September 2020 newsletter

In this month's newsletter:

Presidential ponderings

Leiden Plaque TT report

Wednesday TTs - just one to go

BSCC Open 10 mile TT

Cycling's Grand Tours

Club rides 

Hill Climb TT

New members

Race Squad news

Chain Gangs to continue

Long Ride Saturday

Club kit - latest information

Social evenings

Forthcoming 2020 club events 

Don't forget, copies of all previous newsletters can be found on the club website:

Presidential ponderings

Fortis Fortuna adiuvat: "Fortune favours the brave".

Back in May and June the club's officials started planning for the resumption of club rides and time trials which required an awful lot of background work to be completed so as we could comply with the guidelines issued by the likes of British Cycling and Cycling Time Trials and also Government legislation. Many cycling clubs decided not to resume any kind of activities but taking the path of least resistance isn't my way or the Banbury Star way.

The consequence of us resuming as soon as we could by running risk-mitigated events has been a huge upsurge in interest in the club with 28 new members joining us in the last two months alone, over 30 riders regularly coming along on our Saturday club rides and an 88% increase in the numbers entering our club time trials and those starting fields are made up with 25% women racers.

My thanks go out to all of you, whether club official or member, for putting your faith in the club. September is traditionally the beginning of the end of the cycling season but I have a sneaky feeling we are going to enjoy a great autumn and winter of riding and 2021 is shaping up to be a record year for our club.

I usually end these ponderings by saying I hope to see you all on a ride soon. My own circumstances have meant I've been unable to join in with either club rides or TTs for quite some time now however my water bottle remains half full and I'm positive that you'll see me very soon, even if it's on an electric bike that I don't need to pedal!

Paul

Leiden Plaque Time Trial - report

An autumnal chill greeted the 45 riders from five of Oxfordshire's cycling clubs who gathered in Banbury for the 2020 Leiden Plaque 25 mile time trial.

Banbury Star had entered a strong team of ten who were racing under handicap conditions - this is a time that's added or subtracted to the time each rider achieves to provide a level playing field allowing all riders to compete fairly.

How did Banbury Star perform? You'll have to head over to the website to find out.

Wednesday night TTs - only one to go

Yes, our short season of Wednesday night TTs comes to an end tomorrow (Wednesday 2nd) with the 5 mile Come & Try TT at Gaydon. In spite of the new rules and regulations laid down by CTT, as a result of COVID-19, we've regularly had 50 plus entries, right from the word go. In fact the cancelled TT on 19th August attracted a maximum entry of 60 riders with 4 reserves, whilst last week's final K4/20 TT received an amazing entry of 74 riders. We've attracted a lot of new visitors, but more encouraging has been the growth in the number of women competitors, which include two young Stars in Peggy Simpkins and Isabella Boyles.

Finally, we must again say a big thank you to Keri, Oli and Paul for all their work behind the scenes in sorting out and implementing the new procedures in order to make it all happen. 

Don't forget, the rules still apply for tomorrow's 5 mile TT, which are:-

---YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO JUST TURN UP AND RIDE---

The main changes are:

• Pre-registration for each TT is mandatory
• All riders will have to pay by contactless means (debit card, ApplePay, GooglePay)
• The 2020 TT supplement will be carried over to 2021 for those who've paid it
• No group gatherings at the sign-on, start line or finish
• No start line pusher, riders do a standing start
• No spectators at the finish line
• Finish times will only be posted online

The full set of changes is here, if you enter our time trials it's essential you read and understand them:

BSCC Open 10-mile TT - 6th September

This will be the third running of the club's new 10 mile Open TT, with both previous years attracting an entry of around 55 riders. Well this year we've managed to double that with a record entry of 118 riders, which includes 33 club members.

The 2020 event takes place on Sunday 6th September on the K4/10W course from Warmington to Gaydon and back on the B4100. 

Cycling's Grand Tours

In case you hadn't noticed a delayed Tour de France started in Nice on Saturday and will run until Sunday 30th September with its usual Paris finish.

The Giro d'Italia then runs from 3rd to 25th October, followed by a slightly reduced Vuelta a Espana 20th October to 8th November.

During this time most of the postponed European one day Classics will also now run, finishing with Paris-Roubiax on 25th October.

Club rides enjoying big turn outs

Thirty plus riders is now the "new normal" for the club's Saturday rides. As we said last month the new rules and procedures are working really well, with some clear advantages. Pre-registration gives the ride leaders a clear indication of the numbers likely to turn up helping them advise our coffee stops of numbers. They now know beforehand which ride people have chosen, which in turn then helps them to select groups of similar ability.

Everyone now seems to be of the view that the smaller groups work better, not only in terms of rider safety, but a more enjoyable stress free ride.

