With The Lake District and The Yorkshire Dales on our doorstep - KDCS offers an exciting selection of cycle rides throughout the local area and beyond. There are social gatherings including slide shows, talks and supper evenings and members are kept up to date with cycling news and issues through this web site, emails and our Facebook pages. KDCS are an affiliated group of Cycling UK.

Chairman's Page


 

Anne Brookes takes over from Steve Warner as Chair of KDCS 2024

A message from Steve                                                                              

Many of you will know that after many years of being Chair of KDCS I have passed the baton on to Anne Brookes. I would like to thank all of you for your personal support and for keeping our cycle club active for the past 30 years. The time is now right for a fresh pair of hands to take over the role and I would like to thank Anne for volunteering for the task.
                                                        
I’m sure Anne will bring her considerable professional skills and her cycling knowledge and  experience to the post and I know you will support her in taking our club forward

Thank you once again and I look forward to seeing many of you on future rides.

Steve  

 


Letters sent by the Chairman to Richard Leafe, and The Westmorland Gazette re The use of 4x4 vehicles on Green Lanes in the Lake District. 6th June 2021

Dear Sir,

Please see the attached copy of a letter I have submitted to the Westmorland Gazette regarding the excessive use of these vehicles in the National Park.

 I am requesting on behalf of our cycling club that you curb the use by imposing a Traffic Regulation Order through your Rights of Way Committee and I am also requesting a place on your committee on behalf of the Kendal and District Cycle Scene cycling club. With over 100 members many of whom walk and Cycle on the affected lanes I have been mandated to make representation to your authority to try and change this situation for both current and future generations. Notwithstanding you are asking people to comment on the future direction of the park action on this matter , this can only contribute to your purpose and aims for now and the future.

 Steve Warner

Chairman KDCS ( full contact details at the foot of the letter )

 

To the Westmorland Gazette:

MOTORISED OFF ROAD VEHICLES RUINING THE LAKE DISTRICT LANDSCAPE

 Dear Sirs,

 I am writing to you in my capacity of Chairman of The Kendal and District Cycle Scene ( KDCS ) a local cycling club of 30 years standing to highlight to your readers the increasing and excessive impact following the growth of 4 wheeled drive off road vehicles and motorised trail bikes across the Lake District National Park. I recognise the historical and responsible use of such vehicles on the ‘green lanes’ over a number of decades when there were far fewer in number using them and the impact was much less. Indeed local farmers use such vehicles, quad bikes etc. to go about their legitimate business. However the numbers using these tracks particularly around the Little Langdale, High Nibthwaite and Oxen Fell areas is out of all proportion and commercial companies are encouraging and promoting this as a leisure activity with it seems the blessing of the National Park. There are around 75 off road tracks affected including ancient farm and quarry roads and byways open to all traffic ( BOATS ). The legal status of these is unclear but there is an assumption of vehicular rights. 18 of these are very vulnerable including those previously highlighted with Little Langdale caught in a network of lanes being used by off road vehicles. In a survey conducted in the 3 months following the 2020 lockdown there were 3,400 such vehicles using just the 3 areas I mention and I believe this is unsustainable both environmentally and socially. These are high polluting vehicles on track surfaces built for horses and carts and they are ruining the landscape character. They impact on other residents including farmers, locals,walkers, cyclists etc.

 The Lake District National Park has the special power to make Traffic Regulation Orders but has so far refused to do so preferring through its rights of way committee to have a partnership management group to ‘ monitor’ the position. This committee has 6 representatives of the various motoring organisations on it plus those opposing the continued use of these lanes such as Friends of the Lake District, Wainwright Society, Ramblers Cumbria, Bridleways Society. The National Trust and CCC also have a place at the table. Interestingly the Yorkshire Dales National Park and the Peak District National Park have introduced TRO’s to protect their environment.

 Richard Leafe appears regularly in the media including your paper to promote the National Park for all despite the increasing pressures put upon it through increased visitor numbers, poor public transport links, an inadequate road infrastructure and limited parking opportunities. Only this week he was on TV asking visitors to leave their vehicles at home yet he heads an organisation that is continuing to allow the most polluting vehicles to use inappropriate lanes that sit in the midst of the natural beauty of the Park.

