Cyclists’ Touring Club
Bristol Section
ANNUAL REPORT
YEAR ENDING OCTOBER 2003

Dave Amesbury Section Secretary September 20th 2003

Introduction
It is a pleasure once again to report another good year for the Section, with a healthy attendance on our rides and very good numbers on our weekends away The only thing we didn’t do this year that we have enjoyed in previous years was the Fancy Dress Party – and that was due to reasons beyond our control. Even the weather has been grand!
It was while composing the Section report for the last “Tourist” that the following thoughts occurred to me. On Jerry Croome’s Corsica tour there was a fair cross section of ages, from mid 30s to mid 60s – yet everyone completed each day’s ride in good shape, strenuous though they were. Not only that, they all got on well socially. This holiday, really, was a microcosm, if you think about it, of the Bristol Section! A good advertisement, one is inclined to think, for the pleasures and benefits of the pastime we all love!
We would obviously like some younger members to carry on when we are all in the Great Cycling Retirement Home, but in common with a great many organisations we don’t seem to appeal to the modern 18-30s. Some may say we should change some say not. Meanwhile we do seem to be still attracting new people in the 30+ range who like our style of cycling – so maybe we should stay with what we seem to do best.

2002 AGM
The Section AGM was, sad to relate, poorly attended with less than 30 members present. With the departure of Jon and Lorraine Croome, the posts of Y H and Press and Publicity Secretaries were filled by Richard Shopland and Jane Chapman respectively. Dave Baxandall took over as Treasurer. There were no other changes to the Committee.
Club trophies were awarded to the following members
Attendance Trophy. Joe Prosser
Club Member of the Year. Jon Croome
Endeavour/Achievement Trophy. Janet Adcock

Club Rides
The programme of Club runs, with the usual two rides every Sunday, has seen steady support and we seemed to have covered most of South Gloucestershire, North Somerset, West Wiltshire, a fair wedge of Gwent, the Mendips, Somerset Levels, the Black Mountains, Vale of Berkeley and the Forest of Dean. Mileages on the two regular Sunday rides have varied from a gentle 30 to a rather head-banging 100 plus. A selection of the rides on offer included trips to the Stone Circles at Stanton Drew and Wootton Basset (part of Joe Prosser’s “Stone Circle Trilogy”). Then there was our usual Mother’s Day ride to Priddy in which we don’t take our Mothers. A ride to join up with the Bristol Cycling Campaign at Hinton Blewett was quite well supported. The Wednesday evening outings attracted their usual band of enthusiasts. So thanks to our enthusiastic leaders and to Joe Prosser our Runs Secretary – after all, the Club ride is our main year long activity. Details of the more notable and regular rides follow.
Boxing Day. Hugh Marshall’s “S’leigh Woods” ride was well attended, visiting the said Woods, Pill, Blaise Hamlet and ending up at Hugh’s home for mulled wine and Ann’s superlative mince pies. Many thanks Ann and Hugh for the hospitality.
New Year’s Day. This ride was, as they say in cricketing circles, “rained off.” The Hunter’s Rest had to do without our custom this year. Instead we stood dripping outside the Compton Inn in Compton Dando well before opening time. However, the landlady took pity on us, let us in and got the coffee on! An enjoyable wade through the floodwater to Keynsham set the seal on the day.
Anniversary Ride To mark the 125th Anniversary of the CTC, Bristol held a series of four rides in May with which, in combination, one could cover 25, 50, 75.100 or 125 miles. The weather was not good, and this coinciding with the Big Bike Sale at Whitchurch kept numbers down. However, at least five notched up the 125, with a respectable number attaining the 75 and the rest of us settling for 25 or 50. So it was a success, even though the pub used as a base ran out of beer. (A Wetherspoons out of beer – I kid you not).
Rounders A greyish day at Sand Bay saw 30 riders in teams captained by Joe Prosser and John Vince at the annual exercise in gamesmanship, barracking and other generally unsportsmanlike behaviour known as “Rounders on the Beach”. Except that we held it on grass and lost the ball in the bushes – then it rained. Whose team won? Who cares? Exactly what our guests from the Bristol Cycling Campaign thought goes unrecorded – but they joined in with enthusiasm!
Section Barbeque. We approached this event with some trepidation as the weather forecast was, to put it mildly, awful. However, apart from a brief shower it kept fine and over 40 members and guests enjoyed a convivial afternoon at the “Blue Flame” with good food and ales. Jean and Ray Broome (carnivores), Sue Hawkins and Nick Rechter (veggies) deserve our thanks for their culinary expertise, not forgetting Joe Prosser for organising the pub.

