Hello everyone

Despite the strange weather this weekend, it has been good to see the sun in recent weeks and we have enjoyed a great start to our spring season. Tuesday nights have proven particularly popular and we are typically seeing 40-50 riders each week. The phenomenon of ride splitting is becoming more common to accommodate the numbers safely. This is definitely a ‘quality problem’, but please do follow the Ride Leaders’ instructions to make sure we get away from Grove safely with minimum inconvenience to other road users. The weekend rides have been popular too and it was great to experience our club century ride up into Warwickshire last weekend on the most perfect sunny day so far! Lots to tell you about:

CLUB 25th ANNIVERSARY
Hard though it is to believe, Cycling UK Wantage is 25 years old this summer! To celebrate this remarkable milestone, we are running a series of rides at all star ratings on Saturday 21st July. They will all go from Grove to Uffington Village Hall, where we will congregate for tea and cake courtesy of the Uffington Community Cafe which will be ‘popping up’ for the occasion. More details will appear on the website for the individual rides, but please put this date in your diary – it should be a great time.

The Committee felt that such a big anniversary deserved a commemorative item, so we are having some special branded water bottles produced and plan to have these available to buy on the day.

FRANCE TOURING WEEKEND – SEPTEMBER
The club will be organising a repeat of last year’s very successful weekend trip to France at the end of September, taking the Friday evening ferry across from Portsmouth to St Malo, arriving early on Saturday morning. The route follows the coast eastbound past Mont St Michel before turning inland into the hills for an overnight stay in Vire. On the Sunday the route goes via Caen down to the coast and the return ferry from Ouistreham. Full details are as follows:

Fri 21 Sep – Depart Portsmouth 2015. Free parking will be available in Portsmouth courtesy of the Royal Navy!
Sat 22 Sep – Arrive St Malo 0815. Ride to Vire. Distance approx 120km, with approx 1,000m of climbing. Stay overnight in Vire. Potential hotel accommodation in the Hotel Saint-Pierre.
Sun 23 Sep – Ride to the coast via Caen. Distance 80km, with approx 750m of climbing. Catch the 1630 ferry to Portsmouth, arriving 2115.

Anyone interested in going is requested to contact Richard Pethybridge (07875 456521 or pethybridgera@yahoo.co.uk) as soon as possible. Travel and accommodation is the responsibility of individuals, and early booking is recommended as it will be cheaper. Accommodation is limited, and early responses would be much appreciated.

THE SUMMER PROGRAMME
The calendar is well and truly stocked up with great rides at all levels throughout the summer. For those of you who like to push yourselves, the Oxfordshire Challenge series of rides continues to notch up the distance, culminating in the remarkable 200 mile / 320km ride on 7th July. At the easier end of the scale, the Betjeman Ride on 24th June provides a great entry point for new riders – please invite your friends and neighbours to that one. We are also running the ever popular 1* star ‘urban safari’ ride around Oxford on 12th August. Then we have the Summer Solstice sunrise ride, the ‘Easy on a Sunday morning’ off-road series, the Isle of White special… Just check the website and fill up your dairies and calendars!

And finally, since no email these days is complete without a mention of GDPR, please note that Cycling UK nationally has modified its privacy policy, as many of you will have seen in Friday’s Cycle Clips email. We value our relationship with you all locally – please let me know if you wish to be taken off our email lists.

See you on a ride soon.

Best regards
John

John Tranter
Chairman – Cycling UK Wantage
john@tranters.net
07836 238350