Good afternoon ARCC Rouleurs,
I should start by wishing you all a very happy New Year, let’s hope the weather improves and we can get out on the road more often – Zwift miles, albeit very good are not equal to Road miles as you would be missing the potholes, cold wind and the sound of frozen ears falling off on the chilterns’ slippery roads!
There’s quite a lot to get through, so buckle up and read on!
IT’S TIME FOR A NEW CHAIR
I have been your Chairman for 3 years, during this time the club has re-emerged from Covid and lockdown in a strong position. Last year we grew to 282 members and already this year some 208 of you have renewed your membership indicating our membership may reach new record high numbers this year. Over the last 3 years, we have registered as a Community Amateur Sports Club and updated our Club Constitution and Rules. We have worked to restructure our Sunday Group Rides and set out more detailed descriptions of our riding groups. We have continued to develop opportunities for our female members to ride together and we have introduced regular Gravel rides. We have trained 32 members in basic First-Aid and improved our accident reporting process. The numbers participating in Time Trials has grown significantly and we are currently working on new ARCC Ride Leader and Group Riding Skills Training programmes for 2025. The operations of the committee have been streamlined and role descriptions developed for every official club role. To improve communication, the WhatsApp Community and Broadcast channels were introduced. We have also drawn up a new vision for the club and undertaken our first membership survey. You will hear more about these last two items as we approach the Annual General Meeting in March.
So, after 3 years, I feel it’s time to hand over the reins to somebody else who will work with the committee to continue the upward momentum. I am humbled to have been given the opportunity to work with such a great team. I am thankful for all your hard work, time you have given so selflessly to the club and taken the club through all the positive changes to where we are now. Needless to say, none of the above would have happened without the volunteers, the bloodline of the club and all your support as members. Be proud of all we have collectively achieved in such a relatively short period of time.
Mucho Gracias!
(Should you wish to stand for the position of Chairperson you will need to make a formal application to our Club Secretary, Paul Robinson, secretary@amershamrcc.com by Friday 20 February. Your application should be supported by a brief overview of your experience and an outline of what you think you would bring to the role. In addition, your application should be supported by a proposer and a seconder, both of whom should be full members of the club.)
The role description for the Chairperson can be found here https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QHt-pJHoeAMVMycDRyeZGpFshBBg4tEB/view?usp=share_link
FIRST AID TRAINING IS BACK AND BETTER THAN EVER
Over the last 2 years we have trained 32 ARCC members in First Aid. We are now in a position to provide further courses, in the shape of a 2 hour first aid course specifically designed for cyclists – and it’s free to all ARCC members! This course will be carried out by our own fully certified First Aid instructor, Doctor Caroline Whittaker. This course is designed for our club and focusses on how to deal with the sort of incidents that may occur on club rides.
WHEN: Courses will run once a month on Tuesday evenings (starting 18th Feb) 6.00 – 8.00pm and Saturday afternoons (starting 1st March) 2.00 – 4.00pm.
If you are interested please contact Colin Peters, our welfare officer by message, WhatsApp or email welfare@amershamrcc.com where he can book you in and provide you more info should you need it.
CLUB CALENDAR – THE BEST PLACE FOR ALL ARCC EVENTS
We have already set the dates for a number of key events throughout the whole of 2025 – these can all be found in the Club Calendar on the website right on the homepage. This calendar will keep improving over time and will only get better to best place for all ARCC events. Specific events pages are also available from the below link:
- Club Events: http://www.amershamrcc.com/club-events/
- Upcoming Rides & Events: https://www.amershamrcc.com/club-rides/
A couple of early events to flag up are:
- 26 February – ARCC QUIZ Night (NEW)
Hopeful you will have all seen this event posted in your WhatsApp groups – a Quiz Night/Social will be held at Chesham Cricket Club on Wednesday 26 February. You are invited to get a team together (no more than 8) and join the fun – entry is £5 per head, guests and family are welcome. There will be a pay bar and you can bring, or order in, your own food.
We look forward to seeing as many of you there as possible. And don’t worry if you haven’t got a team, we’ll sort that when you arrive!
- 27 March – ARCC AGM Annual General Meeting
The AGM will be held at the Hit or Miss Penn Street on Thursday 27 March at 7.00pm for a 7.30pm start – please make a note in your calendars – more information will follow in due course
- 29 March – Lee Valley Velodrome Session
This is hosted by Beaconsfield CC who have extended an invitation to our members – cost £20 per head – see the Club Calendar for more details
Other dates to look out for:
- 17 – 24 May – ARCC Mallorca Trip
- 31 May – Tour De Ricky
- 7 June – ARCC Isle of Wight Trip
- 28 June – Samaritans Ride
- 6 July – ARCC Club Summer BBQ Ride
- 26 July – ARCC Women’s Social
- 3 August – Justin Memorial ARCC Club 100 (100 miles and 100 kilometres)
- 21 September – DENS Hillbuster
- 9 October – ARCC Volunteers and Helpers Evening
- 28 November – ARCC Club Annual Dinner
Thank you for tuning in,
Zoran
ARCC Chairman