 The statutory purpose of the National Park is as follows:-

 to conserve and enhance the natural beauty, wildlife, and cultural heritage of the park

 to promote opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities of National Parks by the public

 This is also a World Heritage Site and if you look at the reasons this status was given you will see that they did not envisage the wide scale use of motorised off road vehicles in the heart of some of those most outstanding areas in the park where many visitors come to enjoy the peace, tranquility and beauty of the landscape which includes many areas of conservation.

 What can your readers do about it? Well they could write to the National Park and it’s Rights of Way Committee and get them to impose a Traffic Regulation Order to limit the use of these vehicles as their counterparts have already done in 2 other National Parks one of which is on our doorstep. 380,000 people have already signed a petition asking for this. Readers can find out more about this by visiting the Save the Lake District and Lake District Green Lanes Alliance sites who are fighting strongly to maintain a fantastic area in the face of unacceptable use.

 As a chairman of a local cycling club whose members regularly cycle in the area many of our members are opposed to the increased numbers of polluting vehicles using these lanes and following a survey I was given a mandate to raise this on our clubs behalf.

I would add that I am not a member of the Green Lanes Alliance, Extinction Rebellion or any other of the major environmental groups but a 67 year old cyclist and fell walker who has seen the direct impact of these vehicles. The National Park seem to hold 2 opposing values when it comes to this matter. I hope your readers can help to preserve the Lake District for future generations by opposing the excessive numbers of these vehicles now using these unsuitable lanes.

 Stephen Warner


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Climate Jury


To KDCS members you may have been aware that Kendal Town Council declared a Climate Emergency last year and commissioned a ‘ Climate Jury ‘ to debate the issue of what should Kendal do about climate change. The report containing recommendations from the panel is attached for information only as there are a number of areas including those relating to transport and cycling that you may find relevant and interesting.

Report

 If you wish to know more please see the attached link

https://www.kendalclimatejury.org/

 which will take you to their website. KDCS have not been directly involved in this panel and of course we are a cycling club not a climate change campaigning group hence the issue information only emphasis. 

 

Steve Warner

Chairman KDCS

12/02/2021

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MINUTES OF THE KDCS COMMITTEE MEETING HELD VIA ZOOM MEDIA ON 25/1/21 

 Attendees Steve Warner, Anne Brookes, Brian Woodward, Dave Wills, Martin Slader, Mike Pezet and Will Beck 

 Steve as chairman welcomed all. He advised that following his all members note issued prior to the meeting a number of responses had been received ( circulated to the committee in advance of the meeting ) and these would be referred to during the meeting.  

 

  1. FINANCE REPORT 

 Martin as treasurer had already circulated the accounts covering the years 2019, 2020 and 2021 year to date prior to the meeting. There were only 2 items of expenditure to report for year 20/21 so far which was the affiliation fee to Cycling UK ( £80 ) and a payment to retain our domain name / website of circa £25. Our current income surplus stands at £630.02p. We therefore remain in a healthy financial position. 

 

  1. MEMBERSHIP UPDATE 

 

Mike / Anne confirmed that there had only been 5 new members this year which was understandably down from the 14 last year. Dave advised that the system generated JOT form provides an accurate update on new joiners. 

 

  1. RIDES CALENDAR STATUS AND INTENTIONS FOR THE YEAR ( Road, MTB, easy Tuesday ) 

 An in depth discussion took place as regards to what potentially could be set up notwithstanding the current restrictions due to the COVID 19 crisis. This took account of some members responses regarding re-establishing group rides, use of an on line booking system, utilisation of the 2 Facebook sites, creation of WhatsApp groups, introduction of a members contact system for the road riders to utilise in organising their own informal group rides etc. as they are able to do in the MTB group who use a members contact list that all have to access to. A key element when considering any rides reintroduction must be the safety of ride leaders and our members. Any new system agreed needs consideration of the extent of any extra work it imposes on ride co- ordinators and should not be over complex nor involve numerous communication exchanges as can happen with WhatsApp groups for example.  

 Data protection requirements have to date resulted in no sharing of KDCS members contact information. The MTB members list content including contact details and sharing was agreed independently by members of this subgroup. To introduce other systems will require a more detailed consideration and may also be impacted by restrictions imposed on us by the nature of our web site. It was agreed that a subgroup comprising of Anne, Will and Dave would look further into the ride co-ordinating options. 

 AP 1 - Anne, Mike and Will to ‘ meet ‘, set some criteria / parameters, consider the options and feedback to the committee with any recommendations. 

