Racing

You don’t need to be Lance Armstrong to either enjoy racing or experience the high’s of winning. You may be still in primary school or enjoying your retirement but there’s plenty of opportunity for you to get out on your bike and race. Racing is competition and the benefits of competition are clear. Pushing yourself hard in the right environment can help you develop both your fitness and your bike handling skills. The satisfaction of improving your own performance is a great motivation to get out on your bike and train. While Lance is famous for saying that it is not about the bike, the right equipment does help, and to some extent you do get what you pay for.

Bike racing takes many forms including:

  • Road cycling, which includes events such as the individual time trial, short races on a closed section of road, multi-day tours (like the famous Tour de France) and even track sprinting on a velodrome
  • Mountain bike racing can be as dramatic as Four Cross (4X) or downhill or as challenging as cross country like Australia’s very own Crocodile Cup.
  • BMX, something that many experienced as children is now an Olympic sport with the potential for gold medals and international recognition but also includes the freestyle or trials riding made famous by the Extreme Games.

Hornsby Cycles also holds it's own Gold Sprints series. What’s a Gold Sprint? This sport comes from the fixie/bike courier culture which sees competitors match their spinning capability over a short virtual distance. As there is minimal resistance it’s all about your ability to build and hold a high cadence. Races are held over a range of distances. For safety’s sake your bike is clamped by the front forks so no special balance skills are required, just a willingness to have a go.

Gold Sprint on Rollers Spinning Mano a Mano The Big Screen      

On the night we vary the competition format between knockout, round robin and other variations to ensure everyone gets a go and a chance to take out the prize. The computer stores your fastest time which can be used to help seed the next round. 

Gold Sprints at Hornsby Cycles Round 2 Gold Sprints at Hornsby Cycles Round 2 Gold Sprints at Hornsby Cycles Round 2 Gold Sprints at Hornsby Cycles Round 2      

Thanks to CrankAdventure for the pic’s!