The Racing Collective is a new kind of bike club: they host races, but without any official support or entry fees. Timing is done via Strava. Adventurous events are designed to hone racers’ navigational and planning skills.
Salient points from the club’s “About” page:
#1 We are a community of athletes who believe sport should be free from commercialisation & mollycoddling.
#2 We are part of a movement of people questioning what’s being sold to them.
#3 We take time out of our busy lives to help protect and restore areas of wilderness.
To support that last point, the club aims to “establish the UK’s first crowd-sourced national park” and holds an annual conservation and race-planning week (coming up 23rd to 30th September).
News of this racing club first came across the Grit.cx desk way back in March, and it sounded way cool then, but what with one thing and another it never got posted for you dear readers to enjoy. So we’re making amends now. Here is the latest press release from The Racing Collective:
For those weary of mountain bike marathons, sportives, and the like, The Racing Collective offer an alternative… racing distilled down to its base spirit; no entry fees, no feed stations, no hand-holding. If you like self-sufficiency, bikepacking, and wilderness, this club is for you.
Here’s how it works:
1. Join The Racing Collective club on Strava
2. Sign up to an event
3. Download the route and show up to the start point
4. Ride
5. Meet up at a pub afterwards for brief glory and post race analysis
Routes are typically aimed at gravel bikes with a mix of on and off road. Successful events this year have included races across England, Wales and Scotland which served as training events for Transcontinental contenders.
Forthcoming events include CrossduroPennines #XDP17 (7th October) from Huddersfield, PubduroNYM #pdNYM17 (26th-27th August) round the North York Moors, and the inaugural CrossduroScotland race #XDS17 (2-3 September) from Inverness to Glasgow.
Events planned for 2018 include TransEnglandRace #TER18 (7-8 April 2018), TransWalesRace #TWR18 (5-6 May 2018), TransScotlandRace #TSR18 (2-3 June 2018), CrossduroWales #XDW18 (7-8 July 2018) and CrossduroEngland #XDE18 (4-5 August 2018).
Join the collective at www.theracingcollective.com/join.html.
