BRRRRRRR!

Three of us went to Bishops Tachbrook pump track this AM, for a bit of a practice session; (I put a shovel in my boot just incase:-S) The street, where I live, in Worcester, was covered with black ice and made it tricky, even to get out of the house! As you can see from the pictures below, it looked pretty but there was a dusting of snow at the track. We gingerly rode the track, not wanting to have an accident this side of Christmas! It proved to be a laugh though and the track rode pretty well, except when negotiating the tarmac sections which could be really slippy....glad we made the effort but roll on the Spring!
R.P.

Tim Print back on a bike!

Greg, Benn and Tim

Bishops Tachbrook Tomorrow

Some of us Redditch Premiers are heading up to the Bishops Tachbrook track tomorrow, to ride the bumps. Watch how it should be done, in the video below, by manualling supremo Scott Edgworth!! Come and join us for a pre Christmas practice session.
R.P.

Segment Clothing - Scott Edgworth [Pump track] from Segment Clothing on Vimeo.

Nottingham Outlaws Winter Race (Redditch Premiers make their mark!)

At the weekend, a few of us had planned to make the 2 hour drive south to Andover for round 2 of the South Winter Regional series. The prospect of another new track to ride again, coupled with the top day we'd already had at Gosport a few weeks ago at Round 1, promised a good day. Unfortunately, with all the rain we've been having of late, Andover had to make the hard decision midweek to cancel their event. We were all still determined to get out on our bikes though and remembered that Bulwell(Nottingham Outlaws BMX Club) Winter series round 2 was on. So ignoring the rain on Sunday morning, we sped up the M1 to Nottingham.

There was a healthy Premiers contingent who made the trip; 9 in all, which I'm sure is the most we have had travel to a race meeting since the Club was reformed back in 2006! 8 of us registered and found we were all pitted against each other in the, 28 rider strong, 30 years and over category. This was exactly what we all needed over the winter ; healthy competition with riders of a similar ability, but always with a fun element, we love the banter.

Among the 8 Premiers riders that registered to race, were the 'Over The Hill All Stars'. This, for most of the All stars, was their first ever race, (or first race back after many years). They thought they would make a special effort to dress for the occasion, (see below). Their newly printed kits reminded me of the famous Evil Knevil uniform, and blinded all in the Winter sunshine. They certainly attracted a lot of attention and must've been a devil to get clean when they got home!-S. Benn, Matt, Greg and Sean rounded up the Premiers in attendance. It wasn't just the Allstars that were making a long over due comeback either. It was also Sean's first go in about 20 years!! He has been itching to get his first race under his belt, and from what I saw of him motos, he was well up there down the first straight. He came away, feeling super chuffed having competed; and so he should, he did brilliantly. Finishing all his motos and winning his D Final - easily...Good on yer Sean!

Over the Hill All Stars, (and we're proud to say, Redditch Premiers), from left to right, Martin Carroll, Luke Clarke, Richard Newman, Jean McCoy.

The All Stars were mixing it up, and by the time the Motos were done it was time to find out who had done enough to fill the 16 places available in the Semis. After the points were totted up Jean and Rich found themselves in a 3 way run off, with the winner taking the final place in the Semis. Rich won it, wire to wire, but Jean pushed him all the way. This meant that 6 of the 8 Premiers were left standing in the Semi finals. Along with Rich, were Greg, Matt. Benn, Martin and Luke. The semis were super competitive with Greg and Benn taking 2nd and 3rd respectively in opposite semis. Matt held the 4th and final qualifying spot in Semi 1 before making a mistake on the final straight Rhythm section which allowed Chris Wilkins to pass him metres from the line, meaning elimination along with, Martin, Luke and Rich.

Sean, Benn and Matt

So that left the final. Benn in gate one, and Greg in gate three. This was Greg's first race back after injury, almost a year ago, and he did fantastic to take a very creditable 3rd place. After a bad gate Benn pulled some ground back down the first straight and was lying 6th before a crash in the last corner put an end to his race:-(

Club Chairman, Benn Thombs with Kelvin Batey

After racing was done, we all reflected on what a great day it had been. 28 riders in one category in a Club winter race, and over 100 riders in total at the race meeting which was a record for a Bulwell Winter Club race. Hopefully, see you all at the next one!!
R.P.
http://www.nottinghamoutlaws.com/

IT'S ON!!!!!

