Welcome to Preston Park Youth Cycling Club’s website:Our club has Club Mark status, the quality assurance standard for community sports clubs and we won the British Cycling Club of the Year Award for 2009 having had the greatest expansion in youth members of all cycle clubs throughout the country. In recent times we were also Club of the Year at the Brighton and Hove City Sports Awards. One of our coaches, Anthony Rogers, was the winner of the 2008 Sussex Coach of the Year award capping a very good year for the club. More recently, in August 2010, member Jack Hoyle, became Under 14 National Track Champion which is a major feat with the strength of youth cycling in the UK. Our club caters for members aged at 8 to 18 years, though we have some older and younger members.  We meet between March and October, typically at Preston Park Cycle Track, every Saturday between 10 and 12 AM. The club also meets less often during the winter months. Please check our club calendar to confirm details of our next club session. Membership is FREE when you join British Cycling and club session rates are £2.50 for British Cycling members and £4 for non members. We provide fun, skills and competitive cycling activities with fully qualified coaches at Preston Park Cycle Track and believe that cycling contributes strongly to a sustainable lifestyle. Occasionally the club travels away from Brighton for racing and or family and other events. For these types of events, there may be additional costs. Directions: Preston Park Cycle Track is located to the north of Preston Park in Brighton and can be accessed from Preston Drove or through the park. The post code is BN1 6LA. CONTACT DETAILS: Anthony Rogers 07757 284814 / Anthony@ppycc.org.uk

Due to [lack of] coach availability we have changed our road rides to Sunday mornings this week. Otherwise all the usual details [see FAQs], meet at 09.50 for a 10.00 departure. You will not be allowed to join the group unless appropriately dressed. If unsure contact Anthony [see contacts page]

If you want to ride the Puncheur Sportive you need to confirm with Charlie  (call or email) by this Saturday (4th Feb)

Get in touch if you have any questions.  charlie@ppycc.org.uk or call on 01273 503591 (evenings)

Riders confirmed at present are:

Issac Wright

Gabriel Parle

Joe Hill

Sam Booth

Thomas Burnett

Josh Fanner

All the details are below:

Puncheur Cycle Sportive on Sunday 4^th March – starting in Ditchling.

A Sportive is an organised, mass-participation cycling event. Riders are timed and can aim to achieve a set time for the distance. There are also feed stations and technical back up provided.

The Puncheur Sportive is 69 miles long and finishes with the legendary climb of Ditchling Beacon!

However, PPYCC members have been given special permission to attempt a shortened course of 53 miles (cutting a few corners) whist riding as a team under coach supervision. We have also been offered half price entry at £11, worth it for the food alone!

To ride you must be 12 or over and have your parents’ permission. You will also need to have done several longer training rides before the day.

Riders under 14 years of age signing up with through club will have to do the shortened route offered. ‘Broom wagon’ assistance is available on the day if needed.

Charlie will ask for payment and issue parental consent forms soon.

A real early season test but one that several riders should be able to tackle!

Get in touch if you have any questions.  charlie@ppycc.org.uk or call on 01273 503591 (evenings)

Links to the event and the PPYCC shortened route:

http://www.puncheur.co.uk/topline_details.htm

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/64098164  

Merv Tucker, father of club member Ben Tucker, has taken on a rather ambitious challenge both in cycling 578 km in 4 days and in fundraising £3000 for Prostate Cancer. Merv gives more detail below and would be grateful for your support.

” I will be completing the ride in May, by doing stage five of the Dallaglio Flintoff Cycle slam riding 578 km in 4 days from Nancy in France to the new Olympic stadium in London.  I am raising £3000 for the Dallaglio Foundation for Prostate Cancer so would really appreciate your help by sending this link to all our club members. www.virginmoneygiving.com/MervTucker

Many thanks Merv”

Road ride this Saturday, meet at 09.50 for a 10.00 departure. Suggestions for a route will be listened to but no guarantee of following it.

On Sunday VCJ and Brighton Excelsior are hosting Elevenses at Washington Village hall, arrive for a good old bacon buttie 10.30-12, there should be a ride from the Shoreham Red Lion, near the old footbridge, from 9am. Or ‘phone a friend’ and make your own way.

‘On Hannibal’s Trail’ Cycling and History documentary make it to BBC2!

Hi everyone, as fellow cycling lovers we thought you’d like to watch ‘On Hannibal’s Trail’ on BBC2 starting Friday, 20th January at 830pm.  We’d really like your critical opinions on how well or not we managed to translate this epic bike ride from Spain to Tunisia - more than 2,000 miles in 10 weeks and filming a documentary at the same time - into a cycling, history and travel documentary.  Please tell your cycling friends and anyone else who might be interested and please watch the show and let us know what you think with a tweet or an email.

Many families in the club are booked to camp for the two nights either side of the Olympic Road Race in Surrey. Our pitch is in a farmers field by the part of the course which is passed on 9 occasions. The website details for the camp site have been updated as you can see below. Please contact the farm if you wish to join us.

