We are hoping to resurrect the runs list for the Saturday crowd but we are still short of runs leaders.  Following yesterday’s Day Out with the Chairman, here is the list for the rest of July and August:

20th July:  Deddington (south of  Banbury);  Jim Bryant  (this is a longer ride to a new cafe, maybe 60 miles or so)

27th July:  Canons Ashby (new cafe);  Rob Cook

3rd August:  Dunnington (Hillers);  James Parsons

10th August:  Barby;  Dave Tarbun

17th August:  TBA

24th August:  Warmington (Herb Centre);  Glen Charman

31st August:  Chipping Campden;  Alistair Hill

7th September:  Oxhill (beginners’ ride);  ChairmanSteve

As you can see there are a few gaps waiting to be filled.  If you are thinking of coming on a club run on any of those days with vacancies, how about trying your hand at leading the ride.  It’s really not that difficult and we can give you lots of help with route-finding if you need it.  If we can complete the list soon we can then post it on the Club Runs page as usual.

Thank you

ChairmanSteve

 

PS  As you can see, we only need to cover 17th August now (2nd August), thanks to a few new names appearing as runs leaders.  If you can do the 17th please put a post on the forum and/or email John Vallins who may be able to amend the list for the Club Runs page.

 

Our Clothing Committee has prepared several options for the design of the new Club Kit.  The chance to vote on your preferred choice comes at 7 pm on Thursday 23rd May, at Hatton Park Village Hall (Barcheston Drive).

This General Meeting will cover the new clothing only; there will be no other items on the agenda.

The new kit design will remain in place for at least five years so this will be an important decision for the Club.  All members should make every effort to be at the meeting; we are hoping for a very large majority to make their views known.

Keep a watch on the Forum topic (Clothing General Meeting) for pics of the new designs and for other information as we approach the meeting date.

Quotes from the Club Guidelines:

“Ride in line with the pair of riders in front of you.  Avoid riding outside the line of the group”.

“Do not ride with your front wheel overlapping the rear wheel of the rider in front”.

 

Don’t drift away from the rider on your left, towards the centre of the road. This not only presents a very poor image to other road users, but if a vehicle approaches or overtakes the group you will tend to swerve back to the left, putting the riders behind you at risk.

 

Don’t overlap the wheel in front of you – it dramatically increases the risk of an accident.  If your front wheel touches the wheel in front of you, not only are you likely to fall but so will most of the riders behind you.

 

Don’t forget, your actions affect the safety of every other rider in the group.

Quote from Club Guidelines:

 “Stop at road junctions and other “give-way” points.  Don’t jump across when vehicles are approaching as other riders may follow you.”

 

This is particularly important when riding on our evening training sessions where the speed will be higher than a Club run. We all have a responsibility for our own safety and the safety of others riding with us.

 

Slow down and give way at road junctions.  There is no excuse for approaching a junction at a speed which is unsafe for the group.  A training session is not a race and should not be treated as such.  If you want to race there are many opportunities to enter organised races; check out the calendar on the British Cycling website.

Entry just £3 on the day with all profits to Myton Hospice
Venue = Barford Memorial Hall, Church Street, Barford, Warwickshire.   Tea/coffee and cakes available pre and post ride.

Two routes; A 43 mile loop towards Ilmington (with 2343ft of climbing) or an 80 mile route out around Stow (with 5171ft of climbing) including some challenging hills.

More details are available on the Forum page; just click on Forum and then General Discussion and you’ll find detail notes at the top of the posts.  The “ROUTE MAPS” post gives you a link to the gpsies website where you can get maps or a Garmin download. Turn by turn written instructions will be available at the start.

Tom Holland is your Chief Organiser so if you have any questions please contact Tom.  If you are a non-member contact chairman@kenilworthwheelers.co.uk

 

Now the Chairman is back in the Country we are starting the Runs Lists once more.  Here are the latest tea stops for your perusal.  Hope to have them on the Club Runs page soon.

4th August   Wootton Wawen (beginners ride)

11th August   Warmington (Herb Centre)

18th August   Dunnington

25th August   Chipping Campden

1st September  Oxhill (Donkey Sanctuary) (beginners ride)

8th September  Longborough (Cotswold Food Store)

 

Hopefully we will have another Chairman’s Day Out sometime late August.  Not sure when yet so watch this space (or the Forum)

The evening training sessions are now well under way(details on the Club Runs page) with the luxury of light evenings.  Soon we may have the luxury of warm evenings as well, you never know.

