hub during events and will also be where our podium presentations will be done post race. Other interest here will be provided by Solid Rock Cycles, Ridley Bikes & Optical Express who will be setting up outside Doyles. The other essential here is the proximity of the public toilets to this corner.

It's really important that spectators don't affect the race, as you know it's being held on open roads, with the race controlled by NEG moto riders under the guidance of race commissaires. Please follow all intructions issued by the moto riders and marshalls, groups of club riders going head-on towards a large bunch of racers isn't a cool thing to do, so please be aware that spectators need to help us make this a safe race. Please stop if you're told to and avoid riding at the race.

CHAMPIONSHIP PARTNERS

Providing race support will be Solid Rock Cycles, who will have vehicles in both races with superfast wheel changes by the shop mechanics.
Ridley Bikes will be providing the mens race winner with a special edition Scottish champions Ridley carbon frame, a sneek preview as seen below.

Optical Express will be at the event & supplying prizes with Adidas Eyewear on the day.
Balfron community have been instrumental in helping the event take place and have been involved since last year.
Community website.
Balfron history website.

More partners information to follow, if you're a potential race partner wanting to get involved in the champs, please let us know and we'll see if we can accomodate you in the event, there's still time.
Click here to email Vortex RT Event Organisers

DHL Meadowbank National Track League 19/04/11

The first track league of the year, held in unusually warm conditions for this time of year, with the Meadowbank black cloud moving elsewhere for the evening made this an excellent starter to the Scottish track season.
Vortex RT had three riders involved in the racing, comeback hardman Mark Colquhoun opting for the A's, then Scottish Vets champs Jeremy Greengrass & Colin Bark starting in the B's on the night. The 12 lap scratch for the A group was full of quality riders, a shock to the system as this was the first race of the season for some riders. The race was won by Martin Lonie of Dooleys RT.
The B 10 lap scratch was actually run at a faster pace than the the A race, with Bark & Nik Gowrie (Peebles CC) getting away early on, Bark then 'fluffed' a change as he thought the other riders were behind them and lost contact, Gowrie went on to win and a fast chasing Greengrass took 2nd place. This resulted in Gowrie and Greengrass being promoted to the A group for the rest of the evening.
Over to the devil take the hindmost events, first up the B's, Bark took the race from the front as riders were being eliminated, never leaving that position until 2 laps to go, then taking the win from Jonathon Cosh (Glasgow Wheelers). This Vortex rider taking his first win since 2006!
The A devil looked to be it's usual tactical self, with riders getting caught out at the back, the event was another win for Martin Lonie, on some fine early season form.
The final event our riders took part in was the 25 lap scratch, with all riders on the track, Greengrass made it to the finish with the lead group and took 5th place in the sprint.
A great evening's racing and fantastic to see Meadowbank still proving to be an excellent venue, there wasn't even much of a headwind on the back straight! Will be back next week, in greater numbers.

Full results and info here...
http://www.estpa.org.uk/mtl/index.html

Previous blog post here, plus how to get there....
http://vortex-rt.blogspot.com/2011/02/meadowbank-track-league.html

West of Scotland Grass Track league

After a long search for a suitable venue, involving members of several clubs, Glasgow Life & Scottish Cycling's Rab Wardell, we finally have a suitable venue for the Glasgow based grass track league.
The main purpose of the grass track league is a stepping stone towards training officials & encouraging participation for the new Glasgow Chris Hoy Velodrome in the East End, which is due for completion September/October next year. Learn the basics here!

The Venue
The racing will be held in Pollock Park from Monday 6th June @ 7pm. The park managers have agreed to cut the grass & mark out the course for us, all very encouraging. The area in which we'll be running the league has an incredibly flat lower level which will be ideal in dry weather & a good but maybe not so fast area close by, when we viewed this area it had been raining all morning and the area was dry, so there should be a place to run the events regardless.

Format
We envisage the league will run during the summer this year & next, the first 1 or 2 weeks will be classed as open training. Hopefully we'll have a number of volunteers come forward to train as starters, judges, timekeepers, bell ringers, lap boarders etc, plus we still need additional trainee track commissaires to come forward. Then we'll hopefully be in a position to run an indoor track league during the winter of 2012/2013 at the new velodrome.
All riders will be welcome, it's expected not everybody will have grass track bikes, but the condition of the surface should hopefully result in 'normal' track bike clearances being possible. If there's demand we could run some geared novice events.

Participation
This is really the unknown here, who would like to get involved as a rider, would be good to get the clubs & individuals to let us know what kind of interest and support the grass track league will have. Let me know at the email below.

Trainee Officials
We really need your help on this, the best venue cycling in Scotland will ever get is nearly upon us and volunteer officials are critical to it's success. You can be a valued part of this by getting involved now. See 'format' above for the list of ways in which you can help.

