Now that we have grown to over 100 members I think its time we reviewed our main activity – The Saturday club run. Please email any comments and thoughts or comment on the facebook post to give me as much feedback as possible.
Day / Time
Im keen to keep the main club runs start time at 10am on a Saturday as it always has been. The reason for this is that we all know when and where each week.
Im aware this doesn’t suit everyone and have a couple of suggestions to accommodate this but please chip in with your own.
Firstly – Could me devise club runs that have a “Fast group” and “Steady Group” with the aim of both groups getting to the cafe stop at around the same time. We have done this on a couple of occasions and I think its worked well. It means that even though we may not all be riding together we at least get to meet at the cafe stop and sometimes the two groups ride back together.
Secondly – Additional weekend club runs – Sunday club runs and/or additional runs on a Saturday starting at a different time.
Distances / Routes etc
Distance – Im keen to try to keep Standard runs to around 40 miles as over that can be off putting. Again if members want to do shorter/longer then we can work on alternative events/times or even look at a third beginners group that aims for the same cafe as the fast and steady groups but starts 10 miles away from the cafe. This would mean some driving to the start for this group and could potentialy make it too complex (having 3 groups) but lets dicsuss
Routes – We have settled into some destinations/runs that get used a lot – is this ok?
Im again keen to stick with the routine of deciding on the the route in advance and include the route and profile via plotaroute as it allows people to decide if the ride is for them.
Should we build a list of routes done before and vote on the routes for the month?
Talking of which – would it be better to publish routes a month at a time?
Navigation
We have mentioned the possibility of purchasing a “Club” Garmin unit with Turn by Turn navigation (like a car Sat Nav) then load it with our routes so that anyone can lead the rides. How does that sound?
Ride leaders
Im keen for all rides to have leaders as it allows people new to our runs to have a point of contact. I understand not everyone wants to take a turn doing this but its not as hard as it may sound. As long as you are willing to be the point of contact and have an understanding of where your going we can show you how to do the rest.
Please give as much feedback as you can on this so we can ensure the club delivers on what its members want.
Cheers
George Kinghorn – DCV Chairman