I hope that everyone is well. It’s been a difficult few months since March when all in-person activities organized by the club were “cancelled for the foreseeable future”. I think we’ve been relatively lucky to be engaged in a hobby that has remained accessible even during the most restrictive days of lockdown. Now that things are starting to get moving again, I wanted to take the opportunity to thank members for their patience since March, share news about some of the club activities that have been able to continue through the lockdown and finally let you know about the plan to get group riding back.

Charitable Donations

First up, donations. Many of you will be aware of our regular support for the Strathcarron Hospice. The support is usually funded by money raised by the Reliability Ride, and the Lew Weaver and Dave Jorgenson memorial rides. Even though those events were unfortunately cancelled this year, we’re pleased that the club was still able to make a donation of £500.

In addition, the club was able to join together with other clubs around the central belt to support the construction of the West Lothian Cycle Circuit. This will be a 1km traffic-free circuit in Linlithgow. It will be flood-lit for use all year round and will be available for use by individuals on a drop-in basis and by clubs like ours for organized activities. Stirling Bike Club was pleased to donate £1000 to the fund.

Training/Coaching

For those with indoor cycling facilities at home, for a while there was an opportunity to get together remotely with members of the club for training sessions during the week. You might have seen these being discussed on Facebook or the website forum. There was Fraser Stewart’s Zwift team on Monday nights and Steve Moore’s Zoomers on Thursday nights. The Zwift sessions might come back in the winter as the weather deteriorates and interest in indoor cycling picks up.

With the resumption of schools, and after a lot of work by the Warriors committee to figure out the logistics, the Warriors are now meeting in-person at the regular coaching sessions at the Castleview Park and Ride. In order to comply with COVID test and protect regulations, there is a brand new booking system in place which has been a hit with both parents and coaches. To make sure you’re up-to-date with the latest news on this, make sure you’re in the Warriors Facebook group.

Resumption of Group Rides

Finally, if you’re anything like me, you’ll be desperately keen to see your old pals back on the regular weekend road rides. With input from the new guidelines published by Scottish Cycling and conversations with the other ride leaders, Jim Prentice has prepared a new protocol for group rides that aims to minimize the risk of transmitting the virus. However, before rides can begin again, we do need to fill the role of COVID Administrator and allow some time for that person to get up to speed.

To the best of our knowledge, it seems that since these activities are outdoors the risk of transmission is low provided we all strictly follow the general guidelines set by the government but especially given the recent spike in Glasgow, the committee think it prudent to wait a few weeks before resuming official club rides so that everyone is aware of their new responsibilities, the club as a whole is capable of playing it’s part in the test and protect system, and we have a bit of time to learn from other activities like schools, gyms, and workplaces that are resuming in the meantime.

That’s all for now. Looking forward to seeing you out and about soon.