Entries are limited to 60 riders and allocated on a first come, first served basis, so get your entries in soon (please note if you are a member of RUTTCC you will need to provide a marshal if you want to race in this event).

Sunday 31st March 2013

Regional A – 2/3/4 Cat Men, Juniors and Women

10.00am     8km Time Trial Lap – Winner will receive a Leader’s Jersey

12.30pm     80km Road Race – Prize fund for Top Places

(Race times are approximate)

Points for each race and overall standings – you can earn yourself a total of 50 points if you win both the time trial and road race!  Road bikes only – use of TT helmets, disc wheels and aerobars is not allowed.

Entry £20 via British Cycling Online Registration

If you don’t manage to secure a place and want to be put on a reserve list, please e-mail the organiser, Jackie Church at ruracingtoday@virginmedia.com

Race HQ: Brenot Village Hall, Brentor, Dartmoor, PL19 0LP – signing on will open at 9.00am

For further information please see the British Cycling website or e-mail ruracingtoday@virginmedia.com

Would you like to VOLUNTEER?

We need help, we need marshals and any other small jobs on the day. Any assistance in becoming part of the team would be appreciated. All volunteers will be provided with lunch. If you feel you can help please e-mail as there are many tasks that need to be covered.

Contact Bernard Heffernan on bernard@southwestpromotions.co.uk or 01822 853249

Many thanks,

Bernard Heffernan
Organiser

AGM
Our AGM was held at the Mount Batten Centre on Sunday 2nd December where we had a review of how the club had progressed over the past 12 months and how we want to develop. We finished the year with £700 in the bank (approx half of this will be used for affiliation fees in 2013), a membership of 38 and came third in the British Cycling regional club rankings for our racing, with several members winning their races. We also held a successful road race, two successful Go-Ride sessions and Go-Ride Games… so a year to feel proud of.

We still have some of the older style club kit which will be sold at a discounted price. If you are interested in purchasing some, please contact Leon Marshall for stock details.

The club’s plans for the coming year will be to put on two road races, a 25 mile time trial in September and further Go-Ride sessions. We will also be looking to build on the social side of the club and a visit to a Velodrome. Details will be announced via the Newsletter or on our Facebook page / website. We will also be using Plymouth Ski Lodge as our ‘clubhouse’ and meeting point for rides (the hill to the car park will warm up those legs!!).

This year’s Committee will be:

Membership

Membership fees are now due which will run until the 31st December 2013 – £20 per adult, £10 per Junior or a family membership £30 for 2 adults and up to 2 children.

Options for payment:
1. Bank transfer: account: 54509168, sort: 309668 Reference your name and use the word `member’;
2. You can send a cheque to Sam Shannon, message him on Facebook or sams@deltoruk.com for his address; or
3. You can bring cash to one of the club nights to give to Sam.

We know that money will be tight at the moment but the club needs these funds to operate and move forward. If anyone wants to chat things over with Sam e-mail him, catch him on a club run or at a club night.

Club Runs and Turbo Sessions
The official club run will be held on Sunday and is aimed at those who can maintain a17-18mph average. If there are enough people, there may be an option for a slower group on a Sunday, but in the main, slower rides will be organised by members themselves and usually take place on Saturdays – approximately 15mph average; this is for new members and existing members that struggle with the Sunday pace! There has been a good turn out this week and may possibly be more popular than the Sunday ride as people adjust from their winter training and Christmas excess! Pace will be managed by a ride captain and respected by all attending. Please see the Facebook page for details.

We had some people volunteer at the AGM to help lead rides. If you are interested in helping to do this, Matt Newman is still looking for more people. Please e-mail him at mattnewman89@hotmail.com if you can help out, if only once in a blue moon!

Our official meeting place is now Plymouth Ski Lodge (Marsh Mills) and this will also be the new place for our Tuesday night turbo sessions when held. Club runs leave at 9.00am, so please arrive in time. After the club run, those who want to do so can return to the centre for tea / coffee and snacks – bike can be parked up safely outside.

The turbo sessions are held at 6.00pm (please arrive 15 minutes early to set up). You will need to bring your own turbo trainer for the sessions and £3.00 to cover venue costs. Also, we are intending to hold monthly club nights after a turbo session where members can turn up to chat about both cycling and non-cycling related topics, meet other members and partake in a refreshment or two!

