Reasons for joining Addiscombe CC

[Dominic]

Prompted by Alan M on the club kit thread I have started a new thread But to add to that has it lived up to your expectations.

That's not the only reason. Some others are there seems to me to be an underlying unhappiness/wanting change in the club. I am not saying it is anything big but little things.

eg Ant and his unhappiness over timekeeping at the club run (with which I agree), Toks raising the idea of changing kit design. One of mine - unwillingness to help marshall events but being more than happy to being in the press at a big club run. There are others that I have discussed with other people but it is up to the to make them public.

Maybe if some members would like to list their reasons for joining then a view might be taken to see if the club is still where they want it to be or if it could be changed in a way that the majority would like it.

The biggest drawback about this straw poll is of course that for a club with such a large membership very few seem to post on the forum although I would imagine there are a few lurkers.

So my reasons for joining were simple. I wanted to race and Ian Munnery answered a post on another forum and invited me along. I had read about Addiscome CC in Cycling Plus and had been mountain biking about 5 years previously with Marco so knew how friendly the people were.

Expectation wise yes of course I am racing so it has been achieved. The people are friendly and on days like the Addiscombe RR on Saturday it is gratifying to part of such a good club, but how much of that was down to the very nice weather If I were to be in the same position now with regards to joining a club would I make the same choice, I don't honestly know But that is because me views of what I want from the club have changed aswell.

So would anybody else like to add their views

[Antloony]

I joined back in oct 08 after seeing the club site on the old interweb. I'd only been cycling 3 weeks prior to joining and just fancied some company more than anything. I had no real intention of doing anything more than just getting out with a few fellow cyclists and having a gentle ride though some leafy lanes.

How quickly things changed when with little effort or specific training I soon realised I was getting better and stronger with each ride. I soon moved up the groups and found plenty of encouragement from my soon to be fellow training groupies. This soon developed into a desire to race which I took too rather well winning at Hillingdon in the 4ths earlier this year.

I think the club is great and with a fantastic, enthusiatic and friendly atmosphere welcomes newcomers into the fold with open arms, something we should all be proud of as I've read on a few occasions examples of bike club snobbery and newbies being snubbed.

The only real negative thing I really have to say about the club is we don't do enough as a club. Ok there's the odd off road ride and a trip to Brighton now and again and the xmas bash but wheres the annual fun day, where's the charity bike ride, where's the easter and xmas runs to the local hospitals bearing gifts. We as a club could get some great publicity which who knows, might encourage even more people to get out there on bikes.

To my mind theres only one real active person in this club thats trying to push through new ideas and thats Snoop, who deserves a pat on the back for his work on The Lanterne Rouge and now trying to organise the summer social.

I feel there's people in the club with more than enough braincells to keep the ideas coming and to follow them through. Shame there seems to be little or no communication between the commitee and club members.

[Rob Q]

I guess everyone has their reason for joining a cycling club like ACC. Although I have always enjoyed cycling from a young age and dabbled in BMX racing back in the day my chosen sport was rugby until about 7 years ago when I broke my knee playing in the Surrey leagues. Doctor’s orders were not to play anymore as the knee was unable to take the impact. As someone who is unable to do nothing in the sports sense, my options were swimming or cycling.

To compare my experiences with various rugby clubs i have played for the ACC rates top on the friendly and welcoming side. However as Antloony as already mentioned their seems to be a handful of names that seem to pop up with regard to communications and general club stuff. With the numbers that are in this club I think there is a great opportunity to really make ACC a premium cycling club. I also get the feeling that there are pockets of groups/members who arrange trips/rides and the forum being the only real insight to these events and no real organisation going into it. This is not a negative pop at the club, but i think for the size and potential growth some elements of a well run club are missing. I marshaled for the first time on Saturday and loved the fact that I helped out and watched some of our talented cyclist in action. Was it organised? Sort off!! If it wasn’t for Marky mark I would have not had a clue as to what to do as there was no induction to marshaling, just other folks telling me what to do.

Here's another one. I don’t even know where the club house is and I’ve been riding with the club for 2 years .
I hope my comments help and I certainly hope the club takes all comments on board as I think it’s a great club with massive potential to grow without becoming elites. Oh and I do like the club colours and am as a relatively new member am proud to wear it.

[Dan_K]

I only joined the month ago so am still pretty new.

I joined because I got bored with mountain biking and wanted to take up road riding to improve my fitness and get out more.
Joining a club seemed a natural progression from that and an oppurtunity to meet like minded people and a group to belong to.
I've only had time to come on one club run and although I found it pretty tough, I found riding in a group added some needed pressure and forced me to push on more than I would usually.

I chose Addiscombe because it was the nearest club to me living in Croydon and people on the forum seemed very friendly and inviting.

