CS Dynamo
The Cycling Club in Exmouth
About us
CS Dynamo
East Devon
Hello and welcome to CS Dynamo; East Devon’s cycle club. http://www.csdynamo.org.uk/
Having just joined or are considering joining the club you may have a few questions you want to ask about various aspects of the club and/or cycling in general. Feel free to ask any member of the club a question, if they can’t answer it they will probably know somebody who can.
Listed below are a few specific areas of cycling you may want to get involved in, along with a contact within the club who should be able to help.
Firstly; a quick history and some background to our club.
The club was founded in 1984.
The club name came from a certain Moscow football team
Famous riders in the club include Mick Fagg, Paul Martin, nephew of Dan Martin (Garmin)
We are a small club with about 40 active members. We are different to other larger traditional cycling clubs as we have a more relaxed and easy going approach to cycling.
Our members pursue many activities from group road rides in the lanes of Devon with occasional trips to France, to enjoy their countryside and hospitality. We have some members who like to ride off road, exploring many mountain bike trails.
For those who wish to test a more competitive side to cycling and aspire to great levels there are time trials, road races and mountain bike events for people to express their competitive instincts.
For those who wish to test a more competitive side to cycling and aspire to great levels there are time trials, road races and mountain bike events for people to express their competitive instincts.
We are affiliated to many organisations such as British Cycling and the national Time Trial Council.
During the cycling racing season we are committed to promoting events to help the club maintain a good profile through the county and providing the very best organisation for competitors who come along to compete in our events. With this we encourage every member to help, when called upon, to make these events the best in the racing calendar, as well as advancing the interests of the Club through these promotions.
(See website for 2010 racing & sportive calendar)
The latest activity we are involved with is the “Go Ride” programme organised by British Cycling. Their combined mission is to create the opportunity for clubs to promote entry level events. This will involve local clubs in the area who will develop coaching and provide training and support to young riders who wish to start racing.
Check out British Cycling website for full details http://new.britishcycling.org.uk/goride/article/roa20100316-Teamwork-in-The-South-West-0
Social Events
Social events include our club dinner and annual award evening which is usually held in February.
Other activities include a Christmas dinner at a local restaurant. Social secretary is Juan Alvarez.
We work with other clubs locally to organise events, such as roller racing and we recently had a trip to South WalesNewport Velodrome(see previous reports on website).
Club Nights:
We hold Club nights at the ‘Scout Hut’, Marpool Hill, Exmouth on every 1st & 3rd Monday of the month starting at 8:00pm. Our meetings are relaxed and informal and are a great opportunity to meet and chat off the bike and get to recognise your club mates out of lycra. Sometimes we organise talks on specific cycling elements to help other members that are starting out for the first time and want some help. These have included road racing, time trials and track racing.
Membership
Our membership benefits:
- 3rd Party Insurance on Club Runs
- Affiliation to CTT
- Affiliation to British Cycling
- Affiliation to CTC
- Discover the lanes and beauty of Devon
- Participate in competitive cycling
- Exercise your body, mind and sense of humour
- Annual club dinner and trophy presentation
- Club time trials
- Organised trips to Newport Velodrome
Membership Subscriptions
Senior Member £15
Family Membership (2 Adults, 2 Children) £25
Membership renewals are due in January of each year.
Your Committee
Your Committee
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Chairman……………………Paul Martin
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Vice Chairman……………..Keith White
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Treasurer……………………Pam Symons
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Press and Publicity……….. David Stephens
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Social Secretary……………Juan Alvarez
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Secretary Report…………..Steve Medlock
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Committee…….……………Ian Daveridge
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British Cycling (Admin…….Ann Owens
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CTT (Admin)…………....... Andrew Brimecombe
Club Clothing:
Now that you have joined the club you may wish to purchase a club jersey. Sue - Brimbecombe is the kit secretary and is available at most club nights, or contact her via: suebrimbecombe@sky.com
Road Racing:
Road races are challenging in their variation. Expect tactics, extreme changes of pace, sprints and adrenaline. A road race can take several forms. The criterion or ‘crit’ race is a short closed circuit race typically limited by time rather than distance.