However, if you do have any comments or suggestions to make, then please let John Tustian or Andy Perry know  

Above all, please continue to help them by remembering all the new rules given below

---YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO JUST TURN UP AND RIDE---

The main changes are:

• Pre-registration for each ride is mandatory
• Only club members can ride, no guests
• Rides will no longer meet at Broadribbs. We will meet at the People’s Park 
• Group size limits will be in place, each group will consist of a ride leader and up to five members.
• Multiple groups will leave at timed intervals
• Social distancing will be maintained throughout the ride and at the coffee stop
• All riders must bring the necessary PPE as defined by the Government
• Absolutely no spitting or nose clearing by anyone will be tolerated unless it’s into a tissue

It is essential anyone wanting to take part in a ride is fully aware of the changes before registering for a ride. The full set of changes can be found on the club's website here:

Hill Climb time trial

The final club time trial of the 2020 season is the one that the club's mountain goats look forward to the most. It may be the shortest that we organise, being a mere 700m in length but it more than makes up for that in climbing elevation as it's the hill climb event at Burton Dassett.

It takes place this coming Saturday with the first rider going up at 11:01am. If you want to take part registration is now open. There are two trophies up for grabs: the Durran Cup for the overall fastest rider and the Broadribb Trophy which is competed for between the women.

2020 Membership

We'd like to welcome all of our new and rejoining members to Banbury Star who've joined during August:

Harm van den Meijdenberg, Rhys Martin, Liam Morgan, Hayley Holland, Amy Russell, Thomas Slingsby, Martin Norris, Amy Hinton, Adam Ritchie, Simon Smith, Paul Whitehouse, Andrew Neale, Christopher Shawe, David Wilcock, Anna Norman and Jill McKinnon.

All rejoining members should have now received their 2020 membership cards. Please remember to complete your emergency contact details and any medical issues on the back of the card and also bring it along on club rides.

Subscriptions and any other payments to the club should now be paid direct to our Nat West account.

Sort code = 53-61-33

Account = 65953886

Having now moved entirely to online banking no more cheques or cash will be accepted for membership or payment for club events. 

Please note: The online Membership Form must be completed for all existing members when renewing membership. The joys of GDPR compliance!

Race Squad news

As you can read elsewhere the number of members now taking part in our weekly club TTs has seen an amazing growth this season. Whilst the number of Open events has been severely reduced this season, members have still been out and about competing. Fifteen members competed in Coventry CC's 10 mile TT earlier last month, making us by far the largest club entry. Rich Collier loves his long distance TT's and went all the way to Norfolk to compete in a 50 mile event. We also had 8 members competing in Leamington CC's 10 mile TT near Coventry. Finally at the weekend, Jill McKinnon, Simon Bull, Luke Norris and second claim members Lydia Watts and Simon Smart took part in the National RTTC 10 mile Championship.

There are still a few September events on the calendar which you can view via the link below.

Chain Gangs to continue

Whilst the club's competitive season is coming to an end, the Monday night chain gangs will continue for a bit longer. This will really depend of course on the wishes and enthusiasm of members, particularly as the nights draw in with lights becoming a necessity.

Keep your eyes on Facebook for further news. 

Please once again remember to read and be aware of the new rules

---YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO JUST TURN UP AND RIDE---

The main changes are:

• Pre-registration for each ride is mandatory
• Only club members can ride, no guests
• Group size limits will be in place
• Groups will be sorted on ability level
• Groups will leave at timed intervals
• Social distancing will be maintained throughout
• All riders must bring the necessary PPE as defined by the Government
• Absolutely no spitting or nose clearing by anyone will be tolerated unless it’s into a tissue

Long Ride Saturday

On Saturday 12th September Simon Bingham is leading a longer than usual club ride, 75 miles starting at 9am which will feature a couple of stops, the second one being close to Banbury for anyone who wants to jump off there and head for home.

The pace will be determined by the groups and will take account of the additional mileage to be done. The usual club ride rules will dictate that nobody is left behind.

Keep an eye on Facebook for more details of the route and registration which will also be emailed to all members.

Club kit - order update

Hopefully every one who ordered items of club kit recently have now collected or had their orders delivered. Please contact Dave Speck if that's not the case, or you have any queries.

Full details of club kit are on the club website and remember 5 items of any one garment are required before an order can be placed with Enduro.

Matt Sleath now holds a small stock of jerseys.

Monthly social evenings

We've decided to put the monthly social nights on hold until things settle down somewhat and a visit to the pub doesn't have to be pre-planned. 

Forthcoming 2020 club events

Club chain gang evenings - every Monday   

Last Wednesday night TT of the season - 2nd September - 5 mile Come & Try at Gaydon

Durran Cup Hill Climb - Saturday 5th September

BSCC 10 mile Open TT - Sunday 6th September

Annual General Meeting Tuesday 20th October 

For more details and other events please look at the calendars on the club’s website or Facebook group.

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