Announcements - vcghonline

April Club TT

posted 15 Apr 2018, 10:22 by Lara Taylor [ updated 15 Apr 2018, 10:22 ]

It was only a couple of degrees above freezing for the first TT of the 2018 season yesterday morning, and with thick wet fog which soaked anybody who chose to ride down to the HQ and rendered fingers unusually numb for this time of year. Rear lights were a requirement in the reduced visibility so thanks for those of you who were happy to lend yours for the racers who didn't have one.

The TT passed without hitch for the 16 riders in attendance. The inevitable deterioration of the road surfaces over winter - coupled with the weather conditions - didn't really make for fastest conditions but there were some excellent results nonetheless. Congratulations to Jon Hughes for his winning time of 24:30, with Dave Triska snapping at his heels in 24:33. Also to winning female rider Ali Walters who smashed her course best by 33 seconds, in an excellent time of 29:30. And to Matt Hill who rode to victory in the road bike category in a storming 24:59 - only 3 seconds off his course best and placing him 4th overall.

Great to see everybody out there, and special thanks to the volunteers who this month were comprised of the Paris trip team, who were doing a group riding session straight afterwards and were generous enough to turn up early to help out at the TT. This month those volunteers were:

Push-offer: Matt Hurst

Marshals: James Evans, Frank Edge, Chris Eaton, Lara Harrison, Ali Siddall, Paul Jordan

Finish Timekeeper: Brian Waters

Results: Marco Burgin

Tea & Cakes: Judy Goodall and Julia Gerhold

Full results are now online (sorry for the delay).

You can read about Andrew Dodd's experience on the VCGHblog (and if you'd like to write about your own, please do!)

The May event is on the 19th so put it in your diaries!

Thanks all!

Lara

AGM Minutes

posted 31 Mar 2018, 10:13 by Lara Taylor [ updated 31 Mar 2018, 10:14 ]

Thanks to all those who attended the AGM on 19th March, where there were some great updates from many of the departments within the Club, and some very interesting discussions.

Please read the Minutes of the meeting, and get in touch with Lara on captain@vcgh.co.uk if you have any questions.

Mid-June outing to France anyone?

posted 20 Mar 2018, 03:17 by Lara Taylor [ updated 21 Mar 2018, 06:42 ]

There is a great opportunity in mid-June for a club outing to the Bernard Hinault sportive which takes place in Brittany, France. This is a chance for VCGH riders of any experience and ability to join a bit of a social weekend around a well-established and exciting sportive run French-style, with all the atmosphere that entails. There are 3 distances available (not including the '36km family event') from 80 to 200km so riders can sign up for whichever distance they fancy.

The plan is to travel to the event in cars with 4 riders and 4 bikes on each roof rack. This will mean that we can be fairly flexible on numbers, as long as the total number is divisible by 4 (costs rise significantly if not), and as long as we have enough volunteering drivers. It is also a cheaper and more flexible option than booking vans and minibuses, and means that cabin spaces are available on the overnight ferry - which they aren't for foot passengers!

James Barrell has attended this event several years in a row with his Jersey Rouleurs club, so anyone wanting a bit of insider info about the event should direct questions to him or Kate Cheeseman.

Outline Itinerary:

Thursday 14th June
Cars with 4 riders and 4 bikes to head down to Portsmouth for the overnight ferry to St Malo departing 20:15 arriving 08:15 on Friday morning. Cabins available on the ferry.

Friday 15th June
Cars drive the 90km/56miles from St Malo to Saint Brieuc in Brittany, the host town for the event. This may be too early to check into hotels, but we will aim to make a plan which allows us a place to change so that we can get out for a recce of some of the course ... via a cafe, obviously!

Sign-on for the event also happens on Friday afternoon in Saint Brieuc.

Dinner booked at a local restaurant.

Saturday 16 June
The big event day. Cyclists will be able to make it to the event under their own steam as the start will be near the hotel. Obligatory celebratory drinks at the finish (the shorter the course you choose, the longer time you have available for these!)

