CUCC Newsletter, December 1995 (first ever MTB trip to Thetford and first e-mail list)

18 Nov 1995

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY CYCLING CLUB 
NEWSLETTER # ONE MICHAELMAS TERM 
1995

Welcome to you all, both old and new club members. I hope 
you have all enjoyed the summer and are looking forward to 
the cycling activities which have been planned for this term. 
Since space is at a premium in this Newsletter, I better get 
straight down to business. Firstly, Tony Hornbuckle, our 
illustrious Racing Secretary, wants to have his say about 
cycling etiquette on the weekly road rides:

FORTHCOMING ROAD RIDES
Rides leave Brookside at 2pm on Saturdays:
Saturday 14th October – Standard Training rid-.
Saturday 21st October – Introductory 10 mile Time Trial. (Must be a club member to 
ride.)
Saturday 28th October – Standard Training Ride.
Saturday 4th November – Club Hill Climb, plus training ride. Meet at 1:30pm for 
this.

Rides are also going out currently on Tuesdays and 
Thursdays each week, meeting 2pm at Brookside. These will 
be around 25-30 miles long, with two groups going out if 
numbers permit.

FORTHCOMING BUSA ROAD EVENTS
17th March – 50km 4-up Team TTI' – Norfolk. Selection 
decided well into next term
27th April – 10 mile TT – CAMBRIDGE
11th May – 25 mile TT – OXFORD – VARSITY MATCH
26th May – 50 Mile TT – Norfolk

CUCC COMPUTER MAILING LIST
See this e-mail list for more details about these rides, and 
any other ones arranged at the last minute. If you want riding 
partners, or to sell/buy/lend/borrow any equipment, then mail 
the list – it keeps you up to date with what's happening in the 
club. To subscribe to the list, send a message containing 
'subscribe cucc' to majordomo@cycling.org

SATURDAY'S MTB RIDE
Jez Weston, our equally illustrious MTB Secretary, reports 
on last Saturday's MTB ride:
It was wet, windy and fifteen people turned up. Result! Jez 
tore his hair out, ran around lot (well, hobbled) and generally 
panicked. The van was heaped with bikes, Jeremy's car 
temporarily carried as many people as the van did bikes and 
the rack I borrowed off Paul Makepeace, you know just on 
the off chance that a million people turn up, was put to 
appropriate use. Anyway, everyone and their bikes got there 
in the end.
Bikes were reassembled, group leaders press-ganged 
(sorry, they volunteered 'coz they are all really nice people), 
maps distributed and everyone vanished in a flurry of gears. 
Jez chilled out in the van with lunch, a cuppa, the laptop and 
the stereo.
While I was sitting there all mellow and snug, the able-
legged members of the MTB section went and got cold, wet, 
muddy, knackered and (in some cases) bruised. Silly 
buggers. Me? Envious? Okay, just a tad.
Much to my surprise, the number of people that came back 
was exactly the same as the number that left. Seeing as 
everyone returned with grins on their faces, I'll assume that 
they enjoyed themselves. The fast group got heavily stuck 
into the technical singletrack that pmvides Thet's best riding, 
as well as a trip to the local scenic attraction – the squirrel. 
The slower group had, by all accounts, a more relaxed 
wander.
Pacewise, everyone in the slowei group said it was just right, 
not too fast, not too slow. Some of the faster group were 
asking for an intermediate ride, fine, get a map boys, and do 
it yourself. And everyone said they wanted to go again.
Thanks go to Jeremy, Steve and Phillip for providing cars, 
next time we'll even pay them for the petrol, and thanks to 
those who lead the groups. Saturday was an excellent start 
to what promised to be an excellent year.

FORTHCOMING MTB EVENTS
Next Sunday's ride (15th) will be to a different bit of Thetty. 
Meet at Brookside at 10am. Please let us know if you are 
coming, and if you've got a car then please get in touch.
21-22nd October – Either North York Moors trip or Viking 
Wheelers race in London. The North York Moors are the 
best riding that I've found in England, are dead pretty, not 
too muddy and the riding ranges from good fun to unfeasibly 
steep. Accommodation will be at a friend of mine's house. 
Further attractions include possible discounts at the well 
stocked local shops and a visit to the Hansell Composites 
factory, where they make some of the world's lightest carbon 
fibre frames.
29th October – Meet 10am at Brookside for a morning's ride 
in Epping Forest. Bit like Thetty, but with hills.
CONTACT: jpw24@earn (ALSO: Lab – 34338, W'olfson – 
30511, Mobile – 0468 166 964)

SUNDAY LEISURE RIDE
A particularly pleasant day ensured that the six riders who 
set out for this 30 mile spin around the more pleasant of 
Cambridgeshire's country lanes thoroughly enjoyed 
themselves. These gentle rides are a superb opportunity for 
relaxing and forgetting about the pressures of life in 
Cambridge, so it is to be hoped that the numbers present will 
grow over the course of the term.

CLUB SOCIALS
Yes, that's right, the unique brand of CUCC hedonism and 
debauchery returns for a new term. These weekly get-
togethers are an excellent opportunity to have a chat (and a 
drink or two) with your fellow club members. The first two 
events of the term will take place as follows:
Wednesday 18th October – 8.30pm – H3 New 
Court, St. John's College.
Wednesday 25th October – 8. 30pm – Room One, 
56 Grange Road.
Typically, those present will repair to a nearby hostelry (to be 
decided on the night) after a short while.

GENERAL NEWS
An order for club clothing will be sent towards the end of this 
term – more details (e.g. prices and sizes) to follow in the 
next Newsletter and on the Mailing List.
There is also the possibility that the club might be getting 
some form of sponsorship in the not too distant future. 
Needless to say, your ever-industrious committee is hard at 
work trying to turn this possibility into a reality. More details 
to follow. That's it for now, I'm afraid. See you all later.