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See I'm not so sure about that. It's race after all and the track is defined by the tape not the procession. Sure no outright dangerous dick moves but if there is a gap then I think it's fair game, same as the others don't have to let you past. We teach the kids to take alternative lines and I've seen riders coached to swing the bike out when on foot around corners to make it more difficult (that was coached by an ex BC coach). I am going to have a chat with others in the club who've been around longer incase I've got the wrong idea.
Going around the outside/off line is the only way past sometimes and is completely fair game, if it’s between the tapes, it’s golden. However, if you’re gonna dive bomb, make it stick. Nothing worse than people dipping inside every corner just because and having to over take them again, or worse still, they bin it and take everyone out/run them to the outside tape.
When I used to race, in the first lap or so, I would imagine where the bottle neck or crash due to over enthusiastic ‘stuffing it up the inside’ would be and make a plan for an alternative path, in cross momentum is key imo.
I once ended up top 10 for a lap or so in a World Cup in France as there was a crash at the first big left hand corner after a long road start, Someone near the front crashed and took out half the field. I was gridded near the back, anticipated it happening and rode all the way around the outside off line to came out of the carnage in 6th! Was depressing for the rest of the day though as all the hitters battered past again. I’ve never been over taken so often!
I did a race a few years ago, wessex v50, where there were far too many entries for the opening lap to cope. Loads of us walked the first 3 bends or so. There was a guy dive-bombing even then - he was going really wide, stretching the tape, loosened a couple of stakes as he went and then trying to squeeze back in every time he came to a stake, never mind a corner.
I'm "sure" it was within the law but if that's the way he lives the rest of his life, ...
So IMO, just don't be that dick and you'll be OK
I'm "sure" it was within the law but if that's the way he lives the rest of his life, ...
So IMO, just don't be that dick and you'll be OK
My sneakiest mass overtake was at Battle of the Bing in Broxburn, there was a short section of canal tow-path leading to a set of steps which was causing a bit of a queue on the first lap due to the limited width of the tow path. In a moment of inspired madness I figured that since the undergrowth at the side of the tow-path wasn't taped off I could run through it and skip most of the queue. Morally this seemed OK as I experienced extreme lacerations and stings from the brambles and nettles for the sake of 10 places or so who probably passed me again later anyway... 🙄
I think I'm careful enough with the dive bombing, I tend to do it whilst still parallel with the other rider, rather than when they have started their turn, it becomes an exercise in late braking and having to accelerate out again rather than blocking them in any way.
Rode the V50 trophy race at Derby today - not done a national race for a while so it was good to experience, although picked a bad day to leave the skills at home. Twisty off camber course that I only got one lap practice in, dry and track looked ok after two races, thought the grip felt decent.
Gridded 64th out of 66 riders, 7th row right at the back so some work to do. Work was done, as the start was a big L-shape with two straights, so passed 25 blokes. That was about the only good thing that happened - first two laps or so were ok but it had started to rain pretty solid and the corners were slippy as the course got cut up. Tyres a bit too hard but mainly I began to suck beyond reason, properly crashed three times, ejected outwith the tape, numerous foot down rescues and just not riding well. Came in 50th in my cat by the end.
Bit of a poor effort as it wasn't some technical beast of a track, more just bread and butter cross cornering / off-camber in the wet, albeit a lot of it on a pretty long lap. Wasn't even massively tired afterwards, as I couldn't lay down the power I wanted. But I guess that is the point - the harder track separates those who can from those who struggle to carry speed through the corners. Thinking of trying round 2 in Falkirk, to see if I can rectify things (although I hear that is a challenging course itself).
Nice one Garry_lager, am re-assured you got some racing in at least!
I expect to be gridded right at the back at Falkirk, have had very little skills practice and have only just started hitting the trainer for the season, am hoping this isn't a bad idea 😂
Falkirk is a beautiful course, I think there are a couple of steep walls and I remember a lovely off-camber bend wrapping around a hill, I hit the deck every second lap 😖
Falkirk is a sickening great idea! Honestly course looks hard AF from this preview last year, but a great challenge. It's a bit of a project for me to get up, so going to see if I can arrange it.Nice one Garry_lager, am re-assured you got some racing in at least!
