New to the UK, wanting to race - advice needed

[Danjog]

Hi all.

Long story short, I am now in the UK, having moved from South Africa, to the Middle East for 5 years, and then here to North Yorks with my wife.

Back in SA, I was racing - B and C cat. I'd like to get in to road racing here. The problem is that the whole system seems so very different to what I'm used to, I have no idea where to start.

I now live in Northallerton, and I have a lot of training to do, to get close to the fitness level that I was before I left SA, however, I'm willing to put in the hours to get back to a racing fitness level.

Any advice on where to or how to start racing again?

Thanks

[TrevA]

Over here, the categories are 4,3,2,1 and Elite. As a novice you start out as a 4th cat and move up by gaining points from getting placed in the top 10 in races. Unless you are racing on your SA licence, you'll need to join British Cycling -either silver or gold membership level and get a racing licence.

Start off by riding 4th cat only or 3/4 cat races. Race calendars can be found on the British Cycling website. You might find that there are some midweek circuit races near you or there are usually local-ish races at the weekend. I'd advise joining a local club too, one which has a few members that do some road racing, and make enquiries to see if there's a local chaingang training ride near you. Local bike shops are often a good source of info about clubs and training rides or you can also find info on clubs on the British Cycling website:

http://www.britishcycling.org.uk

[Vorpal]

There are several clubs in your area. I would check them out and go out for rides with them, and see which you like best. Most clubs will let you ride with them at least 2 or 3 times before asking you to join.

BC has a 'club finder' https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/clubfinder

Hambleton Road Club is based in Northallerton. They use Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Hambleton-Road ... =page_info

http://www.northyorkshirecycling.co.uk/clubs/ has a list of cycling clubs, too. Some are multi-affiliated and/or offer a mix of activities.

Good luck