Archive for June 30, 2015

Facebook: Race HQ

Just a quick line to let everyone know our ‘Blaydon Race HQ’ page has been removed, Originally this was a place for the race team to discuss and plan TT and race events, Through time and through some deliberation, we have decided to remove this group and all race planning will be done via the members chat forum, this helps everyone in long long run by making all club activity more inclusive and giving you less places to have to check to keep up to date with the latest happening within the club.

Members chat is open to subscribed members of the club if you are not a member of that page please ask us how to get access, if you’re not a member of the club, please refer to the main profile at facebook.com/blaydoncycling for all our latest news, to race you must be a British Cycling member (race license needed) as well as be a club member.

All Change!

I’ve been sitting in front of this laptop for hours now! but some new changes for the club website are finally here. First of all you’ll notice a new banner at the top, I’ve also subtly changed the colour scheme from a generic red to the well known club red.

If you visit the site from your mobile phone you’ll also notice the website now works perfectly on mobile, any needless zooming, pinching and scrolling is no more, but if you like that kind of thing, the option is still there for you revert to desktop.

I’ve deleted a few redundant pages and working on some new content to make things that little bit nicer for you to look at. one such feature is when we order club kit, it’ll be done via a proper ‘online shop’ you’ll be to order multiple items and checkout just as you would on any other site. At the moment you’ll probably just see a pop-up message saying orders are closed. I am also working on a Blaydon ‘phonebook’ style directory so if you need to find any decent cafes we reccomend, any cycle shops or need a repair you need to go no further than your club. you’ll be to leave reviews using your social media accounts to give feedback on the shops and services, I guess what I am trying to do it Blaydon CC meets the ‘yellow pages vs trip advisor’.

A few pages may be renamed or re-ordered just to make them look that little bit tidier, it’s a long overdue spring clean that I hope gives a better impression of the club.

 

Writeup: SkyRide Newcastle & Gateshead 2015

First of all a massive thanks from me for the sea of Blaydon CC tops on display, those who made a special effort to ‘divert’ their rides via the Quayside to come and show the world what we do. A second huge thanks to the lads who helped man the information stall today, we spoke to some great local business and people, if you’re not with us yet, we look forward to welcoming you.

We all enjoyed our day in the sun speaking to people (They seen us coming, the planners put us opposite Greggs!).

To me I think the way riding has become pretty much a second/third job for me it’s so hard to forget why you got on two wheels to start with. Today when I did my lap of the course It was at a very steady (I would almost go as far as saying slow) pace for me, when I ride to work I want to get there as soon as possible, when I ride with others I sometimes want to go faster, further and higher… A little pleasurable weave over the 7km course seeing hundreds if not thousands of others taking part reminded me why I like cycling, everyone was happy, smiles all around, young and old, all shapes, all sizes on all manners of bikes. It was simply people out in the sun enjoying being outside.

If you’re new to us check our rides option at the top of the page for a run down of what we offer, as we expand (pushing 100 members now!) we’re hoping to be able to branch out, one such option is a personal interest of ‘Audax’ riding which I’m trying to introduce to a few who want a challenge! We’ve so much in the pipeline and so many ideas and we do it simply because we love cycling. We all have full time jobs as well as the club, and it keeps us busy but, seeing people out like they were today, is it worth all the emails, texts, keeping this website up to date, explaining for the 100th time what time we meet on a Sunday, in short, yes. It’s fantastic to be a part of something that’s constantly growing, constantly developing and it gives me a sense of pride when someone turns round to me and says ‘XX months ago I was this, jumped on the bike, now I am…’

If you have any further thoughts on your day at the sky ride please leave a comment below:

Club Update

There’s so much going on within the club so it’s time for a little web blog just to keep you up to speed, there’s no real ‘subject’ here but it’s an update and just a little few things I’ve seen over the past few weeks.

First of all come see us at the Newcastle Gateshead Sky Ride we’ll have a pitch in the middle of the market place, also there will be some local retailers, local clubs and usually Northumbria Police are there offering bike marking and crime reduction advice on cycling (and shed) security. Please come down and say hello to us, pop your jersey on and ride around the Quayside flying the Blaydon flag. If anyone asks you about the club let them know and ask them to pop by our stall. We’d love to see BCC colours flying high this year, If you can spare a few minutes stop by and chat to people coming to see us, we’re still a new club so people will want to know what we’re all about!

On the subject of club colours and as a matter of personal opinion, Please remember when you are in club colours, be you riding to work or on a club ride you’re an ambassador for the club, you’re ‘flying the flag’ so please do remember how you conduct yourself out and about, We want our members to be the ones who are friendly, courteous, and above all stick to the rules of the road because lets not forget they apply to everyone on wheels, cyclists already have a certain branding through excessive media articles and we’re all tarred with the same brush to many, let’s try and prove them wrong!