If you are planning on doing a ride and you want some company, please feel free to post on the Facebook page or website Forum to let people know what your plans are.

Racing
The South West Race Calendar is still taking shape and filling up with races for the coming season, which kicks off with the Springtime Pursuits on Saturday 16th February. You can access this on the British cycling website www.britishcycling.org.uk.

As already mentioned, we plan on holding two races this year, the first being on 31st March at Brentor. As per usual we will need as much help as possible on the day with marshalling, serving refreshments and donation of cakes, so please help out if you can. And as per last year, if you area club member who wishes to race in this you will need to provide a marshal.

Go-Ride
The second set of Go-Ride sessions were held at the Mount Batten Centre and were a great success with many new riders and new members of the coaching team.. Fifteen youngsters between the ages of 6 – 15 attended and learnt about techniques for safe braking, stopping, cornering, climbing and descending and took part in ‘cyclo-cross’ course. This time we split the groups into ability to ensure progression. Fortunately we were lucky with the weather and managed to avoid the rain that December threw at us and it was certainly handy to have the classroom for those cold mornings!

A big thank you to our coaches, Sorrelle Johnston, Leon Marshall, Alex King, Anneliese Heard, Nick Crawley and Maddie Horton for organising the sessions.

Go-Ride Race
We also put on a Go-Ride Race on the 16th December at Central Park for our riders to experience their first taste of racing. The response was very positive even though the weather was cold and very wet and the course extremely muddy! Well done to everyone for taking part and we hope that maybe we can attract more racers next time.

Below is the overall result rather than age group results:

Club Kit

Based on current stock priority for ordering kit is: 1) skin suits, 2) youth jerseys, 3) Adult jerseys and shorts. So, if anyone wants a skin suit priced £79.00, please e-mail ocelotracing@hotmail.com your order and size to ocelotracing@hotmail.com and this transfer at least £40.00 (non refundable) to the club account and confirm this with your order to Leon (account 54509168, sort 309668). Use your name and “skin” as your ref as soon as possible so that we can get the orders in and kit delivered by March. Balance payable on delivery. Please do not Facebook message Leon me as it makes it difficult for him to track the orders.

The South West Road Race Group is looking for talented riders to represent the region in national road and track races in 2013 and you are invited to attend a meeting on Sunday 9th December, 9.00am – 1.00pm, Westpoint, Exeter.

You may think this doesn’t apply to you if you have no experience of road and track racing, don’t worry! You may still be selected for the team. There are many talented riders who excel at BMX, Cycle Speedway and Mountain Biking who will have skills that can easily transfer to other cycling disciplines. Remember that Sir Chris Hoy and Craig McLean started at BMX. John Tiernan-Locke began in MTB racing and he won the Tour of Britain this year. Next year he will be riding in team Sky. In 2013 and beyond it could be you.

If you are aged between age 12 and 18 from 1st January next year this could be you! You birth year will be 1995, 96, 97, 98, 99 and 2000.

The Youth A / B team (12-16 years) will represent the South West at regional and national races including the UK school Games in Sheffield and the Inter-Regional track championship at Newport.

The Junior Team (16-18 years) will have the opportunity to race in regional events and selected races that form part of the national junior road race series including the Tour of Wales.

If you would like to find out more, please come along to the meeting where the team managers will be on hand to tell you about the programme and answer any questions you may have. We would also encourage parents and rider’s coaches to come along to the session. The cost is £2.00 per person.

After the session there will be some race simulation scenarios played out with coaches and experts on hand to give you advice.

You will need to bring a roadworthy bike, cycle clothing appropriate to the weather, a change of clothing (in case it is wet during the cycling part of the morning) and most of all an open mind.

We will return to the hall for refreshments and to answer any further questions before we finish at 1pm.

Please advise me before 1st December by e-mail, robertson@swdc.freeserve.co.uk, if you will be attending and if your parents or coach will also be present– we need to have enough refreshments available.

Kind regards

Ken Robertson – SW RR W/G Secretary

Please see below for the next set of dates for the Go-Ride Training Sessions. We have decided to change the location of the training site and the timings for the winter months only. The new location is at the Mount Batten Centre; the reason for this change means that there is less risk of ground frost, somewhere warm for parents to go if they wish to stay and if there is bad weather there is somewhere for riders to shelter and get warm.