Last night, the Redditch BMX track got the green light! Redditch council members voted, unanimously, to allow the build to go ahead. Lots of local people attended; it was good to see young people, not just present but, speaking in support of the plans. There were only a couple of objections; hopefully these people will come to see the project as a truly positive move for Redditch and ALL of it's residents. A special thanks goes out to Scott Beaumont, who made a heart felt plea for the track to be built...his 3 minute speech seemed to really swing the opinions of the council from a maybe, to a definitive YES!

Here's a note from club member Benn Thombs, written last night and posted, on BMXTALK:

Hi Everyone, Just got back from our planning hearing at Redditch Borough Council..... well actually, we have just got back from the pub after celerating the fact that we were granted permission to build the track!!!! . This includes the floodlights and perimeter fencing, Club house building the whole shooting match............. its all systems go I have just got to say a massive thank you to everyone who has had a hand in getting us to this stage. We have come a long way sibce our make shift 1st meeting 3 and a half years ago. Its been a long road with a hell of alot of work, buts it's certainly been well worth the wait.

I would just like to add a huge, huge, huge thanks to Steve Rooke. Some of you may know Steve as ex-editor of BMX Rider magazine or Founder of Redditch skatepark and Redditch Wheels project. If it wasn't for him we wouldn't be looking forward to a brand spanking new track very very soon. Check us out in 2010!!!

Cheers,
Benn

TODAY'S THE DAY!!!

Today we get an answer on our Planning application:

PLEASE COME AND SUPPORT US...HELP US BRING BMX RACING BACK TO THE WEST MIDLANDS.

REDDITCH TOWN HALL

7PM

Track Panorama

Been up the Bishops Tachbrook track again this AM. Managed an hour before the rains came; Benn and Sean got there at 8:30!! Anyway, did a panorama picture to show you all the terrain. Track panorama's are going to become regular feature on the blog...hope you like it. (Click on the image to enlarge it.)
R.P.

PLANNING MEETING - 1ST DECEMBER

On 1st December we get an answer on our Planning application, for the new track. The planning hearing will take place at Redditch Town Hall at 7pm. We would like as many people as possible to attend. Please try and come along, even if we're spilling out into the corridor; it would be great to see as many Members, riders and families there as possible. We need to show the Planning committee, and the people that oppose our track, that the proposed facility could be a massive benefit to the local community.

An article, recently, published in Redditch Advertiser shows the strength of feeling, some people have, towards our plans. See below:

Residents say no to plans for BMX track at Arrow Valley Park (Tuesday 10th November 2009)

RESIDENTS have reacted with anger over proposed plans to build a new floodlit BMX track at Arrow Valley Park.

If plans go ahead the new track will be built on an area which at the moment comprises two football pitches and is regularly used by local residents for walks. The plans also include a perimeter fence around the site, a clubhouse facility, alterations to existing changing rooms, storage facilities, and a social activity space and office accommodation. Resident Heather Wood, who lives near the area, said: “Myself, and all my neighbours that I’ve spoken with, are all dead against this proposal. “It’s a real concern that yet another green space is going to be lost. “It’s going to be quite a big development. We will lose two football pitches that are always in use, not just for games but training, as well and a nature walk. “At the moment it is a very popular spot with a lovely view of uninterrupted greenery but if the proposal goes ahead we will lose all of it.” Redditch Council is behind the application, working in partnership with British Cycling, Redditch Premiers BMX Club and the Wheels Charity. Residents received a letter informing them of the plans at the end of last month and have until next week to object. Heather added: “At the moment everyone can make use of the area but if the track is built and a big fence is put up surrounding it then who can use it apart from the BMX riders? “We are going to fight this. If it goes ahead then who knows where the next place we could lose will be.” A council spokesman said: “The aim is to provide new and improved sports and recreation opportunities in the borough and to increase participation in physical activities across a broad range of age groups. “The on-site changing rooms will still be used for football and we can accommodate a football pitch elsewhere in the borough if it is required. “The track will be fenced off, but this will not prevent those who enjoy walking through the park being able to continue doing so.”

Anyone who would like to view the plans or object can visit www.redditchbc.gov.uk

We would really appreciate your comments, which you can make through the Redditch Advertiser. Please make them by clicking on the word COMMENTS below:

COMMENTS

Cheers and we look forward to seeing you in the 1st December.