 Whatever the outcome it was agreed that members seemed very happy with what was on offer prior to lockdown and whatever systems are put in place the aim / essence of our club is to put on regular social rides varied in nature to suit all levels of cyclist. Even when small group riding is permitted during the pandemic there should be a recognition that not all members and leaders wish to expose themselves to health risks.  

 

  1. SOCIAL ACTIVITY PROPOSALS 

 

The member responses produced numerous suggestions which included themed zoom meetings, news updates and exchanges, trips, events, virtual rides, recipes, cycling stories etc. Those that have attended the weekly zoom meetings being held to keep everyone in touch felt that they would like to see more members dialling in and some felt they would also like to see MTB group members more actively participating in the wider club activities. Mike Pezet advised that he has experience of break out groups within his work related zoom sessions allowing smaller groups to hold their own mini meetings. It was recognised that large zoom sessions were not easy given that only one person can speak at a time. It was therefore agreed that this could be trialled with a potential experimental date of 2/2/21. Dave / Mike to discuss. 

 Dave as Social Secretary would welcome a sub committee to support him with all of this this and we agreed that Dave should write out to the membership to recruit some help. 

 AP2 - Dave Wills to write to the membership seeking assistance with the formation of a social activities sub group. 

 

  1. PLANNED TRIPS 

Whilst all agreed that the MTB group had been successful organising these in the past there had been no enthusiasm from the road rider members to do something similar. Given the current lockdown restrictions no further action is proposed. 

 

  1. WEBSITE UPDATE 

After some discussion it was agreed that members seem to be happy with the existing set up and format. Subject to the subgroup outcome and any subsequent need for on line ride booking amendments no further changes are proposed.  

 

  1. DIRECTION OF THE CLUB 

 Steve asked the committee to consider whether there was a need to appoint a media / publicity officer lead and / or a campaigning lead. After discussion it was agreed that there appeared to be no push for us to do so and as such there is no requirement to appoint such leads. Steve also advised that Chris Rowley in his role as a Town Councillor has been invited on to the local Kendal Cycling Infrastructure Group run by the County Council. He has agreed with the council that representatives of KDCS can attend and as a result 2 of our members ( Rod and Catherine ) have agreed to do so. The first meeting is due to be held on the 1/2/21. Steve to discuss further with them to consider what influence we can bring.  

 Steve was recently contacted by a reporter from the Gazette to comment on the proposal to introduce a 20mph speed limit in and around Kendal but despite many points being offered the subsequent article omitted almost all of the comments which was extremely frustrating and disappointing. All we can do is to continue to press our case for safe cycling and an effective access provision including decent and well set out cycle paths.  

 

  1. COMMITTEE POSITIONS TO INCLUDE REELECTION  

 Given that there have been no offers from KDCS members to volunteer for committee places Steve asked the existing group if they were happy to remain in post. All were unanimous in agreeing to this. There were many positive comments from those members who had responded to Steve’s recent note and it is clear that all members of the committee are appreciated for what they do to support the continuation of our long standing club.  

 Current posts are therefore confirmed as: -  

 Chairman - Steve Warner 

Rides co-ordinator / news - Anne Brookes 

Treasurer - Martin Slader 

Social Secretary - Dave Wills 

MTB subgroup co-ordinators- Will Beck / Steve Warner 

Road section membership co-ordinators- Mike Pezet, Anne Brookes 

Web access and assistants - Dave Wills, Anne Brookes, Brian Woodward, Neil Hazlehurst, Andy Gillham 

Easy Tuesday rides co-ordinator- Simon Rose 

 

  1. AOB  

 There was no further business to discuss. Steve therefore brought the meeting to a close by thanking all the committee for all they had done and for the support given to him as Chair. Despite this being a very difficult year because of the pandemic our willingness to communicate with our members through the website, by e-mail, Facebook and of course Dave’s very successful weekly zoom sessions has kept the membership both informed and we hope in good spirits with optimism for the future. 

  

Steve Warner - Chairman KDCS  

 

 

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MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE CHAIRMAN

TO ALL KDCS MEMBERS

All,

I think we can all agree that this has been an unprecedented year for the world which has impacted on everyone’s lives. Here in the KDCS cycling club we’ve never had a year like this too. Early on in the pandemic the committee and I agreed that to try and continue with our ride schedules would not only prove difficult to organise but would present unnecessary risks to both ride leaders and those attending. We therefore made the decision to cancel all club rides until we felt it was safe to put them on. Our mountain bike subgroup similarly made the same decision. 

