A quick note on what’s going on at your club at the minute.
It’s May, and we’re back from our largest RPR trip of the year – our annual Mallorca peregrination, anchored around the Mallorca 312 sportive. The trip was a great success with 23 members on board, most of whom completed one of the distances in glorious weather this year. A great achievement all around, well done all! Special mention must go to our esteemed President, Matt Chidgey, who for reasons of pre-departure mechanical failure (and a spritz of self-publicity) completed the 225 on his Brompton. I’m sure you have seen the pictures, has everyone seen the pictures?
Another special shoutout to Rachel Costello, who at the end of April completed her 10,324 km ride across Africa from Cairo to Cape Town. Rachel started this ride in 2020, but the group were forced to abandon in Tanzania as the pandemic came on, and they returned to Tanzania this year for a second leg. No doubt the memories will last a lifetime.
Right now, we have a busy couple of weeks ahead – this weekend, we’re going to Brighton, single or return, where in celebration of a round-number birthday Rowland will apparently be putting a card behind the bar; then there is Ride London the following weekend, a real delight for those who prefer to sleep in, but a fun challenge all the same; and then our Tuscany trip kicks off the weekend after. The Giro is in full swing and the summer ride season has begun. Hopefully, there will be lots of good weather, and there’s a bunch of trips away on the schedule, so please do think about joining them – you’ll find them all on Meetup.
In other news, we are in the process of revamping club kit – we should shortly have confirmation of supplier. Although the core features won’t change (colour scheme, antlers etc), there’s an opportunity for you to make suggestions, including on design, what items of club kit you’d like to see us have, and so on. We’ll set up a survey in due course so you can feed in your thoughts. We’re also hoping the club will be able to subsidise the purchase of new kit, but we will obviously confirm the specifics in due course.
Whilst talking club kit, please could we encourage you to wear it on club rides, as it helps to identify you (both to other members and to road users more generally) and it also creates a more cohesive look. We have a wonderful club and should be proud to wear its kit! Once upon a time, club kit was mandatory on rides, though during Covid restrictions those rules were relaxed. It is the intention to have club kit made compulsory for club rides once more, but not until the new club kit has arrived (or for new members awaiting kit thereafter).
AGM and the Committee
Our AGM will be held on Friday 30 June, at the Hare & Hounds. This is your club, and the AGM is a great opportunity for your voice to be heard; we’d love you to be a part of it hear your thoughts on how you’d like your club to evolve over the next 12 months and what we can do for you. This input is crucial if our club is going to best serve its members. Once club business is out of the way, we’ll have a few drinks and a club social, so please do come along.
The committee have done a great job in developing and sustaining a thriving club (or so they tell me). For that to continue, it’s vital that the committee properly reflect its members’ demographics, and there be periodic turnover among the committee’s membership, so that new life and ideas can find a place. With this in mind, we’d welcome anybody who would like to put themselves forward to join the committee where they feel they have the passion to see the club succeed. We’d particularly like to attract riders into the committee from among the stronger, and the younger; women; and from a diversity of backgrounds. Further, if your professional background means you offer skills that assist the day-to-day running of the club (accounting, social media, events, HR etc), that’d be great. Many fear being on the committee comes with a lot of responsibility and time demands – for most the reality couldn’t be more different, a committee meeting every 6-8 weeks, though if there’s any specific responsibility you’d like to take on, of course you are most welcome to contribute more! Please feel free to speak to me to discuss further.
Summer party – we are currently finalising the details of this and will shortly share them with you – keep your eyes peeled on Meetup. Our Christmas and summer parties are always a great hit, and a chance to unwind with club mates away from two wheels (but not too far away).
Speak soon, and Ride safe!
Adam/Team RPR