Weekends Away & Club Holidays
Richard Shopland, our YH Secretary has worked hard to provide us with some memorable hostel weekends.
Winter Weekend. Once again the last weekend in November saw the Section away on a “Rent a Hostel” weekend. Fully subscribed as usual, this year Leominster had the pleasure of our company, one of our favourite hostels, new, and situated conveniently in the centre of town. Interesting rides on the Saturday and Sunday were organised by Jon Croome as his swan song as our YH Secretary with a shorter Saturday ride by me for those who didn’t want to go quite as far.
The evening entertainment went its usual uproarious way. With Ray Broome on guitar and various vocalists on the Karaoke many old pop and folk standards were, if not massacred, then at least mildly abused. A spirited rendition of “Sisters are doing it for themselves” by the massed Section Ladies Choir provoked a remark by one of our resident chauvinists “does this apply to punctures?” As for the leopard skin thong – best left unsaid. A presentation was made to Jon and Lorraine Croome to mark their departure from Bristol.
New Year’s Party At this point I usually regale you with a report of the doings at our New Year Fancy Dress Party. However this year, due to some doubt regarding the future of the local pub at Slimbridge we had to abandon the event. The good news is that a new owner has been found and the Hostel has kindly agreed to accept our booking for next year. So, once again I shall be able to wax lyrical about the amazing amount of effort our members put in to look glamorous (the girls as well), distinctive or just plain silly.
Easter Tour To begin at the beginning, our Easter Tour to the Thames Valley started with a sunny Good Friday which boded well for the weekend and the ride to Streatley. The distance and a very strong headwind, making for another long “character building” day, didn’t seem to mar the usual Bristol high spirits (although £2.50 for a pint of Bass in the local pub caused a moment of doubt) and everyone looked forward to a sunny Saturday.
Alas ‘twas not to be. Our excursion into the lower Chilterns saw a return to November, cloudy and with a bitter East wind. Shorts soon disappeared under longs and extra layers were slapped on. Nevertheless, the ride was enjoyable, visiting such exotica as the Maharaja’s well and Christmas Common (most appropriate). A little excitement was generated when some of our members, on hearing calls for help, were able to assist a lady who had been injured by a horse, which necessitated calling out the local Air Ambulance.
The weather improved on Sunday for a ramble around the Kennet Valley, including a foray along the Kennet and Avon Canal, to lunch at Aldermaston and a most enjoyable mid afternoon pint at a pub of real character at Frilsham. All in all, a good start to the touring year.
August Bank Holiday Tours weekend carried 19 of us off to Ilfracombe and a few days pitting our energies against the North Devon hills. I can recommend Sustrans Route 51 out of Combe Martin – nigh on vertical ‘twas! On the other hand, Saturday’s traverse of the Tarka Trail along the Taw and Torridge estuary was level and sped us to a well deserved lunch at Instow to gird our loins for the hilly inland trek back to the North coast. A coffee stop at a sculpture theme park produced great interest in a giant, red Stilletto-heeled shoe. Hmm. Something Freudian, there I think.
Trentishoe, Hunters Inn, Woody Bay, the Valley of the Rocks and Lynton and Lynmouth all had the pleasure of our company on the Sunday with, for some, cream teas at Blackmoor Gate to set the seal on yet another great day out. The weekend wound up with a ride to Lee Bay and Woolacombe on Monday.
We owe our leader, Richard Shopland, who suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous section members with great equanimity a fully deserved a vote of thanks for a grand series of rides. And we even found a pub in Ilfracombe which remained open until midnight all over the weekend – which, as is our wont, we felt honour bound to patronise.
Other Tours & Holidays, There was no organised visit to the Semaine Federale this year, sad, but Anglo-French relations have suffered enough this year already.
A party from the Section visited the South of France and Corsica in June, under the capable direction of Jerry Croome esq. Much heat and climbing were experienced, including Europe’s highest Col, bridge and deepest gorge (not to mention the highest pass on Corsica to boot).
Apart from this trip, Section members have visited, among other places, Ireland, Tuscany, Venice, Sicily, Croatia, Slovenia (getting popular, this) and the End to End was ridden by Dave Baxandall, Mary Doyle, Jane Chapman and Alex Rendu.

