AGM Minutes

agm minutes – 09/11/23

West Highland Wheelers AGM – Thursday the 9th of November 2023 at Lochaber Rural Education Trust.

Present –.Doug Little, Gregor Muir, Karl Bungey, Cameron Bungey, Leon Sims, Vince Mackintosh, Emma Pearce, Gill Barnes, Ruari Watt, Claire Abernethy ,Norman Clark, Stefan Baltrunas, Mark Clark, Nix Forster, Damian Forster, Stephen Cant, Isla Cant, Robbie Cant, Dave Parfitt, Daniel Parfitt, Mandy Watson, Aidan Baltrunas, Jacqui Parfitt, Lorraine Whelan, Sam Potter, Henry Cairns  , Bronagh Wishart

Apologies – Andy Rogers, Steve Bradley, Marian Austin.

Doug thanked everyone for coming, and the Rural Education Trust for providing the venue.

Minutes of the last AGM – Proposed as accurate by Mandy , seconded by  Norman.          .

Chairman’s report; Busy year!

Notable club successes over the past year

  •  John Shirley became UCI XCO Masters World Champ 70+ in Argentina.
  • Lilly Cant has had a great year. Most noticeable of her achievements were the double wins at the World Champs events with cross country (dirt Crit) and downhill wins. As a result of her Race the World wins she was invited to visit the First Minister last week. Her sister Isla is pushing hard on her heels.
  • Downhill race the worlds event finals- Lilly got 1st, Mia Jackson got 2nd in Under 12’s, Isla Cant got 2nd in u14’s, Sorley Swabey got 1st and Alexander Pervan got 3rd in Under 16’s.
  • Lots of club riders have been racing downhill including Mikayla, Daniel and Nina all racing world cups.
  • Scottish Downhill champs.

Daniel Parfitt- Scottish Junior champ.

Sorley Swabey- 2nd youth.

Alastair Maclennan- 2nd over 40’s ( 1st grand vet)

Mikayla Parton- female champ.

Tiandra Anderson 3rd female

Nina Cameron- Junior champ

Hollie Alderson- 2nd youth

Sorley Swabey 3rd youth at National Champs, Alastair Maclennan 3rd over 50

Quite a few enduro racing too, several youngsters entered enduros with Charley Kennedy and Mia Jackson getting several podiums between them and both coming 2nd overall in their respective age groups at the Hope enduro. Both Cole Jackson and Archie Rodger got a podium place over the season too. Joe Barnes has had several enduro podiums including 2nd at the national enduro champs. Liam Moynihan won the Macavalanche again.

  • Gregor Muir won the DMBinS Local Hero Award. Mainly, but not only, for the huge time and effort that he has put into getting the pump track opened. Fair to say that it would not have happened without him.
  • Bikmo – Bike Club of the year, regional winner.
  • Rock Up and Ride program. This was a Scottish Cycling pilot scheme that we got involved in to help get more children out riding – 50 kids from Inverlochy and Lundavra schools had a series of lessons and each received a frog bike- including 2 trikes. Super thanks to Claire Abernethy  for sorting out all the not inconsiderable logistics! Hopefully more funding will become available next year to carry on the program.
  • The Fort William Festival was a great success and it was really good to be able to work together with The Fort William Foxes.
  • Mandy Watson has been shortlisted for volunteer of the year at the Scottish Cycling awards.
  • Bike and Blether is going from strength to strength.
  • Mark Clark has been working hard with Scottish Cycling and is now able to deliver Level 1 and 2 British Cycling courses.
  • Vince ran a very successful SXC at Nevis Range, with local riders getting some great results.
  • Aidan and Ava were chosen to go on the Scottish Cycling Young ambassadors 1 year programme. They will work towards goal setting and a leadership qualification. Aidan was then interviewed with 60+ children to be accepted for the Scottish Cycling young people’s panel. 12 (including Aidan) were accepted. Aidan will work alongside Scottish Cycling for 2 years. Many thanks to Aidan for giving us an informative speech at this point about what all of this involves.

Fort to Fort

Held last Sunday the 29th of October, starting in Fort William.  34 participants, with £240 being raised for Highland Hospice in support in memory of Lyndsay Jarrett.