Subject: Camping Olympics

Hi folks 

Just to let you all know I have been asked to change our web address, so as from today our NEW web site is www.camp4cyclerace.com 

Everything is the same so there is no need to worry, unfortunately there were a few words that due to Olympic branding we were apparently not allowed to use hence the change. Anyhow not a problem so party on and lets enjoy the weekend! See you in July !

Barny Harrison

07503 764 662

Puncheur Cycle Sportive

PPYCC riders are invited to ride in the Puncheur Cycle Sportive on Sunday 4^th March – starting in Ditchling

A Sportive is an organised, mass-participation cycling event. Riders are timed and can aim to achieve a set time for the distance. There are also feed stations and technical back up provided. Riding with hundreds of other riders is also very motivating and exciting.

The Puncheur Sportive is 69 miles long and finishes with the legendary climb of Ditchling Beacon!

However PPYCC members have been given special permission to attempt a shortened course of 53 miles (cutting a few corners) whist riding as a team under coach supervision. We have also been offered half price entry at £11, worth it for the food alone!

To ride you must be 12 or over and have your parents’ permission. You will also need to have done some longer training rides before the day.

Riders under 14 years of age signing up with through club will have to do the shortened route offered. ‘Broom wagon’ assistance is available on the day if needed.

A real early season test but one that several riders should be able to tackle!

Any questions or if you would like to reserve a place please contact Charlie on charlie@ppycc.org.uk by Saturday 21^st Jan

We agreed at the start of the winter season to alternate road and off-road training and after last week’s road ride it must be off-road. Meet at 09.50 at Waterhall, where we meet for cross training, and come prepared for the weather which is currently forecast cold and dry.

Here are the latest details for the coming seasons RSRs [Regional Schools of Racing] from John Scripps.

Hi all,

A happy new year to everybody, I hope you had a good Christmas and New Year break. Please find attached the new Regional School of Racing Planner for 2012. This has the remaining track RSR dates, and all circuit and Mountain Biking RSRs for the year.

National School of Racing (Green)

As always there will be a Road/Circuit NSR taking place over half term on Thursday 16th February.

The link for the applications is here; http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/road/article/roa20120105-road-Road-National-School-of-Racing-event-applications-open-0 This is a fantastic opportunity to get big bunch racing practice before the circuit season starts.

Track RSRs (Red)

With regards to the remaining track RSRs, we have made some changes to the programme. The next RSR will be the Madison session, incorporating a Madison workshop. Nominations are now open for this and will close on Thursday 12th January at midnight. I shall be sending letters out to riders on the morning of Friday 13th.

As shown in the previous planner, the last 2 RSRs were planned to be Coach Led Racing (CLR) sessions. For February 17th, this is still the case, and will be an endurance session on the races covered throughout the winter track RSR programme. However, the session will include riders from all over the country, and Talent Development Coaches will make the selection of riders to attend. I am happy to discuss selections with you. The second CLR session, is taking a slightly different format. It will be a Sprint Open GP weekend at Manchester, with support from some of the country’s best sprint coaches and riders. Riders will enter this as they would a normal race and pay the entry fee. It is open to all youth riders in A and B categories, but we will prioritise those who reach RSR criteria. Although it is an open event, there will be a coaching focus with regular video feedback throughout the weekend. As always in our efforts to create a rounded programme for all youth riders, please do not see this as just an opportunity for athletes who wish to be sprinters, but for all youth riders wishing to progress as cyclists. Once the event is on the BC website, I shall send you the link.

Circuit RSRs (SE in Lilac, Central in Burgundy, combined in Blue)

The circuit RSRs will follow a similar format to previous years, with some minor changes, we have looked to include the Team Scenario RSR in the programme before the School Games, so that riders competing in this event get the opportunity to practice this for the event. As always, it benefits everybody regardless of whether or not they’re selected for the school games. The team scenario session is the only circuit RSR where the regions will be combined, all others with be individual regions, open to 36 riders plus any talent team riders. Where possible, it is important that regionally competitive MTB riders also access these sessions to support their all round development. For the circuit RSRs, where space allows, we will be inviting 1st year junior girls who are regionally and nationally competitive, but this will not be at the detriment to space for regionally and nationally competitive youth riders.

MTB RSRs (Light Blue)

We have made significant changes to the MTB programme for 2012. We realise that having 1 standalone ‘South’ MTB session didn’t work, as it meant travel difficulties for all except those lucky enough to be local to the venue. For 2012 we have split the South into 2, to cover South East (covers SE, Central and Eastern regions) and South West (S, SW, and Wales). There are 3 MTB RSR opportunities available, including a Coach Led Racing session which brings the South East and South West areas together. We will be looking at somewhere central to the 2 Southern areas for this session. As said above, riders choosing to go down the MTB pathway also have access to the Road circuit RSRs, which are important in their development as MTB riders. The first 2 RSRs will look at core skills, and progressing these into a technical context.

Summer Track NSRs/Pre-National’s

These are not included in the planner as they are still to be confirmed. I will send you more details as I have them.

I hope you find this helpful in your planning for 2012, please do contact me if you have any queries.

Kind Regards,

John

John Scripps

Talent Development Coach – South East and Central Regions - Great Britain Cycling Team