Clubroom and Social Activities
Clubroom. Attendance at the Winter Clubroom remained at a reasonable level, resulting in a quite healthy profit, which enables us to keep it going. The highest number, over 50, shared George and Anne Martin’s tour of the Dolomites. Everyone agrees that their shows, illustrating the sheer joy of civilised Continental cycletouring, always make you want to go there, with them. By contrast, Rob Jenner’s well attended presentation on his trek to Namibia and the Okavango Delta, while not involving bicycles, showed a different world, fascinating and colourful, with a hint of danger. It was an exciting evening, culminating in Rob’s bungee leap off the Zambesi Bridge at Victoria Falls. You don’t get that on the average YH weekend. The Auction, again in the capable hands of John Vince, raised a healthy sum and cleared out more than a few cycling “bit boxes” in various sheds and garages. How many of these bargains will we see again next year? It’s called re-cycling.
Thanks again to all our contributors and especially to Reg Porter who has now assembled this Winter’s programme which promises once again to be as interesting and varied as in previous years. Come along and be amazed!
Christmas Meal. The 52 members at the Christmas meal at Amicis (ex Sorrentos) once again gave the Italian cuisine more than fair treatment, how such vast pizzas can disappear so quickly is always a source of wonderment to me. Thanks to Reg and Joe for organising it. Vinnie Butcher was unfortunately taken poorly during the evening and ended up at Southmead Hospital – never fear he was out on the Moulton on the Thursday ride next day!
Theatre Nights. A recent innovation has been visits, by parties from the Section, to the theatre at the Tobacco Factory where we have seen performances of Shakespeare and recently a production of “The Wills Girls”. We have had some very good nights out and extend our grateful thanks to Sue Hawkins for arranging them
Section Calendar. This was a qualified success, and sales did not justify the effort put in by Joe Prosser, Richard Shopland and, in particular Reg Porter. However, we plan to repeat the exercise for 2004 but in a smaller “desktop” format.

DA & National Events
DA AGM. The abysmal attendance at the Section AGM was somewhat redeemed by our usual good representation at the DA AGM. We were all very pleased that Ray Broome was elected as DA Treasurer and that our worthy Chairman, Hugh Marshall, already DA Outdoor Events Organiser, was elevated to the peerage as a DA Vice President.
DA Carol Service As usual a good attendance by the Section at the DA Carol Service was evident by the vocal input. Once again, thanks to Stroud Valleys Cycling Club for the excellent tea for which I sold all the 30 tickets!
DA Dinner & Dance Once again, the Section donned their best civvies and disported themselves, in increased numbers this year, at the Annual Dinner and Dance, agreeing that moving to the new venue at BAWA was a success. ( the soup apart, that is). Holding it on a Friday night, while enabling us to celebrate Joe Prosser’s birthday in some style, may have accounted for a slightly reduced attendance from other Sections. So, next year it’s back to Saturday, at the same venue, and headaches on the Sunday Clubrun!
The Section scooped three Trophies – Joe Prosser took the Norman Booth (Audax) Trophy, Jon Croome the Arthur Powell Memorial Trophy and yours truly walked off with the “Tourist” Scribbler Trophy. We extend our thanks to Joan Orchard, the DA Social Secretary and her team for a great evening out.
DA Photographic Competition Joan, along with Andy Morgan, was involved in arranging the Photographic Competition and complementary evening slide show. The competition attracted support from the usual enthusiasts – Reg Porter figuring high in the list of awards – with some stunning slides and prints on display. There was, I am afraid a poor showing from the rest of Bristol – I really must dig out some masterpieces for next year. The number of Section members at the evening show somewhat made up for the lack of participation in the competition and we were all enthralled with Alan Pickard’s presentation of his Mexico CTC Tour. Somewhat different from other shows, while he obviously enjoyed it, Alan didn’t paint a rosy picture of the trip or the country, and the show was all the better for it, fascinating.
Castle Combe Church Service For some reason, the Castle Combe Church Service seemed rather poorly attended this year and the number from Bristol was significantly down on previous years. A shame, but there it is – better luck next year. It was a good service as usual and I did ask Canon Roger Clifton, our cycling priest, if would consider writing an article for the “Tourist” about his proposed bicycling pilgrimage around England.
Veteran’s 100 in 12 hours Once again, Bristol organised the Veterans 100 in 12, held in June and in somewhat better weather than last year, if we discount the post-lunch downpour and 50 miles against the wind on the homeward run. 33 intrepid entrants started the ride, 32 finished and all seemed to enjoy it.
Grittleton Inter-Section Meet Bristol assembled an impressive number of members at the Grittleton meet, around 35 if my counting fingers are to be believed. Again, as for the last two years, the weather was superb. The stalwart work in the kitchen by Hugh Marshall, Sue Hawkins and Nick Rechter was greatly appreciated - and this year they actually had more than one tea-towel!
CTC 125th Anniversary Rides. The Section was represented at the 125th Anniversary Hardy Rides at Warmwell in Dorset by a small, yet significant number including your Secretary. A week of glorious weather ensued with some wonderful rides in a lovely part of the country. I must admit that we started the week enthusiastically, but the heat seemed to induce a degree of lethargy and our mileage decreased as the week progressed! This seemed to add to the enjoyment, somehow. We owe Wessex DA and the team from HQ our gratitude for a job well done.
DA Treasure Hunt A gallant four of our members took part in the DA Treasure Hunt. Someone from Bristol will really have to try hard to win and bring the event back to our neck of the woods!

