A very Happy New Year to you all! We trust you enjoyed a pleasant festive break and hope that Santa brought you everything on your Christmas list! 2019 was a year of many highs and just as many lows, but overall some fantastic achievements by our wonderful club members. So as we start a new year and a new decade, here’s a round-up of what we’ve been up to and what’s coming up in 2020…

Social news

The annual Club Dinner and Awards Night will be upon us on the evening of 25th January, to buy tickets or for more info including ticket purchase options, click here. Final numbers for the event need to be submitted by 18th January so make sure you get yours today. We look forward to seeing many club members, old and new for this entertaining evening.

Audax news

Can you believe the 2020 Club Audax series will be with us before the medals for last year have even been given out. As a reminder for all members, new and old, the series starts with a 50km ride on Sunday 19th January. The series progresses in length by 25km each month through to the 175km ride to Sherborne in Dorset (and back) in June. The progression is a great way of stretching the distance in a gentle fashion. All rides will start and finish at the Chippenham Sports and Social club and both route sheets and downloadable GPX files will be provided. Thanks to Sheni and team for again organising the series.

This year, we will again be hosting the famous Flapjack open Audax event on the 9th February. This is where many riders from out of our local area visit to ride our lanes and route and experience Chippenham Wheelers hospitality. Entries are flooding in and Sheni is looking for many club members to support the event. Please volunteer an hour or more by contacting Sheni at audax@chippenhamwheelers.org. Please note this event is now full and has reached maximum capacity of entrants.

Festive rides

We had a good turn out for the traditional Christmas eve ride. The weather had been threatening but at the appointed hour, the skies cleared, the sun came out and we had a lovely pootle along the lanes to the usual stop over the M4. Here many hip flasks materialised and all sorts of sampling went on. A gentle ride back to the sports and social club and a few festive recovery drinks with friends and families. No better way of avoiding the shops on Christmas eve. A special mention goes to Rob Gough who was out for the ride, then had to rush off home as his wife was expecting #2 son who arrived that afternoon! Well done Rob and Louise.

The usual Imber (without actually crossing Imber as it was closed) ride on Boxing Day took place in challenging weather conditions. Eight fools turned up for a soggy, windy battering that involved two punctures to add to the misery. Tradition has a lot to answer for.

Finally, the kilo and children’s half kilo took place with our club secretary Simon Kay winning for a 9th consecutive year and by a massive 4 seconds over the second placed rider.

Indoor riding – spin

Spin classes at Corsham Springfield Leisure Centre continue on Monday nights. These are really popular sessions and we share the class with Corsham Cycling Club. Martin sends out a doodle poll to register attendance in advance. Contact coaching@chippenhamwheelers.org if you are interested in being on the mailing list. Cost is £3 per class with all proceeds going to the club charity. Doctor pain, Martin giving it the thumbs up at the end of a tough session.

Indoor riding – Track

A series of four coached club sessions have been arranged at the Geriant Thomas Velodrome in Newport from Friday 31st January. See the club calendar for more details and register interest with Andy Cadwalladar. These are a fantastic way of having a good training session at the warm and dry track. Good spinning technique can be learned which has many benefits for road riding.

Committee news

Following the November AGM, new committee members were welcomed to a meeting held late December. There was enthusiasm for the weekend leisure ride programme with a view to provide a pathway between each of the activities. The youth programme will also be getting a reboot as we now have a youth coordinator in position. More info as it happens.