We filled the two-month gap between the sessions at Cyclopark for those who come to the Power Pack events with a trip yesterday in the opposite direction - to Brighton.
The Preston Park Youth Cycling Club split their Saturday morning sessions into two parts..... there was a risk of the first part being cancelled if the weather was bad, but that risk never materialised and there was no call to say 'it's off'.... which was good as the morning stayed dry and things ended up in sunshine. The younger riders have the early half of the morning, 9am to 10.30am. Alison, the head coach for that session, divided riders into three ability groups - yellow, green and blue. I ended up helping the coach with the 'green' youngsters and the skills exercises included riding no hands and passing a bottle between groups - typically two-four riders in each group. The challenge of slowing and placing a bottle on a box was beyond them.... so Raiders are well placed in that skill.
The younger group ended their time with a five-lap handicap race..... so about 25 riders on the move for that. Then... the older riders took over for the 10.30am-12noon session and that was mainly training. Ideal for anyone who wants to get some distances in without riding in traffic...... so it was a pity Ben Elliott had a clash with rugby practice.
If anyone wants to go down and join them from time to time please let me know.... I would encourage quite a lot of you to give it a go as it's close to racing without being racing.... and it's a good way of feeling at home in a larger bunch.... their tarmac circle is about half-a-mile round so you can settle into a good rhythme.