Audax Events
Section members have been active on the Audax scene, both in riding, organising and assisting. Notably, our Chairman Hugh Marshall deserves congratulations having completed his third Paris-Brest-Paris in his fastest time – 85 hours. A robust character, unable to find hotel accommodation on the way to the ferry, along with ex-Bristol rider Jim Roberson he slept by the roadside! (must be his public school upbringing – all those cold showers and floggings). Jane Chapman rode her first Brevet Cymru 400K and has moved into the organising side with the South Glos 100K (see below) and has taken over the Jack Cotton Memorial 100K from Pauline Porter who is taking a well deserved rest.
Brian Chapman 600K. It being PBP year there was an entry of 122, with 93 starters and 79 finishing. Although not as cold as last year, it was still wet and windy through the Saturday morning and night. The Bristol team assembled in various places around the Principality and provided the usual support for the riders and from my viewpoint at Dolgellau at least, the smooth running provided a fitting background to Joe Prosser’s swan song as organiser.
South Glos.100K. Jerry Croome’s very popular ride was moved to July because of difficulties in booking the start venue and, once again, was held in glorious weather. Over 100 rode and enjoyed this great day out in the Cotswold countryside. Jerry is dropping this event next year but Jane Chapman has volunteered to take it over. Incidentally, the weather on original date set was awful – how did Jerry know that?

Press & Publicity.
Jane Chapman has endeavoured to get our activities, such as rides, published in the various local media outlets, with some success, although as Brian Griffiths, the DA Press and Publicity Officer has found, it is an uphill task trying to get items published relating to cycling in general unless it is a charity ride or bad news. However both Brian and Richard Burton have had letters published in the “Evening Post” on various cycling topics.
Reg Porter continues to get details of our rides in the South Glos area published in the local “Gazette” via a useful contact on the paper.

National Bike Week.
This annual cycling festival saw Section members participating as marshals on the Big Bike Ride and the Section publicity machine in action at the finish of the Big Bike Ride and at the Bike to Work Breakfast , the Club stand being well patronised on both days. Whether we picked up any new members is open to conjecture but it was great fun. And the weather was good as well! We extend our thanks to Karen Crombie who liases with Bristol City Council on our behalf and does much to make these events a success..

Cycling Rights & Network Activities.
Richard Burton, our local CTC Right to Ride Representative continues to look after cyclist’s interests both in the wider context and in particular with South Glos Council. He masterminded a campaign to remove/modify the barriers on the new Valentines Bridge at Temple Quay in Bristol. Richard, Ted King our Section President and myself as Secretary also attend various Forums and meetings on the Club’s behalf. We must not forget the efforts of Geoff Howard, the DA Rights Officer, who does a tremendous amount of work behind the scenes for us.
We now have members working in local organisations concerned with cycling and transport issues – Richard Burton with the Traffic Management group in Bristol City Council and Pauline Porter and Jane Chapman with Sustrans. Their expertise in cycling matters will be no doubt prove to be invaluable to their employers

People.
It is with sadness that we say a fond farewell to one of the great characters of Bristol Section, John Vince. John is leaving us for the delights of the Yorkshire Dales – Bedale to be exact – at the end of September. Vincey seems to have been part of the Section for ever, definitely a “one off” and his entertaining personality and great contribution to club life will be sorely missed. Never mind, he is working out how many bunks he can get into his new garage – at £10 per night – and offering us accommodation if we are in the area!
I am sure that we all offer commiserations to our member Joan Orchard who was knocked off her bike by a reversing driver. Fortunately she was not seriously hurt, but badly bruised and shaken up and still rode the Vets’ 100 shortly after!
Jean Broome. Jean resigned from the Committee for personal reasons during the year but still continues, thankfully, to contribute time and effort to Section activities, in particular the Barbeque.
Peter Bolton. Peter continues to make slow progress after his stroke in August 2001. Our best wishes go out to him for a return to good health in the fullness of time.
Arthur Rich, long time member of Bristol South CC, one of the characters on the Bristol cycling scene, continues to ride with us and the Thursday Old Timers in spite of his recent bouts of ill health. At nearly 80 he never gives in and is an example to us all.
Mary Williams, supported by her husband Roy continues to make steady progress in recovery from her stroke.
Malcolm Hacker also continues to recover his health and strength – maybe we shall see him out soon.
I am sure we would all wish to offer our condolences to Janet LeBas on the recent death of her mother.

Appreciations
The Committee once again wish to thank all the members of the Section for their support and companionship over the past year. I am sure that next year will be as good as and possibly even better than the last. Personally I would like thank all the members of the Committee, and especially our Chairman, Hugh Marshall, for their continuing support, they are a top class team and make the Secretary’s task an easier and more pleasurable one.

Report 2001| Report 2002