1st Male – Gary MacDonald   1:51:16  (1.35.47)      2nd male Gavin Dempster 1.58.09

1st Female – Marie Meldrum 2:06:33 (2.00.07)       2nd Female Nix Forster 2:49:50

1st Junior- Aaron Tressider 2:21:50   2nd  Junior – Logan Anderson 2:29:15  (2.21.53)  

Great To see so many junior members out. Special mention to Holly for doing it on her full suspension fat tyred mountain bike and to Alastair Cant for doing it for the first time in testing conditions ( there was a fierce headwind!)

A huge thanks to Jacqui for spending all day doing the timing, driving people around and providing refreshments. Many thanks also to Lorraine, Jen, Alan, Hilary and Iris.

Winter League

All 8 planned races went ahead last year. Many thanks to Marian for organising the schedule. Thanks also to everyone that helped with organizing races and marshalling. Thanks also to Andy for working out the scoring. In all 37 males (including 6 e-bikers) and 13 females took part ( including 1 e-biker). It was great to have some new venues – Achaderry Estate, Mark’s Croft.

There were also 7 junior races held with 3 girls and 13 boys taking part.

1st Male- Ben Miller  2nd Male Gregor Muir

1st Lady – Lily Cant   2nd female Gill Barnes

1st Junior- Alexander Pervan 2nd Junior – Cameron Bungey

1st male e-biker –AJ MacDonald 2nd e-biker Stewart Macmillan

1st lady e-biker Norma Marshall

U12 boys 1st Joseph Newson, 2nd Archie Kennedy

U10 boys 1st = Jethro Murray and Kaiden Springett

U10 girls 1st Charley Kennedy 2nd Ashleigh Irvine

U8 boys 1st Kai Tressider 2nd Alastair Cant

U6 boys 1st = Bo Barnes and Gabriel Charlton

U6 girls 1st = Bella Rodger

 Marian is still working on confirming a schedule for this Winter. Here is the provisional one.

Sunday 19th November – No venue or organiser as yet. Possibly Nevis Range.

Sunday 3rd  December – Duror- Ben Miller 

Sunday 17th December – Xmas Handicap – Glen Nevis – Andy Rogers 

Saturday 30th December- Nevis Range – memorial race – Vince Mackintosh. As a few members have passed away over the past few years, rather than being” The Clare Mackintosh Memorial Race” Vince would like this to be named “The Memorial Race “with a different charity being chosen each year.

Sunday  January  14th – Barcaldine -NACC

Sunday  February  11th – Achaderry Estate, Roy Bridge – Leon Sims

Sunday March 3rd – Wolftrax – Lance Marshall.

Sunday March 24th –  ?????

Sunday 14th  April. – Glen Loy – Mark Clark -BBQ and prizegiving

Karl Bungey said that himself and Cameron are open to the possibility of running a race over at Strontian.

It was brought up that a number of these dates clash with Lochaber Athletics Club races. Jacqui pointed out that there is a lot of work involved in getting a schedule together and working it around the athletics club schedule adds more complications.

Please note that we still need Organisers for the 19th of November and the 24th of March . Please get in contact with Marian if you are able to help. Marian is also keen to step away from organising races and would like someone to help her this year and take over next year. Nix and Ruari said that they might be able to help. Karl Bungey has also said that he is keen to get more involved with the club, so maybe this is something that he might be interested in doing?

 With 8 races planned, the best 6 will count towards the overall league results. Kid’s races will be held where possible and will be run separately by kid’s club.

Races will be free of charge for members. For non-members the charge will be £2 for children and £5 for adults.

Anyone completing 3 races will receive a WHW buff.

The aim would be to have some shorter, less technical options to be available at most venues.

Xmas Handicap

Many thanks to Andy for once again organizing this. To be held in Glen Nevis on Sunday the 17th of December.

Membership

We have 416 members in total (319 last year)

 42 under 18 student memberships

 79 family memberships

 8 small family memberships

150 female members (106 adults,44 junior)

252 male members (160 adults, 92 junior)

Time Trials

Many thanks to Emma who put together a schedule of 7 races. The numbers of bikers racing were high at the start of the season but dropped off in July and August. Only one TT was affected by landslides, but it could have been 2 as the Laggan road opened the morning of the TT! Thanks to Vince for organising a new race at Invergarry. Highland Council have laid new tarmac on the Commando Memorial and Loch Eil TT road, making for a smoother and faster ride.6 different organisers were involved. Many thanks to everyone that helped with organising, marshalling and timekeeping. In all 22 males and 7 females took part. Thanks also to Andy for collating results.

