Please take some time to read the latest M&DTTA newsletter below, and see if you can assist in keeping the sport alive locally. All such cycling events are manned by volunteers, and there are fewer and fewer new volunteers stepping up to take part and contribute in keeping our great discipline of time-trialling alive.
Manchester District Cycling Time Trials
NewsletterMarch 2016
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2016 Season – Stay Safe
The new season is now upon us so here are a few reminders to help keep everyone safe.
- Keep your head up at all times.
- Get off your tri bars at roundabouts -Chelford is a particular hot spot for this unsafe act.
- Follow the yellow Cycling Time Trials arrows directing you on the course. Don’t be misled by the Sportive signs left from a past event! (Last year some riders got lost following the wrong arrows).
North West SPOCO series
This new series of events is the initiative of Tom Goldthorpe of Manchester Wheelers and Martin Harney of Manchester Bicycle Club with Richard Weltman Manchester Bicycle Club putting together the website. BioRacer are kindly supplying the series winner’s Jersey. Hopefully lots of riders will tackle the challenging courses.
Time Trialling in Manchester District
For the start of the season we have 86 clubs/teams affiliated to Manchester CTT which is 10% up on last year. So it looks as though we will be enjoying bigger fields of riders; for example M&DTTA 10 19th March has 126 starters. This is a very encouraging position, with more riders taking up the sport of time trialling with healthy representation across all age groups and gender.
The committee of the Manchester CTT fully understand and appreciate that Time Trialists want to focus on getting on their bikes and competing throughout the season. However to ensure that events are organised in a professional, safe and compliant manner a considerable amount of effort, time and commitment is put in by a relatively small group of volunteers from local clubs and teams to ensure all riders are provided with the facilities and support that they both want and need to enjoy the sport. With this in mind it is timely to recognise two volunteers in particular.
Ian Ross, Nova CC (Assistant Secretary Open Events)
Ian was presented with a CTT Certificate of Honour at the M&DTTA Lunch and prize giving. This is a well-deserved recognition for all that Ian has done and does to make things happen in the District. He is an event organiser, handicapper, time keeper, course designer and measurer as well as secretary for all open events. He plays a key role in running the successful Cheshire Points Series and he makes an extremely valuable contribution to the Manchester District Committee with his extensive knowledge of the sport and its organisation.
On behalf of everyone in the District a big thanks goes to Ian.
Gordon Pickering, Stretford Wheelers (Assistant Secretary Courses)
Gordon was looking forward to the start of season for another year of time keeping. Unfortunately Gordon was recently taken ill and is under medical supervision.
I am sure you will all wish him well and hope that he is soon back in his time keepers chair.
What do we need to secure our sport in future seasons?
In a nutshell, the current Manchester CTT needs more people (new people) to become part of the infrastructure underpinning the current members. We need successors to come into and be part of the organisation who can contribute to taking our sport forward, helping it to continue to develop and grow. We need people to take on jobs, for example Time Keepers are in short supply at the moment, and we need people with new ideas and a passion for the sport.
We are keen to continually look forward and develop new initiatives to make our sport more interesting, more challenging, more inclusive, more attractive to younger riders and safer for everyone. We are keen to build on the success of recent years and ensure we have a vibrant time trialling community in the North West.
So, what’s next …….. If you would like to contribute to the District’s organisation and future development and want to put something back into your sport please feel free to contact someone from the list below.
Tony Millington tony@millington.f2s.com
Ian Middleton ianmiddleton@uwclub.net
Rob Bailey Rob.bailey@pzcussons.com
Mike Cotgreave mike.cotgreave@gmail.com
David Wright davidwright1000@btinternet.com
Tony Farrell f.t.a1@cloud.com
We look forward to hearing from you.
Finally on behalf of the Manchester District Cycling Time Trials we hope that you enjoy successful and safe riding in the 2016 season.
Ian Middleton
Manchester DC Secretary