Hi all.
Well February has been and gone, and Spring is upon us, so if you have one, it is time to take a look at your summer bike and sigh wistfully “not long now”.
As you will be aware we are raising money for Men’s Minds Matter this year so as before we would welcome cake donations at some of the upcoming events: Charity 10 (19th April) and the TLI race (23rd April). If anyone would like to bake a cake for these events, then please let Julie Close or Rea Jessop know beforehand; the Club really appreciates your support.
Don’t forget, if you haven’t already done so, it is time to renew your membership. The latest membership renewal form is on the SWCC Website.
Don’t forget the bike maintenance workshop on 15th March, let me know if you are attending, either in reply to this email or the Facebook event. The workshop will be in St Denys Church Hall, Sleaford, 09:00 to 12:00. This was a great event last year in which all of us that attended learnt something.
Let us know if you would like to attend and if there is another topic you would like to be included. Refreshments will be available on the day, kindly provided by Rea, Julie and Teresa. There will also be old SWCC kit going free although a donation to the charity would be appreciated for any of the items.
Reminder that the Sleaford Wheelers Easter Charity 10 Date returns this year on Saturday 19th April 2025. Chocolate prizes on the day. This is now open for entry on the CTT website https://www.cyclingtimetrials.org.uk/events/32037-easter-charity-10
Race HQ is Silk Willoughby Village Hall (NG34 8PG). The start is 2.37 miles away from HQ on the A15 just down from Grantham Road roundabout.
We also be raising money for this year’s charity, MEN’S MINDS MATTER, a charity that is close to the hearts of many SWCC members. Refreshments and cake available on the day.
If you want to take part in some organised mountain bike rides, then the Focus Rides are for you. See the events list below for dates.
Our celebration of the Club’s 60th anniversary will take place on 28th June 2025, at Sleaford Rugby Club. There will be options for a 60-mile, or 60-kilometre ride followed by various family-oriented activities, food and drink. Costs and timings are to be confirmed in the forthcoming weeks.
Mark Taylor has been working away developing our new website. We are aiming to go live with it this month so keep an eye out.
SWCC has been looking at ways to support our Junior riders. We are pleased that Peak Sports Coaching has provided a free place on a training programme to Noah Starbuck and in addition a month’s training to James Bushell. We would like to thank Jonny Noton of Peak Sports Coaching for his support.
We are still looking for a volunteer to set up and run a weekly lottery to raise money for Junior rider development, if you are interested in running it, please let me know.
If you weren’t aware, SWCC recently purchased some bike mounted cameras. These are now in use on Club rides so we can capture any incidents and use the film as evidence where applicable.
Here at SWCC, we understand that feeling safe on your bike is very important. Incidents can happen, and if they do, it’s vital that the emergency services are able to identify you and access your medical records, quickly and securely, and that they can locate you quickly. This is not only applicable when you are on a bike, the stickers can be on your car, motorbike or person. We have been talking with the developers of the In Case of Emergency (ICE) Scan system. They have offered us a 40% reduction to their service if we get 50 members to sign up.
The following information is provided by ICE Scan.
In Case of Emergency (ICE-scan) ensures this is possible. Developed in association with senior clinicians, paramedics and emergency services, the ICE-scan QR tag utilises technology linked to a secure database containing information entered and verified by you.
The app is partnered with ‘What3Words’ to use the location finder which is invaluable in pinpointing your location ensuring the emergency services can get to you quickly in the event of an accident. Acknowledged by the College of Paramedics and Association of Ambulance Chief Executives and with 40% off to SWCC members, get yourself protected for less with a one-off payment of £14.40 for a pack of five ICE-scan tags, as opposed to £24.00 full price.
When paramedics or first on scene spot the ICE-scan tag with its ‘Blue Star of Life’ logo, they can remove its protective security layer to reveal your QR code.
They can then scan this using the ICE-scan app or camera on their mobile device to reveal your medical and contact information.
ICE-scan has also incorporated What3Words location finder GPS technology into the app which will direct emergency services to your exact location.
Please let me know if you are thinking of taking up this offer.
Club members like to venture abroad once a year to experience a dedicated week of cycling in a warmer climate. If you weren’t aware, this year we are off to the Calpe region in Spain over the week commencing 26th April. If you would like more information, then please contact Kerri Foster via our Facebook page or use the contact form.
Gaz Wheelwright is organising a repeat of the Seascale to Whitby Coast-to-Coast Epic. The dates to book in your diary are 18th, 19th and 20th of July 2025.
If you’re interested, then you would be required to pay a £100 non-refundable deposit by 15th March to secure your space. We currently have a few spaces left available, if you would like to ride then please let Gaz know via the Facebook post or reply to this email and I will pass your name on to Gaz.
Although priority will be given to 1st Claim SWCC Members, if you are a second claim member and would like to ride then let us know.
For the event to go ahead we need some volunteers to drive the Minibus and Van. Mark Hume has already agreed to be our mechanical support vehicle for the event. Ideally, we need 2 drivers per vehicle so the driving burden can be shared. You will need to have a license suitable for large vehicles.
For those volunteers we will look to supplement the hotel costs to limit what you have to pay to a minimum.
We will travel from Sleaford to Whitehaven Premier Inn. We will get booked into the hotel and get something to eat ready for the ride the next day.
We will leave the hotel as close to 5 AM as possible, travel to Seascale to start the ride as close to 6 AM. The plan will be to make it to Whitby by 7 PM. We will then have Fish and Chips in Whitby before travelling to Pickering Premier Inn for our 2nd night’s stay.
We will have breakfast at the hotel before travelling back to Sleaford around lunchtime.
Saturday 1st March – Ladies ride.
Saturday 15th March – Bike Maintenance workshop, St Denys Church Hall at 09:00.
Sunday 23rd March – Focus Ride at Belvoir Castle
Saturday 5th April – Ladies ride
Thursday 10th April – 7 League round 1
Sunday 13th April – Early 10
Thursday 17th April – 7 League round 2
Saturday 19th April – SWCC Charity Open 10 TT. Race HQ at Silk Willoughby Village Hall.
Sunday 20th April – Focus Ride at North Willingham
Thursday 24th April – Ladies 7
Wednesday 23rd April – First TLI race of the season. Race HQ is Digby Village Hall. Volunteers required to marshal. The Club will re-imburse the £5 registration fee for marshalling.
The first successful safety bicycle was developed by John Kemp Starley in 1885. This was a bike with nearly equal sized wheels and direct-steer forks. It had a chain drive that coupled a large front chain ring to a small rear sprocket to multiply the pedal revolutions. This was the design that transformed the history of cycling.
Newsletter from August 2001, courtesy of Malc Yates.
Happy Cycling and see you soon,
Kind regards
Nige
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