Little_Flatty Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 Just watched the keirin rounds in the Olympics. @Derny Driver did you know the derny bikes are now e-bikes? Wonder how they compare! I was never a very serious track racer but it was certainly good fun to dabble in it when I had the time and energy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derny Driver Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 The electric dernies I guess are the future. Quiet and smokeless. I'm not a fan. Probably doesn't matter for a keirin race. I'm heading to Belgium later in the year to see the Gent 6 day. I last went in 2005. The favourite event each night is always the derny paced race. The noise of a dozen petrol powered dernies racing around at 80kph with their riders in tow, rattling the wooden boards ... there is nothing like it. Wouldn't be the same with electric ones. I'm glad the 6 day circuit are sticking with tradition. But who knows for how long. I know Dunc Gray velodrome in Sydney sold all their petrol dernies a few years ago. They use an electric one, or a small motor bike. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little_Flatty Posted August 12 Author Share Posted August 12 2 hours ago, Derny Driver said: The electric dernies I guess are the future. Quiet and smokeless. I'm not a fan. Probably doesn't matter for a keirin race. I'm heading to Belgium later in the year to see the Gent 6 day. I last went in 2005. The favourite event each night is always the derny paced race. The noise of a dozen petrol powered dernies racing around at 80kph with their riders in tow, rattling the wooden boards ... there is nothing like it. Wouldn't be the same with electric ones. I'm glad the 6 day circuit are sticking with tradition. But who knows for how long. I know Dunc Gray velodrome in Sydney sold all their petrol dernies a few years ago. They use an electric one, or a small motor bike. They might need to go the way that VW did when they relaunched the beetle…a lot of engineering to recreate the original sound!🤣 How do you become a deny driver anyway? I’m guessing being an ex rider would serve you well, with the requisite bike skills already. Do they have any requirements on stature? I’m guessing a 50kg five ft jockey wouldn’t fit the bill! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ganguddy Goodoo Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 21 minutes ago, Little_Flatty said: They might need to go the way that VW did when they relaunched the beetle…a lot of engineering to recreate the original sound!🤣 How do you become a deny driver anyway? I’m guessing being an ex rider would serve you well, with the requisite bike skills already. Do they have any requirements on stature? I’m guessing a 50kg five ft jockey wouldn’t fit the bill! The bloke in the orange shirt in the picture above doesn't look 50kg. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derny Driver Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 1 hour ago, Little_Flatty said: They might need to go the way that VW did when they relaunched the beetle…a lot of engineering to recreate the original sound!🤣 How do you become a deny driver anyway? I’m guessing being an ex rider would serve you well, with the requisite bike skills already. Do they have any requirements on stature? I’m guessing a 50kg five ft jockey wouldn’t fit the bill! In Australia you need a Cycling Australia licence, a motorbike licence and then do a derny drivers ticket course running by Cycling Australia. Not sure about how to get a gig in Europe .... but yeah, the best derny drivers are on the large size. You get a better draft advantage behind a big boy. The bloke in the photo is Joop Zijlaard, the best derny driver in the business. His skill and showmanship makes him a crowd favourite. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ganguddy Goodoo Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 Joop looks like the Scottish dad from "So i married an Axe Murderer) ... early and funny Mike Myers. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoods Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 OMG I had no idea about this Derny thing and all. What an education. I don't think they would be useful out west around the rice paddocks of Leeton. And the photo of Joop - he does not seem to fit the stereotype cyclist - how did he get a license?? Thanks for the learning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little_Flatty Posted August 12 Author Share Posted August 12 6 hours ago, Derny Driver said: In Australia you need a Cycling Australia licence, a motorbike licence and then do a derny drivers ticket course running by Cycling Australia. Not sure about how to get a gig in Europe .... but yeah, the best derny drivers are on the large size. You get a better draft advantage behind a big boy. The bloke in the photo is Joop Zijlaard, the best derny driver in the business. His skill and showmanship makes him a crowd favourite. Makes sense. I have to say there are so many people in cycling who volunteer for these roles out of the goodness of their own hearts and the love of the sport. For every Joop out there, there’s a thousand like you @Derny Driver keeping all levels of the sport running. Traffic controllers, commissaries, coaches and much more go into developing a young cyclist’s talent to international standard. It’s a great community. 2 hours ago, Hoods said: And the photo of Joop - he does not seem to fit the stereotype cyclist - how did he get a license?? The main cost of a Cycling Australia licence is the third party insurance for races. Bike races can be dangerous and hence the insurance is necessary. It covers quite a lot, including medical expenses and time off work to recover if you’re in a major crash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derny Driver Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 12 hours ago, Little_Flatty said: Makes sense. I have to say there are so many people in cycling who volunteer for these roles out of the goodness of their own hearts and the love of the sport. For every Joop out there, there’s a thousand like you @Derny Driver keeping all levels of the sport running. Traffic controllers, commissaries, coaches and much more go into developing a young cyclist’s talent to international standard. It’s a great community. The main cost of a Cycling Australia licence is the third party insurance for races. Bike races can be dangerous and hence the insurance is necessary. It covers quite a lot, including medical expenses and time off work to recover if you’re in a major crash. The insurance cover is quite amazing. I used to take teams to the Tour of Tahiti for quite a few years. Its quite dangerous over there. One year one of my riders broke his pelvis. He got medivacked to hospital in Papeete, spent a month there, then flown to Australia in a wheelchair with a nurse, then taken from Sydney to Grafton in an ambulance ...total cost north of 80 grand. CA insurance covered the lot. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derny Driver Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 15 hours ago, Hoods said: And the photo of Joop - he does not seem to fit the stereotype cyclist - how did he get a license?? Im not sure Joop ever rode a pushy. He just specialised in pacing other people. His daughter Leontien Zijlaard went okay though. She was Olympic Road Champion (2000) Olympic Time Trial Champion (2000, 2004) World Road Champion (1991, 1993) World Time Trial Champion (1998, 1999) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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