Happy New Year

As we enter the New year I would just like to wish all our members and families a Happy New Year and hope you had a safe and happy Christmas. A message from new Club President Fergal O’Sullivan

Dear friends

As we enter the New year I would just like to wish all our members and families a Happy New Year and hope you had a safe and happy Christmas.

From a Club perspective the last year was a strange one, with so few On the Road events going ahead and the majority of club cycling was done in the comfort of peoples homes on the various training apps. The virtual events that stand out for me were the Sunday spins on Zwift, Virtual Roche GP and the Club league. The full club spins had to be cancelled in line with Covid restrictions but smaller groups and solo riders did manage to get out – The Rusty Spins, The Touring group to name a few.

A tradition within the club at Christmas is that there has always been the Club Hamper Race and a more Leisurely spin – given that due to Covid restrictions last year it is was not possible to do these the events on the road in the normal manner, so last year the Hamper Race was run on RGT, there was a Zwift leisure spin and a number of smaller groups did do a number of leisurely spins on the 19th and 20th of Dec ensuring full Covid guidelines.

As so many charities have been impacted this year from a fundraising perspective the club have agreed that for each person who took part in the Christmas events we will donate 5e along with the unclaimed entry fee from the Summer Madness Sportive, so I’m glad to say that in total we will be donating 1275 euro to charity.

As we look forward to 2021 and hopefully a more normalised environment, I would just like to let you know that the committee are working on a full programme of events in anticipation of restrictions being lifted and that somewhat normal cycling can resume – be it from Club spins – Randonnee, Audax, Road Racing, Track – the list goes on.

I would like to thank all club members who have organised and supported the virtual and limited physical events we have had last year. Maintaining the spirit of the club and a connection between us has been a valuable support for us all through this difficult year.

On behalf of all the committee and myself, I would like to wish a happy and healthy New Year to all our members and families and look forward to meeting when we can all participate in normal club activities again.

Regards

Fergal Club President Orwell Wheelers