1st Male Alastair MacLennan 2nd Male Henry Cairns 3rd Andy Rogers

1st Lady Sam Potter 2nd Lady Kira Macdonald 3rd Emma Pearce

1st Junior – None involved this year unfortunately.

With regard to next years’ Time Trials, Emma has said that she is happy to help to put together a schedule. It was also suggested that some gravel ride TT’s be incorporated – to be discussed further! More organisers would be welcome.

Wednesday Night Rides

 Many thanks to Gregor for putting together the schedules.

  • The club has bought 4 handlebar mounted night riding lights for members to borrow. Gregor will keep a hold of these.

Treasurers Report

Gill reported that our closing balance is down £2726.39 on the opening balance. However, taking account that we have made a donation to the Bike Park of £7344.83 this is not too surprising. The full accounts are attached.

Kid’s Club

  • A huge thanks to Claire and Gregor for all their organising in the background.
  • At present there are 64 kids going out in 10 groups.
  • There have been some great results at races but what is just as good is to see is how many of the kids are stepping up into leadership roles. Charley Kennedy, Ashleigh Irvine, Hollie Alderson, Ava Marsh, Aidan Baltrunas and Archie Kennedy have been helping out with Active schools groups. Ruby Clarke, Fergus Beard , Cameron Bungey and Finn Forsyth have been helping out on Saturdays.
  • 5 parents + Cameron are doing a British Cycling level 2 training course in a couple of weeks with Cycle wild training.
  • Mark is looking at doing a Level 1 training course in Spring with Ruby, Finlay, Kyler + 1 other.
  • A huge thanks to all parents and helpers who have helped out with the club.

Lochaber Trail Association.

  • Next dig is the 26th of November at Torlundy.
  • There have been 13 digs this year.
  • The digs are generally held on the last Sunday of each month, however, Mark will look at changing the October one next year to avoid a clash with the FTF.
  • There is a plan to do a dig on the afternoon of Saturday the 9th of December in conjunction with Kids Club.

Election of Office bearers

Doug gave a big thanks to everyone on the committee for all the work that they have done over the past year.

Chairman –      Dave Parfitt                      proposed  –  Gill Barnes       seconded- Gregor Muir

Official Secretary –   Marian Austin           proposed –    Doug Little          seconded- Norman Clark

Membership Secretary – Jacqui Parfitt     proposed –   Nix Forster        seconded- Gill Barnes

Treasurer– Gill Barnes                                  proposed  –   Jacqui Parfitt   seconded-Mark Clark

Minutes Secretaries –  Lorraine Whelan   Proposed  –      Doug Little        seconded –    Dave Parfitt 

                                     –   Sam Potter             Proposed  –       Jacqui Parfitt    seconded – Gregor Muir                                                                                           

Newsletter/social media person – Henry Cairns  Proposed  Doug Little     seconded – Lorraine Whelan

Child protection Officer – Claire Abernethy      Proposed  – Gregor Muir           seconded- Lorraine Whelan

Junior reps   – Aidan Baltrunas, Ava Marsh,

General– Mark Clark, Norman Clark, Steve Bradley .Gregor Muir

Mandy Watson is keen to get more junior events organised to enable kids to get a more gradual introduction to racing. It was proposed by Jacqui and seconded by Dave that she join the committee as Junior Events Coordinator.

Jacqui  presented Doug with a thank you card, lifetime membership of the Wheelers and some very much appreciated gifts. Andy Rogers was also given Lifetime membership in honor of his 10 years in charge and all that he still does for the club.

Subscription rates – To remain the same as last year. We shall look at increasing them next year.

  • Juniors £8
  • Senior £17
  • Family £28
  • Small family £24

AOCB

  • Claire is working on getting some new shirts designed.
  • After 18 years Bridget Thomas is leaving her position as Active Schools Coordinator. The club would like to thank her for all the help that she has given us in this role. Doug will present her with a bunch of flowers as a thank you.

Trophy presentation.