Road races are longer and can vary from 80k to150k – plus. Many road races are races within races and each rider will have their own goals and measures of success. For some it will be to develop skills and improve their fitness while trying to stay in the bunch (that’s most of us), but others will be after that ultimate goal - a race win.
Road races are longer and can vary from 80k to150k – plus. Many road races are races within races and each rider will have their own goals and measures of success. For some it will be to develop skills and improve their fitness while trying to stay in the bunch (that’s most of us), but others will be after that ultimate goal - a race win.
In order to race on the road you have to have a British Cycling racing license. In order to get a license you first have to join British Cycling. http://new.britishcycling.org.uk/
Some events are ‘enter on the line’, others you will have to send off an entry form prior to the event. Details are on the BC race calendar.
Keith White is an experienced road racer within the club and would be happy to answer any of your questions. caren.barrett@btinternet.com
Time Trials:
This is the simplest form of racing. Riders start one minute apart, with the objective of covering the distance as fast as they can. Time trials usually run over 10, 25, 50 or 100 miles. Time trial courses are usually on public roads and usually take place early in the morning to avoid traffic. Expect either an ‘out and back’ with a roundabout halfway, or a circuit with left-hand turns.
CS Dynamos have a healthy group of time trialists and organise various events throughout the season (see website for the 2010 race calendar). If you are keen to try time trialing for the first time then you will be in good company as there are always members at CS Dynamo who are keen beginners and some experienced time trialists who will give you every support.
You don’t need a race license for this type of racing, though you will need to enter open events a couple of weeks before they are run. Information is available from: http://www.rttc.org.uk/.
Andrew Brimbecombe suebrimbecombe@sky.com should be able to help you with any questions as well as Andy Waite andywaite74@googlemail.com
Audaxes and Sportives:
Sportives will take you to some of the most beautiful and idyllic places. Quiet roads and awe- inspiring views seem to be an essential component of course design. That, and the lung busting, leg-burning climbs. The sportive is the ultimate personal challenge for cyclists. Sportives are mass-participation events that are not officially races but are ridden against the clock covering distances from 50k to 200k.
Audax rides are usually of specific distances, usually 100kms, 200kms etc.
The term 'audax', meaning audacious, was the name given to a movement which started a little over 100 years ago somewhere in Europe – hence the fact that distances are measured in kilometres - and referred the event is due to start. This allows you time to collect your record, or ‘brevet’, card, have a cup of tea and get ready to ride. You should fillto challenging events involving walking, cycling and horse riding. Further information about the origins of the movement may be obtained by logging onto the Audax UK website – www.audax.uk.net
See you on the road soon.
The term 'audax', meaning audacious, was the name given to a movement which started a little over 100 years ago somewhere in Europe – hence the fact that distances are measured in kilometres - and referred the event is due to start. This allows you time to collect your record, or ‘brevet’, card, have a cup of tea and get ready to ride. You should fillto challenging events involving walking, cycling and horse riding. Further information about the origins of the movement may be obtained by logging onto the Audax UK website – www.audax.uk.net
For our purposes here, what you need to know is how an audax ride ‘works’. They differ from ordinary rides simply by being slightly more organised, in that you are timed through a number of control points. Here then is the process you need to follow if you want to ride an audax event.
Firstly you must complete an entry form - this needs to be done at least two weeks in advance of the event.
Next, turn up at the start on the day of the ride, about half an hour before in the back of your brevet card with your address and the phone number of your next of kin.
Next, turn up at the start on the day of the ride, about half an hour before in the back of your brevet card with your address and the phone number of your next of kin.
Look at the inside pages of your brevet card and you’ll see the controls you have to go to on the ride and when they open and close. You must call in at these controls between the times stated, and have your card stamped. Sometimes, instead of getting your card stamped, you’ll need to answer a question; this is an ‘information control’.
Finally, you should get back to the start before the finish time of the event. Sign your card on the back and hand it to the controller who will stamp it and retain it. You’ll receive it back, duly ‘validated’ in a few weeks in the second envelope you provided. And that’s about it.
