Mallorca 2022

We made it!

It was with welcome relief that Croston Velo trip to Majorca Sept/October 2021 went ahead and was a great success. So much so that we are planning on heading back out again this year.

To ensure it is flexible and suits everyone we are again using a company we know well, Stuart Hall Cycling, that way you can join the trip for the whole two weeks or simply fly out for a long weekend, Stuart Hall will arrange the transfers and your stay at one of the two hotels.

This last year in Puerto Pollensa most of us stayed at the Mar Senses hotel, (Adults only) ideal if you’re taking a “non cycling” partner, as the town and beachfront are much closer. For cyclists bike shops, and bars, what more do you need? 

The Playa Mar Hotel is also available, which is where all Stuart Hall rides start from, this is just a two-minute ride from the Mar Senses. Generally speaking at least three ride groups are run each day and caters for all abilities. We can also request rides and Stuart will try and cater for us, we did this last year with a round trip to Sant Salvador, a great 100 mile ride that some of the ladies requested.

Generally, we meet after the rides for a few recovery ales and a chat about the rides we’ve done.

Please note that Stuart has just contacted us and said there will be a shortage of single occupancy rooms this year so it’s important to get your places booked ASAP.

Carbon bikes are available to hire or if you prefer to fly your steed out, the hotel is more than happy for you to keep your pride and joy in the room. A point to note, if you ride a top of the range machine, then these bikes will never feel like yours! If you were to hire the equivalent top end bike, you would expect to pay in the region of £85/£100 per day.

The first members are flying out on Saturday 24th September and the last people are coming back Sunday the 9th October, but there is no reason you can’t stay past this date. 

You simply book online at https://stuarthallcycling.co.uk/package/mallorca-october choose the dates for your stay and select the Mar Senses or Playa Mar hotel.

Croston Velo has a 5% discount code, Croston22 simply add this to the bottom of your booking to receive this off the final invoice. 

Flights are available daily from Liverpool and Manchester via Easyjet and Jet2. If you would like to know what the trip was like, or what to expect, talk to any of the members who went in 2021, I am sure they will still be as enthusiastic.

Winter Routes 2021

Winter Routes 2021
 
As summer has well and truly drawn to a close and the last ‘bib short’ days seem to be behind us until spring 2022 we have decided to refresh the Winter routes for the dark months that lie ahead.
 
This provides a number of benefits (1) Routes are designed specifically with winter safety in mind e.g. better road surfaces, reduced traffic (where possible), turn left where you can (2) Also reducing the number of routes increases familiarity helping to ensure people know where they are going and know where the inevitable potholes are!
Many thanks to Tim Bryning for the time he has spent thinking about, designing and re-designing these routes!
 
These routes will be used on the Tuesday and Thursday evening rides so please download them to your GPS device if you intend to ride these. Given the groups are smaller we do not feel the need to pre-publish the route each week and the members present can pick what ride suits them best on the night.
 
These routes are in use from 9th November 2021 until a change is confirmed in Spring 2022. Please note all routes are anti-clockwise.
 
** all the routes are now available on http://www.crostonvelo.co.uk/ride-directory/ please note they are towards the bottom of the page as we have left the summer routes on in case people still wish to use them for the daytime rides.

Winter Safety Information

Croston Velo Winter Safety Briefing. November 2021

My attention was recently drawn to the efforts trade teams are making to improve the safety of their riders whilst out on training rides. For instance they are producing high-visibility training kits and the use of daytime running lights. For example the Trek riders are mandated to train in high-vis kit and ride with lights at all times.

Here are some points to take from the pro ranks.

  • Using daytime running lights, even when the sun is shining, can reduce the likelihood of an accident by 19%.
  • Wearing some high-vis clothing helps you stand out from your surroundings.
  • Drivers have a better chance of seeing you.
  • The moving parts of your body – feet, ankles, legs – draw drivers’ attention.
  • Wear bibs, tights, socks, shoes or covers incorporating fluorescent and reflective materials on these parts.
  • At night wear kit that incorporates reflective material which will reflect light from street lamps or car headlights.

Mud guards are essential when group riding in winter and whilst they will keep the worst of the spray off you many of the products out there don’t stop the spray flicking onto riders behind. Raw mudflap extensions provide a cheap and effective way to stop the splash on those riding behind. Reflective versions of course also help you to be seen by drivers.

www.rawmudflap.uk

A reminder that Croston Velo strongly recommends third party liability insurance as a minimum to protect yourself if you are involved in an accident with other road users that is deemed your fault. 3rd party liability insurance is available relatively cheaply (compared to the rest of cycling!) through British Cycling membership, an optional extra on many home insurance policies or a number of other cycling insurance providers.

Please find links below to our other guidance with respect to riding in a group

Group Riding Etiquette http://www.crostonvelo.co.uk/main-about-us/group-riding-etiquette/

Winter Riding Etiquette http://www.crostonvelo.co.uk/winter-riding-etiquette/

Autum Safety Information

As the summer season draws to a close and the nights begin to draw in here are a few pointers to safer winter riding, whether solo or on a club group ride.