I expect to be gridded right at the back at Falkirk, have had very little skills practice and have only just started hitting the trainer for the season, am hoping this isn't a bad idea 😂
Falkirk is a beautiful course, I think there are a couple of steep walls and I remember a lovely off-camber bend wrapping around a hill, I hit the deck every second lap 😖
Oh bloody hell, that's not the course I remember 😂
Endless steep walls, that's exactly what killed my legs at Brechin, this could be a humbling one 😬.
Is anyone running inserts in their tyres? Wasn't sure if it was a thing in CX or not but given my weight it would be nice to be able to run less than 40 psi in the tyres without fear of flatting or rim damage... Pretty sure the extra grip would make up for the extra ~50g per wheel.
Yes, I'm running challenge handmade tubeless baby limus or limus with tubolight inserts. Main reason was to help protect the carbon rims. At 77kg I can run down towards 20 psi. Normally pump to 24/25 rear (front -2psi) and adjust from there based on feel/root count.
Ok cool, wasn't a daft idea then. Do you still end up on the rim/insert quite a lot? Will have a play at the weekend practising starts and off-cambers at the local football pitches...
I run inserts, although I'm not a huge fan tbh - never had a problem burping tubeless without them, and I don't really like how they feel in the corners. But you will never burp a tubeless tyre with an insert - they have a strong bead-locking effect, which is good piece of mind.
I like to run 22psi-ish for typical wet cross courses we get here, weigh around 100kg. I've seen more issues with tubeless losing pressure on really dry courses, which we don't see often. Like max sideloads in grippy corners can burp the tyre.
love this thread.
me and the mrs are big cx fans.
heading to belgium again in jan for a week of riding, drinking and watching the big boys on the circuit.
was amazing last winter, manage to get to 3 events form our hotel in bruges. brilliant riding over there in the winter.
oh and at all the events we were the only british voices cheering Cameron Mason on every lap. good rider too.
I run inserts, although I'm not a huge fan tbh - never had a problem burping tubeless without them, and I don't really like how they feel in the corners. But you will never burp a tubeless tyre with an insert - they have a strong bead-locking effect, which is good piece of mind.
I like to run 22psi-ish for typical wet cross courses we get here, weigh around 100kg. I've seen more issues with tubeless losing pressure on really dry courses, which we don't see often. Like max sideloads in grippy corners can burp the tyre.
Excellent thanks, amazed you're running 22psi! I'm 92kg so will try a bit lower than my usual 'conservative' pressures.
Should have looked at the forecast before popping the seal on my mixed condition tyres, they might have been ideal for Falkirk given that it looks like a nice run of weather between now and then, but I just want to fit a set of tyres and be done with it, I've swapped tyres three times in the last two weeks on this bike! 😆
was amazing last winter, manage to get to 3 events form our hotel in bruges. brilliant riding over there in the winter.
That sounds like a great trip! Am cautiously optimistic the family might get hooked, our wee boy seemed to enjoy his last race and both he and my wife enjoyed meeting Cameron Mason! Hope they're not too disappointed when he doesn't show up for the rest of the series!
Pontentially the right place to ask here - has anyone been over to Benidorm for the World Cup? Looks like a good laugh and I can get a little holiday for dirt cheap through work, Sat-Monday, to just eat cheese and meat, drink beer, ring my cowbells and shout at people falling into sandpits for a couple of days?
feel in the corners
Main time I notice that they are there is a difference in how the tyre rebounds. I think we are likely doing a corner heavy training session tonight so tempted to try running there really low and see what it feels like.
Do you still end up on the rim/insert quite a lot?
The inserts I have a quite soft, they are nothing like the rimpacts I have in mtb tyres where it's obvious when you are on the insert. Would be hard to tell the difference between rim and insert strike other than it being less of a sharp thunk (if that makes sense). I have frequently felt the tyre sidewalls squirming, especially out of a corner under power, and have not burped them.
I might need to tighten up my inserts, they're the Vittoria ones that you cut to length and zip tie the ends together, am not sure they're tight enough on the rim to prevent burping.
Mine are nominally a set length, you have to slightly stretch them while fitting.
Should have looked at the forecast before popping the seal on my mixed condition tyres
I made a similar mistake fitting the baby limus to my best wheels. Last race I went for my slightly heavier alloy wheels with X-one all rounds fitted instead. With the continuing dry spell can see these being the right choice for the next few rounds. I can't face swapping the baby limus off just yet though!
