The Beacon Message Board

UPDATED BEACON MESSAGE

Following government advice released today (16/3/20) the Beacon committee has taken the decision to cancel all its planned cycling events until further notice. There will be no official club rides nor club Time Trials until this has passed.

The Little Mountain Time Trial (LMTT) scheduled for the end of April has been cancelled, and our June Open Time Trial is postponed, as there may be a chance we run this in the autumn...if the current situation changes in the next few months.

We have taken this decision in an attempt to reduce any possible incidents that may require emergency services, and for all that we love cycling, organised events are non-essential in the great scheme of things.

We hope you understand our decision and the reasoning behind it.

All the very best to you all from the Beacon committee, and once this is behind us and the current position is relaxed, we will have the club run get togethers of all club runs!

Phil

Also from AUK for anyone planning a DIY/Perm

AUDAX UK - ANNOUNCEMENT- 16 March 2020
COVID-19 PANDEMIC: ALL AUDAX UK EVENTS, COMPETITIONS AND AWARDS SUSPENDED

Following today’s updated guidance from the government, the Audax UK Board has taken the difficult decision to suspend recognition of all calendar, permanent and DIY events, with immediate effect, until further notice.

This means that AUK will not validate any rides undertaken from midnight tonight, 16th March, until the decision is taken to lift the suspension. Anyone undertaking such rides will not be allocated AUK points or AAA points, their rides will not be counted towards Mileater or Randonneur Round the Year awards, and they will not be covered by AUK’s insurance policy while riding.

We appreciate that many members will be working towards our various points-based championships. Given the suspension of events, the points-based championships will be suspended for this season. The Mileater Awards will be frozen at their current state and, while annual totals will be recorded, the mileater championships will be suspended for this year. To ensure that the progress of riders towards The Randonneur Round the Year Award is recognised, validation of qualifying rides for it will be suspended immediately and will restart on the same date as calendar events, perms, and DIYs. RRtY riders who have already ridden their March events will be given due credit; those who have not yet completed a March event will be allowed to, in effect, have their suspension backdated to the end of February so that they are not penalised.

More information for members and specifically for event organisers will follow during the next few days.

We will keep the position under review and inform members of any changes as appropriate.

I would like to thank all the Board members who have contributed to these difficult decisions, and hope that Audax UK, all our members, all our event organisers, and all our supporters are able to return to our normal activities at some point in the future when the outlook for everybody is much better.

Chris Crossland
Chair, Audax UK

Not that it looks like anything will change much anytime soon (except from a total ban on cycling outside, perhaps), but I've been keeping a log of advice from governing bodies on the website here.

I got my personalised NHS message to stay inside for 12 weeks today following a more detailed message from AsthmaUK last evening - I guess they must be sharing data because I have had no other engagement with Asthma UK although I support their work.

So no more solo rides in the countryside for me alas. I think that resentment against cycling will build and anything more than riding in circles around neighbourhoods will soon be ruled out as in Italy. No real reason except that there is a view that no one should be enjoying themselves.

laurence_cooley wrote: ↑

23 Mar 2020 12:02

Not that it looks like anything will change much anytime soon (except from a total ban on cycling outside, perhaps), but I've been keeping a log of advice from governing bodies on the website here.

Very useful, Laurence. Thanks.

Out on my bike this morning around the Portway area, eventually I heard a tractor coming up behind, I pulled into a layby and waved him passed shortly after he swung the tractor across the road blocking it. He then started shouting at me, you are not allowed to come up here, in spite of what I said he carried on saying that I was only allowed to go out around where I live. You are not allowed to come up here. I spotted a gap between the tractor and the grass verge and rode off. Has anybody else had any nasty experiences yet?

Sorry to hear this Oscar - people were very friendly on my last ride on Friday but I think the weekend changed things.

Just looked at Strava - lots of people doing solo rides in the country looks like you were unlucky to meet that tractor driver.

Sorry to hear about your experience, Oscar. The degree of ignorance displayed by the tractor driver was exceeded only by the degree of boorish discourtesy inherent to launching an aggressive tirade against a man in his eighties.

I've not experienced anything similar myself and haven't heard of any other incidents.