The committee strongly advises everyone to reread the risk assessment and the winter riding etiquette documents, which you agree to follow when joining the club. These can be found on the club website.

We intend to support safe group riding by providing links to videos which we feel are relevant to all of our members as guidance to preparing yourself and your bike in order to increase safety for all during the winter season.

We understand you may be fully aware of the information provided in these videos but feel a reminder can only make our group rides as safe as possible.

A reminder making sure you are fully insured is strongly advised

and that as a minimum 3rd party insurance is available through British Cycling Membership which is strongly recommended.

  • Know your route
  • Anticipate movements
  • Think about road positioning
  • Be aware and anticipate
  • Communicate with the group

Croston Velo TT 2021

So the weather gods didn’t shine on the Croston Velo TT 2021 held this morning (Sunday 15th Aug) on the fast Levens L1015 course. It was a rather wet and dreary start brightening up for the latter end of the field thankfully!

A massive congratulations to our 1st female and also winner overall Joanna Patterson – The Independent Pedaler/No Pinz (20:01) with Anna Weaver – East Lancs RC (22:37) and Lindsey Styler – Croston Velo (23:35) taking the other two podium spots.

The Men’s joint winner was Kamil Waligora – East Lancs RC (20:06) with John Morgan – Coveryourcar.co.uk RT (20:06) with Ian Dobbie – West Lothian Clarion (20:15) taking 3rd.

A huge thank you to our two timekeepers Tracy Moore and Margaret Belk as well as all the volunteers from our club without whom these events cannot take place – Andy Ashton, Andy Ward, Chris Breen, Emma Pulsford, Nick Clark & Sarah Williamson as well as our ever-popular cheerleading marshalling trio Chris Woods, Richard Crompton and Ian Riley at the bottom roundabout. It was a very early start for all and we do appreciate it!

As ever the committed Ellen Isherwood (Lancs Racing Scene) was there with lens posed and ready and managed to capture an awesome album of photos for the riders in challenging conditions. The full album is available at https://flic.kr/s/aHsmWqVZwU , Ellen is happy for you to use the photos but please credit her if you do on social media.

The final thank you goes to Ian Dobbie (I believe it was you but correct me if I’m wrong as the note on the results sheet was pretty soggy!) who left a crate of beers for the marshals at HQ, it really brightened up there soggy day when they arrived back to be handed a 4 pack!

A full set of results is available at https://www.cyclingtimetrials.org.uk/race-results/21487#anchor

Photo Credit Ellen Isherwood

Club Subscriptions 2021

Club subscriptions for the 2021 season are now due. Membership remains £20 per annum and runs from April 2021 to April 2022. Thank you to those that have already reached out/paid subs since the return to activity.

Please note that due to reduced activity and the absence of our usual social events the club only spent a limited amount last year (affiliations being the main cost). Therefore, for those members that paid in 2020 we have decided to roll over membership into 2021 and you don’t need to do anything. Current membership for 2021 stands at 96 people.

For data protection reasons we are unable to publish a list of paid members so if you are unsure please reach out to Dan or Lindsey and we will be happy to check the bank account/club register to confirm.

If you wish to pay your subs please transfer £20 to the club current account (unchanged from previous years), if you do not have the details reach out to a member of the committee and we will be happy to provide these to you. When making the transfer please include your name as the reference and also drop Dan/Lindsey a message (probably better to do privately to avoid excess traffic in the club WhatsApp) so we can update the register.

If unable to do electronic transfer then you can pay your subs to a member of the committee when out on a club ride and they will arrange for this to be transferred over and recorded.  

As ever if you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask. Let’s hopefully have a better summer this year and fingers crossed this is a one-way street out of lockdown!

Happy Cycling all!

New for 2021 – C Group Ride Directory

New for 2021. To sit alongside the main summer club routes published a fortnight ago we also have a set of 10 C group rides for weekday evening. A route will be shared ahead of each club ride on a Tuesday and Thrursday so C group riders know the plan when they arrive for the ride. If you plan to join the C group rides please visit the new directory below and download the routes to your GPS devices

Happy riding.

http://www.crostonvelo.co.uk/ride-directory/

Thanks to Jo Ryding for taking the time to put the routes together and Andrea Whitehouse for sharing them with me.

Croston Velo Route Directory 2021

Summer routes 2021
 
Firstly a massive thank you to Tim Bryning⁩ who has taken the time to revise/make all the new summer routes for 2021.
 
As ever we have 10 core routes for the evening rides (Tuesday and Thursday). You can download all of these to your garmin at the start of the season to save doing it every week. Before each ride we will confirm which route it is for this week via WhatsApp and our other social media channels.
 
This year our route directory is much improved. On the website below you will find the route title, a route summary and a link to the Strava gpx/tcx file to download. This year though there is also a screenshot of the map and elevation profile to help you better understand the route.
 
Full route directory for 2021 is now available to view / download at http://www.crostonvelo.co.uk/ride-directory/ . If as many people download as possible then it helps ensure the ride navigation is easier, safer and more free flowing.
 
Happy riding all 😃