Dinner booked at a local restaurant.

Sunday 17th June
Head back to the UK via the St Malo ferry departing 10:30 and arriving Portsmouth 18:20.

Costs are estimated to come in at around £500 per person for all travel and race entry costs, accommodation and dining out, based on sharing rooms between 2 people (single rooms subject to availability and surcharge). This could be slightly less depending on accommodation etc. Budget extra for drinks and snacks.

There's also the option to make your own way to Saint Brieuc but join VCGH's organised accommodation and dining options. You can fly to Rennes, for example, or take the Eurotunnel and drive from Calais (around 5 hours), or taking shorter daytime crossings via the fast ferry to Cherbourg.

We need to gauge interest in this as a club event, in order to provisionally book hotels and restaurants. The aim will be to get numbers finalised by the end of March and book at that point.

Please fill in the following form to indicate your level of interest. There is no obligation at all at this point. Confirmation and a deposit will be sought before any bookings are made.

All questions to Lara.

Ride London VCGH Team Entry

posted 9 Mar 2018, 02:51 by Lara Taylor [ updated 9 Mar 2018, 02:51 ]

As in previous years, there might be an opportunity to enter Ride London this year as part of a VCGH team. This is particularly good for any of you who've had multiple rejections from the Ride London ballot.

There's more about the club challenge on the BC website.

Mark Pearce has kindly offered to collate our team applications again, so at this stage all you have to do is email Lara to register your interest by Friday 16th March.

There are no guarantees of a team place, but we may get one team accepted, or possibly more. Once we know how many (if any) team places we have (entries are announced on 30th March), we will select the appropriate number of team members from the applicants by drawing names from a hat.

Successful applicants will then need to fill in their online entry form and pay for their place by 17:00 on 30th April.

You must be able to commit to the event, as the entry is otherwise compromised. In previous years we've had numerous riders not show up on the day which renders the entire team entry null and void, so you MUST be able to follow through with your commitment to this event.

If you have any enquires about the event, please email clubs@ridelondon.co.uk, or about the process please email Lara.

Please note:

A team comprises four riders
Every rider in a team must be a current British Cycling member
Teams can comprise four men or four women or a mixed team of two men and two women
Riders who hold an Elite or Category 1 British Cycling Race Licence are not eligible to enter the Club Challenge
Riders who have already secured an individual place through the original entry ballot or a charity place are not eligible to enter the Club Challenge

Notice of AGM: 19th March

posted 26 Feb 2018, 13:57 by Lara Taylor [ updated 6 Mar 2018, 03:26 ]

VCGH 2018 AGM Mon 19th Mar

The Velo Club Godalming and Haslemere Limited (VCGH)

Notice of Annual General Meeting

Dear Members,

The 2018 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of The Velo Club Godalming and Haslemere Limited (VCGH) will be held on Monday 19th March 2018 at Dog & Pheasant, Haslemere Road, Brook GU8 5UJ commencing at 19:30.

The AGM is open to all members. It’s your Club, so please come and participate. The Executive Team are charged with running VCGH on your behalf. This is your chance to make sure you are in the loop with Club business and that you participate in the discussions that will take place around the plans for the coming year.

If you are attending the AGM please make sure your membership is paid for the year.

We will be asking the attending members to participate by voting on matters arising from the formal part of the agenda, including minor proposed changes to the Club Rules which will reflect the slightly different organising structure that the club is aiming to adopt into 2018.

A full AGM Agenda, along with supporting documentation including a copy of the proposed changes to the Club Rules and the 2017 Financial Report will be emailed to club members by Monday 5th March.

The two primary structural changes to note are as follows:

Matt Hurst is intending to step down from the VCGH Executive Team, effective at the AGM or soon afterwards. Matt will continue to be involved with VCGH at a member and volunteer level.
Marco Burgin will retain the title of Chairman for 2018, but due to time constraints, this will become a strictly non-exec role (with the exception of the organisation of the Social-Mod rides, which he will continue to do).