Got to 21/19 psi last night and still felt good on the grass and banks. That was with firm ground conditions. Should have tried lower but there is one stony rough section in our training area that I didn't want to push my luck on as we were hitting it quite fast last night.
has anyone been over to Benidorm for the World Cup? Looks like a good laugh and I can get a little holiday for dirt cheap through work, Sat-Monday, to just eat cheese and meat, drink beer, ring my cowbells and shout at people falling into sandpits for a couple of days?
I've been seriosly thinking of doing the same.. perhaps with my lad.
I think up the inside is fine especially if you can get past clean. Same as in motor racing, if you do not want someone shooting up the inside you should ride more defensively instead of riding the 'racing line' and expecting everyone behind you to do the same.
Just my opinion,. obviously
Second race of the season today for me. It was over a 2 hour drive there but was so worth it, as the course was both challenging and fun and the weather was beautiful to boot!.
Knockburn Loch CX course is usually freezing and can be very icy, today it was sunny and around 17C, bliss!
There was still a couple of greasy off-camber sections, as well as a sand trap, a near vertical tussocky wall, hurdles, bus-stops as well as beautiful single-track and a steep climb/descent to top it off.
So much fun!
I finished 18th in the over 40s and 40th overall, I was quite happy with this out of a field of 60 riders. Even more so after my woeful start (I have zero sprinting ability), my couple of falls (nothing damaged other than my pride, one fall was also right in front of the photographer, bugger!), and my many line/gear/ errors and general over exuberance.
I've been informed by someone in the know that the course at Callendar House (Falkirk) will be quite a different course this year, as someone in the council didn't like a race over a national monument (the old course round up, over, along and down parts of the Antonine wall).
We'll have to see what the new course is like.
Good effort Didn'thurt! I was getting FOMO sat at home but got a beautiful road spin in then went prospecting in Dunblane and found some new trails and a brewpub 😂
Are you going for the full series? The rest are all pretty local for you except Camperdown I guess.
Sort of not looking forward to Falkirk now to be honest, quite disappointed with how the legs are feeling despite thinking I had come out of the summer in good form. Need to think of it as just a fun training exercise, or have a laugh with the other potential lanterns rouge! 😂
Going up to Falkirk for Sat - I'll be sure to say Hi @13thfloormonk, my race is just after yours. I'm expecting the course to be humbling, but will be fun to experience (in hindsight).
I was planning on staying up for Sun and riding something big and grand around Blair Atholl on the cross bike, but the weather looks poor. 7 degrees and raining in the Highlands sounds like it could be a hard day anywhere elevated and open. Might take the enduro bike and just go to the Tweed Sun morning.
Going up to Falkirk for Sat - I'll be sure to say Hi @13thfloormonk, my race is just after yours. I'm expecting the course to be humbling, but will be fun to experience (in hindsight).
I was planning on staying up for Sun and riding something big and grand around Blair Atholl on the cross bike, but the weather looks poor. 7 degrees and raining in the Highlands sounds like it could be a hard day anywhere elevated and open. Might take the enduro bike and just go to the Tweed Sun morning.
Nice on GL, I've now wrangled a half day off tomorrow as rumours abound that the course is unofficially open to ride, will serve as 'openers' for the race, but also reduce pressure on Saturday morning as I'll be trying to mobilise whole family to get there for the morning practice session before the race (also our boy is racing the U10 at 10am).
Shame about Sunday weather, perversely I was hoping it would rain before the race as I've fitted my Terreno Wets now and I'll be damned if I'm taking them off again! I would have liked to show you around some of the local stuff on the CX bikes which might be more fun in cold/damp conditions but we're off on holiday Sunday AM.
I think as per Didn'thurt's post the course is different from previous years, I'm cautiously optimistic that there are slightly fewer steep ramps which suits me fine!
Good luck both.
I'm back to racing this weekend after a two week break. Hoping for a good result as the field is a little thinner with some of the fast boys clearly not fancying a back to back with Falkirk.
Hmm, sadly very little to report from Falkirk, had an enjoyable day practising the course with Didnthurt on Friday, legs gradually warmed into it and I was feeling like I would have a good race, but pretty much slipped into survival mode after the start sprint and first hill.
