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In this month's newsletter we have some important announcements following the club's AGM
Presidential ponderings
Elected club officers
Constitution update
Third party insurance
CTT and TLI affiliation
New honorary life member
Can you help the club?
Club rides
Mudguards
New members
Race Squad news
Zwift sessions
Winter workout sessions
Autumn Reliability Ride
Club kit - winter garments
Forthcoming club events
Don't forget, copies of all previous newsletters can be found on the club website:
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The Annual General Meeting is always interesting as it's a great way of looking back on the previous year and all the things we as a club and as individuals have accomplished and then also take the opportunity to gaze into the crystal ball to see where we're heading in the upcoming twelve months.
This year's meeting took place virtually which does require a few changes to enable the debate to ebb and flow but the good thing was this didn't stop the proposals put forwards from being agreed.
We started the year in robust health as a club and leave 2020, this most strangest of times, in a very strong position thanks to the dedication and hard work by the club's Committee and by all the members and guests from other clubs who've supported us.
Personally, I'm honoured to have been voted back in to serve as President once more. 2021 will be our 130th anniversary and fingers crossed we'll be able to do a few special events to celebrate being one of the oldest cycling clubs in the world.
It's not all good news though, last month we asked if anyone was able to spend time helping the club by giving just a few minutes. I was really disappointed with the response - not one person stepped forward. This apathy continued with the attendance at the virtual AGM when not even thirty members made the effort to dial in. When we get more members on a Saturday club ride than we get at an AGM I begin to wonder where we are going wrong?
You'll see a reminder of where we need help below. Please ask yourself what you have to offer and don't just assume that someone else will do all the work. It's your club and how you contribute today guarantees the viabiity of the club for future generations of Banbury Stars.
Paul
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Club AGM - election of officers
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The standing down of Rich Collier from his dual role as both Membership and Club Secretary (thanks for the service Rich!) created two positions which were filled at the AGM following a vote of the members for the candidates. The remaining officers were voted in en-masse.
Here's the current line up:
President: Paul Dean
Membership Secretary: Andy Perry
Club Secretary: Dave Pittman
Treasurer: Matt Sleath
Press Officer: Roger Gollicker
Welfare Officer: Dave Pittman
Racing Secretary: Mark Boyles
Ride Secretary: John Tustian
Blogger: Roger Gollicker
Rising Stars: TBD Lee Heron stood down after the AGM
Women’s Representative: Ila Pearson
Time Trial Secretary: Oli Wright
Webmaster: The Spotty Nerd
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Club AGM - constitution update
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The club's constitution was last revised in 2017 and since then the growth in the club, the events we offer members and various tweaks to our rules under which we operate have justified a bit of a spring clean.
Andy Perry selflessly volunteered to take on this exercise with an updated draft being emailed to all members for comments and eventual adoption at the recent AGM.
The latest version can be found on the website.
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Third Party Liability insurance
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As we all know bikes can be very expensive but liability claims against an uninsured rider for the consequences of an accident which is their fault can be potentially ruinous. With this in mind a proposal was made and voted upon at the AGM mandating all riders on club rides hold valid third party insurance.
The new club rule is as follows:-
The Club requires members hold third party insurance cover, e.g. as a member of British Cycling, Cycling UK or another comparable service provider to be able to take part in club rides. You will be asked to provide details during the joining process and/or when registering for club rides.
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Next season the Club’s weekly Wednesday TTs will be run slightly differently, following agreement at the AGM last week. Instead of running under Cycling Time Trials’ umbrella with their rules and regulations in place, we will instead be running our events under the jurisdiction of a non-profit making organisation called The League International.
TLI has been around for a good while and the differences at our events won't be that obvious. The most significant change to be aware of is that this will bring about the requirement for all riders to be registered card carrying members of TLI in order to race, in advance of their first entry. That membership comes at a cost of £15, and our entry fee on top will therefore be just £1 to cover costs. Included in this £15 is liability insurance that matches what CTT offer.
This gives a huge cost-saving for those who wish to time trial on Wednesday evenings as our 2021 TT supplement will be around £15 rather than the £50 if we had stayed with CTT. On the line entry for non-TLI members will become a thing of the past but the main benefit will come to club members who will be able to race for little expense as compared to what would be required under CTT’s jurisdiction with their ever increasing levies that are not fed back into the grass roots development of the sport. The courses will be similar and TLI are much more flexible on using new courses and also promote the use of road bikes.
The events that will not be affected by this change include the Hardriders Open, the Open 10 and the Leiden Plaque.
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Keri Williams - new Honorary Life Member
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For some time now the club has been running probably the most popular, successful and continually growing weekly time trial summer series in the Midlands region of CTT. One man has been largely responsible for this – Keri Williams. So, at a recent committee meeting it was unanimously proposed that Keri should be rewarded with Honorary Life Membership. Unsurprisingly, this was then again unanimously voted through at the AGM.
Keri has largely run the Wednesday night TT series single-handed for a number of years now, come rain or shine. And it’s a lot more than just holding a stopwatch. Keri has had to handle and administer the CTT paperwork, collect and manage the fees and then in a short space of time, collate and seed the entries. Following that he’s then in many instances, both the starter and finisher, after which he dashes home to work out and post the results within a few hours. On top of this, he’ll always ride or drive the course on race day and also put out and then collect all the safety and direction signs. Rider safety is always his priority and he's done all this in a friendly, pleasant and often amusing manner.
Next season, Keri is taking a bit of a sabbatical, but has told us he might still hold a stopwatch occasionally and has even commented that he’d like to ride a few TTs again himself.
We’ll all miss Keri on Wednesday nights, especially his trademark send off – “do a good ride”, but wish him well, plus a big THANK YOU.
