Geoff Smith

By on 30 March, 2017   /   Blog posts  

It is with great sadness that I have to advise members that Geoff Smith passed away recently.  Geoff was a true stalwart of the Club, being a tireless editor of the magazine, and an enthusiast in all that he did – whether that was  cycling, swimming, or indeed anything else to which he turned his hand.  He was very much his own man, and after he moved down to Devon we missed his cheerful presence on our rides, and now we shall miss him even more.

A personal recollection from Rico Signore is attached, together with some wonderful photographs of Geoff

John Murdoch

 

Rico Signore writes:

I was very sorry to hear of the death of my good friend Geoff Smith. Having heard of his illness (leukemia) I spoke to him on the phone not that long ago and he seemed very cheerful and upbeat. So it came as quite a shock to hear he had died.

Most of our members remember him as the very capable editor of our West Surrey CTC magazine, a post which he held for several years, until he moved to the Exmouth area.

Together we organised three trips abroad which, luckily, were very successful and are apparently fondly remembered by those who took part, many of whom were Geoffs friends who attended his cycling weekends:

– June 2001 to Switzerland to Morat/Murten – Meiringen – Andermatt
– June/July 2003: Buriet (Lake Constance) – Lavin (Engadine Valley)
– 04 to 15 June 2005: Twinning trip to Rastatt And Freiburg (Woking & Guildford)

This was our most ambitious and daring trip, by chartering the Bike Express double-decker coach and trailer for the bikes – 3 nights in Bouillon (Belgian Ardennes), 4 nights in Rastatt (Woking) and 4 nights in Freiburg (Guildford). We had over 40 participants – not all cyclists, some were members of the Twinning Associations.

Returning from this last trip Geoff and I were asked: “Where are we going next year?” We just looked at each other, shook our heads and declared that we were lucky enough to have organised three successful trips  – so anybody else was welcome to carry on – which sadly never happened.

Geoff’s other great passion was of course “Jazz”. He was lucky enough, as a young journalist, to be granted an interview with Duke Ellington and became one of the great admirers of this Giant of Jazz.

These are just some of my personal and fond memories I have of Geoff.

Our thoughts are of course with Debbie and Geoff’s family at this very sad time.
Christine & Rico Signore, Jeff Banks, Bob & Pauline Mcleod, John Murdoch and all members of CTC West Surrey.

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Too Close for Comfort?

By on 30 March, 2017   /   latest news  

The latest edition of Cycling UK’s monthly newsletter to member groups included this piece* :

Too Close for Comfort?

Cars overtaking too close…. we’ve all experienced it and we wish they wouldn’t. West Midlands Police back in September last year began to tackle this problem with plain clothes officers on bikes and close pass education mats. The results were instant, with a 50% drop in reported close passes. Cycling UK decided to try and make sure this result was replicated in other areas by raising enough money to ensure every force across the UK had its own mat.

Our ‘Too Close for Comfort’ appeal reached its target in 48 hours, and now we’re looking to pass these mats on to police forces across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

We’d love to get our groups involved in their handover and create a bit of a local PR about the perils of close passes, and how cyclists and police are working together to make our roads safer. If your group might be interested in taking part, please contact Sam Jones on 01483 238 313.

[*Edited slightly]

This sounds like a good idea; is there anyone in the club who would like to get involved in this? Please contact Sam Jones (phone number above) and post a comment on this blog to say you’ve done so. And many thanks to you for contributing to safe cycling.

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SADR Ride on 26 March 2017

By on 28 March, 2017   /   Blog posts  

This was a right old ‘suffer-fest’ for me: I mean, 89 miles and it’s still only March, not to mention only my third ride of the year! Paddy and Chris – sorry no photos – sensibly headed home after coffee, but that would still have been about 60 miles. Good to see Dane at coffee too, which was at a café in Alresford. We – that is Clive, Dave, Keith and yours truly then headed south east to cross the South Downs bound for lunch at Rowlands Castle.

Clive deserves a medal for ensuring that the journey home – he peeled off at Liphook of course – was as flat as it could be, and to Dave and Keith for their excellent company; if it wasn’t for them I think I’d still be lying in a ditch somewhere along the way. There’s no doubt it was a lovely ride, and we enjoyed lovely weather too, as the pics below show.

Apologies as usual that they’re not in the order they were taken – it’s a strange quirk of this website that they load up randomly. The band of folk dressed up like they’re on their way to a fight were found in the Meon Valley. The final picture is of my heroes, Dave and Keith. Hope you made it OK back to Guildford – you must have easily topped the ton: well done, guys!

The route may be found on Strava here: https://www.strava.com/activities/915649606  It was 89.1 miles in length and total ascent was 4,333ft.

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New Forest Cycling Week

By on 27 March, 2017   /   latest news  

Information about this excellent family-focused event has recently been received. It’s an event which has run successfully for many years, partly due to the efforts that have been made to prevent CTC (CUK) HQ getting involved in any way, despite it being pretty much a CTC event, organised by CTC people.