The sessions will be aimed at 8-15 year olds and will focus on bike handling and race skills. The location also means we have a safe route close by to take some of the older riders on.

Bookings are essential as there will be limited spaces. The sessions will run from 10.00am until 11.30am and will cost £2 a session. The dates are as follows:

11^th November        18^th November        25^th November        2^nd December

Riders who attend ALL sessions will also receive free membership to the club. For further information and an application form, please contact Sorrelle at go_ride_cycling@aol.co.uk.

Parents were able to stay and watch their children take part and many    took advantage of the refreshments laid by our lovely volunteers.

Prizes were awarded to each age category – gold silver and bronze medals were presented by British Cycling’s, Will Newton along with a Go-Ride t-shirt for the winners. All those who took part received an RUTTCC medal, a Go-Ride water bottle, a wrist band, a certificate of achievement and some sweet treats. We also put all their names into a hat for a prize draw for cycling related items donated by Cogs Bikes, with the top prize being a cycle computer – a massive thank you to them. I think it was safe to say that everyone had a good time and it was great to see so many up and coming talented cyclists participate.

Go-Ride

Please see below for the next set of dates for the Go-Ride Training Sessions. We have decided to change the location of the training site and the timings for the winter months only. The new location is at the Mount Batten Centre; the reason for this change means that there is less risk of ground frost, somewhere warm for parents to go if they wish to stay and if there is bad weather there is somewhere for riders to shelter and get warm.

The sessions will be aimed at 8-15 year olds and will focus on bike handling and race skills. The location also means we have a safe route close by to take some of the older riders on.

Bookings are essential as there will be limited spaces. The sessions will run from 10.00am until 11.30am and will cost £2 a session. The dates are as follows:

11th November 18th November 25th November 2nd December

Riders who attend ALL sessions will also receive free membership to the club. For further information please contact Sorrelle at go_ride_cycling@aol.co.uk.

We are also planning on holding a Go-Ride race on the 16th December – full details to follow soon – so if you’re between 8 and 16 and are interested in taking, please put the date in your diary!

Club Runs
Now that the road race season has finished, club runs have become more regular, with some weekends catering for both Saturday and Sunday rides.

Matt Newman is still looking for more people to step up and lead a Sunday ride. Please e-mail Matt at mattnewman89@hotmail.com if you can help out, if only once in a blue moon! Matt will also be e-mailing on a weekly basis to advise when the club runs will be taking place for those who do not have access to Facebook; please make sure he’s not on your spam list 

If you are planning on doing a ride and you want some company, please post on the Facebook page or website Forum to let people know what your plans are.

Racing
Well done to all those who took part in races this season. We believe that everyone managed to score points on their licence which enabled us to finish third overall in the British Cycling regional club rankings; something for our racers to feel proud about. Congratulations to Leon, Owen and Tom who have all managed to gain their 2nd Cat licences and well done to those who managed to win a race this year – Charlie, Lee, Leon, Matt, Tim and Tom. Also, great riding from our ‘Up-country’ MTBer, Simon Hawken, who raced at Portreath whilst on holiday and came second.

If you are thinking about racing next year, it would be a good idea to join in the club runs over the winter as they will help to maintain your fitness and stamina for the new season which kicks off in the South West with the Springtime Pursuits on Saturday 16th February.

Social Evening
On Saturday 7th October a group of members went to The View, Pan Asian restaurant for a nice meal and then to the Barbican for a few drinks. It was great to catch up with other RUTTCC’ers and see how different they look out of their Lycra and in their glad rags!

Everyone enjoyed the evening so much that we are planning to do it again on a Saturday nearer Christmas. We can either have a dinner / dance or a sit down meal, followed by a few drinks in a pub or two. If you would like to recommend a restaurant / pub for the food part, either comment on Facebook under the relevant post or e-mail ruracingtoday@virginmedia.com.

AGM
Our AGM will be held at the Mount Batten Centre on Sunday 2nd December from 1.00pm. Please come along and meet your current Committee members and find out what they’ve been up to over the past year and their plans for the development of the club. We would also like to hear your ideas and which direction you feel the club should take. We will also need to vote on next year’s Committee members – if anyone is interested in a place on the Committee, please let Charlie know at charlesgaskell@blueyonder.co.uk.