My main aim is to improve my fitness and the distance that I can comfortably cycle. I have entered the May Flyer sportive and hope to do more in future.
I don't think I will ever make a competitive racer but would certainly cosider entering a race in a year or two.

Personally, the kit didn't put me off and I actually quite like it! I think it stands out nicely and is a bit different from other kits.

I'd like to do more to get involved with the club as I see myself being in it for the long run.

My experience of the club so far has been very positive.

[Toks]

Marco did a PR job on me while I was lurking on Cycling Plus around six years ago...I came down and met what appeared to be a scary load of dudes in yellow lycra. Within fifteen minutes I was cruising up the A23 having a 'real blast' with these very same very agreeable peeps. Monty, Ajay, David, Maria, Mark and Huw stand out as folk I remember back then who in one way or another contributed to me having such a fun time and more importantly returning as often as possible. I should point out I used to rotate between Willesden and Islington clubs back then too but ACC had the X factor I guess. Oh and Dominic cycling kit never had anything to do with it I pretty much hated wearing lycra of any type for the first three month.

I left ACC for a season mistakenly believing I wanted to be part of a small racing club but I returned the following year - happy to be back with me mates

I'll openly admit that apart from on the forum, newbie recruitment and the club road race I don't get involved in lots of events but I will try to change in the future

[Snoop Doug]

Well done for starting this off Dominic. Where to start (that's your warning folks...)

Let's get things underway with a huge positive. The club run is popular, and extremely well supported. It has been, and continues to be, a great advert for ACC.

Every action has a reaction.

It's almost, too good?? What I mean by that is it's supported by the club and club run leadership almost to the exclusion of everything else. It's visible, it's fun. For a lot of people who use it and enjoy it, there's almost no sense of responsibility though. Now - clearly the run is largely safe, and I know that folk look out for each other too so what do I mean by responsibility....look away now all you shoe starers (the ones who go on the club run regularly but won't look me in the eye when I go to CSS asking for help to support ACC events, you know, those few events the club rules say we shall support). I think it means knowing specifically what the small contribution that is expected from you in return for enjoying a safe, fun ride with agreeable folk. I believe more importantly it is wanting to make that contribution because you believe it's fun and helps to build and sustain greatness. It’s not about forcing people, it’s about including people, making their contribution feel important (because it is, vitally so) and telling them this.

We need some clarity.

Who does what? Do you know? We need some tidying up and clarity with the committee and pleasingly, the reply to my approach to them on this was positive. Also, there are roles on the committee that I think just serve to confuse. The club is too big to be well served by the current structure. I shared a view of what a simplified organisation could look like with Monty last weekend. It is very rough but I don’t see why you shouldn’t see what’s on my mind. This isn’t meant as a hierarchy, it should flow more and the membership should be at the centre, damn powerpoint isn’t very flexible. Any thoughts/constructive criticism on this folks?

[img]http://i39.tinypic.com/n3ao0y.jpg[/img]

I think the club admin is patchy. Certain things are done very well, others not. Keith made a great suggestion recently to have a members rep @ committee. He also suggested that committee minutes be published to all. I’m pushing hard for these to happen. I feel very strongly that the swift dissemination of information is vital in fostering inclusion. How can you get involved if you don’t know what’s going on? Monty suggested to me t’other day that we should have a committee meeting at the caff on the club run. I disagreed, chaos would ensue but I do wonder if a meet the committee thing might work. What do you think? Informal session. Does this have potential value? I think there’s something in that…

Communications.

OK, I’m biased but I think we’re getting better. Sean, you are right the Lanterne Rouge is nothing new but it was much needed, so I just got off my arse and did it. Why? Because I’m nothing special, that’s why. I’m happy to take pointers, requests, ideas from anyone on things to communicate. The feedback from the club on the LR has been great, and I do appreciate that. The newspaper stuff is important too and I will do my best to keep that up. Webwise, we still need a leader for that project. A number of people have offered to contribute but, it needs someone to coordinate. That’s the missing link for me under this heading. If we were sorted then we could do stuff like take member subs via Paypal, wow, what a load off the club, and Phil Nash specifically that would be eh?

There’s just a few things to consider. There’s much more, but it’s perhaps a tad controversial for now…..watch this space.

This is a good club, it could be great.

[Snoop Doug]

[quote="Antloony"]The only real negative thing I really have to say about the club is we don't do enough as a club. Ok there's the odd off road ride and a trip to Brighton now and again and the xmas bash but wheres the annual fun day, where's the charity bike ride, where's the easter and xmas runs to the local hospitals bearing gifts. We as a club could get some great publicity which who knows, might encourage even more people to get out there on bikes.

