FNRttC - could it be a club?

[StuAff]

Whatever is decided about affiliation, I'd be happy to add on the little extra necessary to pay for the convenience of Paypal.

+1. Darn sight easier than lugging a load of £1 coins and/or cheques around on a Friday night.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Run it on prosecco socialist lines; membership fees from each according to their means, to each according to their need. I've no doubt many of the riders would happily sheel out over the odds, as you've proposed them, to subsidise freebies for the noobs.

What does a 100km Audax cost to do? If we really want to compare apples with apples how much does a 100km sportive cost to ride? The Friday club is a year's worth of fun and a great community to be a part of, not a one off, so in my book the vfm aspect is off the scale.

 

[PpPete]

Run it on prosecco socialist lines; membership fees from each according to their means, to each according to their need. I've no doubt many of the riders would happily sheel out over the odds, as you've proposed them, to subsidise freebies for the noobs.

What does a 100km Audax cost to do? If we really want to compare apples with apples how much does a 100km sportive cost to ride? The Friday club is a year's worth of fun and a great community to be a part of, not a one off, so in my book the vfm aspect is off the scale.

Too much... (as discussed elsewhere)
If club membership were up around that level, I for one, might be having second thoughts, even for " a year's worth of fun"

 

[dellzeqq]

All this is great stuff, and I'm absolutely overwhelmed by Abs' offer to be treasurer not least because there is nobody else I'd rather slow down (it being a DZ rule not to be dropped by girlies).

The affiliation via another club is good, but the only difference is the £72 which between us we can easily afford (and, in any case I'd be saving something like £35 on personal CTC membership). And, to be fair, it would be a bit of an imposition to go to the Anerley or Pollards Hill or even Brixton Cycles and ask if I could tack on a ride that is probably bigger than their rides. Going to Lambeth LCC is a bit of a wild card - they may jump at it.

I have spoken at length with Rob Fuller of the CTC, who is always as helpful, and to BC (who recommended going to the CTC). The trouble is that there are rules, and, however tangential they may be to the broad thrust of the insurance policies I don't fancy just ignoring them.

I'm now corresponding direct with Butterworth Spengler who offer insurance to both the CTC and to the LCC and something may come of that.

 

[Wobblers]

3. Become an affiliate of the CTC. Start-up cost £72. That's not entirely bad. I could insist that all non-CTC members pay their twelve quid to become members of the club. That's tough on LCC members and BC members and even those people who have pukka third party insurance through their house insurance. http://www.ctc.org.u...-Affiliates.pdf Membership of the Club would be a quid, but non-CTC members would be charged £12. The real worry is that there is no way of knowing whether the helpers (TECs and Wayfinders) would be covered.

Wouldn't the TECs and wayfinders be classed as "officers"? In which case, as long as they're CTC members, they'd be covered, if I'm reading the terms correctly.

There may also be an advantage that you could let non-members try out a FNRttC once without having to pay anything and there would still be cover, though a limit of five per ride would be quite restrictive! But the lack of requirement of up-front commitment might make things look more welcoming.

 

[dellzeqq]

I've discussed the TEC and Wayfinder thing with Rob Fuller and we're not sure. Some of the regulars are registered as CTC rides leaders, and their position is pretty secure, but Andrij, for example, is an LCC member and can't therefore be a CTC rides leader.

I'm probably going to bother Butterworth Spengler with it.

 

[StuAff]

I'm now corresponding direct with Butterworth Spengler who offer insurance to both the CTC and to the LCC and something may come of that.

I have bike insurance with them for two of the fleet, been pretty good so far.

 

[MacB]

Hmm, just had a read of this, firslty the colour scheme on the FNRTTC blog is sending my eyes skewy, can't look at it for long, is there an option to change schemes?(this is the white on black doing the damage). Next there are three distinct aspects here:-

1. the affiliation, or not, of the ride and how the structure fits into insurance requirements - it seems to be agreed that 3rd party insurance is essential for all riders
2. selecting the optimal structure for the future of the ride - obviously the 'happy go lucky' days are gone but that ethos is worth preserving as much as possible
3. the administration and maintenance of the changes - who, what and where

Being me I have had most of my thoughts around point 3 and feel that some of them may bear relevance to 1 & 2. Piggy backing is good, whether it's via CTC, LCC, whatever. But has anyone considered the glaringly obvious CycleChat itself, could CC be affiliated and then the rest handled via our CC registration process? I admit to being unclear as to the whole insurance and affiliation bit but, from an administrative point of view, there's no point reinventing the wheel. Obviously input required from Shaun here as well, but it's not like demanding people participate in the forum. You just have various options when registering an account here, one of which leads you down the signing disclaimers and coughing up dosh route. We also chuck in an admin fee, per registration, to go to CC. It wouldn't make any difference to normal joining of CC, people could just check the appropriate box. This would mean that CC became the club with sub branches like FNRTTC.

 

[dellzeqq]

I've briefly discussed this idea with Shaun. He has his hands full with the forum.

I do think that there is a place in the market for a low-cost cycling organisation that offers

- rides that are insured (this costs the CTC next to nothing)
- third party insurance (this costs the CTC about £4 per member per year)
- an internet-based newsletter (there are a couple already that are quite good)
- discounts at shops (this is dead easy to arrange, and CC would rapidly surpass the Cyclists Welcome offering

A tie-up with the ACT (Association of Cycle Traders) would be good. Getting bike shops to sell membership of cycling organisations is so obvious that it isn't until you work out that the CTC has spent the best part of 20 years shitting on the bike trade that you realise why it hasn't been done.

You could knock this out for about twelve pounds a year. Again, the key to this is Butterworth Spengler - they're the underwriters of all things cycling. And it's about critical mass - you'd need a couple of thousand people to get the unit cost within reasonable bounds.

 

[Andrij]

I've discussed the TEC and Wayfinder thing with Rob Fuller and we're not sure. Some of the regulars are registered as CTC rides leaders, and their position is pretty secure, but Andrij, for example, is an LCC member and can't therefore be a CTC rides leader.

LCC member: yes
AudaxUK member: yes
CTC member: YES

But I admit to never being 'registered as a CTC rides leader'.

 

[User482]

I don't really have anything constructive to add, other than to say that the sums we're talking about represent excellent value to anyone thinking of taking part. So if it ends up costing a couple of quid each, then I shouldn't worry about charging it.

 

[MacB]

I don't really have anything constructive to add, other than to say that the sums we're talking about represent excellent value to anyone thinking of taking part. So if it ends up costing a couple of quid each, then I shouldn't worry about charging it.

wot he said, I'll happily kick in £20 for the year, in advance, whether I ride or not and it would still be a bargain. Plus if you get dosh up front like that, paypal/bank transfer, then there's very little in the way of collecting money nonsense for you on the night. Without trying to overcomplicate it I'd also support the idea of a greatly reduced, or free, membership for younger folks, say under 25? I've spent most of my life involved in rugby and golf clubs, a lot of that as a younger member(I started at a rugby club at age 8 and golf at age 7). I received a lot of support and encouragement from older people with no obligation other than a genuine interest in the future of the sport they're involved in. Unless I read it very poorly that would also seem to fit in with the ethos of the FNRTTC.

 

[dellzeqq]

LCC member: yes
AudaxUK member: yes
CTC member: YES

But I admit to never being 'registered as a CTC rides leader'.

apologies - in casting around for the archetypal LCC member I lit upon your name!

 

[PpPete]

You poor bastard. You can barely have any memory of a better life.

 

[dellzeqq]

I'm sorry that I used the words running in to the sand - because, one way or another it will be sorted.