Most improved Lady – Bronagh Wishart (presented)

Most improved Downhiller – Daniel Parfitt (presented)

Most improved Junior Male – Finn Watt (to be presented at the last kid’s club of the year)

Most improved junior Female- Mia Jackson (to be presented at the last kids club of the year)

Flying Gorilla Award – Jacqui Parfitt (presented)

Men’s Time Trials – Alastair Maclennan (not presented)

Ladies Time Trials – Sam Potter (presented)

Fort to Fort

Fort to fort 29/10/23

Well done to all the riders at todays Fort to Fort ride who braved some pretty fierce headwinds going from Fort William to Fort Augustus. Gary Macdonald once again powered to victory ( despite saying that he doesn’t feel particularly fit) and there was some great sprint racing behind him for 4th,5th and 6th places. Great to see so many youngsters out taking part.

A massive thank you to Jacqui for doing the timing and providing refreshments at the end, Doug for course marking and sweeping, Jen, Alan, Lorri, Hilary and Iris for marshalling and everyone who helped out with all the extras…baking, emergency milk shopping, helping collect signs in ….

We made a fantastic £240 for Highland Hospice in memory of the amazing Lindsay Jarrett, thankyou to everyone for donating.

Times

Gary MacDonald 1 51 16 Ewan Thorburn 1 58 09 Donald Paterson 2 02 09 Gary Davidson 2 02 53 Ed Daynes 2 02 54 Jamie Gall 2 02 56 Foss 2 05 10 Neil Wright 2 06 17 Marie Meldrum 2 06 33 Charles Troman 2 13 39 Colin Mactavish 2 20 52 Aaron Tresider 2 21 50 Gavin Maclean 2 28 00 Logan Anderson 2 29 15 Gregor Muir 2 31 12 Julian Foot 2 40 12 Scott Rodger 2 44 30 David Smith 2 47 45 Nix Forster 2 49 50 Lily Cant 2 51 43 Charlotte Cant 2 51 44 Kai Tresider 3 06 30 Es Tresider 3 06 32 Olivia Macrae 3 07 56 Douglas Macrae 3 07 57 Isla Cant 3 23 30 Emma Pearce 3 23 56 Gill Barnes 3 24 50 Finn Watt 3 25 32 Ruari Watt 3 25 34 Hollie Alderson 3 27 28 Alasdair Cant 3 37 39 Robbie Cant 3 37 39

Committee Minutes

minutes of Committee meeting -19/09/23

West Highland Wheelers Committee Meeting –Tuesday 19th September 2023

Present – Doug Little, Marian Austin, Gregor Muir, Gill Barnes, Norman Clark, Mark Clark, Steve Bradley, Dave and Jacqui Parfitt.

Apologies – Nathan Marsh.

Fort to Fort

  • Planned for Sunday the 29th of October.
  • Permission has been given from The Great Glen Way Events team to run the event.
  • The crash barrier on the pavement at Bridge of Oich is still there and the old pedestrian footbridge is still closed. It was agreed that we would pursue these issues further, but if nothing can be resolved we shall go from Fort William to Fort Augustus again. Gregor is going to send an email to Stewart Easthaugh to ask what can be done.
  • Sign on will be from 9.30 until 9.45 with the first riders leaving at 10.00.
  • It would be good to remind people that the clocks go back one hour on Saturday night.
  • Riders will be asked for a minimum £5 donation to take part in the event. This will be donated to Highland Hospice in memory of Lynsay Jarrett.
  • As per last year, rather than being run as a race this will be a “club ride”. We shall still provide timing so that riders can compare their times against each other, and against previous years. Riders will be covered for third party liability by Scottish Cycling. It would be good to remind riders that for this event, and other events that the club runs, that they should consider joining Scottish Cycling if they require more comprehensive insurance.
  • Doug will sweep at the back on his e-bike. It was decided that we did not have to have a sweeper van as most people will be able to call on their own back up.
  • We need to advertise for someone to do timing and for marshals.
  • Tea, coffee and tray bakes will be provided at the end.
  • High School kids are able to do the race unaccompanied.
  • Doug will write a newsletter to be sent out by Sunday 1st of October to promote the event and ask for Marshalls. Also included in this newsletter needs to be info about the AGM, Winter League and Wednesday night rides + an appeal for a new Chairman, social media person and someone to help with child protection issues.

