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Surrey County Council has submitted a bid to the Department for Transport for £7.8 million Emergency Active Travel Fund to improve walking and cycling infrastructure.

Residents and cyclists know their local areas best so Surrey County Council created a tool https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/activetravelfund  for ideas on improving  cycling and walking infrastructure.

Press release at https://news.surreycc.gov.uk/2020/08/10/boost-for-cleaner-greener-travel-in-surrey/

Pat and G-BUG

In 1968 a young Ian Price wrote down his record of his first two years of serious cycling – buying a bike, joining the CTC and W Surrey DA, and enthusiastically taking part in our activities. He recently unearthed this record, scanned it and emailed it to me. I have uploaded it to our History and Archives webpages here. Read how he and Russ rode the 100-mile standard ride in 5h 45m including a half-hour lunch break. Read half a dozen press cuttings, reports submitted weekly by our then President, Bill Inder, to the Woking News & Mail and the Surrey Advertiser. Read how Ian got himself into one of them by riding into Bucklebury ford at speed. Did he get through? Or did he fall in? Read …

Have you just got your old bike out of the shed?

Have you wanted to try it out on the much emptier roads whilst we are locked down? Build your confidence by joining one of our group rides. We will help you with any technical problems you may have and at the same time make sure you will never be left behind.

Now that lockdown has eased slightly, we have now started to arrange informal coffee meet-ups where members cycle solo or in small groups to prearranged open air meeting places where we can catch up and enjoy a drink before heading home again.

If you are interested in joining us please call one of our group leaders on this page who will be able to let you know where we planning to meet.

We are definitely not a “racing club”, we enjoy pottering around the lanes, visiting coffee shops and pubs on the way.

West Surrey Cycling Club (WSCC) is a branch of Cycling UK with over 200 active members who live in and around Guildford, Woking, Godalming, Farnham, Haslemere, and Camberley. You don’t have to be a member to join a ride, and we cater for all levels and ability in a way that is social, enjoyable and safe. Last year we organised 350 rides in the gorgeous scenery of Surrey and surrounding counties, led by experienced ride leaders.

Get in touch and we can let you know when our rides resume.

Update on WSCC Club Rides

This message updates the previous advice on WSCC group rides (dated 19 March).  It reflects the consensus reached at a committee meeting that was held on 4 June to discuss the issue.  We are pleased to say that in view of the relaxations in restrictions announced for England, we feel that it should now be possible for some regular club activities to get underway again.  The position we reached can be summarised as follows:

• It’s clear that Govt and CUK advice permit us to do group rides with up to 6 participants, and that ride leader insurance would continue to apply.  This is subject to the proviso that the 2m distancing rule and other government regulations are adhered to.  The latest CUK advice on group rides, including some useful advice on best practice, can be found at https://www.cyclinguk.org/news/coronavirus-advice-and-guidance-group-cycling

• However, the committee discussion noted that there is not much appetite for resuming full club rides under the current rules.  This is mainly due to the practical problems of organising groups of 6 riders whilst maintaining distances and not posing too much of a burden to other road users.  A significant number of WSCC members have concerns about the virus infection risks of riding in groups.

• It may nevertheless be the case that some of the smaller WSCC groups find it easier to make a small group ride work – and they should be free to do so.  If/when this is formalised into a planned ride, it would be helpful if any rides schedules were communicated to the rides secretary.

• There was general enthusiasm for implementing the meet-ups idea (which has already been trialled informally by some WSCC groups) for any WSCC ride group that considers this would be viable.  Phil Gasson has sent an email to members to explain how this will work, starting Wednesday 10 June. The key elements for the Wednesday groups are:

• Separate meet-up locations for each of the three Wednesday ride groups and a choice of at least 2 meet-up locations for each of G4 and G3 groups, to keep the numbers limited.

• An indicative meet-up time window of 11am – 12 noon

• Encouragement to members to team up with ride buddies if they prefer to ride to the meet-ups in 2s and 3s.  The same applies for riding home from the meet-up.

• Encouragement to members to keep others informed of their intention to join one of the meet-ups (via WhatsApp or email) so that we can assess likely numbers and adapt as necessary.

• The need to be very clear on strict adherence to the 6-person rule at the meet-ups.  That might involve splitting into 2 or more groups when we sit down to socialise.

• No need for a formal ride leader.

• We have started to compile a list of meet-up locations in different parts of our territory – large green spaces that provide space for us to sit in one or more groups of 6.  Proximity to a takeaway coffee/cake seller would be advantageous, but not necessary if riders take a snack/drink with them.

• It should be feasible to change meet-up details to switch the day and/or time of day at relatively short notice, e.g. in the event of bad weather forecasts.

• We won’t be pursuing the idea of “bubbles” (i.e. ensuring that groups of 6 remain the same from week to week) since that seems too restrictive.

• All the above will be a work in progress – we should adapt the format as and when we get feedback on how this new idea works, and dependent on member feedback.

We realise that this still falls some way short of full club activity, but we are pleased to be able to offer some progress, and we look forward to seeing as many of you as possible out on the roads in the coming weeks.

Derek

7 June 2020