Get in touch.
Colin Bark ( WOSCA Track Secretary )
email: vortex.rt@gmail.com Email me


p.s. The next WOSCA meeting is on Monday 11th April @ 7:30pm in Bellahouston Bowling clubroom, next to the Bellahouston sports centre (opposite side from the bike track).
p.p.s. WOSCA stands for 'West of Scotland Cycling Association'

Scottish Road Race Championships 2011: Course Preview

Vortex Race Team are very proud to be hosting the championships in 2011, we're sure the riders will like the course we've got planned for them, based around the historic town of Balfron on the 'Endrick' circuit, which we don't think has been used for any events before. Part of it is ridden in the opposite direction for the 'Tour of the Campsies' classic time trial.
*UPDATE: COURSE HAS NOW BEEN RESURFACED BY STIRLING COUNCIL*
Circuit Start
At the start of the first lap we'll be rolling down the hill of Buchanan Street, past Dunmore Street, which will become a familiar left turn in Balfron town, there's a fast descent down to a sweeping left onto the Endrick Bridge within the first km on the A875, the road surface is good here. The course is based on the valley formed by the Endrick Water, so we'll be passing it again later.

Boquhan
As soon as we're over the Endrick Bridge, we start a on a deceptive bit of road, an incline leading up through the village of Boquhan, it will surely play a part later in the race, but possibly not noticed too much early on. The very left hand side has a lumpy road surface, the rest looks ok. The road rises for approx 1km to the first turn, a left onto the B818.

TURN 1
The road levels off a bit after the turn, still no steep gradients here, we're turning off the A875 & turning left onto the B818, heading towards Fintry, but you'll not be going that far. This corner has a particularly nasty surface on it, it needs a bit of work, but a good recon' and you'll have a decent line sorted out that isn't going to cause you any problems, we'll be going round the circuit closer to the event once the promised road work has been done and give you an up to date preview for those who can't visit the circuit. This turn is at 2.2km into the circuit.

Endrick Valley
This twisting and turning run along to turn two is approx 5km long, there's no hills to speak of, a couple of very short rises & ideal racing roads, we expect attacks to go here. There's only a few occasions where there's any more than 30 seconds sight up the road at race speed, usually much less. As for the surface, this is where we've been raising issues with the council, there's some dodgy bits of road, interspersed with some really good bits of surface, it won't be like this in May, so keep an eye on our website & twitter for news www.vortexraceteam.co.uk

TURN 2
This is another left off the B818 & onto an unclassified road, this corner will be taken quite fast as it's flat leading up to it. It drops down towards the Endrick Water again and we think this will be another fast section, it's a short section before 'Turn 3'. So fast that we're going to be placing an extra marshall on a fast bend on this road to keep things safe, it's essentially a single track road, but wide enough for two cars to pass. This turn is at 7.3km from the circuit start.

TURN 3
Immediately after crossing the bridge, you'll see a house on your right and you'll be making a left turn at the T-junction. This takes you west again, heading towards Balfron on the opposite side of the valley from the previous 5km section. This turn is at 8km from the circuit start.


BACK ROAD
This is currently the best surfaced piece of road on the circuit and takes you right into Balfron, it's also the lumpiest profile, there's a few drags and one short but hard 8% section, which we'll call the 'Balfron Berg'. The 'Berg' will claim it's victims in the race finale, but there's no sustained climbs on the circuit. This section is 2.5km long.

TURN 4
Not so much a corner, more of a left fork, this takes you off the back road and onto Dunmore Street in Balfron, which desends down to the final turn on the course. You pass this at 10.5km from the circuit start.


TURN 5
This turn forms the start/finish of each lap, the lap board will be placed close to this corner in easy sight of the riders. This is another left, back onto the A875 to head back towards Boquhan. This completes one full circuit of 11.3km. The ladies will complete 6 laps in the morning, then in the afternoon the men will complete 12 laps. The finish line will not be on this circuit, but on the last lap (you'll hear a bell when you have one lap to go) you'll turn right on turn 5 and the finish line will be up the hill.



THE FINISH LINE
When you turn right at turn 5 on the last lap, you'll see the finish line, it will be 300m up the incline, we're not being too cruel and putting it on the steepest part of the climb, so it'll be just next to Doyles Cafe.



THE MAP


THE PROFILE (one full lap)


Thanks to Robin Dick for photo's

Bianchi Kuma 5300 review

I've been away from mountain bikes for some time, raced them a good few years ago, so I decided to get myself one due to the incredibly bad weather and unrideable roads of the lovely Scottish winter. I chose the Bianchi Kuma 5300 from Solid Rock Cycles.

