Cyclists Touring Club
Newark On Trent
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NEWARK NOTES from the Secretary

September 2001

Or men (and women) behaving..quite well really

July brought what has become a recent tradition, namely Newark Bike Week. Quite why we have ours at a different time to the rest of the country is lost in the mists of time, but it does seem to get better weather than National Bike Week. This year, though, our luck seemed to have deserted us. Not that the actual rides were rained on, but showers most afternoons that week must have put some potential riders off. Nevertheless, we got a respectable number out for most rides, especially the weekend runs.

Outside of the Rural Rides programme, the club rides have continued to show a decline in riders, with several not running at all. This is due to a number of factors but basically the existing membership isn't getting any younger and no longer wants to do an 80+ mile thrash every Sunday. The Saturday afternoon "easy" rides though have had some success in attracting riders introduced via the Rural Rides. Rather than simply doing more of the same thing on Sundays, the future runs list will include a number of shorter rides, with a specific destination such as a museum or other "visitor" attraction. It is hoped that not only will this provide a break but also that it will add a point of interest.

July and August had their usual mix of long and shorter rides, the former only taken up by the usual suspects, the latter being included in the Rural Rides list and attracting some new faces. None have shown up on club rides since, but we are still hopeful. One rider, now a regular on Saturdays, first started on the RRs two years ago.

One notable ride, an exception to the above, was a Rural ride to Brandy Wharf Cider Centre. Now we don’t need an excuse to have a ride out to Brandy wharf but I put it in the RR programme to see if there was a demand for longer rides (it’s about an 85 miles round trip, depending on the route) I was therefore a little disappointed to see only the usual club members in the Market Place at the start. Unknown to me, two riders had come from further afield, but had waited at the other end of the Market Place and were hidden from us by the stalls. Undeterred, they set off anyway....straight up the A46 and the A15! Needless to say, they got there before we did, taking quieter roads and stopping for a cuppa along the way.

On the way back, about 10 miles from home, the wind caught one of the visiting riders and his front wheel clipped the kerb. Riding slightly behind him, I saw it happen, and the next thing I expected to see was him on his back on the verge. Out of sight in the grass was a 6 foot deep ditch and he went head first down it, to emerge grinning a very long half minute later. Not only was the ditch dry, he didn’t even get stung by nettles! Bet he had a few aches the next day though.

Mid September saw us finally give Nick Green a proper send-off. Regular readers may remember I said we said goodbye to him in the last "notes". So we did, but because he took up his new job slightly earlier than expected, we never had the time to organise a farewell "do". Holidays and other absences meant it wasn't practical to do this until recently, so he came back for the night and was treated to a buffet that even a group of cyclists couldn't completely demolish (we did try, though). We presented him with a framed print of Newark as a momento. Hopefully, he will retain happy memories of riding with the club.

Mike Graham

Page updated 19/02/03