I don’t think any of us thought that nine months later we would still be no nearer bringing these back. I know many of you have continued to get out on your bikes whether that was solo, family or in agreed small manageable groups maintaining safe distances. 
As I write this memo the news from our leaders has resulted in new rules governing Christmas arrangements and those of you intending to visit family and friends have no doubt now had to alter your plans significantly.

Whilst this has been an extremely difficult year for everyone; here in KDCS we have put on a weekly Zoom virtual club meeting and for those dialling in these have been an excellent way of keeping in touch, receiving news and even communal baking. Thanks to our Social Secretary Dave Wills for organising these as they have certainly lifted our spirits. These ‘ gatherings ‘ resume in the new year and I would urge you to give them a try as they are fun.

We continue to be financially viable thanks to your voluntary contributions when we needed it. We have continued with our support for Cycling UK by remaining as an affiliated group. Our website is still there for all even if there isn’t a lot to publish. We’ve even had a few new members this year. 

Remember after the 21st December the days grow longer and the light at the end of the tunnel grows brighter. Should you feel a bit down or lonely pick up the phone and talk to other members or do seek help from the organisations experienced enough to offer help. Please don’t suffer in silence.

Given the news on the vaccine I do hope that 2021 will allow us to restart our activities at some point in 2021. In the meantime I wish you and your families all the very best for Christmas and the New Year. Keep your hopes and spirits up and above all keep safe. Thank you all for your support.
I would also like to thank the committee for your contributions over the year.

Fond Regards

Steve Warner
20/12/21

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Note to all members from Steve Warner the Chairman of KDCS dated 3.10.20 regarding the clubs current position given the impacts  of the pandemic


COVID IMPACTS

All, there seems to be a never ending change to the advice given out on this and I recently wrote to the KDCS committee regarding the topic of a formal road ride calendar. Will Beck the MTB rides co-ordinator did something similar with our MTB rides group ( 47 members ).

The overwhelming consensus was not to put any form of official rides on for the foreseeable future and that remains the position across the club. 

Cycling UK have regularly updated the guidance on the impact for cycling which can vary due to country, area, lockdowns etc. Please visit the site for the latest information. 

As all of our rides are not ‘official’ club rides then our position remains that members organise their own get togethers at their own risk ( despite our Cycling UK affiliation and ride leaders insurance this will not apply to these rides ). My advice based on current guidance is to ride in a group of no more than 6 and maintain social distancing. Whilst it is possible to have more than one group the other group is then considered a separate entity with either a different route or a generous time lapse between the groups ( e.g 15 mins ) if doing the same route. I would strongly recommend that you stick to organising one group of no more than 6 to avoid problems and public criticism, legal enforcement etc. These of course are your unofficial ‘bubble’ rides so the responsibility rests with you. I’m sorry if this seems a bit like a headmasters speech but as Chairman I’m anxious to avoid any criticism of our club. The MTB group have a members contact list by agreement so organising informal rides is a lot easier for them as a result. The wider KDCS doesn’t have any agreement to share e-mail addresses etc. so I’m afraid it is up to individual members to contact others should they wish to organise any unofficial social rides. 

Whilst these are difficult times can I remind you that most Tuesdays Dave Wills your Social  Secretary organises a Zoom on line meeting at 7pm in an effort to maintain social contact, share information and news and cheer people up. They usually last no more than 40 mins so please join one as you will be surprised how uplifting they can be. 

One bit of news linked to this is that we are planning  a ‘Halloween‘ special zoom with dressing up yourself and / or your background room optional and the musicians amongst you may well play a tune or two ( no jokes about Thriller, Monster Mash etc. please ). 

We are all trying our best in very difficult circumstances and many of you will I’m sure have had family life severely disrupted. Don’t suffer in silence as friendly faces are out there and if you feel a bit isolated join us on the zoom or contact other members for a catch up. 

Keep cycling if you can as it is good for physical and mental health well being.

Take care and many thanks - Steve

Steve Warner - Chairman of KDCS 
s.warner339@btinternet.com
07872472346 mobile
01539734867


Current position on group riding - Wed 03/06/20


I today contacted Cycling UK to discuss their advice given the most recent response from the government.If you go on the Cycling UK website you will be able to view the detail.