I was quite surprised to find what kit I got on this bike compared to what I'd get on a similar priced road bike, it seems like much more for the money, maybe due to larger production volumes, but a pleasant surprise anyway. Hydraulic disc brakes, suspension forks etc, here's the full SPEC. The frame colour also includes the traditional Bianchi blue/green colour, a definite draw for a 'roady' buying an mtb, a bit of heritage.

As expected when you buy road bikes, the rear mech's are specced up to give an appearance of a better groupset than you've got, this MTB has the same thing with a Shimano Deore rear mech and the front mech and shifters all Alivio 9 speed. The shifting all works very well, had it in sand and mud, no problems. I've never ridden disc brakes before, what a difference to canti's or V-brakes in the wet and dirt, I expect it won't be long before they become standard on road bikes, the stopping power is massive, I could never set up canti's properly anyway.

I've experienced the changes in road bikes over the years, so probably not noticed the changes as being particularly dramatic, it's hit me with this bike just how much things have moved on. This is better than the bike I was racing in the 90's. I know some people still love them, but in the past I was riding Pace RC35 elastomer forks, the Suntour XCM forks on this one soak up the bumps just as good if not better, found myself using the lockout lever a fair bit too on solid ground too, very useful to avoid the out of saddle bouncing. I've no idea if these forks are considered good, average or poor, but for me they've allowed me to gain back some of my old lost offroad skills, and the frame and fork set up appear to allow me to ride single track reasonably well (for a roady) and I'm getting better.


Overall, I'm very happy with this bike, it's the ideal addition to a roadies winter stable, a good quality mountain bike that doesn't break the bank and seems able to withstand a fair bit of punishment in seriously dodgy winter conditions. It may not be the very lightest about, but it handles well & I have to admit, I've been having a lot of fun on it. I may even attempt to race it this year, then we'll see if really is better than my old race MTB, I'm looking forward to it.
The full Bianchi range is available from www.solidrockcycles.com in Balmore for around £600. You can buy it online HERE.

Colin.

Rosneath Road Race Super6 Round 2

It’s that time of the year to dig out the calendar and make a few decisions about when and where to race for the early part of the season and the plunge was taken with applying to the second round of the SC Super six series on April 3rd. This is a new edition to the series from previous years and Janette Hazlett and the Ivy have certainly picked a circuit that has all the hallmarks of what promises to be an epic race at Rosneath. Personally it’s a part of the country I’d never ridden before and much to my own chagrin knew absolutely nothing about. So with this in mind I approached our man with the knowledge and “Vortache”, Mister Worthington, to escort me around the roads to enlighten me.

We managed to choose a day that amazingly had absolutely no wind which was pretty incredible as for the days leading up to our ride gales had caused carnage on the roads around the West of Scotland. Slate grey overcast skies welcomed us to Helensburgh but at least the light rain had stopped, leaving a gloss finish to the tarmac which was still showing signs of the winter’s teeth tearing chunks from it. Rolling out of the town along the waterfront it became obvious that the green painted cycle path was not the place to ride as it had collected the debris of the council’s winter gritting programme as well as some mighty pot holes. Thankfully, this was short lived as made our way out of town the road surface improved and we travelled North through Rhu towards Faslane with the millpond that was Gare Loch on our left. We agreed that this would be a good fast hors d’ouvre to the circuit ahead and as we passed the multi coloured caravans of the “peace camp” outside the naval base the road had already began an initially unperceivable rise towards a short downhill to the first roundabout on the course.

The road surface here is excellent and allowed us to concentrate on the first long drag of the race as we continued North on the A814 and what we decided to call the Whistlefield “A” climb up to the roundabout which signified the start of the circuit proper. No respite here though as the climb continued at a steady six or seven percent as we turned South on the high road heading down the peninsula. With road nestling down between rock faces it looked as though it had been cut especially to hide travelling vehicles from the elements, we hoped that this would be the case when the wind was stronger than it happened to be for our ride.

Two or three more sneaky undulating rises awaited before a long sweeping right handed descent to the Shore Road commenced. Make no bones about it this will be really fast on the day and not for the faint of heart or brake blocks, especially if rain falls, the hairpin turn at the bottom will catch those ill prepared out, you have been warned! The fun isn’t over there either because the exit onto the Shore Road is where the weather has taken it’s toll more than anywhere else on the circuit with a hundred metre section of pave like road to negotiate before things settle down again.

The lower part of the course couldn’t be more of a contrast to the bleak high road. Flat, fast and lined on one side by the open expanse of the entry to Loch Long and on the other the mansions of rich industrialists long since departed, leaving their exuberant legacies in brick and stone on the shore line. This part of the circuit will suit the non-climbers and allow them the opportunity to exact some revenge on those who prefer to cause their adversaries suffering elsewhere. Narrow roads with the occasional twist and turn will no doubt have the peleton strung out and gaps will open up as wheels are fought for. There will be no hiding in the bunch in this race, I predict there will be no bunch!