Had a bit of a tussle for 4th last, I tried to show off with a wee jump after the big descent and flew off into a bush, allowing the position ahead to open a bigger gap. The guy behind me launched his sprint a lap early so was completely gassed for the final lap, sort of 'gifted' me 31st out of 34 🙄
Frustratingly just had no punch in the legs, it was just a 40 minute threshold slog rather than any sort of race. Am sure I've got more in me so will just have faith, pray I'm just working through some sort of bug that's maybe taking it out of me. I'm not used to fighting for 'not last' 😂
Garry_Lager, I think I remembered your non-forum name but you weren't called out at gridding for V50? Hope all is well 👍
I couldn't make it in the end, got ill on Thurs - unfortunate timing as it would have been a great weekend's riding (dropped you a message on this fine website). Could have got round probably but it was too long a trip just to see the course.
Great to ride a national event - standard is high. Both inspirational and disheartening! Was the course as hard as its rep or did you feel in control of it?
Argh sorry, I never see messages, don't get notifications, will respond via message on your other points!
Technically the course was definitely the upper end of what I've ridden on the CX bike, although I didn't think Brechin was far off actually, both shared steep walks and numerous off camber grassy/muddy switchbacks. Would have been a different story in the wet, sadly didn't get a chance to spectate yesterday when the rain came!
Physically the run-ups found me out really quickly, two of them and both steep. And perhaps generally the number of steep climbs were what really exhausted me, both Watts AND kgs have clearly gone in the wrong direction this year 😂
as someone in the council didn't like a race over a national monument (the old course round up, over, along and down parts of the Antonine wall).
My understanding is it was Historic Environment Scotland that were less than chuffed. It's my local park, ironically my house is almost directly on top of the Antonine Wall 😀
I was away this weekend otherwise would've headed along to spectate again.
Hope the hosting club (FJBC) broke even in the end. With entries being down it was heading for a £5k loss but I believe a flurry of donations last night might've changed that. Saw a FB post last night (can't find it now) with a fundraising link.
Wessex CX round 7 at Kingsclere yesterday, normally a tough one as its on gallops on the side of downland. Climbing legs required with a long climb from the bottom to the top. Some nice changes this year where the course right to the bottom then up onto some tight off camber corners which were a challenge. Also a few switchbacks at the top of the main climb which in my view took the sting out of it a little. Entries seemed low, perhaps because of the Nat Trophy race with very few making it back after racing Saturday. Both my daughters were out, youngest came 7th of 9 but more importantly looked strong on the climb and was doing good lap times till her fitness started to struggle. Eldests got off the line badly and was 4th at the end of lap one with a sizable gap to 2nd. By the end lap 2 she was glued to the wheel of 2nd with 4th now a fair way back. The two of them traded places constantly for the next few laps and it came down to who had the legs on the last accent. My daughter was slow over the hurdles which allowed the other girl ahead but she fumbled the remount and they were neck and neck as the climb started. Then about a third of the way up my daughter found an extra little burst to open a gap 1, then 2 and fairly quickly 5 bikes lengths. That was the decisive moment and she held on to claim 2nd by 13 seconds and only 30 seconds behind 1st (who has been much further ahead in previous races). Very good result for her and capitalising on the absence of the two series leaders.
By the time the V40s kicked off the rain was starting to come down. The course progressed from pretty dry to wet and in places quite slippy. I've not been feeling 100% this week so didn't dig too deep from the whistle but found myself in around 15th after good line choice up the hill. That was as good as it got though and I slipped back to 20th by the end. It feels like a bit of a missed opportunity as 16th was not very far ahead but I did enjoy and had some decent back and forth tussles with a few riders.
Hope the hosting club (FJBC) broke even in the end. With entries being down it was heading for a £5k loss but I believe a flurry of donations last night might've changed that. Saw a FB post last night (can't find it now) with a fundraising link.
Found it again: LINK
and
https://www.paypal.com/pools/c/9jjfleO9Go
Sounds like they've broken even, bit of a worry for a volunteer-led, youth-biased cycling club.
Sounds like they've broken even, bit of a worry for a volunteer-led, youth-biased cycling club
Yeah, last I checked they needed £700 but had received >£1400. They're a great club and we've already benefited from other events they run.
I donated but also commented on one of the FB posts. Whose call is it that ALL entrants need a full membership and race licence? Frankly entering Falkirk was an extravagance for me, almost £100 for what was basically a punishing training exercise. How many more entries would they get without the licence requirements? Even if it was just a day licence (I think BC even allows organisers to charge a discretionary £10 for anyone not presenting a licence at entry?).
