Since the start of the year seven of the committee plus three other members have undertaken first aid certification and a British Cycling Club Leader qualification. Both courses proved to be very worthwhile and have assisted us in the annual review of our generic Risk Assessment for club rides. This is available for members to view on our website in the New Riders tab or here. Please be aware that it is a condition of joining a club ride that participants have read and are familiar with the contents .
There are a few other safety-related points that we would like to draw attention to:
Emergency Contact details – these are all held on the club membership list which is available for all committee members to view. On the majority of rides there is usually a committee member present but if not and in the event of requiring emergency contact information, please use the club WhatsApp messaging to get information.
If you need to verify or change the emergency contact information held on record please contact secretary@weavervalleycc.org.uk
Cancelling a club ride – in the event of adverse weather conditions the committee will confer in advance and agree by majority if a ride is to be cancelled for safety or another valid reason. This will be communicated in the Announcements section of the club WhatsApp community. Please check this page before setting off especially when the weather is questionable.
This, of course, doesn’t prevent any member going out but please be aware your ride will not be covered by club insurance if you decide to do so.
First Aid kit on rides – the recommendation coming out of the First Aid course is that riders carry at minimum a triangular bandage with them. This can be used to treat deep cuts and also act as a tourniquet in more serious events and is easily carried on a ride.
Managing fatigue on the Saturday club ride – the Saturday ride is recognised as a dropping ride whereas other club runs on Wednesday and Sunday are regarded as non-dropping. This is because we have identified fatigue as a significant factor in some of our serious incidents where riders felt an indirect pressure not to hold the group up when travelling at a faster pace on the Saturday ride. This would lead to people riding at a pace that was barely sustainable at the cost of awareness and safety. In this situation it is safer that they drop from the group. Whilst this is the guidance we would expect a degree of camaraderie – if a rider cannot hold the pace of the group to simply check they are OK to continue by themselves or another rider to drop back with them if needs be.
Thank you in anticipation for reading these updates and keeping yourselves informed on safety matters.
Dave Cope, Club Secretary, on behalf of the committee