In this situation, it is incumbent upon the existing Exec Team, in order to ensure a smooth transition, to make a recommendation on who should take over the responsibilities of the Club going forwards. This does not preclude other nominations from within the Club, so any interested members or nominations should be referred to Lara at the earliest opportunity with a view to being presented to the voting members at the AGM.

I invite you to submit any questions you may have regarding the club to my email address (road@vcgh.co.uk). We will endeavour to address the most frequently asked questions during the AGM.

We look forward to seeing you on the 19th.

Best regards,

Lara Taylor

Road Captain

07980 750338

road@vcgh.co.uk

AGM Postponed

posted 18 Feb 2018, 08:56 by Lara Taylor [ updated 18 Feb 2018, 08:56 ]

We are postponing the 2018 AGM until sometime in mid- to late-March. This is because we are still working on some of the structural changes that need to be made for 2018 and want to have more clarity before sending out the AGM notification (which needs to be 21 days before the AGM date). We will keep you posted and announce a date ASAP so please watch this space.

Any questions to Lara.

Strava Comp 2018

posted 31 Jan 2018, 10:57 by Duncan Robertson [ updated 31 Jan 2018, 10:58 ]

Back for 2018 the Strava comp starts tomorrow. You can find out more on our Strava Competition page. NOTE: We have already been scuppered by the local council and their magical roadworks, so the Feb and March segments have been swapped round and we start with a short punchy climb.

Could you be the new VCGH Treasurer?

posted 26 Jan 2018, 05:30 by Lara Taylor [ updated 26 Jan 2018, 05:31 ]

After a long and dedicated stint as VCGH Treasurer, Matt Hurst is looking to step down at the forthcoming AGM or soon after. We are therefore looking for other candidates who might be interested in helping out in this role.

An outline of the responsibilities are as follows:

To fulfil the statutory duties of the company secretary under Companies Act 2013
To be the sole individual within the club to authorise any commitment to make an expenditure and continue to be the sole individual authorised to make a payment on behalf of the club.
To be the senior person within VCGH responsible for cash management.
Regular cash flow reporting to the Exec team together with the twice yearly preparation of a balance sheet, profit and loss account together with a schedule of prepayments, accruals and provisions. One of the twice yearly P&Ls etc is to coincide with the AGM.
To prepare and get signed off by the Exec an annual budget prior to the commencement of the financial year in question.
To bring to the attention of the Exec any significant deviation from the annual budget.
To present the company accounts to the VCGH Membership at the AGM.
To be aware of the welfare obligations of the Club and report any concerns to the Club Welfare Officer.

If you are interested in joining the team or you have any further questions about the role, please email Lara.

Ali Walters as Club Welfare Officer

posted 24 Jan 2018, 05:04 by Lara Taylor [ updated 31 Jan 2018, 04:19 ]

Having completed her Child Welfare & Protection training, and had a brief induction from me (the temporary CWO) Ali Walters has now officially taken on the role of Club Welfare Officer for VCGH. This role is essential for the operation of the VCGH Jets and Youth sections, and helps keep us generally on the straight and narrow in terms of child welfare. Ali comes to the role with masses of experience from her previous job in education.

Any future welfare issues should be addressed to Ali at welfare@vcgh.co.uk.

FYI the ideal situation as the Jets and Youth sections expand, is to have one female and one male Club Welfare Officer and this also means that the responsibilities can be somewhat shared. Although it carries some obvious responsibility, full training is given and the time commitment isn't huge. British Cycling's description of the role is available to read here. Please would you let myself or Ali know if you are willing to take on the role, or if you have any other questions.

Thanks Ali!

Lee Valley Club Session Times

posted 24 Jan 2018, 03:57 by Lara Taylor [ updated 24 Jan 2018, 03:58 ]

Adrian Waddy is looking into the possibility of booking a club session at Lee Valley Velopark. The session would be for 20 people and needs to be booked well in advance. At this point we'd just like to get an idea of which session time would be the most popular/accessible to club members? Please submit your answer using the following form, or the poll on our Facebook Group page.