Happy New Year to all our club members for the 2023 Season
Membership Status
This year we have 30 active members, 10 Social members, 4 Life members and 1 second claim member. Some members prefer to just ride their bike alone, some members enjoy cycling in our Sunday club ride and we also have some members who like to race in Time Trials. This year we have a range of events planned to suit everyone and there is also the HCC Strava Leaderboard to help you get the miles in. Therefore, we would like to thank everyone who has renewed their subs for 2023 and hope you all have a good year. Enjoy your cycling and stay safe and follow the club guidelines at http://hartlepool-cycleclub.org/?page_id=242
Sunday Ride Group
The club still holds regular Sunday morning group rides at 9am from the Golden Lion. These range from 40 to 50 miles at a steady 14-15mph with a cafe stop. The Sunday ride is generally a steady sociable and enjoyable ride with fellow club members where nobody is left behind and all riders are looked after and safety is paramount. The Sunday ride is usually advertised on the club Strava & Facebook pages on a Friday. New members are very welcome to join us and we would love to see more cyclists join in on our ever popular group rides in 2023.
Club Hosted Events
This year the club will be hosting the following Open Time Trial events on the A19 from Crathorne. These are official CTT approved course events held and supported by HCC. Entries are via the CTT website and competed by cyclists from many clubs.
21st May – The Hartlepool CC 10 Mile Open Time Trial event.
25th June – The Hartlepool CC 25 Mile Open Time Trial event.
Please let the club know if you would like to ride or help marshall an event. Event entries will be open in a few weeks time. Transport and Refreshments provided if required for marshalling.
This year we are not hosting a 50 Mile Open TT due to the number of marshalls required. Therefore, hosting just the 2 events we hope would allow members to better support the club. We would also like to thank all our amazing marshalls, timekeepers and organisers for all last years events, including the hosting of the National 50 Mile Open TT event, which was a big event and a great success!
Club Championship Events
This year the club will continue to hold a range of Club Championship events. These are set events that HCC members can compete in to win cups/trophies and plaques. Please see http://hartlepool-cycleclub.org/?page_id=1800 for all last years winners. The 2023 events will be added to the club website in a few weeks time. But these will include the following….
10 Mile TT, 25 Mile TT, Spoco 23 Mile TT and a Hill Climb TT.
There is no 50 Mile TT club Championship event this year as the club have decided to streamline the events.
Weekly Time Trial League
This year we have decided to continue our popular weekly Time Trial League held on the Seal Sands road on Wednesday nights starting in May.
This is a weekly timed 10 Mile time trial from Billingham Country Park to the Hartlepool Power Station and back, which is available for anyone to enter including non members. Entry is on the night and club members who take part are awarded points for their position each week and the person with the most points out of so many qualifying events wins the HCC 2023 League TT plaque. Last year this was won by Lee Morley. The event is a club held event and is designed to improve your speed.
Non Competitive Events/Rides
Club members also regularly look forward to riding the following events and arrange meet ups to ride them together.
May 14th – The Stokesley Charity Ride – this is a 30 Mile ride starting and finishing at Stokesley Town Hall. This is a great non competitive event with riders of all abilities riding for charity. On it’s 25th anniversary and final reported ride, this is likely to be a good one!
TBC – The club 100 in 8 event – this is a club organised ride of 100 miles which must be completed in under 8 hours.
TBC July – The Stockton Sportive – always a good ride with varying distances and has a huge turnout every year.
TBC Oct – A Weekend of Cycling in Menorca – some club members arrange a weekend of cycling in Spain.
Other Events
Croft 10 Mile Time Trials – Often a series of 6 ‘come and try it’ events over the summer round the Croft Motor Circuit track. These are well organised traffic free time trials open to all abilities and you can enter on the night. Some of our members love this event!
Subs for 2023
I would like to remind all members that annual subs are now due for the 2023 season. The club have decided to keep the fee to £10 to make this affordable for all. Although we would still highly recommend signing up to British Cycling for third party insurance purposes.
To renew your subs for 2023, please pay £10 to Hartlepool Cycling Club, Sort No 05-09-75, Account Number 42357332. Please ensure you add your name so that we know who has paid.
To join Hartlepool Cycling Club, please complete the form on our website at http://hartlepool-cycleclub.org/?page_id=101 and pay the relevant fee as above.
Bereavements
In 2022 the club witnessed the passing of three former well known and respected club members:-
Norman Bielby who was heavily involved in the timekeeping of club events for many years.
Ken Bainbridge who was a life member and joined the club in the 1940s was a well known member of the club and his sister Dot was also a member of the club. Her husband Lewis Hall is still a life member of the club.
Norman Taylor – who was a well known club member in the 1950s/60s who enjoyed training with the club, but never raced.
The club would like to thank you, you will not be forgotten and hope you all rest in peace.