Welcome to the October version of the Chairman's Chatterbox, by now you've probably put away your shorts and back in bibtights, base layers and already looking forward to Spring (well I am).
What are your targets for next year to keep you going over the winter? Personally I have quite a few but will keep them quiet but rest assured they will involve mile munching.
We are fast progressing to the AGM and Presentation evening. Please keep Fri 15th Nov free as we are back at the St Neots Rowing Club who made us so welcome last year. In the 18th Oct Weekly Bulletin we will have details of the meal, the evening and how to confirm your attendance and confirmation of the Guest.
In addition there will be a separate item on how to volunteer for the committee, remember your Club Needs You, we will put in some Roles and Responsibilities to help guide you. All positions can be applied for but if we have more than one application per post then it will be subject to a vote. We do need to fill all positions as it makes the running of the club difficult as we have so many parts of the club to look after.
The Club currently runs:-
Sunday Club rides
Saturday rides
Midweek rides in the guise of the SNOGs (all free to join)
Social Rides (back next April)
Social Events (look out for a Curry Night)
Weekly TTs (back next year)
Inter Club TTs (including hosting our own 10)
Large participation in Open TTs (including hosting an Open Event)
Dales Trip
and a second weekend Trip
Audaxes (well 3 of us)
Cyclo Cross (I am told it's great fun)
Plus some Ad Hoc events (cycling to the local events).
We've had some magnificent results in TTs this season and that trend is continuing, on Sun Shaun Jarvis won his first Open TT. Adam continues to ride Hill Climbs in the NW - great life this Uni lark!
Congratulations to the 2024 Hill Champions Sam McDonald and Tina Dankwart (her first trophy). They won these at the recent Inter Club competition at the Sharpenhoe Clappers.
As you will see from the attached article some of the club members had a great time in the Peak District organised by Adam Hutchinson. Also Tina organised an off road ride on the Peddars Way which a number of the club attended, Tina's excellent article was in last week's Weekly Bulletin.
The Saturday morning rides started in September and although we've only had 2 to date they are an excellent initiative which I think we all agree should be supported. Justin has put in a lot of time running the Chain Gang and now this ride, thanks Justin. Please support them.
Again for the 18th Oct Weekly Bulletin we will be sharing the 2024 Results spreadsheet and highlighting the Trophy Winners to be presented at the AGM.
Finally the SNCC Femmes update, this has been a great addition to the club this year.
Tina's report - It's been a busy month for the femmes. First of all some of us started Zwift racing in the Zwift league with online club GALAXY. There are 3 rounds at 6 weeks each, racing usually 4 out of the 6 races on a Tuesday evening (or every Tuesday if you prefer as there are several teams that can usually do with a backup). It's great training over the winter, if you are interested - drop us a line, male or female! There are women's only/men only and mixed teams. And it's actually a lot of fun. Things I learnt so far:
- you definitely need a fan,
- the DS is on 'race radio' aka Discord (if you are not familiar with it, imagine it like a whatsapp group call). You need headphones
- you can't ride in a headset looking like someone taking calls in a call centre, because you might pass out with the heat ;-)
For someone who has never actually raced, going flat out for over an hour is a whole new level of 'fun' I had not experienced before - takes the 'zone 5' training to another level! And has been a heaven sent in the recent weather, yuk!
Wednesday/Friday lunchtime rides and Wednesday evening Zwift club rides:- we've had a couple of very nice lunch time rides, but with the weather being as awful as it has been, we also introduced a Wednesday nights Femmes Zwift club ride, which worked a lot better than I had originally thought. Thank you to Cat for setting this up! We chose a flat route for the first ride, and chatted away on Discord. It takes a bit of practice to stay together - but we enjoyed it! Turns out Cat has a mean sprint and left us in the dust (so much for the 'quiet coffee ride then ;-) ) So we'll be putting both on every week.