Redditch Premiers

Bishops Tachbrook Play Track (Part 2‏)

After hearing great things about Bishops Tachbrook play track from some of the Premiers members; Myself, Sean, Mick, Andy and Ang thought we should check out the hype for ourselves . Myself and Sean set out early. When we arrived it was hard to believe such a great little track was tucked away in the corner of a park in the middle of a small village. The first straight is awesome fun with tight flowing rythym, this ment there was so many ways to get through it. At the end of the straight is a snaking tarmac berm which can get a little tight when you carry your momentum from the first straight, into it. Down the second straight you have more space between jumps but it doesnt flow as well as the first straight. Another great feature of this place is that the last corner,which is also tarmac, shoots you straight back up the start hill so you can literally do circuits of the track. We found it great for training by pumping round the track and seeing how many cuircuits we could do until we felt the burn. Mad manualler Mick Gough was rolling through half of the first straight on his back wheel, the guy has got mad skills. It was also great to see Sean really improving with his maunualling skills, it just showed what versatility this track has.

In summary we all loved this place, its great for beginners and experienced riders, because their is so many ways through it it gets the mind ticking with the different combinations, but its great for beginners to get the hang of manualling jumps and having more confidence in getting through Rythym sections.

Needless to say this will be a regular venue for Premiers Club session over the winter and we cant wait for our next visit. If you haven't already been, you should check this place out.....you won't be sorry you did.

Benn

SEAN (Manualling)

MICK (Flying)

MICK, SEAN & BENN (Grinning)

Gosport Winter Regional - A Redditch Premiers Road Trip

As Greg had mentioned in a previous post, last Sunday, Matt Mayneord and myself, made the trip down to Gosport on the South coast for the 1st round of the South Region Winter series. Matt had to go down to the South Coast to drop a bike off and suggested we killed two birds with one stone and race the Regional. It was a track that neither of us had seen or ridden before and we had heard good things, so that was enough to make the decision for me; its always good to ride next tracks and spots.

The trip down was easy but the weather wasn't looking too great, it rained for most of our journey. When we eventually found the track, Practise was in full swing. The first thing we did was got out of the car to check out the track. It looked dry considering the rain the region had had, and with only 15 minutes of our 1st practise session left we hurried to get our bikes out of the van to get a couple of gates in and get a feel of the track. Luckily the South split up their practise into blocks, Under 13's and over 13's have 2 sessions before racing starts. This made sense from a safety point of view but also meant we weren't really queueing a long time for gate practise. This is defiantly something for us to consider for when the track in Redditch is built and we start to hold our own events.

The first corner at Gosport is a tight, right hand 90 degree tarmac turn and when you go 8 riders deep into it its a case of hold on tight and say a little prayer; especially when you're racing Masters/40 like myself and Matt were. There were 10 of us in our category, seven Masters( 30-39 year old) and three 40 and over riders. It was good to see that Miles 'the flying fox' Kirby, Mad Ady Warden, and Jai 'Redline/SE Racing Team Manager' Kemp had all made the trip down. All of us, mixed in with some local guys and South region riders, promised some close racing. Even with 5 in each moto the corners were proving tight and hard to make passes, I know this because my gates were that bad that I found myself at the back most of time and trying to pass people in corners. Matt however made rather lighter work of qualifying for the Final with 3,3,4 in his motos to qualify 5th and my 5,4,2 with a little bit of look saw me through in 7th place. Come final time and it was going to be between Jai, Ady and Miles. They had been swapping wins in the motos and were just a level of above where myself and Matt are right now. Miles took the win much to his delight, with Ady taking 2nd, Jai 4th, Matt 5th and Myself 6th. Over all the race meeting was brilliant. There were approx. 150 riders in attendance which was amazing considering the location and the weather they had had over the weekend. !

7+ payback was stacked to the rafters, Notable riders were Zoltan Buday (19+ National Champ, 19+ big hitters Billy Luckhurst(Profile and Hayes Hawks) and James Chadwick(Bournemouth) Jon Moore (40+ National Champ) Jon was on fire and really mixing it with these guys, I knew Jon was fast but to see him hanging with some fast young riders was awesome; watching the semis, I saw some good riders missing out on the A final. 40+ cruiser was busy too, with nearly enough riders for Semis. Gary Godden taking the win on his shiny new Redline with a move on the last straight.

