Foreword

The Journol of
Cycle Cooching: lssue No l:201 I
Foreword
affodils were poking their green shoots out of the
grass verges as I rode round the local lanes earlier today (mid-Februury) - so by the time this arrives in your letter box they should be in firll bloom.
This seems like an interminably long winter, so any
signs of spring are most welcome. But the state of the
roads is appalling, so extreme vigilance is the order of
the day. As I was gping this page - an email arrived
informing me that one of the team I'm coaching for
the endurance challenge hit a pot hole last nighiand
cracked a rib and bashed his head on the pavement.
He'll be ok in a week or two.
ll
lJ
Attentive readers will have realised that risk assessare. an ongoing activity in the cycling world.
_Tgi-tr
Well here's a new perspective for you. Lastlutumn
I was meandering round the elevaied pennine lanes,
intending to stop at the Windmill Cafe above penistone. As I approached a cross roads an open topped
sports car pulled up and the arxious middle aged man
(I use the term advisably!) flagged me down. He asked
me if I had seen his model aircraftwhich had gone out
of control and disappeared. He was clearly co-ncerned
that it may have caused an accident. I took his phone
number and proceeded on my ride, promising to keep
looking in the fields. Then, about an hour Lt.r, thl
same car appeared in the distance with the remains of
his model aircraft sticking out of the passenger seat.
fhis.wasn't a, toy - it had about an eight fo*ot wing
span! If this had hit me it would have Leen curtains.
So a quick update to the risk assessment form ruhen
avoiding the cavernous potholes on the local roads keep
looking skyzuards for errant model aircraft
- you have
Cover page photo courtesy of Alex Rafferty
Membership Renewols Reminder
been warned!
lf you hoven't yet sent your 2Oj1 renewol to Molcolm then pleose do it
now. The rising costs of printing, postoge ond insuronce, os well os the role
of odministroting the membership do-
this edition you will see another wide range of articles covering 1." Aid courses for cyclists, a response to
_In
Dr Gordon Wright's
paper in the last edition, another
quality article this time talking about fuelling the athlete from Dr GuyThibault, Patrick O,Kane and Gerry
Robinson have written complimentary papers on cornering, steering and frame geometry that should send
you running to the shed, armed with plumb bobs and
rulers. In addition Tom Newman has submitted an
account of his intensive 12 week programme of coachfor his BC Road and Time Trial L3
lng
eralification.
a grass roots account ofcoaching at club
nrovides
]hi1
level and the difficulties of getting good datalor help-
ing riders improve. Sharon Smith has returned for the
third consecutive issue and thankfully took the bait to
help with the endurance challenge that I am coaching.
Sharon has outlined her approach to helping the teat
prepare for 5 long days cycling and fell running so
we will watch this unfold till the beginning ofJune.
An addition to our roles and responsibilities in the
ABCC has resulted in a new function to cover Safeguarding and Equity. Malcolm Smith and I have volunteered to cover this function which is primarily to
act as a conduit for concerns people may have with the
behaviour of a coach on our register. This role will be
explained in more detail later and further information
will soon be avaiiable on the website. you will also
see that we have reprinted the code of conduct on the
inside back page. This is not an oversight. The previous one was out of date and factually incorrect so it
has now been amended.
The cover picture on this edition is of ABCC Senior C.oach Chip Rafferry working at the Royal MiliAcademy, Sandhurst on a course run by MgC"k.
_tary
When I took_this job on I was surprised at how many
members we have in the forces. The Journal gets sent
to BFPO addresses all over the world -.ll as the
", far from
UK. Members of the armed forces are never
our minds in these troubled times. To know they are
using ABCC qualifications as part of their training
and recreation is welcome news.
tobose is putting o stroin on finonces so
your eorly remittonce is welcome. lf we
hoven't received your cheque in the
next few weeks your membership will
lopse.
i
Poge 3