On a Different Note….
We would like to give a special mention to Heather, Robin and Rich who are representing Great Britain in New Zealand from 17 to 22 October 2012 at the Barfoot & Thompson World Triathlon Grand Final in Auckland – fingers crossed that they do well.

This Saturday, the London Bike Show hosted the official launch of the 2013 Spin Rotor- Primal- C-Originals race team. After a successful 2012 that saw more than 20 victories for the team, Spin Rotor- Primal- C-Originals were proud to introduce its promising new additions to the team for 2013.

Stunning vocal performances, interviews with the team and an array of beautiful women are just a few of the things that set this team launch apart from the rest at the show this weekend.

The UK’s uprising pop star, Portia Conn, commenced the show with a cover version of David Guetta’s Titanium and which was greeted by a large, enthusiastic audience. Following her performance, commentating legend, Carlton Kirby, spoke to team principal, James Smith, about the team’s ambition for the upcoming year. Carlton then introduced the riders who were dressed in new, state of the art Helix race kit from Primal Europe.

Following the team’s introduction, Spin bike’s founder Drew Gill presented the titanium hardware the riders will be competing on this year, showcasing what makes the bikes perfect for cyclists competing in this year’s races.

Additionally, Carlton Kirby interviewed the team’s promising new French member, Antoine Gaudillat, who explained his excitement to be racing in the UK after a very successful 2012 in France. Team member, Tom Stockdale, followed Antoine’s interview, speaking of his achievements in Trinidad and Tobago and Ireland last year.

Portia then concluded the ceremony with a few original songs and audience members were invited to the Spin- Rotor and Primal stands to enjoy some champagne and meet the team.

Following the launch and its subsequent celebration, the team didn’t have to wait long to show off its new kit in action as 5 members took part in the London Nocturne Elite circuit race later that afternoon.

Competing against some of the UK’s top professional teams, Spin Rotor- Primal C-Originals held its own and proved itself a force to be reckoned with. About the race, team principal James Smith comments: “Nick Pilborough put in an early move that tore the race to shreds. At half distance, the race was torn to pieces; Ian Bibby had already slipped away to what would be a superb

victory, but the team’s first year senior George Pym was still mixing it in the small front group with Antoine and Chris Nicholson dominant in the group behind.”

George Pym went on to an amazing finish in 5th against a number of British circuit racing heavyweights, with the team’s Antoine following shortly behind and placing 10th.

James Smith comments: “Fingers crossed this bodes well for the races ahead and will not go unnoticed by the Tour series organisers when they choose teams for this year’s city centre series.” Additionally, the team looks forward to competing in the Premier Calendar and other national events, as well as a small international calendar.

Spin Rotor- Primal- C-Originals is very grateful to everyone involved with the launch and the team in the upcoming year. They look forward to support from their friends, fans and sponsors as well as advice from Carlton Kirby, who has agreed to be a patron for the team.

My mood darkened further when I was told the start was actually 4.00pm, so I’d stressed for nothing and my missus was going to be angry when I eventually crawled home. The E12 field was also going to be ‘compact’, far more compact than it should be for a warm sunny day in September, but hey at least I’d now get a warm up.

So I was in a mood to moan, and soon found myself moaning about Portreath, about E12 riders in the South West and about the calendar which I feel is perpetuating all that is wrong with South west road racing.

Tonight is the AGM, where amongst other things the 2013 calendar will be discussed. With this in mind, my thoughts have returned to the shared moaning of that Saturday afternoon, and I thought it might be constructive to write them down and share them for general discussion. So in no particular order…

South West E12 riders, where the hell are you?

It’s only early September, the weather is fine, and there are plenty of races available for you to ride! The south west work group has worked hard to provide races for you all year, and it’s simply crap that Portreath gets 10 starters, and Phil Hull is left cancelling a Nat B road race through lack of interest.

So why aren’t people riding? There are a whole host of reasons, but here are a few.

• It’s pointless, the Nat B events are dictated by a handful of riders, so unless you are seeking points for an upgrade and are happy with an outside top five result, why bother?

• Second cats are avoiding collecting points to avoid becoming first cats. Who can blame them, as a second cat, there are a host of great road races available throughout the season, races without those pesky Elites and first cats dictating things. Who wants to be a first cat; the SW calendar is sparser and far less attractive for Elites and 1st cats.

