Sleaford Wheelers Newsletter July 2025

Greetings all. This month we take a look at some notable successes by our riders and look ahead to the following months. But first a message from Malc Yates our Vice President regarding the excellent 60th anniversary celebrations:

“Hi. Nige can you please mention from myself and all of the ex-members who attended the

Club’s 60th celebrations a very big thank you to Rob and Kerri who were both instrumental in

the idea of putting something on for everyone, and all members for the magnificent turn out,

most Clubs would be lucky to get half that amount. The ex-members all expressed to me that

they were honoured to be invited and were grateful that Sleaford Wheelers had not forgotten

them, some being a massive influence on how successful the Club is today and how well it is

being run.

A big thankyou and a pat on the back for everyone, from an old member from 1965 on behalf of

all the ex-members who hold Sleaford Wheelers very deeply in their hearts, it was a big part of

their lives and they will never forget the enjoyment and comradeship that the Club gave them.”

Malc Yates, Vice President.

Memorial Ride

Thanks to the 46 riders who were able to take part in the Eddie and Matt Memorial Ride, we raised £150 towards Men’s Minds Matter.

Club members achievements

• Kath Smith sets another VTTA record; 211 miles in 12 Hours in the cold, wet and windy weather.
• Richard Hamblin and John Crust take on all the Welsh mountains and weather can throw at them; 187.46 miles, 14, 052 feet of climbing in 12 hours, cold, wet and windy weather.
• Jack Holyoak conquers the Dragon Ride; 133.64 miles and guess what, wet and windy!
• Georgia Lancaster takes 1st place on the podium at the Owen Blower Memorial Ride.
• Thomas Cragg continues to impress taking a top 5 place for first year riders.
• Harry Greetham takes 4th place at the TLI race.
• John Scott at 81 years-old decides to take on the NC 500, a great achievement and more of which in next month’s newsletter.

Jet Ride

This year’s Jet Rides takes place on 13th September.

• SWCC have always encouraged riders to take support this worthy cause and to take part in this event. This year we are also refunding our members £5 towards the cost of entry. All you need to do is forward your completed entry form to me info@sleafordwheelers.co.uk with relevant bank details so we can transfer you the money. All finishers get a Jet Ride cycling jersey but please see their website for more information.

Start and finish: RAF Cranwell, Lincolnshire

Distance: 50, 75 or 100 miles

Entry: £35 online, £40 on the day*.

Fundraising target: £50 per rider

Start times: from 8am

*Online entries will close on Thursday 11th September.

Introductory rides

If you are new to the Club, not sure whether a club ride is for you or you just want to get to know more about the Club, then we would like to invite you along to our new introductory rides. These will be held on the second Sunday of the month and will be a short ride of approximately 20 miles. They will meet at Sleaford Market Place at 09:00 and then depart at 09:15, please note however, the café stop will be at the end of the ride. In summary, these rides are to introduce you to SWCC and let you cycle at a distance and time that is comfortable for all, the ride is a no-drop ride and will be ridden at the pace of slowest rider on the day, so there is no pressure to try and keep up.

Dates for rides:

• July 13th
• August 10th
• September 14th
• October 12th
• November 9th

Events coming up in July

• Wednesday 2nd July, social ride. Leaving Horseshoes at 18:00, ride options available on the day.
• Check out Facebook and Website for further details.
• Thursday 3rd July – Road Bike TT round 2
• Saturday 5th July – Ladies ride
• Sunday 6th July – 100-mile rides (decision pending)
• Thursday 10th July – 10 League round 6
• Sunday 13th July – Introductory Ride 1
• Wednesday 16th July – TLI round 4, Limber
• Thursday 17th July – 10 League round 7
• Sunday 20th July – Focus Ride, round 5, North Willingham
• Thursday 24th July – 10 League round 8
• Thursday 31st July – Championship 10

Events coming up in August

• Saturday 2nd August – Ladies Ride
• Wednesday 6th August – social ride

• Thursday 7th August – 7 League round 3
• Sunday 10th August – Introductory Ride 2
• Wednesday 13th August – TLI Round 5, Brattleby
• Thursday 14th August – Ladies 7-mile TT
• Sunday 17th August – Hill Climb

Did you know?

It was great to see the vintage bikes at the 60th celebration and to marvel at some of the technology. We all take for granted now the slick gear change systems, but the first index gears were introduced by Shimano in 1985 and this revolutionised the market.

The first weekend sees the start of this year’s Tour de France, were you aware that the first British rider to win a Tour was Nicole Cooke in 2006. Her book, The Breakaway is well worth a read.

One from the archive

An update of an older photo, fashions have changed a bit!

Kind regards

Nige