Finally, you should get back to the start before the finish time of the event. Sign your card on the back and hand it to the controller who will stamp it and retain it. You’ll receive it back, duly ‘validated’ in a few weeks in the second envelope you provided. And that’s about it.
Why bother with all this stuff when all you want to do is ride your bike? For a start every route is checked for quality so you know you're going to get a good ride. Audax events are designed to be challenging and there are numerous trophies and medals you can collect if that's your thing.
Several members of the club actively take part in these events. A full list of local events is available on the clubs website. Entry is usually via the internet or post; some of the more popular rides need to be entered several months in advance.
Club Runs: Sundays
Meet at 9.00am every Sunday at the top of Hulham Road, between the junctions of Summer Lane and Dinan Way.
Paul Martin is responsible for organising the club runs and will put up on the website (under club runs) the proposed route usually on the Saturday but occasionally earlier.
These runs are for the more regular cyclists and consist of two or three ability groups, depending on numbers. The faster group ("A Run") is for the more serious cyclist with the run generally lasting 3 to 5 hours at an average pace between 16 and 20 miles per hour. The other group may be out for a similar time but at a pace nearer to 12 miles per hour. A third run may fall some where between the two.
All runs generally visit a cafe for "tea and cakes".
If you attend one of the Sunday runs always make sure that you bring food and drink to maintain glucose levels and hydration levels, even if we are going to stop at a cafe.
The "A & B Runs" proposed routes for the coming weekend are detailed on the Web Site under "Club Runs".
These runs are for the more regular cyclists and consist of two or three ability groups, depending on numbers. The faster group ("A Run") is for the more serious cyclist with the run generally lasting 3 to 5 hours at an average pace between 16 and 20 miles per hour. The other group may be out for a similar time but at a pace nearer to 12 miles per hour. A third run may fall some where between the two.
All runs generally visit a cafe for "tea and cakes".
If you attend one of the Sunday runs always make sure that you bring food and drink to maintain glucose levels and hydration levels, even if we are going to stop at a cafe.
The "A & B Runs" proposed routes for the coming weekend are detailed on the Web Site under "Club Runs".
Non-members are most welcome to ride with us on a Sunday to see if they like us. Please bring along some form of identification and emergency contact numbers.
MTB club runs;
Steve Medlock is responsible for organizing the mtb club runs. These take place on the first Sunday of each month and meets at the shoppers carpark at Littleham Cross at 8:45am.
The run is generally 2-3 hours long depending on group ability and the weather on the day. No café stop takes place.
Chain Gaing training ride
From mid April we get together for an informal chain gaing ride down the old A30. The idea of a chain gang is to keep a constantly high pace, with each rider doing a turn on the front and then smoothly moving back down the line before coming back up on the outside. When it works well there is a constant smooth flow of riders going up and down the line. For a novice, it is not straightforward so we get together each Tuesday evening at 7pm to practice and it’s a great way to develop close cycling skills.
For more information contact Keith White (caren.barrett@btinternet.com
Make sure you are used to following a wheel at pace before joining the chain gaing.
Photographer
Ann and Richard Owens are long standing club members and are our unofficial photographers. They can be found at most road & rime trial events. You can view their pictures of club members struggling to look cool under pressure by logging onto http://www.flickr.com/photos/cyclingmrso/
Finally
We hope that this has answered some of your questions and that as a club we are able to help you to enjoy the wonderful sport of cycling.
Many cyclists wonder “why join a club?” Perhaps you are looking to share your enjoyment of cycling with other like minded people or possibly you may wish to participate in one or more of the many types of race or you might be looking to improve your health and fitness levels. Whatever your motivation we aim to be the club for you.
Many cyclists wonder “why join a club?” Perhaps you are looking to share your enjoyment of cycling with other like minded people or possibly you may wish to participate in one or more of the many types of race or you might be looking to improve your health and fitness levels. Whatever your motivation we aim to be the club for you.
See you on the road soon.