Cycling UK have moved member group AGMs from Autumn 2020 into this spring. Although there is very little to report In the special circumstance of the Covid 19 pandemic, we still need to have this formal meeting to report to members and maintain the member group for future activity.

We can’t offer a floor show or any refreshments but you do not need to travel or spend much time as this year the meeting will be a virtual meeting held using the Zoom platform.

The meeting is for members of Cycling UK.

Please email ctccornwallsecretary@gmail.com  to ask for the link to join the meeting.

If you haven’t used Zoom before It is best to install Zoom before you go to join the meeting. It will work on any PC fitted with a camera and microphone or on a smart phone.

Just click the link David sends you and wait for a little while for Zoom to appear in a new tab.

A good turn out witnessed an inspirational talk from Graham Brodie on his Audax adventures over the past 30 years and, in particular, his attempts to conquer the Paris Brest Paris ride – where thousands of riders do what they can to complete the 750 miles within 90 hours. We heard of a rider who managed the feat within 89 hours 59 mins and 59 seconds; of many riders who didn’t make it through heat stroke, mechanicals and sleep deprivation; and we heard from Graham how he learned from his own experiences of wasting too much time with other cyclists, and his overheating feet, so that this year he managed the task with three hours to spare.

In his annual report, David Byfield noted that it had been another busy year for CTC Cornwall with many rides and events organised. He announced that, following extensive consultation with local riders, it had been decided that the Liskeard cycle groups would, from 1st November 2019, form a new cycle club affiliated to Cycle UK, called Liskeard Velo. This would not affect the ongoing existence of CTC Cornwall, which would continue to support cyclists throughout the county and the Penzance Cycle Group. It would also be CTC Cornwall which would continue to organise and fund public cycle events, such as the Christmas family ride; family BBQs; and the Women’s Festival of Cycling.

The new Liskeard Velo club, which would now include the former groups Liskeard Velo, Liskeard Ladies, Liskeard Easy Riders and the two Wednesday social ride groups, would mean cheaper membership for people in work and part time work. From 1st November, it would be a requirement that riders should have Liskeard Velo membership (£5 per annum) plus third party liability insurance. Members could choose where they purchased their third party insurance. Some might want to continue to have this through full Cycle UK membership; but it would also be available from other less expensive, or even no cost, sources. The new membership secretary, Megan Evans 07842 697788, would provide full details. The new club now had its own website with full details of membership and forthcoming rides for local riders: www.liskeardvelo.org.uk .

A huge thank you to everyone who made the time to respond to our survey about the future format of our Liskeard cycle groups. We were delighted to receive 29 responses with the following results. (Please note: for the first half of the survey relating to opinions I have given the responses in percentages; and for the second half, relating more to the commitments we are prepared to make, I have given the responses in numbers of people.)

92% agreed it is important for all our cyclists to have third party insurance. 75% agreed there is a case for exploring cheaper cycle club membership to facilitate this. Of those who didn’t agree, all but one were happy with their current Cycling UK/CTC Cornwall membership. 78% broadly liked the idea of establishing a Liskeard Cycling Club.

24 of the 29 respondents were prepared to register with the new Liskeard Cycling Club. 28 people were prepared to take out third party insurance by one means or another. 11 people were kind enough to say they were prepared to sit on the Liskeard Cycling Club Committee for a year but, as we would expect, 17 were either not able or not willing to make this sort of commitment. However, 20 people did kindly say they would help with a fund raising event, such as a cake sale or raffle.

There were a number of helpful comments which I am summarising as follows: Some people made the point that they personally would not be making a saving by supporting these changes but were prepared to do so if it helped others. One person wondered whether we should not make the changes but instead use our CTC annual grant of £200 to subsidise fees for people who find it difficult to meet the costs of joining Cycling UK. (The Committee had looked at this possibility in some detail but in the end concluded that it was not appropriate for the committee to be conducting means testing of members and so abandoned the idea). There was also the positive thought that a local cycling club might provide the opportunity to include other cyclists (e.g. mountain bikers) and other age groups.

The committee met on the 30th April to consider the above responses. It concluded there does seem to be enough support to go ahead and create an Liskeard Cycling Club affiliated to Cycling UK. It did also acknowledge this was quite a lot of work so before proceeding with the change the committee has asked our Chair to double check with Cycling UK and with their insurance brokers whether our current ride leaders will still be protected if their cyclists have their third party insurance from a variety of sources (e.g. Cycling UK membership; British Cycling membership; British Triathlon Fderation membership; membership of another affiliated group, such as Callington Cycles Riders ; or through their own household insurance policy. ) We suspect the answer is no but we just want to check before we go ahead and make a lot of unnecessary changes. The committee is meeting again as soon as we get a response to try and make a final decision. Phew! Almost as bad as Brexit but thank you all so much for all your help.