I feel there's people in the club with more than enough braincells to keep the ideas coming and to follow them through. Shame there seems to be little or no communication between the commitee and club members.

[Ivor]

Having got into cycling only a few years ago, I took part in a few sportives and wanted to do more.
I'd been put off cycling clubs since I didn't think I was a club cyclist and the ones I looked into seemed just to be about "our cat 1 and 2 racers" and so never considered it. On the other hand during my commutes several times I got asked what club I rode for so thought again at taking a look.
I emailed a few local clubs to see what sort of reply I got. only two responded. One was Addiscombe, the other had a terrible team kit.
So I came along to a club run to see what it was like and realy enjoyed it, the size of group at Coulsdon stunned me and I was impressed there was a whole range of abilities, ages speeds and performances. I wrote up my enjoyment of that first run on the forum and joined up (thats another bonus, even though I often miss the club runs I like to read how everyone's going and as many know often chip in with useless advice).

I always intended to dip my toe into racing and got the license ready and as some of you know have really enjoyed testing myself in time trials. I went along to Palace a couple of times just to spectate and the experience scared the life out of me! so I've put off racing for a bit.

I tried to help out a bit at events last year but have been snowed under lately and haven't managed to get much done. I've been missing out on club runs and had a bit of a break from TT's too... but this year I've got back into it and have got the time trials underway - hadn't realised how much I missed it until I started again.

Getting up to events in Croydon is always a bit of a pain during the week and after commuting back from the city to Oxted, even with the best of intentions it just never seems to happen - although Grahames wheel building talk was enjoyable when I did finally make the effort. Similarly DIY and family commitments have meant that club runs are quite a long way down the priority list.

Er I rambled a bit there, but reasons for joining Addiscombe - it appeared to be friendly and cater for a range of abilities, it didn't seem to be elitist and just for racers.

[Dombo]

I had been slightly interested in "racers" as they were called back in the 70s and read of the exploits of Bernard Thevenet and co in the TdF and followed the Milk Race avidly. I remember the excitement when black-anodised Shimano Dura Ace brakes were launched as a possible alternative to Campy Super Record. A kid at school raced on a 531 Ken Bird which was the coolest bike any of us had seen. Plans to save summer holiday job money and buy a Peugeot, Holdsworth or Viscount racing bike after O Levels fell by the wayside as I waited a few years and got a crap car instead. Then off to poly, job, another car and road bikes seemed uninteresting.

Then in 1993 I got a mtb, loved it and have been doing it ever since. I saw no point in riding a bike on the road in traffic and was happy to play in the woods. Epiphany came in 2003 when I read "It's Not About the Bike" and on a business trip in a hotel room found myself watching the Luz Ardiden stage when Lance fell and went on to win the stage and his fifth Tour. I was fascinated, kept on mtb-ing, but wonderd what it must be like to swoop down a smooth tarmac mountain pass on skinny tyres, bought some skinnies for my mtb, locked out the forks and joined the 15s in 2005 for a CR. Hmmm. Nice bunch of blokes, nobody laughed at me with my baggy shorts, hairy legs and camelbak, one of them Alex P had even been in my year at school.

Ebay beckoned and £120 won me a curious steel oval tubed affair with 14 gears. Lighter than my racing mtb and fair whistled along on the CRs. Superb wheels built by Pete Wise of GBs must have been 10 plus years old and still true as a true thing on National Truth Day. Moved up to the 17s then 18s. Two mates were training for the etape 2006; I couldn't keep up so kept mtb-ing and riding with the club on my no-name blue steed. 18 months on I upgraded to the orange Lemond, entered the SWRC 50 mile sportive, baby Dragon and London-Canterbury Cyclosportive, continued with the club, did more hills, got fitter, an etape, another Dragon, a couple of CBC rides and was thoroughly hooked.

It's a great club, very friendly, good banter and both road and mtb disciplines complement each other. I have never yet got the pure fun grin factor on the road as I do when aceing some twisty Leith Hill or Afan singletrack on the mtb, but there is defo something about riding along in a bunch, almost effortlessly half-pedalling, at near 30mph.

[mrP(Boonen)VT]

Crikey, there's a lot of goings on - I've printed this thread to respond later.

Sean - you're a "Woodsider" as well....Which senior school?

[Andrew G]

I joined simply because I wanted to join a local club having got back in to cycling (doing it rather than just following the TdF and Milk Race) after a fair number of years as a fairly serious smoker. I emailed and got a reply telling me where to go and at what time for a CR and that was it. If I hadn't liked it I'd have tried somewhere else but I found it very friendly and welcoming. On my first CR I over-guessed the speed group and wasn't used to stopping on a ride and then restarting. Hence as we set off for the return I bonked in spectacular fashion as I hadn't eaten enough and spent all my time apologising to Alex for ruining his ride as he slowed to snail pace to tow me home and back to somewhere I recognised. It's the work of people like Alex who do this that gets so many returning that plays a huge part in the expansion of the club.

