Strange days indeed…..
Hi Everyone,
We thought we would send out a brief newsletter to keep everyone up to date with the news, or lack of news, about the club’s and members’ activities. We know that social media means that we are all better connected than we ever were but there may be bits of information in here that you weren’t aware of.
Dolan Races
We have had to cancel the final two races and will be refunding the entry fees to competitors. We have permission to use the park on September 19th and may use this to put on an additional event. As with everything there are lots of unknowns, such as how an event might/might not fit in with the BC calendar etc. Should we decide to go ahead we will inform members in good time.
Thanks for all your support for the one event that did take place – we had a terrific turnout from club members.
Particular thanks to Allan Taylor who put in hours of work in advance of the event. Special mentions to Pete Scott who did a great job recruiting marshals and to Aaron Green for organising the club’s new gazebo – at long last our riders have somewhere to warm up out of the rain.
In other news
Bimbling has taken a hit as Spencer and Claudia are reduced to solo bimbling.
But as a reminder of better days ahead…..here they are bimbling in Mallorca (autumn 2019). Clearly, they had advance notice of the social distancing rules.
Bickerstaffe Road Races
Unfortunately, these have also been cancelled. Very frustrating for Colin Baldwin who has put a lot of energy into establishing these races in the last few years.
In other news
- Some of our members have registered as volunteers. Big shout outs to:
- Dave Miller – ready and waiting on his motorbike
- Eddie O’Brien – delivering beer to the old and vulnerable (just drop him an email)
- Neil Temperature – drinking beer with the old and vulnerable
I’m sure there are other members involved; if there are it would be good to hear about them.
And here is one of our heroes in full club kit at the summit of the Col du Soulor in the Pyrenees (summer 2019) on his way to the mighty Aubisque.
Time Trials
CTT have said that all events up to May 31 st are cancelled. No expect a decision about events scheduled beyond then will be made by early May.
In other news
Yvonne Unsworth has joined WhatsApp. It’s taken 70+ years to get her on social media, now you can’t get her off it.
Clubhouse Development
Inevitably the building work is on hold, but we have made some progress. Planning permission has now been granted – this allows us to extend the footprint of the clubhouse
The new lease has finally been signed off – we needed to secure this before we started any development work
Sport England, who are providing a significant grant, have written to us regarding progress. The grant is time limited i.e. we have to get the work done in a specified time but they recognise that COVID-19 will mean a delay. We have responded to them saying that things are on hold but that we will start work as soon as we are
able.
Again, thanks to Pete and Allan for keeping this one moving forward.
In other news
At least two of our members – Joe Croughan and Vince Kelly have been told to self-isolate for the next 3 months. The current situation is tough for all of us, but it must be particularly challenging for these guys. I’m sure they would appreciate any contact from members (well not physical contact).
Keep cycling
I guess nobody needs encouraging to do this. After a lot of confusion in the early days things seem to have settled down. The basic rule for cycling is very clear: cycle alone or with family members; cycle once a day only.
How long should we cycle for this? There have been individual statements by politicians but no clear guidelines. Most members have interpreted the spirit of the guidance to mean stay local and cycle for a maximum of about two/three hours. If you have better information please let us know.
Should we cycle in club kit? Yes, if you want to. Finally, may all your Easter Eggs be large ones. Look after yourselves and your families.
Geoff Caton