We’ve got loads of events lined up: check bit.ly/blaydonevents as always for the latest.

 

Reminder: BCC Members Chat

Just a little reminder that anyone who’s a subscribed member of Blaydon Cycle Club can access our members chat area.

You can find it linked above or by visiting bit.ly/BlaydonChat on this page you can:

  • Arrange rides with other members
  • Buy / Sell / Swap items
  • Seek advice on upgrades and new kit
  • Share any special offers you see
  • Share any club discounts or benefits you may come across
  • Chat – In general about all things cycling and club related

Please note that this facility is only available for subscribed members of the club with valid memberships for this year. 

Our Rides: A reminder

Here at BCC we offer many different kinds of rides with the hope of in the future offering more as we grow, here’s a little reminder of what we do at the moment:

 

Our Rides:

Club:

Club rides occur every second week, in the ‘spare’ week riders attend development rides, ad-hoc rides or simply have the weekend off! Club rides generally leave 9am from La Taverna and are 50-60 miles long. They can include anything right from a flat fast route, right up to challenging climbs and descents. Gnerally we have two to three groups riding out (size of group being one factor, ability the other) there’s usually a faster group of 16mph+, a middle group of around 14-15mph group and a group depending on the ride itself riding 12-14mph. We decide how to group the rides on the day when we have the numbers and to ensure people are not riding alone.

Easy Wheelers & Development:

Development Rides began In early 2014 we trialled a what was then called ‘Beginners Ride’ what this entailed was a short route that didn’t have have any major climbs and kept to roads that were generally deemed suitable for riders of all abilities. After a couple of rides these became known also as Development Group Rides, you may have heard rides referred to as both at some point during their time.

Usually we aim for around 30-40 miles for the development ride and ride it in a loop so you’ll always come back to where you started. In these rides someone with a Blaydon Jersey will mark the front and the back of the rides.

We always aim to fit in a coffee stop after the rides for the shorter ones and mid-ride on the longer rides, Start Locations for the Beginners Rides vary so please check our events on the website and social media before you come along. We change it from time to time due to things such as the route planned, and things out of our control such as events, or road closures.

All riders must wear a helmet on these rides and you should bring along a bottle or two of water for the ride as well as any little snacks if you feel you may need them (such as cereal bars, flapjack etc). Full details are on the events and we always give a pre-ride briefing before we roll out.

‘Easy Wheelers’ rides are our beginners rides, they offer people who have never really been out on a bke a chance to ride with others and gain confidence, they are perfect for those who are very new to cycling or just coming back, courses will be around 10 miles at a very steady pace to suit everyone, they are a strict no drop ride, any questions you have on cycling we will do our best to help you, and progress you onto longer rides.

Sportive:

As a club we ride local and national sportives such as the Virgin Money Cyclone and the Haydon Hundred. We’ll post BCC specific events for this and arrange transport and similar things with each other closer to the time.

Races:

We have a newly formed (2015) race team, the team will compete in CAT4 races and Time Trials. The team is nicknamed the ‘Blaydon Racers‘ for more information keep an eye on our page or if you are interested drop us a message and we’ll see what we can do for you. Racing is a additional part of the club offered as we expand and compliments our other rides and activities.

Ad-Hoc:

Not everyone works 9-5, and we appreciate members have spare time and days of, subscribed members have access to a ‘Blaydon Chat’ area which allows for us to arrange outings with each other, these rides vary so much it’s up to whoever is setting them up to decide the pace and length, they can be road rides, Mountain Bike rides, long, short, fast or slow. We sometimes also practice training loops of an evening. All information can be found within the members chat page.

Event: BCC ‘Ladies Only Ride’ – 14th June

  • 14th June 2015
  • 09:45
  • Kirkley Cycles
  • Event – Click Here

Below is the information regarding our first ladies only ride, this is the first time we have ran such a ride so we would like to see how well received they are. If you have any questions please post them in the event link on facebook and someone from the club, or who is going will answer as soon as they can

Due to demand, we are introducing an ongoing series of ladies rides which will run fortnightly; the normal pace will be between 11-14mph, dependent on group/route/terrain.

Our ride on 14/5/15 is a circular route on quiet roads and lanes of beautiful Northumberland. At the the 20 mile point, we will stop for coffee and cake at the quirky Capheaton village café – a popular stop with cyclists of all ages and abilities.

STRICTLY LADIES ONLY (but you don’t have to be a member of BCC to come on our rides)

Start venue: Kirkley Cycles
Date: Sunday14th June
Time: 09.45 for a 10am depart
Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/2488184
Distance: 37.5 miles
Pace: 11-14mph