These sessions are excellent for those who want to improve their fitness.  If you are new to group riding you must ride a few club runs before joining a fast evening group.  Then you should start with a Monday session as these are a little less quick and are suitable for those who are new to “chaingang” training (they are NOT suitable for beginners to club riding).

After that you can move on to Wednesday evenings before tackling the fastest rides on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

All of the evening  rides are quicker than a club run and you must have some experience of riding in a group before  tackling them.  The Mondays and Wednesdays are specifically for Kenilworth Wheelers members; you are welcome to go along as a guest but you will be expected to join the Club if you want to ride on a regular basis.

Contact ChairmanSteve if you want to know more.

A reminder to all Club members that the Victoria Park circuit races will soon be with us, with the first event scheduled to take part on Saturday the 24th of March – only three weeks to go!  This is the Club’s most prestigious event of the year and is hugely popular with local racers.  The racing takes place around the tarmac track in Victoria Park, Leamington Spa and is fast and exciting stuff to watch.

Racing members

 Please take note that places are beginning to fill up for both the 3rd and 4th Category races.  Chief Organiser Steve Hesketh says he has had no entries from Club members so far.  To avoid disappointment please get your entry in asap.   This year we have on line entry via the British Cycling website so it’s even easier for you to enter.  There will be no entries accepted on the day.

Volunteers and Helpers

There will not be a  Saturday club run on either race day and, all Club members are expected to give some of their time to help run the event. We need your help to fill the following volunteer roles:

• Park set-up early each morning

•  Signing On (basically issuing race numbers to the riders)

•  Marshals (the three park gates need marshalls to warn members of the public about the racing)

•  Judges (back-up judging only, in case of any problems with the finish cameras)

•  Lap Counting (changing the lap board so that riders know how far there is to go)

•  Serving Food and Tea (a warm dry job in the pavilion)

 

Don’t forget you will not be on a club run, so contact Steve Hesketh now and let him know which day you can help with (even if you can only do a couple of hours it all helps).  If we get enough helpers you’ll all get time to watch some racing as well.   You can contact Steve directly or through the Victoria Park thread on the Forum.

This is your chance to help promote your Club,  watch some exciting racing, and even have lots of tea and cakes (just like a club run then).

OK folks this is it.  Lance Ravenhill has set a date of 7th March at Hatton Park “Village” Hall for the latest challenge of the year.  This one is unlikely to be cancelled due to snow.  Come along and test your strength and speed – not much stamina needed and almost no skill.

If you don’t fancy the roller racing then just come along and support your husband/wife/boyfriend/girlfriend/son/daughter/mother/father.  Vocal support is almost essential to success at this activity.  All you have to do is turn up and bring along a “snack” donation (savouries,crisps,cakes,chocolates etc).  Soft drinks will be provided free.

If you plan to come, let Lance know asap either by direct phone or email, or via the thread on the Forum.

Keep an eye on the Forum for more details later.

You know it makes sense.

 

Dear Club Members

At the Annual General Meeting in November, a discussion was held regarding the potential for changing the current design of Club Jersey.  A new design has now been prepared and is shown below along with a “lightened” version of the current design.

New racing / summer design

 

New general lightened design

 

 

As you can see, the new design is considerably whiter and brighter than the current scheme.  It is proposed that both schemes will be available to Club members; the new design will be the “registered” racing colours (generally more suitable for summer use)  and the old design (with some lighter panels as shown) will provide a more durable top for use in the winter months.

There will be a Club General Meeting at the end of January, to enable members to vote on the formal proposal to change the jersey design. The meeting will also propose a minimum time to be adopted for future designs.

Members are invited to propose alternative designs, or amendments to the above designs, for consideration at the meeting and such proposals should be forwarded to the Chairman as soon as possible. 

 

In addition there will be a vacancy for a Club Clothing Manager in the new year and members nominations are invited for this post, a formal vote to be held during the January meeting.

There is a thread in the forum for discussing the new proposed designs.