Dear All,
I thought it would be a good idea to put out a short newsletter following a busy but interesting October. During the month there were two excellent ride outs. the first was a great mid-week ride arranged by John Blanchfield and back–marked by David Hayward. This was the first mid-week ride out I have been able to attend because, until the end of September, I was working full-time. It was very enjoyable and the pace was brisk. The lunch stop was a real find and everyone looked to be in good spirits. The second ride out in October saw us return to Knott End, an old, favourite destination. It was led by Andrew Pratt and back–marked by me. Andrew chose an interesting route that managed to avoid the main roads from the Forest of Bowland into Knott End. We had a great lunch at the Knott End Café, and managed to get several group pictures at the chrome memorial of a walking man and dog celebrating the artist,Lowry. To top off the day it even stopped raining on our journey home! On Monday of the same week we also had an evening meeting but unfortunately we had no speaker so, apart from the social chat, the highlight of the evening was our congratulations to Tim Rycroft on his Test Pass. Dave Dickinson also passed his test a few weeks earlier and I am looking forward to presenting him with his certificate at the next Monday meeting. Dave has already volunteered to become an Observer.
Next Monday’s meeting may well be another social occasion as, once again, we have been let down by our scheduled speaker. Your committee are trying to remedy this but, if all fails, Doug and I attended the IAM Road Smart AGM on Sunday 23 October and there are some interesting developments on which we can feedback. One of the most interesting items concerned Insurance Statistics gained from Surety about the risk and claim levels of Advanced Riders! Are we any safer? Find out on Monday.
There are also several issues relating to the future of the Club which we, as a committee,need to discuss with everyone. We really do need more people to serve on the committee, I am in my fourth year as Chair and I feel that carrying on for a fifth year would be outstaying my welcome. Doug Masterton also wishes to step down as Chief Observer but this is not an elected post. I would urge you all to come along on Monday and have a say in the future shape of the Club. The committee would welcome nominations for Chair and volunteers to join them to help in running the Club. So please come along and have a say.
Looking forward, our next Monday evening meeting (as above) takes place on 14 November at Bilton Cricket Club. We have a ride to Filey on Wednesday 17th November for Fish and Chips led by David Hayward setting off at 9.30am from Wetherby. There is also a Festive Lunch planned in December at a mid–week venue. And, please do not forget the Christmas Quiz Night on Monday 12 December when our quizmaster Doug will be taxing us with lots of questions (not all of them about bikes) so please bring friends and family to make this an amusing and informative evening. Hopefully we can get the treasurer to splash out on some special prizes!!
