Friday Night Ride to the Coast

Dear fellow pedallers, 

I know that all our West Surrey friends are up for a challenge and like something a bit different…….so you might be interested in the FNRTTC club, (Friday Night Ride to the Coast or the ‘Fridays’).

It costs £2 pa to join and they run monthly overnight rides from London (usually, but not always) to the coast, setting off Friday nights at midnight. 

I did my first one a couple of weeks ago from the normal starting point, outside the National Theatre by Waterloo, to Whitstable in Kent, 67.5 miles. There were about 70 on the ride, of all ages, shapes and sizes, with a couple of recumbents and half a dozen Bromptons as well as state-of-the-art racers. 

The organisation is fantastic. Two excellent leaders, male and female. A pep-talk at the start before we set off at midnight. Way-markers at every twist and turn. Tail end charlies who ensure nobody gets left behind. Stops for comfort breaks. A big break for teas, coffees, cakes, rolls and cake half way. The whole group waits while tail-enders help fix mechanicals and punctures. The pace was probably similar to our group 2’s or moderate 3’s. 
If anyone’s interested, their website is:  https://www.fnrttc.org.uk/

National Theatre start, near midnight
Greenwich, after midnight
On the road, very cold
Coffee & cake in church, 3.30 am, Rochester
Dawn breaks
Breakfast, Whitstable

Paul 

Cycle Maintenance for WSCTC Members at Evans in Guildford – responses please!

The Evans Cycles store in Guildford has offered to put on a cycle maintenance training session for WSCTC members, at a cost of £20 per person.  The details are as follows:

  • This will be a 2 hour session from 6pm to 8pm on a Saturday evening (date to be confirmed)
  • Session to be held at the workshop in Evans Cycles, Woodbridge Meadows, Guildford
  • 6-8 WSCTC attendees
  • 2 Evans mechanics to be involved
  • WSCTC members can bring their own bikes (must be in good condition)
  • Content to be decided, to fit in with the requirements of those who attend

Please let me know if this is of interest (or if you have any questions).   We can go ahead only if we receive enough take-up to fill a session.  It should be possible to arrange multiple sessions if there is strong interest.

Thanks

Derek (07711 873924)

FREE Bike Check Offer for WSCTC Members

We have had an approach from the Evans Cycles store in Guildford (Woodbridge Meadows, GU1 1BD) to offer a FREE “Pre-Season” bike check to WSCTC Members any time before the end of April 2019.  Just call in to the store or phone ahead (01483 560 428) to book an appointment, on presentation of a valid CUK membership card.

This is part of a new initiative from Evans, who are keen to develop relationships with local cycle clubs, and we are actively exploring other ways in which we might collaborate with the store.

Bikestart, Aldershot

The club has had an approach from Bikestart, an Aldershot-based charity that offers services of potential interest to WSCTC members.  Bikestart offers the following range of services:

  • Refurbish bikes that have been donated by local people which are then sold through the Bikestart eBay site. 
  • Service and Safety Check bikes
  • Train groups and individuals in bike maintenance skills – including charity days and team bonding days for organisations

All of the Bikestart Team’s work is supervised by a Cytech & Velotech qualified Bike Mechanic.  

For more details, see http://www.bikestart.co.uk/community/bikestart-13419/home

RideLondon 100 Charity Places (again!)

The club has received several approaches inviting WSCTC members to apply for charity places on the Prudential Ride 100 ride on Sunday 4 August 2019 (and we already have 2 blog posts on this topic from other charities).  Rather than bombard the web site with multiple blogs, here’s a quick summary of the approaches we have had (this will be updated if we have more requests):

Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) – details at www.rnib.org.uk/ridelondon

UNICEF – details at unicef.uk/ridelondon

Genetic Disorders UK – details at http://www.geneticdisordersuk.org/getinvolved/cycle#prudentialridelondon

Oakleaf Enterprises – details at https://www.oakleaf-enterprise.org/ridelondon1002019/

Action for Children – details at  https://www.actionforchildren.org.uk/how-to-help/fundraising-events/prudential-ridelondon-surrey-100/ only £50 registration and £50 minimum sponsorship. Email Megan

So, that’s plenty of options to choose from if you would like to participate in this impressive closed road event whilst helping to support these very worthy charities.

Derek