Where are we?

[Toks]

That was 1997 and things were not so good. It sounds like we were a bunch of disagreeables back then I'll pass this one on to marco and Paul

[-Adam-]

[quote="Seanieh_Taipei_Posse©"]Mind you 10 years on i bet we get more out on a CR than them all put together

[Alex P]

I just thought, my renewal for BC has just come through and was debating with myself as to whether I should renew or go to the CTC.

I know that there are some in the club that are vocal against BC but what is the thing to do??

Any thoughts out there?

[the hippy]

10 years ago WE did'nt have that many racing members, and BC was an embarresment, and had it not been for the likes of tony doyle, it still would be..

Graham

[mrP(Boonen)VT]

[quote]The surrey league were even considering breaking away and setting up their own organisation if things got any worse.

[-Adam-]

Paul, when I have the experience to be in a position to preach, perhaps I will.

At the moment I am too young and would not be able to command the respect from the relevant quarters in order to make things happen. It would be like the blind leading the blind. There are many others on Addiscombe that could however.

[kieran]

Taking up the thread by Marco:

BCF membership in 2007 20,687 (18,000 of which are males)
CTC membership 70,000

I am a member of BC, LCC and CTC, they have all different aims and do a good job in their area of focus, and I think to continue to do a good job they need to remain separate. BCF is a sports organisation but you must remember for many (most) people cycling is not a sport but a transport/utility option so having BCF represent them does not make sense. Also organisations lobbying the government for improvements in transport/cyclists rights have to be critical sometimes or go to court etc, may not help BCF then when it comes to looking for handouts from the government to develop the sporting side.

One way to look at is, shouldn't BC support CTC, it was CTC who defended Daniel Cadden's right to cycle on the main road and not use an inconvienent cycle path. Who has set up the cyclist defense fund to protect cyclists rights? (answer CTC). Who lobbied government and drummed up support to modify the new highway code to be more cycle friendly (answer - CTC) All of these help BC as the majority of its members train/race on the road (imagine if Daniel Cadden had lost his case or the highway code wnet unchanged - try training on the cycle paths)

Look at the mess over Eastway and its replacement, many reasons for people to feel unhappy with BCF, browsing on veloriders (a mainly pro BC site) you will find riders complain about lack of support, unless you are part of its selective talent group, and only if you are young etc. BC is a membership organisation and so should be open to constructive criticism and if some people are bitter, maybe it is due to past experiences?

[kieran]

p.s. I am not anti-BC but in general I believe no organisation/person should expect unconditional support and overall control in any area, or a blind "trust me I know better/ I know what I'm doing" approach to things. I even try to encourage my children to question my decisions! and sometimes I realise that they were right to do so! (even though our family is not run as a democracy but as a benign dictatorship)

[mrP(Boonen)VT]

Much of this I agree with - BC should not have unconditional support, they did make a mess of Eastway/Rammey Marsh/Hog Hill/Legacy/The Royals, but they seem to have considerable success in creating circuits that users want around Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield etc (anyone notice a regional trend here??) which is why South East have tabled a motion requiring that the Chief Exec instructs it's (paid) officials to liaise with (it's local unpaid) officials before taking decisions.

BC clearly still has it's faults, but has come a long long way since those dark days 10 years ago, and is working with us not against.

There will always be an undercurrent of anti Bc whenever something goes wrong. True they are a membership based organisation (and are branching out into the sportive market), butbeing the NGB their focus is on winnng medals, and albeit on the track, they have exceeded anyone's wildest expectations, and have young talent following on where the others leave off. Top riders used to get there in spite of BC, now it is because of BC.

I no more support BC as an organisation than any of you, but have to recognise what they do is as a NGB, and focus on attending meetings to push for the direction we want.

I think that is a very good point about Bc supporting CTC in their campaign for the use of roads, not cyle facilities etc, but there is only a finite amount of money to go round, and clearly by membership numbers, CTC get the lions share.