Roller Race on Saturday, what you need to know

ROLLAPALUZA IX-MAS
December 15th
Rollapaluza IX -mas party in association with LondonFGSS.com
7pm-2am
Waterloo Action Centre
14 Baylis Road
London SE1 7AA

Really looking forward to this gathering on Saturday, will be great to put faces to names, whether you’re racing or not….if you are gonna race, don’t forget to bring mates, wives, girlfriends, husbands, boyfriends etc to cheer you on.

Spectators:

It’s a fiver to get in we open doors at 7pm and we will kick you at 2am, Food from Sarah (mostly emapandas! there will be a veggie version) will be available and we will have a pub price bar, don’t bring your own booze.

There is an outside smoking area.

Archie’s gro-bags, Smeear Hats and Tour de Ville will have their own stands displaying their wares.

The LFGSS DJ’s will be playing an eclectic mix of tunes and we’ll have a live set from the Deadley Treadleys cyclo-punks, your emcee for the evening will be Rollapaluza veteran Stevie and your door host will be Jacqui.

Racers:

We provide bikes, they have clips and straps so you can race in trainers or normal shoes

The only way to take part is to turn up during qualification, which is between 7 and 8.30, you’ll pay a fiver to get in then pay an extra 2 quid at the sign – in desk.

First fifteen registrants will get a free Mosquito cycling cap.

After registration, you can make a qualification attempt, you will get brief safety and technique tips from Caspar and Winston. You can attempt to qualify as many times as you like, if there are a lot of people just re-join the queue when you want and we’ll get through riders as quick as we can.

Most people get faster the second time they race in an evening, so arrive early if you want to make multiple attempts.

If you arrive after qualification has finished you will be too late to race, qualification period will be extended if we have loads of riders, but don't bank on it.

Depending on the amount of racers either 16 or 32 riders will proceed to knockout rounds, there will be no repecharges.

We’ll try to complete the programme of racing by 1am and if we have time we’ll consider “grudge matches” from registered racers.

Rollapaluza rules & technique:

We’ll strap you in and adjust your saddle height for you, your saddle height should be considerably lower than your normal riding position.

Get a good start, watch the starter and anticipate the “go”…however you are limited to two false starts for the whole competition.

If you pull your foot out in the first 100m it is considered a false start, but you will get a restart, your challenger will also have to restart if this happens in the knockout rounds.

If you pull your foot out after 100m you must continue and finish the race or retire…..if this happens during qualification, you will, of course, be able to make another attempt.

Keep upper body relaxed and concentrate on spinning your legs, do not wrestle the bars.

Start breathing heavily while you are warming up and bring yourself up to close to maximum spin to loosen your legs and bring your heart rate up.

Visualisation: roller-racing is not about power, it’s about speed, you know when you’re riding down hill (Camden Road, Archway Road) and you’re not really trying to put the hammer down but you are trying to pedal as fast and fluid as you possibly can?…that’s what you want to try and replicate on the rollers.

Don’t hold anything back, start bloody fast and just keep going! It’s only 20 (or so) seconds.

Beer is a muscle relaxant so don’t feel you have to abstain, dancing will warm up your legs so don’t be shy ‘bout that either.

As at all Rollapaluzas ther will be a separate female competition, with separate prize list......Therese is on holiday so it's wide open!!!

For Rollapaluza champion Simon Jackson’s slightly alternative technique click here: http://thebikeshow.net/2007/12/11/10-december-2007-how-to-win-at-roller-racing/

Prizes:

We have loads of prizes ranging from a complete Rapha “fixed” outfit down to some inner tubes….with major prizes from Mosquito, Brixton and Condor and also represented are forumers Smeear, Archie’s Gro-Bags, and Tour de Ville (Jos innit)and Fresh Tripe, we also have a very special prize donated by PAC bags, their top of the range “Ultimate” bag embroidered with the legend “Rollapaluza Winner 07” in gold, exact allocation of prizes will be decided on the night.

Got questions?….email us: info@rollapaluza.com

http://www.rollapaluza.com

excellent winston, nice one. and good to see the word 'repecharge' out there (even though there won't be any)

anywhere to park bikes?

loads of rails outside....

what, leave our bikes outside in sth london, you crazy?! :p

central london innit...., there may be space elsewhere we'll look into it.

daisy chain every bike that comes!

Buy a twatster.. insure it.. then you'll want someone to nick it! :)

First in, last out?

we had no probs with missing bikes at the last one in this venue

that's cos it was pissing with rain and half of the venue was constantly outside either buying cans of lager or smoking :)

My bikes are gonna be inside anyway. Really looking forward to it. Did you invite the Nuts girls btw winston ?

That sounds like a fuckload of fun. I wish they had something like that in Dublin.

Damn this sounds like so much fun.
I have my work christmas party so can't make it.
Bah.

Jos My bikes are gonna be inside anyway. Really looking forward to it. Did you invite the Nuts girls btw winston ?

no need, we have hippo, his man boobs would be bigger than theres and natural! :D

well, you won't be able to go out and buy lager this time....

We'll have limited bike storage inside the garden / smoking area on a first come first serve basis, you should still lock them though, no bikes inside the building.

Shit. gonna miss it

winston well, you won't be able to go out and buy lager this time....

We'll have limited bike storage inside the garden / smoking area on a first come first serve basis, you should still lock them though, no bikes inside the building.
what about out for a kebab for sustenance?

of course, but Sarah's food is likely to be much nicer..........

There are insufficient expletives beyond the ken of aidan et al to express my irritation at missing this.
I've got to bloody work. I don't want to bloody work. What I want to do is eat empanadas and watch the super-human pedal-spinning power of y'all. Oh, and say hi, drink beer, and dance like a fool.

But money buys more bike stuff, I suppose.

Good luck to all and I hope it's a cracker!

Work? What are they gonna notice you not there? Not heard of the 'sickie'?
Yes, yes, easy for me to say at 2am sobering up for cough work.. but where there's a will there's a way!

I am ready for action!

Looking forward to this....prob wont be competing though...as I will suck most likely, but will be waving my video camera around if people dont mind.

most people who think they will suck are much better than they thought they would be, because this is one cycling discipline where technique can overcome power and fitness....so do it....and remember if everybody wants to be a spectator, there'll be nothing to watch!

Yeah, come on Peter - the more the merrier. And there is always those 28" inner tubes to aim for...