Weekend Club Rides Restarting 3rd + 4th April
Will publish routes next week but please note the point that we must adhere to the Rule of Six in the car park even though we may go out in larger groups.
Barry Wootten
Return to Club Rides
With the relaxation of England’s Covid restrictions from the 29th March British Cycling have published new guidelines that enable us to re-start club rides and the Chain Gang. Full details of the British Cycling guidance are published at: https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/…/20210309-about-bc…
Please keep checking this page as it can be changed at short notice.
We plan to re-start club rides on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th April and the Chain Gang on Thursday 1st April. A lot of the same policies and practices we adopted after the 2020 lockdowns will remain but there will be some differences:
1. We will be able to accommodate visitors and prospective members on club rides as before lockdown. We will require those riders to email contact details to the club secretary (secretary@newforestcc.co.uk) prior to the ride to enable us to comply with Track and Trace responsibilities.
2. For the rides we are no longer constrained to groups of 6 on the road. The new regulations permit groups of up to 15, but in practice we will keep groups smaller than this to more manageable and easier to pass for other road users.
3. We will be able to manage riders joining us after the start now as long as that does not push us over the 15 rider limit.
4. Although the rides can be in larger groups the “Rule of 6” will still apply at the start location. So please adhere to this in the car park or at the church for the Chain Gang.
Other practices that were previously adopted will remain the same and should be normal practice for everybody by now:
1. The rides are planned to be non-stop with no planned coffee stops until they are allowed to re-open. Riders should come prepared with sufficient food and drink for the ride and avoid sharing with other riders.
2. Riders should be equipped with their own spares and tools and avoid sharing them.
3. Riders must practice good respiratory hygiene and be aware of others if the need to cough or sneeze arises. For instance, get to the back of the pack first.
4. Riders should carry a face mask.
5. Riders must not join rides if they display any Covid-19 symptoms or if someone in their household does.
6. If a rider develops symptoms of Covid-19, they should stop taking part and follow the Government Test and Trace guidelines. Any participant developing symptoms after a session should notify the organiser/leader or Club Secretary so that other members of the group can be advised and all should refer to the latest NHS advice
7. Each rider must familiarise themselves with the distance, pace and severity of the ride planned prior to making their decision to attend. If leaving the group riders should advise the ride leader if possible and if not another rider to convey the message
Given that nobody has done any group riding for months and there will probably be new riders out, the first rides will be kept to a steady pace and the focus will be on getting back into our tight and disciplined way of riding for the first few weeks. We will gradually increase the pace and length of the Saturday rides depending on rider’s fitness.
For the first week the Saturday ride will be around three hours steady and the Sunday ride around two hours at its usual no drop pace. This will be Easter weekend so we will probably have to cope with more traffic than usual on the roads.
Those that want to extend the rides can add extra miles at the end as per usual.
Looking forward to seeing everybody again
Barry and Phil
