April 2024 Newsletter
SFACC Sportive 2024
The much-loved San Fairy Ann Sportive has been a fixture on the Kent cycling calendar since 2006. Again, it will be from Marden Memorial Hall this year on Sunday, May 19th. Last year, the 178 riders returned smiling and praising the routes and the organisation.
As usual, every single penny after expenses goes to the Air Ambulance, Kent Surrey Sussex, bringing the total raised since that very first club sportive to £57,700. Enjoy a day in the Kent countryside while helping us get past £60,000 this year!
There are three routes:
85km scenic
115km classic
160km epic.
More details are on the SFA website
Enter through British Cycling
Questions? Email sfa.sportive@gmail.com
Volunteers are needed, please
The Sportive is all run by volunteers, so I would love to hear from anyone who can help, particularly at the Tenterden feed stop on the day and inputting and taking down signs before and after.
Bob Watts
sfa.sportive@gmail.com
Call for Marshals for Kent Cycling Association Events
The club needs to supply marshals to the KCA events each year to meet our commitment based on the number of riders in last season's events. This is the link to the requirements for timekeepers and marshalls. Please add your details to the events you can support: https://kentcyclingassociation.org/timekeepers/ It is really important for the vitality of our sport that we help KCC continue to maintain their race programme.
The Racing Season Starts with a Bang
Our race team has been very busy over the winter months under a new coaching, mentoring and learning regime. This seems to work, as the early season testing figures look promising. Some riders have never conducted this before and have learned a lot about how to train, how to recover and most importantly, learn from failure. Last weekend saw 4 club members take the KCA 10-mile TT, and for some of them, the taste of victory as Mark Cain came first in the Road Bike category.
The club also plans to host a race at Cyclopark this summer. More details are to follow with this.
Brands Hatch
Cycle the racing circuit. https://chartwellcancertrust.co.uk/rrr/ San Fairy Ann will be there and everybody from the club is invited to attend. It is a cycling day for all levels and a fun day for the whole family. Look out for our gazebo and flags and get all the details and your free tickets on the website.
What do you think of the Website?
You will see many changes and updates with new material on the website. This is part of our communication strategy to ensure everybody in the club has access to the latest information and gets the most out of the club now that we can no longer publish the magazine. Please let us know what you think, and please also send us photos and articles we can use to communicate with the rest of the club. Media@sanfairyanncc.co.uk
Time Trials - Riders and Marshals
The Wednesday evening series of club time trials is rapidly approaching, with the first event on 1st May. This is an 8-mile event based on the A20 with an HQ at the Lenham Community Centre car park, with the first rider starting at 7pm. Sign-on is from 6 pm, and it is £5 to enter; cash or card is accepted. You can see the full schedule on the club’s Google Drive HERE
To enable these events to run we need helpers to marshal, set up the cycle event signs around the course, sign the riders on and assist the timekeeper at the finish. Currently, we are approx. a dozen marshals short and about ten of the on-the-day organisers short, so if you can help, please let John Longbottom know - timetrials@sanfairyanncc.co.uk. Without the correct number of marshals in place, the event will have to be cancelled.
Don’t forget that the final Novices 6.5 mile time trial is coming up on Saturday, 20th April. The prime objective is to encourage novice riders to try time trialling for the first time. If it is safe and roadworthy, you can ride any bike you wish, except specialist time trial aero machines.
To comply with the Cycling Time Trial organisation’s requirements, every rider must wear a helmet and have working front and rear lights when they start the event.
Sign on in the Marden Station car park between 8:45 and 9:15, and there is no entry fee. For full details, follow this link to the club’s Google Drive, where you can see a map of the course and further details.
Lack of General Secretary
We have a dedicated team running the club, which is run as a limited company, so we must comply with our constitution and external company and financial controls. Details of the members of the board are on the website here. We do have gaps in our team, for example Club Secretary. This is a really important role in the smooth running of the club, ensuring internal communication runs smoothly, records are maintained, questions and issues from club members are responded to professionally and so on. In the absence of a club secretary, there is more work for the rest of the board, and each role is that much more challenging. If you would like to help make the club even better and be a key part of the club’s board, please get in touch, I would love to hear from you. Chair@sanfairyanncc.co.uk.
A Bit about the club strategy
We always value questions and input from members, as it helps us double-check our judgements on the club's direction.
One judgement that we have been questioned on recently is our policy on the holding of financial reserves in the bank concerning the amount members contribute each year in their subscriptions.
Our policy is to invest in cycling for the club and attempt to broaden and deepen the offering we have for club members in order to espouse the club's ethos of enabling club members to enjoy cycling in all its forms.
We are therefore investing in more racing events this year, Responding to changes in club communications forced on us by the inability to continue to publish the club mag by investing in the website, Supporting track events at the Olympic Velodrome, looking for ways to support and reward our volunteers with discounts on club clothing and running more whole club social events such as the birthday lunch and Christmas party. We would appreciate input from all club members on what more we can do to extend and expand our opportunity to enjoy cycling in the club.
Hoades Wood
Does everybody know the club owns 2 plots at Hoades Wood? This was kindly bequeathed to us several years ago to be used by club members. What should be a haven for wildlife and beautiful natural space has unfortunately been in the news recently for the wrong reasons. https://chng.it/7PH6Rrmcnn. Rest assured, the future of this club asset is very much on the board agenda, and we are happy to hear from any club members who may be able to help us.