Welcome to your weekly news roundup of information we hope you will find interesting. In this week's issue we focus on what's coming up in September with a few weekends you really don't want to miss; we list just a taster of the exciting events coming up on the race calendar in the new Race Corner; and share a note of thanks from the Users Group. We get to know MTB Coach Alex Araujo in the Who's Who Corner a bit better; read about two Slipstreamers trying out something new for the first time our Chatter Box Corner; and list some important information woth noting in the Reminders section - in particular that of the current Member Survey, the next kit sale, and of course the all important Diary Dates. We round up with the weekly race results in the Winners Corner, and bring you something comical in the (now) monthly  Did You Know section!

As usual, Parents, please ensure your children read their newsletter and are aware of what's going on! Feel free to email us their email address/es, and we'll send the weekly issue directly to their inbox to save you having to do so yourself. We hope you enjoy this week's issue!

 

Coming up in September - The Highlights

The Summer holidays are almost over and soon enough you'll all be back at school, parents return to work, and for those of you who haven't spent your Summer on two wheels, hopefully back on your bikes! The race season event calendar is picking up again in the various disciplines (see the Race Corner), and Saturdays in September will be very busy at the Club.

Whilst by no means an exhaustive list of what will be happening, we bring to your attention the following highlights worth noting:
 

Off-Site Mountain Biking at Dews Farm - 13th September

The final off-site mountain biking session for the year takes place on the 13th September at Dews Farm Quarry in Harefield. There is no mountain biking at the clubhouse on this date, and we would encourage anyone interested in getting a sense of what the mountain bikers get up to to talk to the MTB coaches about joining the off-site session. However, you do need to be aware that the quarry terrain is fairly technical, so you must already have a suitable level of mountain biking ability to attend, as well as an appropriate off road mountain bike with gears. If in doubt, do talk to the MTB coaches, or feel free to email us. If you are interested in attending this session for the first time, and have got the go-ahead from the MTB coaches, please kindly confirm this by emailing sigon@slipstreamers.co.uk BEFORE the 13th.

 

Safety Saturday with the Met Police - 20th September

• A large lorry will be parked for children to climb into and shown the view of the road of a lorry driver as seen through the lorry mirrors.
• There will be bike marking available free of charge so if you have any spare or family bikes lying around at home, do bring them along to be be marked and registered on the national police database.
• We will have some fun with a radar gun where the police will accurately speed test Slipstreamers in action - there will be prizes for the fastest recorded in each age group!!
• And just in time for those of you thinking about cycling to school on your own, but haven't yet done Bikeability training, Hillingdon Council have arranged 2 Bikeability instructors, totally free of charge, to come along and take some of you onto the road to be trained to a basic level of road safety competence.
• Finally, if don't want to hang out with the Police or Bikeability, your Coaches will also be getting involved by checking bikes and clothing for safety, and also putting on some safety training of their own! 

Club Family Fun Day (Incorporating Club Champs!) - 27th September

Our annual Family Fun Day is almost upon us! This event brings Slipstreamers families together in a more social context, where members get to spend the whole day together having fun, and everyone getting to know each other a bit better. The day promises to be an exciting one, where Slipstreamers will be able to take part in 2 of the 5 Club Champs categories, specifically the Skills and Time Trials; and enjoy a series of games that will include the likes of cycle football, relay races, water games, tug of war, and many others! Whilst we cannot guarantee sunshine and warm weather, we assure you there will be fantastic music; delicious refreshments, including a barbecue; and without a doubt a wonderful day to be had by all. Do bookmark this date in your diaries, and we hope to see you all there!

 

Summit 65 MTB Ride in the Chilterns - Sunday 14th September

 

 

Volunteers Needed - Will You Help Us Parents?

