Paul Whitehead - a past President of Portsmouth CTC - passed the 300,000 mile mark on Sunday, 31st March, while on tour in France.
He is now eligible to join the exclusive 300,000 Mile Club; something that only a handful of Portsmouth CTC members have achieved.
To put his achievement into context, that's over 12 times around the world - at the equator! Or a lot further than the distance to the moon!
Congratulations, Paul!
Josie Dew asked us if she could change the date of her club night presentation so we have swapped it with the Competition Night.
Josie's presentation will now take place on Thursday 14th March and the Competition Night on Thursday 28th March.
For those who don't know, Josie is a near-local and Vice President of Cycling UK. We know many of you are looking forward to hearing her speak so please make sure you mark the new date.
Andy Henderson
Secretary, Portsmouth CTC
Havant Borough Council has announced that it will be starting work on a formal Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan shortly.
This is REALLY important because :
As you may be aware we are very short of leaders for the Wednesday and Saturday Havant rides. For the current 3 month programme, initially only 4 people put their names down to lead rides. This not only puts pressure on those four but could ultimately threaten the rides. We are therefore looking for potential new leaders.
It might seem a big step, but it really isn’t, and to help with that, we’re arranging a workshop
The workshop is intended to introduce and discuss the various aspect of ride leadership.
All non-ride leaders who feel they could and would like to support the rides programme by becoming ride leaders are invited, as are existing active ride leaders. We plan to have a short ride to a café, where over coffee/tea/cake, we will hold the workshop, possibly on a Thursday morning in January (10th, 17th, or 24th). There would be no obligation to become a ride leader.
We need to settle a date, so please tell us what dates you can do and thereby we can maximise the numbers attending.
Regards
Robert Sebley
PCTC President
Decathlon is opening its store in Northarbour tomorrow (Thursday 25-April-2018), near the Tesco Extra, and they're offering free backpacks for the first day if you have a Decathlon account and card.
They do a fantastic range across all sports at great value, but especially cycling, and their bikes get great reviews. Disclaimer: I bought one of their fantastic folding bikes, and it's the most fun bike I've got - I'm certainly recommending it.
Previously, the nearest store was West Quay Southampton, which is a bit of a trek for us here.
More details at https://www.decathlon.co.uk/portsmouth.html
We're running a series of rides for people new to group riding or who haven't cycled for a while. They start with a short, 'get to know you' ride that includes a free bike check and progress through longer distances, tackling a series of challenges on the way:
That might seem impossible to you now, but here's a sample of the stories recent joiners to our rides have to tell:
One of favourite stops, the Sustainability Centre, is planning to transform their 'tired, old, inefficient MoD building' into an eco-friendly, state-of-the-art New Learning Centre.
Update: They've already raised £21,500 towards the £25,000 they need to apply for planning, so they just trying to raise the last £3,500. We can earn them commission at no cost to us when we buy online at popular stores like Amazon, John Lewis and many more! It all works through Give as You Live.
More details at www.sustainability-centre.org/christmaspresents, or go directly, www.giveasyoulive.com/join/sustainabilitycentre, where you'll see them under their official charity name, Earthworks Trust. But of course they'd love any other donations as well.
I hadn't realised just how much they do, from education for schools, universities, teacher training, to camping, bee-keeping, recycling, ecology, forestry, nature, and lots more. Our cafe visits barely scratch the surface. And if the hill-climb to get there is too much for any of us one day, they can even do us a green burial 🙂
It's a big, high-profile, multi-million pound project
that will need big funding from the lottery and other sources. And that could help unlock funding for better cycling routes to get there.
They've asked informally for our input on cycle parking. And unusually, in advance! They know we don't like wheel-manglers, but what would we like? We've said cyclists like to be able to keep an eye on their bikes, but it would be a shame to despoil such a beautiful site with ugly steel sheffield stands.
On our coast-to-coast at Whitehaven, we could have locked to leaping stainless steel salmon. Elsewhere, we've locked to beautiful sculptures.
So my challenge to Portsmouth CTC is to come up with something more imaginative, maybe more artistic? Something we'd be proud to use in future. Over to you!
Joy and I are going to be scrubbers for the day next Monday. Butser scrubbers, that is. Why not join us? The weather forecast is sunny!
Queen Elizabeth Country Park (QECP) has asked for volunteers to help with some fun scrub bashing on the lower/southern slopes of Butser Hill National Nature Reserve from Monday 13th to Saturday 18th November.
They've been great supporters of cycling, whether mountain biking, cycling through on the Butser Crossing, or stopping off at the great tearoom for refreshments, so it's an opportunity to return the favour and strengthen the bond.
Teas & coffees will be available, and if you book in advance (via the QECP reception qecp.enquiries@hants.gov.uk or 02392 595040) a breakfast bacon sandwich and piece of cake!
The work will be supervised and with all tools provided. Participants will need to bring working clothes, waterproofs, boots, gloves, and packed lunch.
The day will start at 10.00am and finish at 3.00pm, meeting at the old A3 car park to the east of the motorway. Free parking, look out for the signs.
Joy and I can only do Monday, so it would be fun if you could join us, but if you can't make that, do try another day.
Organised by Tim Speller, Country Parks Manager.