Clearly given the current position it would not be wise to consider putting on official club road and mountain bike rides even though up to 6 members can ride
( provided they adhere to social distancing ).

The organisation, selection of riders, appointing leaders etc. would be beset with problems.
As Chairman I have taken the decision to monitor the position until things improve and further advice is provided.

Steve

Chairman’s update 3/6/20

All attached below is the link to the Cycling UK website which has been updated to reflect the latest Govt advice and guidance in relation to the current Coronavirus crisis.

They cover the position in each of the countries that make up the UK. In particular they advise that it is permissible now to ride in a group of up to 6 people provided social distancing of 2 metres is met.

Given the current restrictions there is no proposal to introduce any official KDCS rides.

Any group rides you therefore choose to arrange are by personal choice.

You must of course adhere to the social distancing requirements.

Should the position change in the future I will keep you informed.

Keep safe and take care.

https://www.cyclinguk.org/


Steve Warner
s.warner339@btinternet.com
07872472346 mobile
01539734867 home

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Coronavirus impact statement from Steve Warner Chairman of KDCS dated Tuesday 17th March 2020


Following yesterday’s announcement by the UK Government endorsed by the Chief Medical Officer regarding the strategy to reduce / even out the spread of the Coronavirus the decision has been taken in line with the advice issued to suspend all future KDCS road and mountain bike rides.

The KDCS Committee and I are In total agreement that taking such social responsibility supports the social isolation strategy to reduce / spread out the infection risk to give the NHS and others the best chance of better controlling the impacts. Our group rides often involve largish gatherings and stops at cafes etc. and would therefore also increase the risk of infection to both ourselves and others.

I have also spoken today to Cycling UK who are in the process of updating last Fridays advice in the light of these developments. They support our decision.

I am sure that many of us will continue to ride in some capacity for exercise and well being.

On a final note many of our members and their families are in the older or even vulnerable categories and I would ask you to keep in touch in some way whilst they are in isolation and perhaps offer assistance to them should they require it e.g social contact, shopping drop offs etc.

Take care all and I look forward to the day we can resume some semblance of normality and get back to riding together again.



Statement from Cycling UK
 As the national cycling charity, our aim is to support the UK’s population to cycle. This remains true during this period of Covid-19 affecting the UK. Above all, the safety and welfare of Cycling UK’s staff, volunteers, participants at our rides and events, beneficiaries of our cycling programmes and the general public is always our main priority.


www.cyclinguk.org

Steve


Steve Warner
s.warner339@btinternet.com
07872472346 mobile
01539734867 home

Note from Chairman 15/03/2020


All,

In the light of the rapidly escalating Coronavirus crisis I am attaching the most recent advice from Cycling UK with whom KDCS is affiliated. As you can see from the attached information providing you follow the NHS / Govt etc. advice then there is no reason at present to suspend our ride schedules for both MTB and Road cycling. Of course as individuals you must take any steps you feel are necessary to reduce your risk and that to others. Given that many of us are in the at risk category because of age and / or other health related issues I thought it appropriate as Chairman of KDCS to issue the most recent advice I have received. Should the situation change I will write out again. Thank you.

Steve Warner
Chairman KDCS
07872472346 mobile 

Minutes of the KDCS Committee meeting held 20/1/20


Attendees - Steve Warner, Anne Brookes, Martin Slader, Brian Woodward, Dave Wills, Bill Jackson

Apologies - Mike Pezet, Neil Hazlehurst

As Chairman Steve welcomed all to the meeting and advised that Mike Pezet had another engagement and Neil is away on holiday.

1. Finance Report / income generation


Martin advised that we currently have £751.52p in our Skipton Account. Last years voluntary donation exercise resulted in £552.02p being raised through our members. Our only forecast expenditure is £80 for our ride leaders insurance via Cycling UK and around £15 for our website costs. It was agreed that we will not need to raise any additional funds for quite some time and that any charges for room hire should we need them for talks, members meetings etc. could be met from our funds. Note - This account can be accessed at Branch level only and requires any 2 of our 3 named signatories for withdrawals. We agreed that Martin should circulate the summary of the end of financial account to all committee members.

2. Membership update


Anne advised that we have around 114 members of KDCS with 14 new members joining in 2019 as compared with 10 during 2018. However these members now include the 41 in the Mountain Bike group. All agreed that we are a unique club that appeals to people not wanting to join the more competing type club such as KCC etc. and this can make it more difficult attracting new members.