• Late season races are uninspiring. Look at the calendar, all the best events happen early season. Challenging courses and fuller fields equals better races. I love Portreath and I think Brent Tor is a brilliant race circuit, but both lack atmosphere, are tough to race, and with a small field can be a miserable experience. Race organisers want a full field, and, an early season slot guarantees this, and accordingly the calendar has shaped in such a way that racing gets less and less appealing as the sun starts to shine.

• People are tired and bored. This all combines with the above. The best races are early season, so everyone gets fit for early season. As the season progresses, the races die off in frequency and appeal just as your form and motivation starts to dip. You pack up racing early, before starting winter training earlier than ever before, which compounds the situation as you peak ever earlier next season.

• Everyone thinks they need to race all the time. Again, related to above. If you race two or three times a week, you get tired and bored, your missus gets cheesed off with you and your bank balance starts to moan as well. The season targets fade away, and after not racing for a couple of weeks, you feel your form is gone so what’s the point? If people raced a little less all year, they’d enjoy a fuller more enjoyable racing experience.

Portreath

What a great facility and course. Ok, the tarmac is a bit rough out there in places, but what other closed circuit offers such a complete challenge? You have corners, you have gradient changes, all contained in a superb circuit length, so why so little riders?

• Geography has to be one. It is miles away from a lot of the division so you are only going to get SW riders attending, but let’s be honest, the turnout is hardly representative of the division.

• Timings. This bugs the hell out of me. There needs to be a consistent race schedule in place, which is consistently advertised to all riders. Also why does the E12 race need to be held at a separate time to the 3rds? It can’t be that hard to pick the bones out of two small groups racing at the same time. A condensed, consistent timetable would attract more riders to come along.

• The myth that you need to arrive at 1.00pm to gain access to the base. I don’t think everyone knows that you can turn up whenever these days and still get access. A Saturday afternoon race is actually brilliant. Do family stuff all morning, then toddle down for racing later on. It does not require you to give up the whole day.

• Cost and prize money.  As with the calendar, this is a self-perpetuating situation. A small field means no option for prize money. £15.00 entry and a two hour drive make it expensive to attend. Small fields also make it hard uninspiring racing. You can see where this is going. If you knew a few people were going to get their costs back, you’d more than likely be more likely to make the trip. SO bigger fields, better racing and some cash in your pocket.

• Points, Ok, some folk will turn up just looking for points for their upgrade, but most second cats will avoid Portreath as you are all but guaranteed points. Back to the comments on the calendar, why race uninspiring races that could ultimately jeopardise your chances of riding the best races next season?

Is there an argument for making Portreath a handicap? At three minutes a lap, the scratch group would have their work cut out, it would encourage hard racing, and also provide a more compact and cheaper to organise package. Just a thought.

The Calendar

I’ve said loads about this already, but as it stands, the calendar is geared to provide more racing in the categories where there are more riders to cater for, and therefore guarantee fuller fields. That is a valid sentiment in many ways, the majority get the most racing, and organisers get a full field and can afford to organise races.

So what is the problem? Progression and development. As it stands, in every category we have a handful of individuals dictating the results. This dominance ultimately makes the sport less appealing to those coming in, and new riders are not sticking with it. At the top end, Elites and first cats are all but restricted to racing on closed circuits, whilst fourth cats are provided the best circuits and race schedules.

For the long term growth of SW road racing we need to encourage people to race a full season, and to encourage them to move up the categories.

To do this you need to provide a consistent calendar across all categories, so there is no handicap for those upgrading. Do this and you’ll ultimately get more strength in depth at the top, less dominance from a handful of riders, and better and more appealing racing.

Make moving up an aspirational thing for all to do and everyone will ultimately win.

Now I know that a consistent calendar is easier said than done. You can’t ignore the numbers, there are not the Elites and first cats in the South west to guarantee full fields, which make it immediately less appealing for organisers. However, it can also be said that the calendar currently does nothing to help the situation.

Look at the kalas 2 day. It gets a full field, and this year, my team mates were turned away. This event takes place in late June. Other races by this time are struggling for numbers. It’s a great event and shows that organising a NatB doesn’t need to mean small fields; it can be done.