AGM

  • Planned for Thursday the 9th of November at 7.30 -venue to be confirmed.
  • The agenda needs to go out 3 weeks beforehand.
  • The bike track AGM will follow immediately after.
  • Awards

           – Most Improved Downhiller  –  Daniel Parfitt

           – Most improved Lady -Bronagh

           – Most improved Junior male – to be decided by the kid’s club committee

           – Most improved junior female – to be decided by the kid’s club committee.

           It was agreed that the kid’s trophies would be presented at the final kid’s club session of the year.

  • Presentations

          – Doug will do a chairman’s report (including a kid’s club report)

          – Gill will do a treasurer’s report.

  • Committee positions.

  – Doug is definitely standing down as chairman.

  – We also definitely need to find someone to be social secretary and help with the flow  information  to members through newsletters, social media etc .

– We also need someone to help with child  protection .

  • Subscriptions for 2023/2024- agreed to keep the same for this year but to definitely look at increasing them next year.

         – Juniors/students  £8.00

         – Senior £17.00

         – Family £28.00

         – Small Family (it was agreed to keep this) £24

  • Doug will collect all the trophies for presentation.

Winter League

  • Agreed to hold 8 races.
  • The date for the first race is provisionally going to be the 19th of November, followed by the 3rd of December.
  • Marian is going to check with Vince re a date for the Clare Mackintosh memorial. There is only one bank holiday between Christmas and New year (the 26th) so it might be better to run it on a date after New Year.
  • Mark is happy to run a race at his Croft but would prefer if it was later in the year this time.
  • NACC have been in touch to say that they are keen to run a race.
  • Other possible organisers/venues are Leon (Achaderry Estate), Ben Miller (Duror), Lance/Stewart (Wolftrax using the new blue run) Vince???? (Invergarry), Doug???? (Nevis Range)
  • Marian will aim to put together a rough schedule for the AGM.
  • We need to decide how many races we are doing on Forestry land and decide whether it is best to apply for a multiple permission license from Forestry.
  • Andy has very kindly agreed to run the Xmas Handicap again on Sunday the 17th of December.
  • The best 5 out of 8 races will count towards the final table standings.
  • Kids’ club races may not be possible at all the venues and will be organized separately by the kid’s club.
  • Races will be free for members. £5 for non-members.

Wednesday nights

  •  Gregor has the 4 lights for night riding that we purchased last year. It would be good to put this info out in the newsletter.
  • Gregor has made a rough schedule for the next wee while and is open to any suggestions. It was agreed that it would be a good idea to use Nevis Range as a venue more often during the winter as there is always the option there of less muddy trails.

Kid’s Club

  • Will run up until the beginning of December before stopping for the winter.
  • Level 1 course booked for the 21st and 22nd October with Mark Clark.
  • Important for insurance purposes that Leaders are up to date with their first aid qualifications, Scottish Cycling membership, CWPS training and are disclosed.

Bike Park

  • Main pumptrack is now open. Aim is now to get the skatepark and Lighting finished in the next few weeks.

Lochaber Trail Association

  • Next dig is Sunday 30th September 30th at Glen Loy. The 3rd phase of Sunset trail.
  • Mark confirmed that Nevis Range re now maintaining trails only as far as Black Crane, Ridgeline, Buddies and the old red. Once Sunset trail is finished  LTA are going to make a phased approach plan for restoring the Cackle. Forestry are going to look at restoring Broomstick Blue once the works at The North Face car park are completed.

AOB

  • Facebook issues. The changes that Jacqui has made to Facebook controls appear to be working and we have had no further pornography posts appearing.
  • Nevis Range issues. Following on from the last meeting, Gregor sent a letter to Nevis Range asking for a meeting to discuss communication issues. So far, this meeting has not happened.
  • Nevis Range are offering members a 10% discount on the upcoming Night and day enduro. Jacqui will send out info about this.
  • New BBQ. It was agreed to pay Claire £200 for her unused BBQ (RRP £300)
  • Steve confirmed that the new blue trail at Wolftrax is scheduled to be ready for the October holidays. He also offered to guide a group ride around the naturals on the other side of the road.
  • New tops. It was agreed to ask Claire to get in contact with Fortan to get a design for new  tops. These tops should keep intact the essence of the old ones. If possible, it would be great to have a sample to show at the AGM so that we can ask for orders. To give everyone an idea of the correct size then it would be great if Claire could bring along a selection of Nevis Cycles ones to try on.
  • Following contact from Scottish Cycling it was agreed to ask at the AGM if there is any interest in the club running organized gravel bike rides.

