Winter is gone and sunshine and warmth are returning to the Kingdom. The heat is also building up in our Season Championship. We have a 4 races squeezed in to the next 7 weeks, so a run of good form now, could help you to leap many places ahead. (Next year we will not organize our races around other events but will evenly space them out over the season!). It’s 9 laps for the A-race and 5 laps for the B-race (if you can do them all).
Time To Try Weekend
However, we are also making this the “Time To Try” Weekend, to encourage as many people as possible who are interested in giving bike racing a go, to join in, maybe even for the first time. To help that idea, we are not going to charge any race fees for the B-race (as Day Member), our ‘introductory’ race.
It doesn’t make a difference if you are male or female: all are welcome to join in. You don’t have to feel fit enough to complete all 5 laps of the course because for many people, just completing one lap will be like a mini victory and we respect that and want to celebrate it with you!
What Do I Need to Join In?
You need a bicycle. Ideally you’ll have a race bike, but maybe you have a hybrid bike or a mountain bike. That’s OK, as long as they are in reasonable condition and don’t have bits falling off them. We do say that Time Trial bikes are not permitted at the road races because they are not very safe for riding in groups and because this is a race, electric assisted bikes are also not permitted (but they are a great idea for riding in general!).
You will also need a helmet: it should fit you and the straps be tight, covering your forehead up to about 2cms above your eyes (no exposed foreheads) and not wobbling about. If you need help to adjust the helmet, someone will be able to assist you.
Clothing: yes, we insist on having clothing. We do not enforce any modesty rules so that falls down to individual comfort and discretion. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have a full Lycra bike racing outfit or the best cycling sunglasses. We don’t care about that. It matters more that you have some fun and would like to come again. You’ll decide for yourself what gear to have as you continue riding. If you normally listen to music while doing sport, fitness stuff etc, please don’t wear headphones to a bike race. We need to pay attention to safety whilst racing at that means being able to hear what is happening around you.
150 SAR. This money is the deposit for the race chip you need to fit onto your bike (assuming you don’t already have one). We have a professional timing system to count your lap times. When you finish the race and return the chip, we’ll give you your deposit back.
Weather
It’s not going to be that warm, possibly below 10C at the start. You might want to have some gloves on. At those temperatures, it’s only comfortable to have exposed skin if you are burning a lot of energy.
The Podium
As schedule, the podium will be for ALL and the prizes will be coupons from our sponsors The Cycle Hub and CamelStep 1st 1300SR, 2nd 500SR and 3rd 200SR, Also medals from Riyadh Wheelers club.
The Race Course and Location
“Midweek Circuit” is characterized by rolling hills (the maximum gradient is about 12%), which can create lots of fatigue in the longer races. Each lap is 9.2 km long and has 114 m of elevation (more course details here). Just doing one lap can feel hard, especially if there is some wind blowing. You have to use your energy well. If you can, bring energy drinks and gels, have a good (carbohydrate heavy) breakfast before you come. Maybe even arrange for a friend/supporter to hand you a drink or some high energy food (like a slightly peeled banana) as you pass by the start line to complete a lap. Our sponsor Carrefour and Camel Step will provide good refreshments for after.
Few people have ideas of winning a race. The highly competitive and experienced racers will be in the A-race and although they will be sharing the same road at the same time (it’s very wide), will keep clear of the B-racers. We expect for many B-racers that their challenge will not be getting the best time possible and beating others, but seeing just how many laps they can complete. 5 laps is a stiff challenge.
Part of the fun and skill of bike racing, is finding other riders on the course who have similar speed, to ride with and share the effort of pushing the wind.
Supporters
Bring as many as you can. There is not really any traffic so it is a safe place for children to be (although they should always be supervised by an adult and not run into the road whilst riders are coming past). If you are careful of riders, you can drive your car around the course (only go in the same direction as the riders) to take photographs in different places. Sometimes people appreciate extra encouragement on the steeper “Camel Humps” hills for example.
If you have any other questions, have a look around the website.