A discussion took place on options / ideas for attracting new members. This included the following:-

Publicity / posters in public venues and bike shops e.g Library, Leisure Centre, Giant etc.

Business cards with our details to hand out to interested parties
A press article ( Steve has a contact in the Gazette )

A Cumbria Radio interview 21/1/20 where Steve hoped to be able to publicise our club and request for members (Steve was subsequently interviewed on the James Philips show on radio Cumbria for a new slot which aims to interview a variety of clubs across the county and KDCS was the first one )

Advertise our club through other groups / clubs e.g. SLACC as we have a ‘ green footprint ‘ that may appeal to their members.

3. Update on rides calendars including road, MTB, Easy Tuesdays


Once again we had a successful 2019 with 46 weekend rides scheduled, a full programme of MTB and Easy Tuesday rides. Poor weather was the chief reason for the few cancellations we had. After discussion we agreed that there is probably a call for some easier rides and these was borne out on the Staveley ride put on the previous weekend when 16 riders turned out on a cold sunny day. The fact that it left people with a free afternoon if they desired seemed to be attractive.

It was proposed that we put a mixture of longer and shorter rides on this year and measure the impact of success or otherwise. We will also seek opinion from the membership ( again ) to capture any thoughts / views they may have. We will try to do this at the start of our proposed talks / social events during the year. In the past we had a business element included in such events that provided a communication process for both members and the committee and we agreed we should reinstate this where we can.

4. Social activities / slide shows for the year


It was agreed that we should aim for 4 quarterly social events again this year plus the Christmas social but that we should also seek to introduce talks / slide shows appealing to members who would like to share their experiences. A suitable venue at nil / low cost to be sought for these. Members to be asked if they are happy to put on such talks as anecdotally we know we have people who have been on some great trips. Edward and Romola have agreed to the sprint mill barbecue being an annual event and this year Dave Wills will put on a treasure hunt ride that ends up at the mill to accompany this event.

Dave suggested that we form a social activities sub committee and we agreed to seek nominations from the members to form such a group. This should then provide an opportunity for the wider capture of ideas.

5. Planned trips


The MTB Group have once again already met to plan a range of multi day trips and dates for these will be firmed up ASAP. These trips will offer very limited options for road bikers to join them given the venues and logistics. We therefore debated whether similar trips might be arranged by road rider members. Whilst this won’t be for the committee to organise we agreed to facilitate this by putting out an e- mail to the membership advising that they are welcome to organise such events for inclusion in the calendar. We have however tried this in the past with little take up.

6. Website update, any changes, security, web authors


The committee agreed that the website was very informative, attractive in layout and fairly easy to navigate. Dave Wills has recently had feedback from a newer member who praised it. We agreed that it needed some minor housekeeping to remove any out of date posts and that a time limit of around a month would be put on the ‘for sale’ items with an option to renew. It was also suggested that we put on details of the ‘cafe of the year’ award including the presentation photo and recently constructed certificate.

The issue of ride reports was raised and we agreed that these were useful as they provided members with a summary of particular rides / trips. We already have 2 Facebook sites which include details, photos etc. but as not every member is on FB we thought some of the detail could easily be transferred over to the website for inclusion under the ride report header. Ride leaders will be encouraged to give such reports but it is purely voluntary.

Dave advised that on the website we now have a comprehensive list of rides routes with narrative and maps originally put together by Mark Bazeley and suggested we might do something similar for MTB rides. To be explored.

7. Any other business


We summarised who does what on the committee and whether any others should be on. The current posts are:-

Chairman - Steve Warner

Rides co-ordinator / newsletter - Anne Brookes

Treasurer - Martin Slader

Social Secretary - Dave Wills

MTB subgroup co-ordinators and membership - Bill Jackson / Steve Warner Road section membership co-ordinators – Mike Pezet, Anne Brookes

Web access and assistants - Dave Wills, Anne Brookes, Brian Woodward, Neil Hazlehurst, Andy Gillham.

We agreed that Simon Rose should be invited onto the committee should he wish given his significant ‘ Easy Tuesday ‘ rides role.

There being no other business Steve thanked all of the committee for their hard work and assistance and the meeting was brought to a close.