Re the odd moan that crops up I put this down to a couple of things:
1) There are a huge number of people in the club now and that will always throw up different opinions and personalities and we aren't going to agree on everything all the time. So long as nothing gets personal I don't see it as a problem, and if people have new ideas then it's good to bring them to the fore. As George mentions though someone needs to do them so I don't go a bundle myself on criticism without much in the way of constructive ideas as an alternative that you need to be prepared to follow through with yourself.
2) A lot of the members to the club are new to cycling and don't have a background in the sport or cycling clubs or the history. This is good as it brings new blood to the sport but I think part of the reason for the problems Snoop has in rounding up marshals is down to a lack of understanding that that is what is expected from you as a member (of any cycling club) and that the membership is a two-way relationship. The advantage of ACC is that if you don't race or have an interest in it the number of members in the club means your commitment in this area is greatly reduced from that of a smaller club.
[quote]I don’t even know where the club house is and I’ve been riding with the club for 2 years

[quote="Andrew G"]Hence as we set off for the return I bonked in spectacular fashion as I hadn't eaten enough and spent all my time apologising to Alex for ruining his ride as he slowed to snail pace to tow me home and back to somewhere I recognised. It's the work of people like Alex who do this that gets so many returning that plays a huge part in the expansion of the club.

[quote]I don’t even know where the club house is and I’ve been riding with the club for 2 years

[Rob Q]

[quote]I think Marky Mark is not in pilates class next Wednesday so Rob - why not come along, take his mat for the night, v reasonable £7.50. And afterwards, have a cuppa and a bit of cake. And you'll know where the club room is too. Job's a good un

[MJ_1993]

I first came out, hmmm noo wayyy. 4yrs ago. But rarely went out considering I was 12 and dad was generally (and still is) quite busy. returned in 2007 proper, because well if i'm perfectly honest to miss Islamic school. i got fed up there, especially when i found myself teaching the class as the teacher didnt know much. so after the rugby season closed, as a way of not going there I went out with addiscombe.

originally dad i think googled it and up came addiscombe cc. i think my first CR was the first one John Cz did, I think it was 4yrs.

tbh its just something to do. you'd be surprised at how many kids at school talk to me about bike riding and how they think its "well sick". the problem is largely the money. oh and cant we have stu or someone as a kinda Youth VC, even Toks will do , cos we seem a bit unorganised on that front.

in conclusion: i like the club. theres nothing majorly wrong with it, just a couple of minor pitfalls that need addressing.

[Roy Green]

Here's a few "reasons for joining" (perhaps more importantly, for staying), from someone a good few years (decades?) beyond the club's average age-range.
The push to try ACC, not surprisingly was through Andrew giving up his roll-ups in favour of a more healthy lifestyle. My main initial concern was that, still living mentally in '60s and '70s clubland and riding strictly solo, I just could not imagine even small club runs coping with today's road conditions. Small CRs? Blimey, the turnouts on my first runs, mid-2004, staggered me. ACC's have similar numbers as on my very first CRs as a teenager with a traditionally-run Manchester club, which published club run lists for the whole year, noting 11ses, lunch and tea stops. But we're much more sanely organised into dozen-or-so groups: my early ones with Stretford Wheelers would take command of Peak District passes with a snake of up to 100 riders. (Well there was only the odd Morris Minor to be bothered about then.)
I always believe that organisation on the day, on the road, there and then, is what counts most. That seems to work smoothly, due to the finely balanced chivvying from Coulsdon South by such as Monty, Alex, Amy, John Cz, Grahame and the other clubrun organisers. We owe them a lot. The other safety factor seems to be in numbers, as a bright yellow bunch seems to get the same sort of (maybe grudging) respect as a large lorry. Contributing too is general respect in our groups for motorists trying to get past (whatever our thoughts about some of 'em ) Perhaps we were too cavalier for our own safety in those bygone days (but hey, I'm still here ..)
Some neat ideas in there for revising the Club's organisation structures. But a small plea: let's not get too hung up on formality. The thing about club cycling that's kept me interested for so long is its great freewheeling style (even on a fixie).
I applaud the Amy-Andrew-a few others initiatives for clubruns somewhere different. My problem is I'm unlikely to hang on to such runs at my pace (J4F or 15sa group speed). I like the ideas recently trailed for slower-paced Kentish runs from somewhere like Lloyd Park. I know the near-Kent lanes quite well. So look out for one led by Senior before too long ...