Novice News

2009 Vikings Novice Program
Saturday, August 29, 2009

Get into road cycling this summer with
the Vikings: Canberra's friendly cycling club!

**Please note the correction to Mikey's email: mikeyc2007@gmail.com. We don't know who the other guy who was getting emails is, but he is not happy!**

Download the information flyer

Download the calendar

Read the report of the 2007 Novice Program
Read the report of the 2006 Novice Program
Photos from the 2006 Novice Program  

Update - Friday 25 September

Details

The 2009 Novice Program will run for 7 weeks from the end of September leading into the Summer Criterium Series. This is the fourth year for the Novice Program, and the 2006, 2007 and 2008 programs were hugely successful. It's a great pathway for novice adults to get into cycling and we will equip you with all the skills, information and confidence you need to tackle a bike race.

Afterwards, we don't leave you to fend for yourselves, instead we'll organise some teams to participate in the Summer Criterium Series. Essentially, we can take you as far as you want to go - whether you choose to be a casual rider or whether your aim is to make it to the National Road Series!

Registration for the program is now open. Please send in your registration form to reserve your place, as places are limited. If you have any further questions after reading the information on this page please email Mike  (0404 202 479 ) or Steph (0425 606 284).

All dates and details of sessions can be found in the Participant Information Pack below.

On this page:

• Who’s the program for?
• After the program…
• Participant Information Pack
  • Novice Program Structure
  • What you need
  • Costs
  • Coached sessions
  • How to reserve your place

Who's it for

The Novice Program is for men and women who want to race in the Summer Criterium Series at Stromlo Forest Park (Wednesday evenings) and who want to get into road cycling. You don't need to start with any great fitness or skill, but it does help if you are reasonably comfortable on your bike (eg. not too wobbly). The Vikings Cycling Club puts its emphasis on friendly competition, participation and responsibility, and participants are expected to assume these values.

After the program…

At the completion of the program you'll be equipped with all the social contacts, knowledge and skills to enter into any club events. However, we don't leave you there if you want more. In fact the Novice Program is just the first step in our pathway into road cycling which can take you as far as you are interested in going.

1. During the program we'll form some criterium teams for those who are interested. Last year we formed the Valhalla cycling teams from women’s C to B grades and from Men’s E to C. The team finished overall first in the competition! There are also regular local road races on the weekends, and fun Time Trials on Monday nights.

2. If you're still feeling keen after the criterium season, we'll be running a 10 week training program for the Canberra Tour stage race (if it runs this year). This was also very popular last year, and ended up having a great level of participation in 2008, with practically nearly the whole Valhalla team being involved. 

3. The final step, for those that have decided that both cycling and the Vikings are for them is to get involved in one of the club squads. The squads encompass the club philosophy of good sportsmanship, friendly competition and participation, rather than having a focus on results. 

Participant Information Pack

1. Novice Program Structure

The program will run for seven weeks. The head coach of the program is John Armstrong, one of the most experienced and respected coaches in Australia who is ideally suited to take on this sort of program. John has coached the previous three Novice Programs and has experience with cyclists of all level: from true beginners to elite cyclists. John will take the groups through aspects of cycling like bunch riding, bike control, cornering, tactics and sprinting. Your group will have around 14 or so people in it. Mike Christopherson and Stephanie Porter will be the program coordinators for this season.   The pair will offer any guidance, advice and motivation needed for all participants.  Both Mike and Steph are qualified cycling instructors, V-mobile members and competitive cyclists.  Each group will also have one or two friendly mentors from the Vikings Cycling Club for support and guidance. We’ve also organised a three hour Saturday bike maintenance workshop with technical whiz, coach and cycling author, Michael Hanslip (date and location TBC). 

In the last weeks of the program the CCC Summer Criterium Season will start up on Wednesday nights so you’ll have a chance to go in a few races and then ask any questions at the remaining coached sessions.

2. What you need

A road bike with standard drop bars, a helmet, and decent lights (as it will still be dark for some of the morning sessions).

3. Costs

The cost of the program will be $215 which is terrific value. This covers:

• all coaching (7 sessions, one per week for 7 weeks)
• the bike maintenance workshop
• a weekly email bulletin wrapping up the week’s sessions, with lots of tips and information
• handouts on cycling techniques and tactics
• a Full Cycling Australia licence for 2009-2010 (The regular price for a full licence for a new member is $175!)
• membership of the Vikings Cycling Club for 2009-2010
• a snazzy Vikings drink bottle
• a mentored Novice bunch ride on Friday mornings, departing from the ANU gym carpark at 6 am

If you’re already a member of a cycling club with a CA licence the cost will be $115.

For Women Under 30: To encourage participation, Cycling Australia gives some women a free licence for their first year of membership. The number of VIP licences is limited for each state, so the only real requirement is that you be keen to participate in the cycling community. You needn’t be a super-competitive rider, just an enthusiastic one. If you want to take up this offer then the cost of the program will only be $115.

The course doesn’t cover the cost of the summer criteriums – these are $5 each and you pay on the night when you enter.

4. Coached sessions

Participants have a choice of Monday or Thursday mornings for coached sessions. These sessions will run from 6 am until about 7.15 am. To try and make the groups fairly even, the more confident riders should go for the Monday sessions. You can nominate your day on the registration form. If we get extra demand, we will run a third session on Wednesday mornings.

Session 1 starts on 21 September for the Monday group, and 24 September for the Thursday group.

For Week 1, meet at Civic Pool carpark. The location will change week to week between Civic Pool carpark, Stromlo Forest Park and the AIS swimming pool carpark. We’ll let you know the location each week via the weekly bulletin. Also note that due to his work commitments there may be some instances where John may need to move the morning sessions to another day of the week. Another instance where coaching sessions may been to be re-arranged is if we get bad weather.

5. How to reserve your place