Steve Warner

Chairman of KDCS

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Minutes of the KDCS Committee meeting held 23/1/19


Attendees - Steve Warner, Anne Brooks, Martin Slader, Brian Woodward, Dave Wills, Mike Pezet.

As Chairman Steve welcomed all to the meeting and thanked everyone for making it a very successful year for KDCS. He appreciates the amount of work put in to provide members with a great range of regular rides and social events. The Christmas meal was initially oversubscribed demonstrating the support we enjoy from our members and we have had high numbers out on our rides during 2018.

1.   Finance Report and move to a modern on line account

Martin advised that we have £337.18p in our Skipton Account. This account can be accessed at Branch level only and requires any 2 of our 3 named signatories for withdrawals. A recent donation of £10 was made to a non passbook holder and the process to pay it in was a little long winded. Further expected expenditure for 2019 is a small sum of £23.98 to cover the KDCS domain name for the next 2 years plus the Cycling Uk ride leaders insurance of circa £75.  It was agreed that we now need a more modern account that gives an on line facility. Following subsequent enquiries with the Skipton it was confirmed that there is the facility for members to pay monies into the account on line using the BACS method. There is however the need to provide the title KDCS, the branch account number, our account number and sort code. There is no facility for a reference name so members would need to e-mail a named committee member to advise of any payments made. All amounts will appear in the passbook once it is updated. Given that we have such an on line pay in facility there is no need to change our account.

2.    Income generation

Given that we will be left with just over £200 in our account after this years costs it was agreed that we need to generate further capital. All stated that they were not in favour of charging a joining fee or collect annual subs but rather that we seek to raise the money through a voluntary appeal supplemented if necessary by requesting a small top up to next years Christmas meal cost. There was a debate around requesting donations at social events and whilst this is to be considered it was felt we needed the direct appeal as this would go out to all members not just those attending events. The introduction of an on line account would also assist in facilitating such payments.

 3.    Membership awareness

Mike advised that we had around 14 new members last year quite a few being MTB riders. Anne advised we have over 120 members in total. All agreed that we are a unique club that appeals to people not wanting to join the more competing type club such as KCC etc. Mike has an article shortly going into the widely circulated ‘in focus’ magazine and we agreed that there wasn’t a need to formally advertise wider.

4.    Social Events

It was agreed that we should aim for 4 quarterly social events again this year but that we should also seek to introduce talks / slide shows appealing to members who would like share their experiences. A suitable venue at nil / low cost to be sought for this. Some members put on quirky rides last year
including a trip to a pizza venue and an Arnside Fireworks ride. These additional trips just add to the great ride experiences provided for members and it will be left to individual members to decide whether they want to put such events on.

5.     Additional trips

The MTB Group have already met to plan a range of multi day trips but in addition there will be an all comers long weekend trip to North Yorkshire in June this year. Members who wish to organise any additional trips are welcome to do so.

6.      Authorisation of content for the website,Facebook site and e- mails to members and layout of our web pagesFollowing last years changes in data protection we have already advised members that content and communications will be appropriate, relevant and kept to a minimum. The regular monthly newsletter issued by Anne provides relevant and up to date news as well as ride details. It will not include members contact numbers or e- mail addresses unless permission has been given. After discussion we agreed that some posts were more appropriate for the website rather than by e-mail to all members and that we need to ensure we are not contravening data protection principles on content sent to members.

In terms of layout it was noted that our front page (LHS) should be used for details of immediate and at times urgent information. These posts often go out of date quickly although several posts have been removed / archived recently resulting in the top post being quite out of date. Dave to look at layout options that could facilitate sale items / archive / delete options.
The issue of ride reports was raised. Bill Jackson recently produced a good article covering a ride organised in conjunction with a Kirkby Stephen based e- bike business. It was agreed that whilst ride reports are interesting they should be on a voluntary basis only. Dave will look at a location for such
reports whilst reviewing layout options.

Some of the news could have their own dedicated pages with links from the front page. We may perhaps need to write to members if we make changes to offer direction on where to find items include recipes, bike shops, mechanical services etc.

7.     Any other business

There being no other business the meeting was brought to a close.


Steve Warner
Chairman of KDCS




UPDATE 8.2.18


The inaugural meeting of the KDCS Committee met on the 29/1/18 and this note is to give you a brief outline of the key actions we agreed to progress.

