Chairman’s Chatter
As I sit here at the end of December basking in double figure temperatures it is a far cry from last year when the mercury plummeted and icy roads kept the bike indoors! 2011 has been another fantastic year for the club but this is all about the future, what is in store for 2012? The first thing to note is that due to the popularity of the forum and social networking in general the newsletter is now only going to be produced twice yearly, winter and summer. Sotonia has embraced new technology this last year and we now have a presence on Twitter (@SotoniaCC) and on You Tube where our resident video fiend Julian Gee uploads his videos, although his music taste is sometimes dubious!
With the club now attracting in excess of 200 members the administration of membership with the handling of cheques and cash and updating membership lists is immense and so the club now has an online subs payment system to try and reduce this burden. Hopefully most of you are aware of this and have used it, as I have with, and found it simple to use and saves time in not having to write a cheque and then find a committee member to hand it in to etc.
There are changes to the events Sotonia are organising this year. Last summer became very congested with club time trials, open time trials and road races putting pressure on club members to volunteer as without volunteers these events would not be able to run. This year we are running 4 less club time trials to reduce the number of events over the summer. The successful Heath Road Races will return this summer with another 3 race series. A major change is in the hill climb as the traditional end of season event will this year be run as an open (usual fee for members so don’t worry!) with an extra hill climb earlier in the season turning it into a two race event. This way people can test how their fitness has evolved over the season.
With changing lifestyles it has been recognised that Sundays are not always convenient to do a club run and so the Saturday club run is being introduced from January. The exact format of these has yet to be finalised and will probably evolve as time goes on but for now the main point is that these will start from the usual meeting place at 10:30 on Saturday mornings.
In the relatively short time that I have taken a keen interest in cycling this coming year has to be the one I have looked forward to the most. With the Olympics happening in our own country with a host of British stars vying for gold medals, the strongest British presence in the pro-peloton for years with Team Sky being an obvious focal point. The upcoming classics and grand tours could be a very fruitful time for British cyclists. With Cavendish having a green jersey to defend in the Tour De France and Brad Wiggins going for GC it will be interesting to see how Sky manage the team and how the peloton will react to the demise of HTC-Highroad and the legendary train for Cavendish.
On the club front it is hoped to repeat the auction of last year depending on availability of the main hall at the clubroom. So get out into the garage and get together all those bits and pieces which you no longer have any need for and make a few quid selling them to those that have a need (or just like to hoard!).
In short 2012 should be a bumper year for cycling so I hope to see you all out over the coming months,
Happy cycling,
Darren Strickland
2011 trophy winners
Taking home the silverware are:
Men’s best all rounder – Stuart Martingale (26.057mph)
Junior best all rounder – Cameron Taylor (21.736mph)
Fastest 25m TT – Andy Bryson (53.06)
Fastest 50m TT – Stuart Martingale (1.56.23)
Fastest 100m TT – Stuart Martingale (4.00.12) So close!
12 hour TT – Nick Wisby and John Radford (203.92 miles)
Fastest first year 25m TT – Phil Connell (1.04.28)
Ivor Blake handicap 25m TT – Jon Dudley (54.47)
Walsh Junior 10 winner – Cameron Taylor (26.10)
Corbin Club Person of the Year (chosen by the membership) – Penny Cossburn
Keats vets best all rounder – Alan Sharpen (+48.08)
Marriner championship 10 winner – Andy Bryson (21.45)
Keatley club 25m TT champion – Andy Bryson (55.51)
Vets on standard 25m TT champion – Alan Sharpen (+10.09)
Road race champion – Wendy Knowlton
Keeping it in the family Cyclo cross champion – David Belcher
Men’s points champion – Ollie Hitchings
Ladies points champion – Wendy Knowlton
Ladies 25m TT champion – Wendy Knowlton (1.12.08)
Ladies championship 10m TT winner – Wendy Knowlton (28.20)
Brickwood vets on standard 10m TT winner – Norman Harvey (+5.02)
Drinkwater cup for most points in South DC – Andy Bryson