Saturday Cycle - New members and those starting back

[eoin]

Hi all,

We have some new members and several people looking to get back on the bike after taking a break for one reason or another. We are hoping to set up a cycle on Saturday mornings (9am) to provide an outlet for anyone looking to get started. It would be proposed to start this off as a 30 - 40km (or less) spin at an easy pace which would increase gradually as the weeks go by. What we would need is some of the more experienced cyclists/members to help out and lead out the new members for the first few weeks until everyone is comfortable. The group leader does not necessarily have to be a strong cyclist - you just need to be able to fix a puncture if the occasion arises. If we get enough volunteers, each person would only have to lead out the group once.

If you would be interested in helping out, please respond on the message board or reply on facebook. The more helpers the better.

Thanks,
Eoin

[rbracken]

Why don't you co-ordinate with the LSW who are already taking out beginner groups on a Saturday morning?

[eoin]

Hi Ronan,

There are a couple of reasons for not doing that right now. Firstly, we have people joining Midland Tri who are not members of the Wheelers - we don't want to make a new member join another club straight away when we have ample expertise within the club to cater for this type of activity.

The other (much more important) reason is that there are precious few opportunities for new members to get to know existing members. This is not anyone's fault, its just the nature of the sport and the varied type of training schedules that people are following. Personally, when I joined the club a few years ago, it was this type of group (organised at the time by Caroline Boyle) that got me involved in the club and most of the people that were in that group are still active members to this day.

By all means if this doesn't work out, we will look at alternatives in the future. I would also really appreciate if you could suggest more ways for new members to integrate and become involved in the club.

Thanks,
Eoin

[cathybyrne]

Hi Eoin,

Thanks for organising this. Will it be starting at the Park Hotel this Saturday?

Cathy

[eoin]

Hi cathy, yes saturday 9am. See you there!

[rbracken]

Fair enough Eoin. By the way, I'm not suggesting they become LSW members, just to join the spins together. They will then get to know far more people.

Best regards,
Ronan