Hersden to close Old Skool class

[TK The Mic]

I know nik it is a toughie, but tbh the amount of shit we have been thro lateley we'l be doing well to stick with it ourselves. Everyone is welcome at our place, everyone knows that and if OS was better supported, I would have had no probs keeping it

TK

[moomin]

Understood, still sad though, so much support from the crew before that built Hersden

[58 delray]

surely even with 4 or 5 of us racing it covers the cost of the medals etc

the last meet clashed with MK which is why Ben, Ratty and myself  were not there, prior to that there was

myself
james
russell
dave

with more at the first meet as you say

ben has had a year of personal stuff clashing with the dates but was looking forward to next year

zippy has a buisiness to run that is only in it's second year so has found it difficult to get away (it's open on sundays)

also i know of two people that attend meetings with their kids that have seen the old school series and are building bikes at the moment to compete next year.

now i can't say for sure if all these people can attend every meeting but surely if enough riders turn up on any given day then we should be given a class to race in?
and i don't mean masters where we are racing against youngsters.


andy

[TK The Mic]

But its the same story we went thro last year, all these people on these forums saying they were up for it and yet Old Skool have only managed gates of 3, 4 and 1 riders in the last 3 meetings.

The wake up call came at the beginning of the year when we said we going to drop it, we gave riders every chance and that chance has been blown, and it wont be reversed

TK

[58 delray]

But its the same story we went thro last year, all these people on these forums saying they were up for it and yet Old Skool have only managed gates of 3, 4 and 1 riders in the last 3 meetings.

The wake up call came at the beginning of the year when we said we going to drop it, we gave riders every chance and that chance has been blown, and it wont be reversed

TK

quoting the gate of 1 at the last meeting is not on really as you were told at the beginning of the year that it clashed with MK.

[TK The Mic]

Ok then, there would have been 2 Andy, if you didnt go to MK

[58 delray]

Ok then, there would have been 2 Andy, if you didnt go to MK

ben was also at MK and james had a family commitment, dave said that as we wouldn't be there then nither would he.

as you have said there are 3 well 4 including dave that have supported it this year, more than enough to cover the medal costs, although on two out of the 5 meetings so far you haven't given the old school class medals as you haven't had enough to go round, saying we would get them later..............

[RATTY]

Easy answer to this, if it is just financial, then dont give out medals and plates, or offer those entitled the chance to buy the items. Its never been about the winning, but the taking part.

[58 delray]

just 3 riders covers the cost ratty, or so i was told when i asked about the cost

[TK The Mic]

Dave was at Hersden, didnt ride. I hope that you are all aware of the additional cr@p we are having to put up with at the club, which could mean that it wont be just Old Skool going at the end of the year, but those who organise the racing in the first place

[58 delray]

Dave was at Hersden, didnt ride. I hope that you are all aware of the additional cr@p we are having to put up with at the club, which could mean that it wont be just Old Skool going at the end of the year, but those who organise the racing in the first place

yes i'm aware of it but thats not what this thread is about and certainly not the place to talk about it.

so if there is no old school what about veterans like at regionals? say 30 or 35yrs plus? not sure what the BCF age is

[TK The Mic]

That could be a way to go, but it would need sustained interest. So a 20 inch 30 plus class, but we need bodies

[58 delray]

That could be a way to go, but it would need sustained interest. So a 20 inch 30 plus class, but we need bodies

a few of the cruiser riders have n/s 20s that they race and i don;t mind riding an O/S against them so if we combine the two we would have a gate 

[moomin]

In all honesty we have very much lost interest, no disrespect but last years cull was for alternative reasons, this years is due to poor attendance  and i dont doubt what happened to Billy O is a part of it.

Grab a cruiser guys and hang on for the ride

[58 delray]

fook the cruisers i aint giving up on 20" yet 

[58 delray]

ok, after a long discussion with tony on the phone this morning he has decided to give a 30+ veterans class a go dependent on interest,
this would be open to riders who are 30+ and can be riden on either a N/S or O/S bike.
i know this is not ideal in some peoples views, but we are where we are and have to face the fact that with only 3 regular O/S riders a class of our own is not going to happen next year.
i for one am just happy that i will have a class to ride 20" in against riders of a similar age (although some will be 16yrs younger than me  ) at least we won't have to try to compete against the super fast youngsters.

[Jon The Bassist]

FWIW, at Bradford we run 2 adult age groups:
- Superclass for top BMX/MTB riders, everything from the top cruiser riders to ex-Pros
- They Really Ought to Have More Sense (TROHMS), for Old Skool, Cruiser Dads, Adult Novice, MTBers trying BMX etc etc.

This works really well for us  . The TROHMS class is mainly 35+, with the occasional novice who might be late 20s/early 30s. Both classes for any bike, any wheel size - it's all about the craic.

[rooski]

Pesonally i find it odd that you dont have many riders for the o/s in the south

There seemed to be plenty of riders from the south at the MK races

Surely they would ride at Hersden if they rode at Mk?

[58 delray]

Pesonally i find it odd that you dont have many riders for the o/s in the south

There seemed to be plenty of riders from the south at the MK races

Surely they would ride at Hersden if they rode at Mk?

i agree but where are they when we need them ?

[RATTY]

I think the South OS scene was a victim of its own success, A lot of the riders who started racing OS at Hersden and in the OSS are now riding nu school, I had even started riding cruiser before I got ill.
Hersden had a huge influence on getting a lot of riders involved through Old school. One of the big reasons why I will never understand why the class needs to be dropped. Riders coming back into the sport need to feel comfortable and a bit competitive, to be totally blitzed by a 20 year old on a new school bike is totally dis-heartening and just results in the newbie just hanging up his gloves, the Old school gave a place to the old ones to have a go. Without that avenue we will loose that source of riders.
I totally understand TKs view that the class is not financially viable just on entrance fees, but thats a very narrow view, most OS riders will bring family or friends with them, some of whom will race, most of them will eat and drink (revenue).
Still I feel the decision was made a long time ago, maybe to do with attendances, but maybe just personal views have clouded the situation.
Either way, hope it works itself out.

[sonic-1]

i guess at end of day 30+ 20" class is the best on offer  how ever racin a o/s bike against all the loverly stable forgiving n/s bikes is a little daunting !!!! not havin deep enough pockets to build a n/s i guess i will be on the bully
but i do have the option to race cruiser as i built one but to be honest im not good enough and cant risk injury buy trying to hard   

[se]

Shame, but understood. I would've come more often/in future but the dates clashed with everything this year. It wasn't intentional that I couldn't make it very much, always loved Hersden races, always prefer old bikes to new ones, but hey. C'est la vie.

[se]

And I forgot to say: thanks to everyone at Hersden for organising it and everyone who raced there. Top time.

[sonic-1]

Well sunday the 18th was end of an era  last race for o/s in se , only 4 riders turned up to battle the last ever o/s race at hersden !!!!!!! dam gutted

[RATTY]

Im so sorry that we couldnt afford to get there Sunday.

 I loved racing there, I loved the atmosphere and the crew. but what will be...

Good luck to Hersden and their crew.

But guys, their may still be some life left in OS racing in the south....Just maybe