Bank Balance – £14090  (£7000 of this is to go to the pump track)

Next Meeting – The AGM on Thursday the 9th of November.

Time Trials

Loch Eil Time Trial 01/08/23

A small but high quality turn out! Many thanks to Sam Potter for organising and to Bronagh Wishart for manning the turn and sorting out signs. The next race is the Commando Memorial on the 22nd of July.

Results;

1.Alastair Maclennan 25:15

2.Henry Cairns 26.58

3. Kira Macdonald 28.19

4. Andy Rogers 29.33

Social Rides

World Champs Fringe Event 26/07/23

Great to see so many riders ( both young and old) out for this event celebrating the upcoming World Champs. The first ever West Highland Wheelers biathlon proved extremely popular and potentially unearthed a new shooting star in Ailsa Pooleman who was the only person to hit all the targets. A huge thanks to Leon for hosting the event at Achaderry Estate and for providing so many great prizes!

Committee Minutes

Committee Meeting 25/07/23

West Highland Wheelers -Minutes of Meeting

25th July 2023

Present: Doug Little, Gill Barnes, Gregor Muir, Dave Parfitt, Jacqui Parfitt, Marian Austin.

Apologies: Steve Bradley, Lorraine Whelan.

Actions from Last Meeting:

  • Mark still needs to give us the costs for doing a Level 1 course on 2nd and 3rd September.
  • Congratulations to Zoe and Chris for passing their Level 2 assessment. Andrew is doing his assessment in August.
  • Gregor and Nathan still need to liase about doing a Scottish Cycling Club Protection Officer course.
  • Doug still needs to contact Simon at Highland First Aid about doing a free 2-hour refresher course.
  • Jacqui has sent out info about the rolling membership system in a newsletter.
  • The website has been updated re Bike and Blether.

World Champs Fringe Event- Wednesday the 26th of July at Achaderry Estate Roy Bridge:

  • Scottish Cycling are giving us £300 towards hosting this event.
  • Many thanks to Leon for hosting the event and coming up with the novel idea of holding a fun biathlon competition. The club will offer to pay Leon for any of the costs associated with running this event.
  • Doug will do the BBQ.

Nevis Range letter:

  • There have been some fairly significant communication issues recently between the club and Nevis Range. Gregor has drafted an email to be sent to Nikki at Nevis Range outlining these issues and asking for a meeting so that we can discuss how to address them and improve things going forward.
  • Marian will forward this email to the Nevis Range Board of Directors
  • It was agreed that Gregor, Gill, Doug and Ruari would aim to attend any prospective meeting.

Fort William Bike Park:

  • Plans are well afoot for the opening of the Bike Park on Wednesday the 2nd of August.
  • Marshalls are needed to help with the opening event. Jacqui will send out an e mail asking for marshalls and ask them to get in touch with Ruari.
  • As agreed at the last meeting, the Wheelers will contribute £7000 towards ensuring that the work is finished at the Bike Park. £3500 of this will be an outright donation and £3500 will be a loan to be repaid over the course of 5 years.
  • Work on the 2 pump tracks is finished, however there is still work needed to finish the skatepark. For this reason, the bike park will be open for a couple of days and then will close again until the skatepark is finished and a security fence has been put up around the whole development.
  • Once work is finished the bike park will not be open to the general public during school hours.

Opening hours for the public will be;

Mon to Thu 16.00 – 21.00

Friday 14.00 – 21.00

Weekends and School holidays 8.30 to 21.00

  • During school hours, recognized user groups will be able to book time slots. The board of the bike park will need to approve these groups and there will be an annual administration fee involved. The wheelers will be a recognized user group and it will be necessary to appoint someone who can verify any Wheelers members that wish to use the Bike Park during school hours.

