A somewhat disrupted Barry Covington memorial ride last weekend thanks to the combination of a persistent global pandemic and some truly filthy weather, but an important way to mark the day. If you were in any doubt as to its value, listen again to Tom speaking at the Velodrome on our Facebook post. All of you who rode, raced or just donated and stayed in the dry, thank you! We’ll do it again next year.
Club Kit Changes
You’ll have got wind of some changes in the air on this. Some time ago now, you all voted for a ‘cleaner’ look without sponsor logos on the back of the jersey. We are taking the opportunity to have a look at the whole way we do kit – who we get it from, how we order and receive it, and how it looks. This is not an easy task, but it’s a vitally important one. It’s our single biggest outlay and it’s the public face of our club.
In Roubaix 3 years ago, a bemused Dutchman approached us and asked:
“Who are you guys? I see you and your kit everywhere.”
It matters. It also divides opinion like no other topic, so I want us to be careful how we do this, taking account of everyone’s views, respecting our history and being practical, all at the same time.
I spoke with Loren last week – she has been in charge of kit for a while now and she asked to step away because she has too much else going on in her life to manage this task. I’d like to thank her for all of the hard work she has done for the club. Anyone who volunteers and puts in a shift as she has done deserves all of our thanks. Fortunately, I was able to bend Kate’s arm to get her to take it on.
So here’s the plan.
- Kate set up a Facebook poll to help us develop a design brief. Small, medium or radical design change. It looks like you want radical.
- Andy is a super-talented designer and has masterminded the Penge ‘look’ since we started, and we have asked him to come up with some design principles. What is integral to our design and must stay to keep us true to our history.
- Andy will then work on some designs, with anyone who wants to get involved. If you have a flair for design, let me or Andy know. You know the rule. If you want your opinion to count, get involved.
- We’ll present these designs at the AGM and get your feedback. Annoyingly, this will be online, but I guess we’re all a bit more used to that now.
- In parallel, we have been reviewing suppliers and have been through a rigorous tendering process with 4 suppliers. This is now complete and I have made a recommendation to the committee. They have until the end of Friday next week to decide.
- Assuming we resolve all of the above, our intention is to get a kit order in during November for delivery in January. So that’s Christmas sorted.
Sunday Rides
Right, there’s some riding to do.
For this Sunday, sign up on RiderHQ for the ride of your choice. It is open for booking at 6pm today. Don’t panic if you don’t get on a ride, we are putting on extra groups each week and please put your hand up if you’re okay to lead an extra group. Just let me know. More detailed instructions on the website.
| Ride | Leader | Departure Location | Departure Time | Distance (Miles) | Speed (mph) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long 4 | Gareth Wall | SE20 Cycles | 7:15 | 45-55 | 17+ |
| Long 3 | Jeff Butcher | Crooked Billet | 7:30 | 45-55 | 15-16 |
| Long 2 | Basky Thilaganathan | SE20 Cycles | 7:45 | 45-55 | 13-14 |
| Long 2 (2) | Alvin Gosford | Corner of Kent House Road / Beckenham Road | 9:00 | 60 | 13-14 |
| Long 1 | Chris Martin | Crooked Billet | 8:00 | 50 | 11-12 |
| Short 4 | TBC | SE20 Cycles | 8:15 | 30-35 | 15-16 |
| Short 3 | Nick Brun | Crooked Billet | 8:30 | 30-35 | 13-14 |
| Short 2 | Liz Begley | SE20 Cycles | 8:45 | 30-35 | 12-13 |
| Short 1 | Barry Graham | Crooked Billet | 9:00 | 30-35 | 11-12 |
| Short 1 (2) | Katie Ferguson | SE20 Cycles | 8:30 | 30-35 | 11-12 |
| Steady | Andrew Stroud | SE20 Cycles | 9:15 | 24-27 | 10-11 |
Annual General Meeting – Wednesday 28th October 2020 at 8pm
This will be held as a Microsoft Teams meeting and we’ll publish details of how to join nearer the time. If you’re lucky enough not to have spent countless hours on Teams this year, and need some help with this, let me know.
We have the usual agenda and the important job of electing our organising committee. We have some vacant roles, and you are, of course, invited to put your name forward for any of the roles and to be put to the vote. We’ll circulate the full list of roles shortly.
I would also implore you to come to the meeting with questions and ideas. We are sitting on a mountain of cash and would love to put it to use to benefit the club.
Strava Leaderboard
Clearly it takes more than relentless rain to deter you lot. Simon, Dom and James evidence of their epic Barry ride. Scott – I am assuming Steph borrowed your Garmin! Great riding all round.
Closing Thoughts
Have a cracking weekend. I’m off west to get muddy again.
James Hanscomb, Chair of Penge Cycle Club.