1. We will seek to recruit more volunteer ride leaders to relieve the burden on the small group currently undertaking this role. We recognised that the role comes with responsibility and practical support and partnering will be offered to those new to the role. The Chairman will write directly to all KDCS members and Anne Brooks will continue to recruit via social events and ride compilation.

2. Income generation - we have limited capital funds and still have to meet the costs of  the website, Cycling UK affiliation and ride leader insurance. It is not the intention to charge a joining fee but rather obtain small additional funds through donation via events, raffles etc.

3. Social events - it was agreed that we will organise 4 social events per year based on the seasons and these might include ride events, treasure hunts, meal outings, slide shows. Edward and Romola have agreed to hold one such event at Sprint Mill in Burneside

4. Membership generation - Mike Pezet will shortly take over the membership secretary role. We currently have around 120 active members including those who are in the mountain bike group. There are a large number of inactive members. Our aim is to recruit more members and we will be writing out to those lapsed members to see if they want to go back on the mailing list. Additionally we will be seeking to advertise our rides via the Westmorland Gazette and Lakeland Radio.

5. Website reorganisation - The content of the site will be reviewed, historical or irrelevant posts removed, a seamless joining process established and updates put on as required to inform members of  news, changes, events etc.  One example is this Chairman’s page creating a medium for Steve Warner to advise members on progress and key messages.

6. KDCS organised trips - not an easy task for those with the responsibility. There is an intention to organise a trip to the Rosedale area of Yorkshire in early June ( probably Friday - Monday ). There may be others but we elected not to run before we can walk given the progress we want in other areas. The mountain bike offshoot are organising a number of small scale events.

7. Partnership with Cycling UK ( formerly CTC ). - Steve Warner will take over the liaison role from Andrew Judson and we will continue with our affiliation and ride leaders insurance. There is the opportunity for KDCS members to join Cycling UK at a reduced rate using a unique code. Membership offers members individual cycle insurance as well as discounts, advice etc.

8. Bike workshops - several events have taken place in the past and we will look at this again. These may include riding skills, bike maintainance, GPS / Strava knowledge.


Some of this will take time but we are already on with progressing our agreed action points and we very much hope you will offer your support to the committee.

Steve Warner

8.2.17



Hi all KDCS members

Please see code of conduct  Feb 2018

As I start my second term as KDCS Chairman I thought I would just give you some background information on where we are at this time. First of all there have been a few personnel changes that are being phased in:

Chairman - Steve Warner
Membership Secretary - Mike Pezet
Social Secretary - Dave Wills
Rides co-ordinator and mailing list / news - Anne Brooks
MTB rides co-ordinator - Bill Jackson
Finance Manager - Martin Slader
Website manager - Dave Wills
Website access team - Dave Wills, Anne Brooks, Neil Hazlehurst, (Steve Warner, Brian Woodward)

As we look forward to 2018 we will be holding a committee meeting to discuss future direction, publicity, membership, finance and our aims and goals. Providing a wide range of rides will of course be fundamental and a priority. We hope that members will continue to support the club to ensure we are an active cycle group in Kendal for many more years to come. We also welcome any thoughts or suggestions that you might like to put forward. In particular we want members to volunteer to lead more rides this year to avoid too many ‘ meet at Kendal Leisure Centre to be decided on the day’ rides.

The Kendal Cycling Club is a fast developing group but we are not seeking to compete with them as we believe we are a unique club that caters for cyclists of all class and pace. The development of the ‘easy rides ‘ and MTB rides has been an added benefit for members. Joining the club has remained free for many years now to encourage membership. This has been possible because we hold a small residual fund that has allowed us to pay for the website costs and Cycling UK ( previously CTC ) ride leaders insurance etc. Our initial thought is that we will continue to offer free membership and propose generating any finance needs through social initiatives, raffles etc.

 In the early years of the club we were actively involved in developing cycling in the Kendal area, campaigning for cycle paths and even funding bike racks. Whilst we will continue to encourage members to offer opinion and submissions on change proposals from the likes of  Cycling UK, LDNP, SLDC etc. we won’t be appointing anyone to lead on campaigning specifically. Please remember that we run the club through enthusiastic volunteers and without them there would be no KDCS so your support is essential.

 I would also like to thank those who have kept the group going through the years including those that have relinquished their roles. That of course includes all of you who have lead rides over the past year.  Finally I look forward to joining you all at the KDCS Christmas meal.

Steve Warner
December 2017