Weekly Roundup

The wet and windy weather continues to play havoc with our cycling. Wednesday evening's Knight Rider session didn't go ahead, although to his credit, Peter C did ride to the Town Hall to see if there were any other takers.

The weather forecast for this Wednesday looks much more promising, and should make for a great evening ride. Departure, as per usual, will be at 6.30pm.

Thursday's first Annual General Meeting was extremely well attended with 17 members filling the Hobbes Parlour at the Town Hall.

I'm in the process of typing up the minutes for the meeting, and these should be available soon. In the meantime, for the benefit of those who were unable to be present, the following is Howard's Chairman's Report:

Chairman’s/Secretary’s Report February 2016

  1.Introduction and welcome.

Thank you for attending this our first AGM. Up until now it hasn’t been considered necessary to have an AGM, but it seems Nation Clarion now want us to have one. So here it is.

  2. Brief History.

I think that it is worth a quick look at the past. Our club started approximately four years ago when, riding regularly together on a Saturday, Tim H, Dave and I decided to formalise these outings and form a club. Malmesbury, it seemed to me, was big enough to support at least one traditional cycling club and following information I gleaned from a Cycling Weekly article about starting a club within the Nation Clarion, we set up our own section – thus the ‘Clarion’ in Malmesbury Clarion Cycling club.

A chance meeting with Mike Powell found us recruiting our first member and with the co-option of various members’ spouses, we were up and running. Since then our club has grown slowly but steadily.

A significant development and a boost to the club’s profile has been the web site and well-read blog. Several enquires have come our way via the web’s contact page. Thanks to (Tim W and George W.)

This year has seen other major developments on the administrative side. We have a committee of 4, have written a constitution, a code of conduct, opened a bank account and swapped our insurance provider from British Cycling to the CTC.

   

  3.Member numbers.

At the end of 2012, our first year, we had about 14 members and were happy with those numbers.  By December 2015, our membership had swelled to 40 and currently including renewals this year, our membership stands at 30.

Reasons for the reduction in numbers include – mainly members moving away, joining new clubs and work.

It should be noted that at no time has the club advertised or promoted itself so I believe that our numbers remain healthy.

   

  4.Club activities. 

The mainstay of any traditional cycling club is its weekend social ride and our club has adopted this tradition. Our Saturday ride has become very successful. It is not unknown for up to 50% of the club membership to turn up. We now provide 3 separate rides to cater for all abilities. Each group attempts to get to the café stop at the same time. We have a list of some dozen café stops adding variety to the rides. Some are more popular than others! Rides are usually between 30 and 40 miles.

Our monthly Sunday ride series is, I think, growing in popularity and is undergoing development following the promotion of a new management team. (Thanks Mike G and Tim W.)

The Wednesday ride, initially started by Tim H, is currently looked after by Peter C. Thanks to both for starting and keeping this ride going.  It should be noted that this ride has continued throughout the dark months and all weather conditions. Well done to all the dedicated members participating.

Whilst not a group ride, the Thursday meeting at the Angel Café in Sherston remains popular especially, it must be said, in the summer.

It is pleasing to note that Malmesbury Clarion members are involved in a range of cycling activities outside those put on by our club. Members are riding audax, sportives and training with other, local cycling clubs. Hopefully rocking our club colours at the same time.

   

  5.Future developments.

Members seem to be happy with what our club offers, however there are opportunities to expand the club if we wished. Possible ideas for the future: a) introducing a monthly family ride, b) a monthly Sunday ride to a pub for lunch, c) organise an open event such as the CTC's triennial 100 mile ride, d) organise some form of competition/s within the club, and on a more political note e) become independent from the National Clarion.

However, all these things are for future discussion and there are no specific demands from current members at the moment.

Overall then, a successful year and much to build on if we so please.

Saturday's ride was another weather-affected affair. The morning started dry and blustery, but shortly after Howard, Tim H, Steve M and me (Tim W) arrived at the revamped Canteen at Nailsworth, it began to rain. For a while it looked as though we might have to enjoy our drinks and cake standing, but a table became available just in time.

The return leg was mostly wind-assisted and the light rain meant we returned home just a little damp, rather than soaking wet. At Long Newnton, we passed a number of Audax riders cycling in the opposite direction, who were taking part in the Malmesbury Mash 200km event. The brave souls had around 60 miles left before they would reach Cardiff, and all against a very strong headwind.

Peter outside the Ox House, Northleach

My intention had been to open up a new frontier for this Sunday's ride, with an outing to the Caen Hill Cafe at Devizes, overlooking the flight of locks on the Kennet and Avon Canal. I was keen to keep us off of the A342, as much as possible, but when I road-tested the planned course on Sunday, I discovered that in some cases, what I thought were roads, were actually nothing more than dirt tracks.

Fortunately, there is a plan B. Given that only Mike G, Peter C and me were able to make the trip to the Ox House at Northleach in December, we're heading there instead. The complete course is 54.2 miles and has an elevation gain of only 2,006 feet. We will be leaving at the earlier time of 9.00am. 

All members are welcome. Pace wise, I'm more than happy to keep anyone company who isn't looking for a particularly energetic trip. Otherwise, we should be back in Malmesbury to eat our roast dinners by 1.30pm.

You can see and download the route from here.

An early notification that the Cyclists Church Service will take place at 2.30pm on Sunday 10th April 2016, at St Andrews Church in the Market Place, Castle Combe.

This event has taken place every year since 27th May 1945. It is a celebration of cycling and a service of thanksgiving for the men in cycling battalions who fell in the Great War and for the many cyclist soldiers, commandos and paratroopers who did not return from World War 2.

The Castle Combe church service, like the services held in May on the village green at Meridian, the centre of England, and at Coxwold, a few miles north of York, is now a memorial service and an informal, ecumenical gathering especially for today's cyclists in the West Country.

The service will be followed by tea and cake served in the church.

There has already been some strong interest in the club riding out to Castle Combe and taking its place alongside the other local clubs and cyclists. More details will be published nearer the date, but in the meantime, if the idea appeals to you, please let the committee know.