fauxpas said:
The criterium racing at Ourimbah looks kewl.
I'm also looking at the year round racing at Kooragang Island in Newcastle...
Is it OK to be with more than 1 club or is that not on?
And if so, when joining, most the do$h goes to the Cycling Australia Rego (license?)... so would joining a second club be cheap?
Hi fauxpas. I'm from Central Coast CC and grew up racing on Kooragang Is. Please don't blame me for the quality of the CCCC website or the Aussies loss to the Kiwis in the ruggers.
When you join a club it gives you an affiliation with Cycling NSW and Cycling Australia. This gives you insurance coverage which is mandatory if you want to race. Most of the registration monies go to CNSW and the majority of that is purley the insurance fee.
Clubs can ask for any amount on top of the fees set down by CNSW. CCCC is probably the cheapest as they only add $20 to the CNSW fees. Compare that to (say) Peloton Sports which adds a significantly higher amount of close to $70.
You can only join one club. Membership of a club is for the sole purpose of attaining the correct insurance coverage to race. Coverage, once attained, can be used in any state of Australia.
Central Coast CC is in the enviable position of running its own road, crit and track programmes
and being part of two club combines (interclub comps): Central Districts and North Shore. Coasties can race in any races conducted by these clubs:
Northern Suburbs CC
Peloton Sports
Bicisport
Manly Warringah CC
Hunter Districts CC
Kooragang Open CC
Cessnock CC
Manning Valley (Taree) CC
Muswellbrook CC (when affiliated)
and masters are always welcome at the Hunter Valley Vets races too.
So there's plenty of racing to be had on top of that offered by the club.
The Ourimbah circuit, while not technical, offers riders the chance to get some really exciting racing in on the fastest circuit around. The bushland setting is perfect too with no nearby noise or air pollution: brilliant.
Kooragang on the other hand is a take it or leave it affair. Some people like it, some don't. The circuit is amidst fertilizer plants and other industrial complexes that spew out nasty smelling stuff. The road is a private road and is not maintained (ie. rough as guts). There's a train line running though it, so you can expect to get held up by a train every once in a while. And there plenty of truck activity too. But the style of racing is very different and a lot of fun. I love the place, but it's not everyone's cup of tea.
If you want to join CCCC send me a PM and I'll put you in touch with the registrar.