AGM:

  • Provisionally planned for Thursday the 9th of November.
  • It was agreed that it would be good to hold it again at The Highland Soap Factory. Doug will liase with Mandy about this.
  • As per the last few years, the bike park AGM will be tagged on at the end of the Wheelers AGM.

Fort to Fort:

  • Planned for the last Sunday in October – the 29th.
  • All donations this year will go towards Highland Hospice in memory of Lyndsay Jarret.
  • The aim this year would be to run the race starting from Fort Augustus. It would be good to avoid the road bridge at Bridge of Oich and go over the old bridge. Doug will make initial enquiries with The Great Glen Events team about getting this bridge open for the event.

Wednesday Nights:

  • Going well, but it was agreed that there was a need to provide more info about meeting points for everyone.
  • Rather than naming leaders it would be good to just say that “there will be 3 groups of differing levels”
  • If Gregor is not going to be there and he has not found a specific replacement to run the teenager’s group then this needs to be made clear. Teenagers will still of course be able to come along but will need to join other groups.

Facebook/Social media:

  • There have recently been some issues with people posting pornography on our Facebook page. Fortunately, these were spotted reasonably quickly and removed. In order to try to avoid these postings in the future Jacqui has locked as many settings down as she can on Facebook. For example, people will only be able to post if they have been a member for a month. It was agreed that we should monitor how this goes before deciding if we need to take stronger action.
  • With the World Champs coming up Scottish Cycling have been reminding clubs of the need for websites to be as welcoming as possible to new members. Glasgow Wheelers website was specifically quoted as an example of good practice.
  • It was agreed again about the need to find a social media person who can monitor/respond to facebook posts, send out newsletters, forward relevant info from Scottish Cycling newsletters etc.

AOB:

  • BBQ – the need to do a risk assessment for this was discussed. We need to make enquiries about who could do a gas safety certificate for us and how much this will cost. In the meantime, Dave will see if he can get hold of a risk assessment for gas cookers from Nevis Range and we shall continue to do visual inspections and above all ensure that the BBQ is well cleaned.
  • Tops – we need to make a new order of tops.  It was agreed that we would use Shredz again. After the World Champs are done and dusted Jacqui will send out a request in a newsletter for sizes.

Bank Account:

  • Currently standing at £13507

Next Meeting

  • Tuesday the 19th of September at Marians house at 7.30
Time Trials

LOCH LEVEN TIME TRIAL 11/07/23

Time Trial Loch Leven results. 11/07/23

A different course to the usual due to the south side being blocked by landslips. So out and back along the north road.

Big thanks to Emma Pearce for organising/ time keeping and to Jess Aitchison for marshalling the turn and collecting the signs.

1. James Tedham. 47: 30

2. Henry Cairns. 50.46

3. Sam Potter 53.17 1st woman

4. John Shirley 53.55

5. Oli Warlow. 55.51 (punctured)

6. Bronagh Wishart. 56.07

7. Andy Rogers. 61:46

8. Chris Andrews. 64.47 (gears not working, gravel bike & flat pedals)

9. Gill Barnes 65.02

10 Emma Pearce 74:11

Adventure

Mass descent of the blue DOON BY kid’s club…

A great way for kid’s club to finish up before the Summer holidays! Many thanks to Nevis Range for giving us the opportunity to do a mass descent of the Blue Doon. Thank you to all the leaders and assistant leaders who helped with getting the groups up and down. Thanks also to the chefs who did such a great job with the BBQ at the end and to everyone who donated such delicious tray bakes. Last of all, a huge thank you to Kenny and Letterfinlay Foods for donating the super tasty burgers!

P.S almost forgot to give a big thanks to all the young riders who make the club such a fun place to be ( most of the time😂)

Time Trials

LAGGAN DAM TIME TRIAL 20/06/23

 Results.

1st Gary MacDonald. 37:22

2nd James Livingston. 37:24

3rd Alastair Maclennan. 39:24

4th Oli Warlow. 39:42

5th Ruari Watt. 40:34

6th Spook Munro 41:55

7th Henry Cairns. 42:11

8th John Shirley. 43:16

9th Colin Mactavish. 43:27

10th Andy Rodger’s. 48:24

11th Sheila Morris. 49:42

Well done to Nathan for doing such a great job organising his first time trial, to Chris for timekeeper support and Emma for being half way marker.The next race is Loch Leven on the 11th of July.