We didn't waste too much time in loading the van up and getting on our way. With a 2 and a half our drive in front of us we wanted to get on the road. The event was run so well that racing was done by 3.15pm and we were away.

We would like to say a massive thank you to everyone from Gosport Club and the South Region for a great day and we will definantly see you again over the winter.

Benn.

For South Winter Series details check out this link:
British Cycling South Region BMX

Gosport Track Panorama

R.P. Rider, Matt Mayneord/Jai Kemp/Miles Kirby & Son

Play Track Visit

As previously mentioned, some of the R.P. members went to Bishops Tachbrook, near Leamington Spa yesterday. We went to check out the new play track, (on the Bishops Tachbrook playing fields), designed and built by Jason Carpenter, from Dragon Downhill. It was a beautiful morning and the sight of the crisp edged jumps, after the 45 minute journey, was great. There was already one rider, Alec at the scene, from local club RLS4X, (we were later joined by a whole posse of riders from the club:-).

The first straight is a really tighlty packed rhythm section, finished off with a neat left hand berm. The berm then switches to the right and left again in a really tight, (and rather uncomfortable) way :-S . The berm then goes right again, leading into the second straight; this has some more triples before going onto three sets of doubles, of about a metre and a half in height.

It was alot of fun to ride. I particularly enjoyed the first straight and soon found myself triple manualling, in places, on every run,( a real achievement for me). However I did find it difficult to generate enough speed to jump all of the doubles on the second straight; Alec and my team mate Tim Drew, showed that it could be done though... The other RLS4X riders seemed to enjoy the track and it was great when everybody was on the track, snaking their way, over the obstacles in a train formation.

Overall, it was great fun to ride and it gave my knees a real workout. The parish councillors who made this happen were thrilled that so many people had turned up on it's inaugral weekend. Congratulations to all of them, the local kids are lucky to have such facilities on their door step. I'm sure a few more BMX's and MTB's will be on Santas list this year! Can't wait to go there again soon.
g.

A good turn out by RLS and Redditch Premier Riders

Tim Drew showing how to jump the doubles

The unique berm arrangement

Alec from RLS4X

Me, enjoying the sun and air!

Club Activities this Weekend

Whilst Redditch Premiers, Benn and Matt, are going to Gosport, Portsmouth, for a winter regional this weekend; other members Jo, Greg, Shaun and Tim are hoping for good weather to allow us to go and ride the new play track at Bishops Tachbrook near Leamington Spa. From the looks of the photos below, it looks like we should be entertained for a few hours!-) It's been designed and built by Dragon Downhill, the builders of Derby and Tredegar so the build quality should be good, (but hopefully not too steep.)

R.P.

Whoopdeedoo!!

Track Latest...Looking Good!

Hello Everyone....
We had a meeting tonight, (Wednesday, October 21) with British Cycling and Redditch Borough Council. Mainly to start completeing various applications and tidying up our business plan and all the boring, but neccessary stuff that goes with getting a facility built.

We also had a progress report.....Things are really progressing quickly now. The project managers have done an unbelieveable job and have submitted the planning application. We will get an answer on this in early December and if this gets passed, and the weather is kind through November and December(no rain please). Work can start on the construction of the track early January. This will mean that if the weather is friendly, we will be looking at a completion date of late April 2010. So lets just hope that nothing happens to disrupt this.

We got to see the site plans tonight, which really hits home to us how close we are to finishing this project now. The direction in which the track runs will be very different to how we originally planned, but it is how it best fits in the space we have, when also taking in to account important factors like - wind direction and space left between the track and perimeter fencing for spectator areas.

The other good news is that it looks like the changes to the Changing room building are going to happen. This will be adapted to make half of this brick building a Clubhouse that is purely for our use. The other half of the building will then be showers, toilets and changing rooms. Looking at the plans, the Clubhouse will include an office, first aid room, storage, and a kitchen area.

We havent had any news as of yet on who will build the track or on track design, but we do know that in the next couple of weeks this will go out to tender, giving British Cycling accredited track builders the chance to apply for the job. So watch this space.

Thats all for now folks, but when I get any more updates you will read them here first.

Benn