Seems like BC shooting themselves in the foot but perhaps there's a good reason for it.
Allowing co-hosting with local league events might help (Clanfield did this last year). If you waived the licence requirement for those only interested in local league points you may then get more takers. Maybe not in the senior races but for the support/kids races.
Whose call is it that ALL entrants need a full membership and race licence?
It's a BC requirement for National Level events, maybe even UCI related since it's a C2 licenced UCI event. Seems reasonable for national level, UCI ranked events, which come with additional support requirements from BC & UCI (did you see how many comms were on site versus a SCX for example?), which are funded by licence fees.
Obviously it's a tricky balance but we can't simultaneously say we want National or UCI ranked events, and also everything low priced entry level cost. I think there's a lot more going on with issues in entry numbers/fees right now than race licence requirements.
I got the impression it was only the elite/senior race that was C2, hence no 80% requirement for the plodders like me at the back of the V40s.
I'm totally fine with paying more for a bigger scale of event, perhaps there should just be a higher race entry fee for non-licence holders, paying a £50 flat rate entry would still have worked out cheaper for me and I bet would have encouraged more entries than £50 BC membership + £20 licence + £37 race entry.
Yes not all cats are C2 I don't think, but I fully expect that the costs have to be spread across the whole event otherwise there would be a significant increase in a small number of categories which creates other problems.
I haven't seen finances for this one but have seen on some other events and does seem that underlying issue seems to be costs are rising faster than entry fees, which puts the pinch on organisers and then gets exacerbated by less folk entering because the overall cost of a race weekend is becoming much higher. So we can play around all we want with licence fees but the other costs dwarf it.
I suspect that CX is feeling the pinch even more so as it's a secondary sport for more than say MTB racing, so if you need to reduce your racing costs for the year you still keep a full calendar of focused MTB/Road events but cut back on your secondary events. I know several in exactly that boat this year.
Worth giving feedback here
Yeah saw that and responded yesterday.
Although ironically now that I DO have a licence etc. I'm considering racing Irvine in the new year, apparently the organisers will accept licences purchased this year.
Will they? Thought that was down to BC.
I'm going to race the Clanfield round and maybe Sandwell Valley. The others are just so far away from the south coast.
Surely the year the licence is purchased in doesn't matter, they run from the anniversary of purchase, not calendar year, don't they??
No, they expire at the end of the year, regardless of when purchased it seems. BUT they were 50% off if purchased after July I think.
I'm basing my comment on validity for Irvine based on a comment on an FB post from one of the organisers. Bit of a leap of faith on my part, will be annoyed if I only get one race out of it! 😂
No, they expire at the end of the year, regardless of when purchased it seems. BUT they were 50% off if purchased after July I think.
I'm basing my comment on validity for Irvine based on a comment on an FB post from one of the organisers. Bit of a leap of faith on my part, will be annoyed if I only get one race out of it! 😂
I missed round 6 due to covid, but apart from that, I've done then all so far. Last week, round 7, I still felt a bit flat from the illness the week prior, add to that the rain, I left feeling like I didn't really enjoy it.
But, considering my legs felt rubbish, and those tricky off-camber switch backs! finishing 28th wasn't too bad for me.
I have entered round 8. But if I'm honest, I'm not sure how many more I'll do as we get into the winter. Not sure I enjoy hanging around in the cold/wet/mud.
I'm craving some long easy road miles, to a nice coffee shop! But I'll see how it goes.
No, they expire at the end of the year, regardless of when purchased it seems. BUT they were 50% off if purchased after July I think.
I'm basing my comment on validity for Irvine based on a comment on an FB post from one of the organisers. Bit of a leap of faith on my part, will be annoyed if I only get one race out of it! 😂
Licenses stretch into the next year for the end of the CX season. I certainly used mine from the previous year for the nationals in Jan a few years ago.
A BIT OF NEWS FROM THE ORGANISERS OF THE CLANFIELD RACE RE 80% AND LAPPING
Note, the below doesn't affect the Youth and Masters races.
The UCI 80% Rule and Lapped Riders
For all UCI categories (Sunday races) the UCI have granted a dispensation to the 80% rule.