Rounding the bottom of the peninsula it is easy to forget that you are heading North again, you may even catch sight as we did of some military hardware as you travel fast and furious through Rosneath itself, followed by Clynder and Little Rahane and eventually back up to Garelochead, where the left turn takes you immediately into the realms of pain with the ultra steep Whistlefield climb staring you right in the face. You first catch a glimpse of the tarmac poking it’s nose out at you at the top of the tree line, never a good sign as the road doesn’t so much tilt up but simply rises straight out of the ground like a missile so infamously stored along the coast. No gentle lower slopes here, it’s straight into ten percent climbing swiftly followed by twelve and fourteen percent. A slight levelling half way and then straight up again to the roundabout that signifies the start of the next lap which as you may recall continues upwards for a few kilometres more, ouch!

Three circuits later and thankfully only twice up the Whistlefield you take a right turn and make your way through Garelochead and rejoin the A814 southbound towards the finish in Helensburgh. The road is fast and flat and if and that’s a mighty big if, there is a group together the sprint will be a fair one. Somehow though I doubt if there will be any groups of more than ten riders coming in together, this is an event for tough men who can climb and ride in the wind, because I’m pretty sure that we stole the only one they’ve had in those parts for several years!

Well done Janette this is a fantastic circuit and will provide the stage for some excellent racing, there is one sure and certain thing the guy over the line first will not have fluked a win….

Meadowbank Track League

All of us at Vortex RT will be involved in racing at the track league for 2011, the olden days of sitting in the car in the rain, outside the velodrome, staring at the sky for a break in the clouds are thankfully just a nasty memory of ‘days gone by’. They now harness modern technology with online weather forecasts, text messages & emails to make sure nobody make the journey without knowing the conditions.
For those of you who are not familiar with the track, it’s located at Meadowbank stadium in Edinburgh, just East of the athletics track. It’s an outdoor wooden 250m velodrome, it was originally built for the 1970 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, then rebuilt for the Commonwealth Games in 1986. As you’d expect, an outdoor wooden track of that age in Scotland needs a load of work to keep it in an order that you can still race on it, can’t imagine what will need done after the winter we’ve just had/are having.



I first rode the track league in 1989 or 1990 (it was a long time ago, I can’t remember exactly), riders racing on Tuesday night around that time included Olympian Anthony Stirrat, British sprint champ Stuart Brydon & a couple of youthful and incredibly talented riders called Craig MacLean & Chris Hoy. Having been around the UK for a few year, last year I started racing (well, turning up without training more like) at Meadowbank again, really enjoyed it, loads of the old faces still riding, brought back a load of memories.
So it’s back on the boards again, stronger, lighter and faster than 2010, with some km’s in my legs, things should be different with my old track legs back. I’ve heard loads of bad stories floating about, “riders from the West are not made welcome” etc, total nonsense, we’ve had no such bother, in the 90’s or now. So if you have an interest in track racing and want to be up and running for the new velodrome next year, get ourselves across, there are a few routes in which avoid the bulk of the traffic, but it’s worth the trip. You’ll all have to get used to track racing soon enough, it’s going to become a staple of the Scottish riders competitive diet in the next few years, even winter track leagues will proved very popular, year round racing is about to hit hard.
If you want to use public transport, you can get a train across from Glasgow Central station, it’s much cheaper than the Queen Street commuter line. Get the 17:50, takes over an hour, then you’ve got 20 mins to get to the track before the racing starts, that train even has an area that takes about 12 bikes, ideal! See map below.


Track at top right of map.

As for how it’s run, everybody involved in the organisation knows the job they’re doing, most have doing it for some time. In the commentators hotseat is The Old Man of Hoy himself, David Hoy. The first thing you’ll do is a flying lap, where generally your time will determine which category you’ll race in, A, B or C. If you’re new they’ll most likely stick you in with the C group, obviously if you lap the field you’ll be moved up. The events vary week to week, so there’s always something different, for different types of riders, culminating in a scratch race (mass group, first over the line is the winner) at the end of the night.
Conditions at the track are often the same, head wind down the back straight, tailwind down the home straight and a chill in the air. Meadowbank sometimes appears to be the coldest place in Scotland, so wrap up warm between races, a blanket is a popular accessory for the seasoned Meadowbank track leaguer, a habit worth considering. Occasionally you’ll get that incredible sunny and windless evening, the night legends are made of, the last one in 1997 is still talked about, you never know, if you get yourselves through there in 2011 you may be lucky enough to witness another.

The DHL track league has a website with a weekly programme and results.
http://www.esca.uk.com/mtl/index.html

The first event of 2011 is on Tuesday 19th April.
http://new.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/52872/DHL/Meadowbank-National-Track-Series

We'll be updating the weather on our twitter feed, you can see it on our website, see you there.
Colin.