The better races will always get a good sized field, which is a fact. Why then are these best races typically piled into the first third of the season? In March everyone is gagging for a race they can get in to, and as keen little bunnies are up for racing anything going. Indeed, I know one chap that didn’t race for nearly four weeks due to returned entries. My point is that you could get a full field at a Brent Tor or Lew Down early season, so why not organise these races then? Save your Ham Hills and Totnes Vires until later in the season as these will always do well.

Equally, race categorisation. A second cat will be more willing to do a E12 early season than he will later in the year. Why not restrict the amount of 234 races early season, before introducing them more frequently in the second half of the year. Force these guys to race with the big guys early season, then give them a reason to extend their seasons beyond May. They’ll get used to the speed, and enjoy the chance to get results in the second half of the year.

3rd/4th cat races. I’d take the bold step of restricting the majority of these events to support events around E12 races and remove prize money for all but the more prestigious events. Make it clear these races are seen as a stepping stone.

If the right framework was in place, I am sure the calendar could be arranged in a way that encourages people to race for longer, and to want to improve.

Finally, is there are argument of restricting Elites from riding all but handicap races in the southwest? Take the super dominant few out of the equation and open up the racing. If a lot of the mid-week crits and Portreaths were handicaps or Band 5 points, it would be all but impossible for people to make Elite unless they were already committed to a national programme.

As mentioned, these are merely thoughts and suggestions written down to stir thought and debate. Organisers are doing a brilliant job bringing us races, the workgroup are working hard to make things better, but maybe for a revolution to take place, things need to be a little more revolutionary.  Please debate, and if you have an opinion, why not make your way to Tedburn tonight for the AGM.

Written by James Williams

The long and short of it is that I won – which was very nice, as I’d been obsessing all week about it.

As always, Paignton was a great race, unbelievably intense, and as pure as it gets. Mid Devon fielded a strong team, as did us Primal lads, but from the off, it was the Mid Devon lads driving the pace hard.

You get little time to settle in at Paignton – ok you get no time at all – so you need to be scrapping on the neutralized lap to ensure you are near the front and ready for the start. For the opening five minutes, it was a case of holding station as the pace was simply too brutal to think about anything else. If you are mentally prepared for this, you can really get an edge on your competitors; so many people are thrown by sheer pace that they start to worry about their performance, if they can do it etc, when in reality you just need to sit back, take the pain and tell yourself that this is just the process that makes it all happen later on.

Before long a little move goes clear; the point has been reached where there is no longer the strength in depth to automatically close everything down. The proper racing has started.

Jake Durant (Mid-Devon) and my team mate Adam Bright have a 10 second gap. A few bridging moves are attempted but fail. I cover one, which shuts down, but I decide to have a pop at getting over myself. My effort sees me go clear and I am free to ride over to the two leaders.

Bridging to breaks is all about timing. Try it too soon and the guys up front will still be driving real hard and it’s a massive struggle, leave it too late and the leaders will have recovered from their early efforts and settled back into a hard rhythm that is again hard to get across too. I got it right and was over in no time. Jake looked at me, and did exactly the right thing… he stopped working. I looked at him and did exactly the right thing… I attacked over them both.

So I’m suddenly away, on my own and with half the race still to go. A real stick or twist moment. If you don’t commit, you’ll be caught in no time and look a fool, over commit and you’ll never make the distance, ultimately get caught, dropped and again look stupid. Argh.

I crack on for a couple of laps to force a gap, before settling into a ‘threshold’ effort. I know this is ultimately not enough to stay clear, but I’m crossing fingers that when I am caught, there won’t be too much left of the bunch to deal with.

It goes my way, as when a group comes up, it’s my team mate Martin Smith in a Mid-Devon sandwich of Andy Perkins and Pete Vincent. Now it’s just a case of passing time to the finale.

Pete Vincent opens proceedings with an almighty dig. This was a real Marcin affair, not hugely hard to follow maybe, but it just goes on and on, and asks some massive questions. Unlike Marcin however, Pete fails to nonchalantly swing over and say, ‘come through then’ when he feels the power slipping away, instead carries his effort too long, fades and lets me know exactly where his limit is.  Perkins does the same, and I now know I won’t be broken tonight. The sprint is a bit messy, I am victorious but Pete puts in a brilliant challenge and nearly takes it on the line.

Thanks to Mid-Devon for putting on the event and for providing brilliant competition, and thanks for the crowds that helped make the race what it is.