We will not implement the 80% rule whilst field sizes remain low in an effort to encourage local riders to enter.
Any lapped riders will be allowed to continue in the race but will be directed off the course at the start of their last lap (probably after the finish line). They will then be given a finish position based on the order that they cross the line for the final time. Once a rider is no longer on the same lap as the leader, ie they have been lapped, please be courteous and move aside to not interfere with riders at the head of the race.
If rider numbers increase to more than 50 in any of the four UCI races, then this position will be re-assessed on the day by the UCI Lead depending on any prevailing course and weather conditions.
All domestic non-UCI categories (Saturday races) remain unaffected by this change and any lapped riders can continue until the end of the race.
I'm craving some long easy road miles, to a nice coffee shop! But I'll see how it goes.
Ha, yeah, I know what you mean, I'm already having doubts about seeing the season through (certainly continuing beyond Christmas) as I'm missing out on a lot of longer 'junk mile' rides that I usually enjoy at this time of year, typically mud and singletrack heavy 'gravel' rides, because I'm trying to commit to structured weeks of either Z2 rides or intervals on the turbo, or tapering for races. It's only two races in though and if I find some form and actually get to race rather than just struggling to survive at the back then I might change my tune!
We will not implement the 80% rule whilst field sizes remain low in an effort to encourage local riders to enter.
That's a decent gesture, it was definitely a concern of mine although despite my poor finishing position I think I might only have been lapped once, and relatively late, at Falkirk, so would have still got a decent race.
Ultimately though if they don't lift the requirement for BC membership and licences then I don't think they'll see fields grow very much, there must be some pragmatic solution to allow no-hopers like me to race without laying out £100+ for the privilege!
Ultimately though if they don't lift the requirement for BC membership and licences then I don't think they'll see fields grow very much, there must be some pragmatic solution to allow no-hopers like me to race without laying out £100+ for the privilege!
I think a half season race license (perforect for CX) is £20.00, in addition to a 'Member' membership or greater. If the Day Race license at £5 was available for NT, like it is for regionals encourage more entries?
season race license (perforect for CX) is £20.00, in addition to a 'Member' membership or greater. If the Day Race license at £5 was available for NT, like it is for regionals encourage more entries?
It would work for me - I would probably have rocked up to Clanfield on that basis, rather than going "phew, weekend off at last" 🙂
I think making entry as simple as possible, making it clear what bikes are allowed per category and where/when 80% rule applies, would help. Trying to fathom the BC racing regulations is probably enough to put a lot of people off.
There also seems to be a waiting lidt scenario whereby you aren't even guaranteed a race despite having entered, and whilst you would get your entry fee refunded if your application wasn't accepted, you have still potentially shelled out on a licence and membership.
A day licence option, priced accordingly (i.e. more for NT events than for local events) would both simplify entry and probably also make it financially less off-putting for a lot of us.
Anyway, enough constructive moaning, back to the little leagues tomorrow at Camperdown in Dundee where I'm looking forward to fewer hills and maybe even some mud 😎
There also seems to be a waiting lidt scenario whereby you aren't even guaranteed a race despite having entered, and whilst you would get your entry fee refunded if your application wasn't accepted, you have still potentially shelled out on a licence and membership.
Reserves.
Happens in road racing too - basically at point of entry, the organiser is looking through the entrants and sifting so people who've done other rounds, ranked riders, people with points etc will get a place then they'll fill the rest of the field. Organisers know that they'll get approx 10% no show on the day for any number or reasons so they add in approx 10% reserves - people who don't have a place right at that moment but will probably get a ride on the day, that way you still end up with a full field
The issue is that being a reserve obliges you to turn up on the day ready to race. Your entry fee is taken, you're committed to turning up. If you don't show, no refund. If you show up and don't get a race cos it's full, you get a refund. Now at the point you enter, the BC site will ask you "are you willing to be listed as a Reserve?" Yes/No.
If the race is 10 minutes up the road, then fine, click Yes. If the race is a 3hr drive away, a hotel the night before etc, then click No. Otherwise you risk the drive, the hotel and then not getting a ride so even though you get a refund on race entry, it's still a waste of a weekend and a hotel / fuel bill.
The problem is that most entrants don't read the small print, click Yes and are then miffed to find out they've been accepted as 7th Reserve...
Don't think the field is anywhere near needing reserves at the moment.