Full details may be found below.

The 42nd New Forest Cycling Rally will again take place at Avon Tyrrell from Friday 28 July until Saturday 5 August.

Bookings will once again be made through Avon Tyrrell. Bookings will be open from 1st April, via a special direct web link which will be exclusive to the New Forest Cycling Rally where you make your booking for the rally. Alternatively you can make a telephone booking direct with their bookings team or by post. If telephoning please remember to tell them you are booking for the New Forest Cycling Rally in order for you to take advantage of the special camping fees which they have agreed to give us. We will also have full use of their rally field.

Once again we receive tremendous support and cooperation from staff and management at Avon Tyrrell. Besides attending our rally Avon Tyrrell is a great place to consider for holidays at other times of the year. Come with friends and family they will appreciate your support.

Please note the logo on the Avon Tyrrell web site has changed from showing CTC to ‘cyclingUK’ which reflects the rebranding which took place in April 2016 and head office have asked us to reflect these change in future information.

Web Contact details for information and bookings

This week Avon Tyrrell will be finalising the web site, so please do not try to make a booking before the 1st April..

https://avontyrrell.cinolla.com/avontyrrell/courses/category/new-forest-rally

Telephone bookings: 01425 672347

General Information

You can also visit our web site to look at pictures of previous rallies and general information on www.newforestrallycc.org.uk

Electric Hook ups

Should you wish to reserve a hook up you will need to speak direct to the Avon Tyrrell bookings team who will give you a reservation number. Priority will be given to campers staying for the week and then 6 nights then 5 nights etc. so that the hook ups are used effectively.

Please give the bookings team the following information so they can make up the list.

Name,

Email address and Telephone number

Dates arriving/departing and total number of nights camping,

Unit type, ie. Large, Medium or Small Caravan, Campervan or Tent.

Any special request, ie camping next to friends?

The number of hook ups have been increased to 24, however, 6 hook ups in the copse area which are more suitable for tents. Two weeks before the rally, Avon Tyrrell will send me an email list of hook up reservation. I will then do my best to allocate pitches to each type and size of unit. I will then email you with your pitch number in advance for when you arrive.

Activities

We have once again  booked the Barn Dance for Sunday evening and plan to include complimentary cheese and wine.

Monday evening will be our AGM. Please bring your CTC/CyclingUK membership card or number to be able to vote. Although we welcome any adult camper to come along.

Swimming on Monday and Wednesday. You will still need to reserve your places, but this year there will be no charge made to campers, this cost will be covered by the rally fund for the swimming.

We will hire the Calshot Velodrome which is likely to be Monday.

Tuesday the children’s time trial

Wednesday Avon Tyrrell activities

Thursday I.O.W

Friday evening BBQ

Other spontaneous activities run by members.

Helpers during the week

I would like to thank people for their help during the week last year and hope I can count on your support during this years rally to make it another success. Please let us know when you arrive if we can call on your support during the week.

Spring is now on it’s way and so I hope you will all be out on your bikes getting fit for he summer!

Look forward to seeing you all at this years rally and please spread the word amongst your friends, work colleagues and family to come and join us.

Kind Regards and safe cycling.

Geoff Clark

New Forest Rally Site Organizer

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Oil Exploration in the Surrey Hills

By on 27 March, 2017   /   latest news  

Pat Smith of Brockham Oil Watch (BOW) writes:

Oil exploration and drilling in the Weald is changing and this has huge implications for cyclists.  Recently passed plans for Leith Hill involve extensive movements of huge lorries along Coldharbour Lane (from the village of Coldharbour to Dorking) which is narrow and constantly used by cyclists. The road surface is fragile to start with and will probably not be repaired until the 18 weeks of exploration finishes.
BOW is a non-political group of concerned local people who want to raise awareness of the implications of the changing face of oil developments in this area.  We are increasingly worried about loopholes in regulations and this has received a lot of media attention. 2 BBC News items / front page of The Times / article in The Independent / current edition of Private Eye (p11).
We are holding an event on Easter Sunday: come along to Brockham Oil Watch’s ‘All About Oil’ on Easter Sunday April 16th, 2.00 – 4.30 at the Village Hall, RH3 7JJ. Find out more about controversial drilling proposals near Brockham and Leith Hill and discover the wider picture about oil-drilling in the Weald and how it will affect cyclists. Knowledgeable speakers, stalls, activities and videos to watch. Then relax at the first of Brockham’s famous Teas on the Green with delicious cakes and treats in aid of Children with Cancer UK.
Feel free to phone me on 07867558284 if you have any questions.
Editor’s note: see also: http://www.surreycommunity.info/lhag/ regarding the Leith Hill Action Group. Here’s an article from a recent edition of MBR: http://www.mbr.co.uk/news/trail_news/surrey-hills-under-threat-from-oil-drilling-353179
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