Download a copy here Newsletter Sept2020
Southport Cycling Club Newsletter: Sept 2020
SCC: Covid 19 Policy
We had hoped to amend the policy outlined in the July Newsletter and to formally reintroduce club rides (in groups of 6 max) from next week. However, this week’s announcements mean that we need to put this decision on hold. Thus, we will still operate under the existing guidance with one alteration. From now on please use the SCC Rides Whatsapp Group to organise rides amongst yourselves that are compliant with the guidelines.
We do have an issue with large groups meeting at the Plough. On a number of occasions more than 6 riders have turned up, recently the numbers approached 20. These large groups were then subdivided into groups of 6 to ensure compliance with Covid policy. There is a concern that the club will be viewed negatively if this continues. People waiting to catch the bus may have difficulty socially distancing from us etc and it’s quite possible that under the new, stricter guidelines someone will ‘report’ the club to relevant authorities. The committee have therefore asked that rides no longer start from the Plough bus stop but instead start from just past the BP garage (there is a small tarmac area just beyond the garage).
We should also avoid advertising rides that are likely to result in a large number of people congregating in one place. In practice these large groups have to subdivide into groups of six and cannot ride together therefore it makes sense to agree the subdivisions in advance and to agree on using different starting points e.g. BP Garage, Clubhouse, Churchtown Village, Tarleton, Ainsdale Police Station.
Clearly this is all messy and not easy to arrange but we would ask members to positively engage with these policies in order to prevent the spread of Covid and to ensure the very good reputation of our club is maintained.
Clubhouse Refurbishment
The refurbishment of the existing facility is almost complete. The following have been replaced/upgraded:
- Flooring
- Ceiling tiles
- Furniture – new chairs, tables, sofas
- Repainted
- Honours Board relocated
- Shelves for trophies
- New entrance – external shuttered door, internal door with window to improve lighting
Pete Scott has masterminded the whole project and lots of members have helped out at various stages but particular mention to Aaron Green, Phil Green and Ray Lyon who have been unbelievably generous with their time. Many thanks guys.
We are still progessing the building of an extension, but progress has been slow with regard to obtaining tenders for the work.
Howard stands guard in front of his new kit storeroom.
Tons up – first timers
This has been the summer of the ‘100’ with lots of club riders achieving their ambition to ride 100 miles for the first time. These include:
- Jason Baker
- Gina Bellhouse
- Graham Heap
- Gill Fell
- Dave Miller
As we all know there is something special about riding your first hundred, a bit like running your first marathon. So, congratulations to you guys, look forward to you joining the ‘200 club’ next year!
Almost inevitably I will have missed somebody out – if so, my apologies, and drop me a line so that I can mention it in the next newsletter.
Date for your diaries: November 1st SCC Hill Climb
We hope to stage this annual event as normal with due alterations to meet Covid restrictions. We will be using the normal course on Ashurst. Two months for everyone to shed a few pounds and prepared for 10 minutes (more or less) of pain.
Whatsapp Groups
Both of our Whatsapp groups started with small numbers and both have been very successful at catering for members needs. We feel that we now need refocus the Whatsapp groups as follows:
‘SCC coffee and cake’ to be ‘SCC rides’ – this group to be used for information about rides advertised on SCC website (subject to Covid etc).
‘SCC B+’ to be ‘SCC bike chat’ – this group to be used for general social conversation, comments on club policies/activities, selling cycling equipment, discussing recent rides, pictures of scones etc.
There are several reasons for this change. The existing titles look odd to new members accessing our club information; some members want ride only information; at present some ride information doesn’t appear in both groups and members have not been aware of changes to ride arrangements.
We hope these arrangements will still provide everyone if access to both the information they need and the social exchanges that are an important feature of any club.
Time Trials 2020
In the recent NLTTA 25 a number of members posted some very credible times:
- Robbie Hurst 61.33
- Ken Addison 62.41
- Mike Rimmer 65.19
- Tom Williams 67.56
Good to see that Tom Williams is back on the bike after his recent injury travails. Looks like his new stabilisers have done the trick.
Special mention to Mike Rimmer – excellent ride in his first ever TT.
Below are a couple of photos – I’ve no idea who the riders are!
Boxing Day TT 2020 – We hope to stage this event on December 26th.
Time Trials 2021 – Marshalls and timekeepers needed
The club relies on a very dedicated band of volunteer marshals to stage our very popular Time Trial series and we are immensely grateful to them for their commitment. We do, however, need to expand the size of the team if we are not to overload the existing core of volunteers, to provide cover etc so please drop Alan Stark or myself a note if you would like to help out.
We are in particular need of additional timekeepers. If this is something you feel you would like to help with, please contact Alan Stark or myself. Alan will provide training in the job – this takes a couple of hours.
And finally
Keep riding, stay safe…..it’s going to be some party when we can all meet up again!
Geoff Caton
Chairman