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Our club is growing at a fast rate which is a pleasant surprise given the overall difficulties and challenges posed by 2020. We've enjoyed an enhanced reputation from our community work, club rides and time trials, all of which have helped attract many new members to join.
The club's AGM gave all members the opportunity to stand for election in any of the formal positions the club offers and in addition there are some opportunities and areas where we need your help:
- Running the club's Instagram account to promote our events and other aspects of club life and reach a far wider audience than Facebook or Twitter can achieve.
- Looking after the club's collection of racing trophies, arranging their engraving and availability for the annual prize-giving evenings.
- Become a British Cycling-qualified Ride Leader to lead a small group on our weekend club rides.
- Become a time keeper to occasionally help run our 2021 time trial events.
- Head up the 2021 Road Race organisation team and act as the focal point with British Cycling.
- Be the focal point for our Rising Stars junior cycling scheme
If you are keen in helping in any capacity please email the club's secretary in the first instance and we can then sort out the details.
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Club rides - latest information
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Now the clocks have gone back and winter is well on its way, mudguards are now mandatory for all weekend rides. Please read the section below for all the details.
With the temperature dropping we thought there may be problems with the number of suitable covered outside coffee stops available during the winter months. However, good news, as our intrepid Ride Secretary, John Tustian, has been out and about talking to the managers and owners of some of our regular stops to see what he can arrange. The result is at least 6, possibly 7, venues are happy to continue to cater for our needs, allowing John to plan our winter rides around these stops. Others can hopefully be added, but at the moment this arrangement means we can continue with the current social distancing rules and the large number of riders now turning up for weekend rides.
Don't forget 10am on a Friday is the cut-off time to register for Saturday's rides.
Above all, please note
---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:
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Mudguards - now mandatory on club rides
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A reminder to members that mudguards are now mandatory on all club weekend rides. The only exemption to this is if the roads are completely dry following a dry spell and no rain is forecast. This will now be confirmed by the ride leader in his pre-ride email.
The first two photos above, clearly illustrate the mudguard length and mud flap which is acceptable. Whilst the third photo of a bike which has new mudguards fitted, is not acceptable - the rider will be fine, but not those following.
The club rule is as follows:-
Club rides during the winter months, following the clocks changing in October until March, will encounter wet and/or muddy roads and mudguards are to be fitted to bikes as a courtesy to the rest of the group by preventing spray. The bottom of the mudguard must come below the line of the rear axle.
If you want to purchase a club mudguard extension they are available for a mere £8 and are very easy to fit. Contact Paul for more information.
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We'd like to welcome all of our new and rejoining members to Banbury Star who've joined during October:
Josh Lovell and Joe Dunlop
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.
Membership renewal in 2021 is going to be revamped, moving away from a simple Google form to a more comprehensive and dedicated application that gives us better control of data that reflects how big we've become as a club. If you are an existing member please resist the urge to renew during November or December as you won't qualify for the January £10 discount.
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Our club season might be over, but quite a lot of Stars are still out there competing in Cyclo-Cross, TTs and Hill Climbs.
Seven members entered a CX in Solihull recently, with juniors to the fore. In the under 8's we had two in the top 5, with Henry Boyles 4th and Caleb Smith in 5th. Reuban Baker came 6th in the under 12 race. The ladies showed up in force with Amy Hinton and Katie Pamphlett coming 11th and 13th respectively in the female senior and Jane Holton coming 6th in the female Vet race. Mark Boyles started the in the last race of the day and came in 22nd in the male Vet class.
As well reported on the website news page, eleven Stars ventured down to Thruxton for the RTTC National Closed-Circuit Championship. Again, the juniors performed exceptionally well, while Luke Norris was the fastest club member, finishing 15th overall.
Clearly inspired by his new club record and Durran Cup win, Tobi Ng has been busy competing in several hill climbs over the last few weekends. His last event was the RTTC National Championships where he finished 38th in a field of nearly 400 riders Again, you can read all about his adventures on the website news page.
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Zwift sessions start on Monday
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The waiting is over, Zwift turbo sessions will start up again on Monday 2nd November.
All the latest details, session times etc., will be posted on Facebook.
Still not sure what Zwift is all about, then click on the link below and read Race Secretary Mark Boyles summary and guide.
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To keep both our fitness and engagement levels up over the coming winter months which are likely to see a further national lockdown the club is going to hold a weekly virtual fitness session that is open to all members and in the warmth, comfort and privacy of your own home. These sessions will be deal for all abilities and ages, there's no pressure to keep up with anyone, no one watching you and it’s FREE!
We held a trial event last week focussing on cardio which showed how Zoom can be used and now will expand the scope to include cycle-focussed yoga classes from this coming week.
Details of how to join the Thursday sessions will be emailed to all members each week.
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Over sixty riders registered to take part in this year's autumn ride down to Burford and back and most managed to avoid the showers which wetted the region.
Not everyone managed to complete the 62 mile route within their estimated time window but there were no certificates on offer this time round which prompted a more leisurely tour for many including cake stops for some.
Ex-President Luke Souter was the fastest finisher, stopping the clock in an impressive 3h4m.
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Club kit - winter garments
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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 via Dave Speck.
With winter now upon us, don't forget the following are available:- LS Jersey £61.20, Compact Gilet £50.40 and Roubaix LS Jersey £73.20. Full details of these garments are available on the Enduro website, together with a sizing guide.
Matt Sleath now holds a small stock of short sleeve jerseys.
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Hardriders Open Time Trial - Sunday 7 March
130th Anniversary Ride - Sunday 11th April
Annual Road Race - Sunday 23rd May
Open 10 mile Time Trial - Sunday 5th September
For more details and other events please look at the calendars on the club’s website or Facebook group.
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Follow Banbury Star on social media
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