An Amateur goes to BBCh - Thanks to BOTS, BBCh and BCG!

[Gandharv Bakshi]

Hey,

I went to my first Bangalore Bicycling Champions race last month and I wrote an account of it here. It was my first race ever and I am as amateur a cyclists as one can get! So, to all your commute bikers out there, this is what I want to say:

1. Go out and rent a road bike once - the feeling of riding fast (by your standards) on a highway is just something else! And rent a road bike for an entire weekend - your first ride on it will suck because you are not used to it. Your 3rd ride will be heavenly! I rented mine from BOTS, but you can go to BOTS or Procycle or anyone else who rents out road bikes! But just once, try it and feel like a champ! 

2. Take part in BBCh (I am not associated with BBCh) - the races have such relaxed times for amateurs like you and me. And they are extremely well organized, and super-fun. I came in the bottom 10% but you will feel so good just to be completing the race! And yes, they will let you start ahead of the pros. So at least for a short while, you will be ahead of all the champions - savor those seconds well. The fee is paltry (it was 300 bucks and included water, bananas and a lavish breakfast). 

3. Team up with other amateurs like me. None of our cycling champs are snobs, and at the race, you will not get treated as an amateur. But it gave me comfort that I was with people like me (it was a team event, so I had teamed up with Sebin from Bangalore Cyclist Group). We amateurs made sure that the tail was pretty crowded too! And more than anyone else, I think we amateurs celebrated completing the race. 

Disclaimer: You can take part in BBCh in any bike (for the road races) including your MTB or Hybrid. 

[Opendro]

I can smell another roadie scum ;)

This coming Sunday is a mass start road race. You can watch the elite going and finishing while you will start and finish your race in between. Decathlon Yelahanka has sponsored breakfast and Yogabars sponsoring snacks. And you will have your regular robusta bananas and additionally oranges for this race, that is besides water and eletrolyte drinks at start, Uturn and finish points.

Moreover, Decathlon is sponsoring an aerofit 9 for the amateurs winner :)

http://www.bbch.in/BBCh15Race03.htm

https://www.facebook.com/BangaloreBicycleChampionships

Today is last date. Please register :)

[satya prakash Panigrahi]

"We amateurs made sure that the tail was pretty crowded too", ha ha ha, nice. Short but an awesome description. Motivates me to start participating in such city events.

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[Gandharv Bakshi]

@Opendro - yes, absolutely! Cant help it - they are awesome! 

@Satya - thanks! Come along for this weekend's race then - it would definitely be fun. And they have a category for us - we have to complete 47kms in 3 hours. Anyways, yeah, we need more such cycling based events on weekends.

[Chidambaran Subramanian]

Who will be able to participate as amateur?

[Anil Kadsur]

3 hrs for 47 kms?

[Opendro]

Anybody who can ride at an average speed of 15 kmph for a distance of 47 km. I think, we should not allow anybody who can cover that distance at an average above 38 kmph. But there is not such rule as of now. Whoever falls below the 40 percentile in ITT should be able to race.

Minors are supposed to get guardian permission. But not sure what the age is for eligibility.

[Gandharv Bakshi]

@Chiddu - I think anyone can participate, as long as they register. I will check with the organizers though. 

@Anil - yes, for the amateurs category that is what it says at http://bbch.in/BBCh15Race03.htm . It is fairly easy for even normal commuters. I think the BBCh guys can explain this best, but I suspect it is to encourage people like us to just enjoy racing. 

[Opendro]

Guys, for rules, this is the old rule book that will hold true for most part : http://bbch.in/RulesBook.htm

And for the amateurs, yes, there has been conscious effort to make the race attractive for newbies as they are usually the majority of crowd. Though I doubt if this race will attract that many newbies, I firmly believe that a shorter and easier race for amateurs will induct more newbies in future.

I'm not typically an organizer, but have been trying to help the team that makes BBCh happen for this year. So, you can take my word to a good measure :)

[berkeleydb]

Anil is wondering... "I can walk faster than that." :P

Gandharv -- Nice report on BBCh.

-{db}.

[berkeleydb]

... rather, "I can walk *backwards* faster than that." :D

-{db}.

[Gandharv Bakshi]

Thanks db! Had the second race yesterday and this was even better - will do a write up again, immediately after we get the photographs!