Well, the Covid-19 government restrictions have been lifted in England, for the time being at least. We are, therefore, planning a return to our monthly meeting at St. Crispin’s and I look forward to seeing you at the meeting on 15th August, which will be at St. Crispin’s School in Wokingham.
We have quite a few new TVAM members since the lockdown who have never been to a St. Crispin’s meeting – and quite a few that don’t believe it really exists! Please ensure that those in your Local Team are included in the plans to attend St. Crispin’s and I would like to encourage all Observers to help their Associates to attend.
Because there are still issues around Covid-19 we’ll be taking steps to try and keep everyone safe. This will include wearing face coverings when indoors and we might try and hold some of the meeting outdoors if possible. So there may be a few changes for our first meeting and we’d like to encourage you to keep an eye out for those who may look a little ‘lost’ and direct them to the Red Zone or Green Team desks as appropriate.
Ultimate Ear will be in attendance and as well as offering their standard discount on impressions and ear protection, will also have a special offer on in-ear monitors. Mark Hammond of MH Racing will also be on site offering his on-site suspension check and adjustment for £25 (cash only) – well worth it to get your suspension set up.
The change in restrictions also means that we can organise larger runs and trips away, in England at least. Different rules apply in Scotland and Wales with the restriction levels changing on 7th August in Wales, and on 9th August in Scotland, so if you’re planning trips it’s wise to check first. Although larger runs are allowed, many people have preferred the smaller runs that were used during some of the lockdown period, and we are therefore encouraging run leaders, if they wish, to set limits on the number of participants – so there’s no pressure to take out a run of 40 if you don’t want to!
Our new TVAM website at www.tvam.org and our open Facebook page offer free taster rides, so potential members can see what sort of coaching we offer, and what
sort of club we are. This is proving to be very successful with about 15 applications a month. I’d like to thank all the Observers who are giving up their time for these.
There are many social rides available with local team and club runs starting to fill the calendar. Do check them out in Slipstream, as well as your Local Team and the allmembers calendars on Groups.io to find out what’s being organised. If you have any doubts as to whether a run is appropriate for you then the run leader will be only too pleased to discuss this.
Whist things may change again in the future let’s make the most of our opportunities today and get out and enjoy our riding. We have been a model of restraint over the entire period of the lockdown and it has been great to see the contribution that everyone has made to ensure that we have done the right thing throughout. Let’s make our return to our full range of activities equally impressive.
Chris Brownlee
Chief Observer