It's that time again when we reach out to Parents to help us with the running the various aspects of your children's club. Simply put, we need more volunteers to help us in the various aspects of running the club, more so now as we continue to grow. We currently have an incredible bunch of volunteers who dedicate their spare time to the club and the development of each and every Slipstreamer, and without whom the club cannot function - it is that simple. Some of us are teachers, writers, police officers, doctors, lawyers, directors, artists and so on etc, so we fully understand that time is precious, especially with family!!  But even just 30 minutes to an hour of will make a difference, and will help us take this amazing club even further for the children we give our time for willingly because we want each and every one of them to succeed!

If you are able to spare some time for the club, perhaps on a Saturday morning, at a race event, or during the week for an hour or two, we particularly need your help in the following areas:

Club Operations & Administration: We are always in need of people to help us run the various aspects of the back office. We need assistance with data entry into spreadsheets, editorial work for the newsletter, and curation/ collation of information - to name but a few. If you know how to use a computer at a basic level, or even have more intermediate/ advanced skills, please come forward - we could use you, and any bit of additional help would be welcomed! Even if you don't know how to use a computer - there are loads of other areas you can help out with, so do get in touch!

Volunteering at Races: Club Champs are coming up, as are many race events that will require helpers. We are always on the lookout for volunteers to help with marshalling, judging, first aid, flag waving, trophy organisers, bell ringing, lap board changing and gear checking - among others. If you would like to be part of the group of volunteers that can be called on to assist, please let us know.

So the big question to you is: are you interested in helping? If the answer is yes, please get in touch by reply to this email, letting us know where you want to help (operations or races or both), your general skills, and availability. Every contribution matters, so please do come forward and help us run your children's club!

 

Who's Who Corner - Meet Your Volunteers & Coaches

I’d like to go to the precise point in time and exact location where the wheel was invented – the mysterious person or people responsible could then be properly honoured for the rest of time!

{If you could be any fictional character from a book, comic, movie etc., whom would you choose?}
I’m showing my age, but there was a video game back in the mid-1980s called Grog’s Revenge (yes kids, there were video games back then).  The main character was called Thor – a very cool caveman riding a stone unicycle searching for the meaning of life and collecting clams as he went.  What a great lifestyle!  Here’s a picture of him:

{If you could be any animal, bird or insect for a day, what would you choose?}
I’m Canadian, and was shocked to find that Canada is probably the only country in the world without a national bird.  In my own opinion, it should be the Gavia Arctica, also known as the ‘Loon’, with its haunting, magical call.  I’d be one for a day, visit Parliament, and make my case for National Birdship!
 

Last weekend, on the 23rd August, Alexander Uphill and Ben Bisson took part in their first cyclocross race at the Crawley Wheelers Summer Cross in the Park, Grass Criterium, and our 1st cyclo-cross race of the season for Slipstreamers. Both boys raced in the Under 12 race, so they were up against a few older boys and girls too; racing on their road bikes with slick tyres! Normally, one would ride with a cyclo-cross bike, but it is indeed possible to ride with a road bike or a mountain bike - although this would be a slight disadvantage to you. Fortunately for Ben and Alex, it was dry enough to not be too much of a disadvantage, and even though there were a few wheel spins, they battled hard and raced well with full-on commitment! Not bad going for a first time, especially as Alex took a well-earned second place on the podium, with Ben coming in a fantastic 5th. Well done boys!

Needless to say, they had a wonderful time and totally loved the experience - wanting to do more now! If you have never tried cyclocross before, give it a go - perhaps you'll be like Ben and Alex and love it; but you won't know until you try!

Do you have a race/ cycling experience to share? Riders, please keep sending us any race notes of your experiences - even if it's a line or two, updates you want to share, race musings and general comments - this is your newsletter, and this is your section to share your thoughts with your fellow Slipstreamers. Parents, please take photos of your children at the various races they represent Slipstreamers at so we can showcase them in this newsletter. Do email your contributions to us at sigon@slipstreamers.co.uk

 

Tour of Britain Final Stage Race - Update

 

 

 

Thank you to everyone who has submitted their feedback - this is incredibly helpful. Unfortunately, we have only received comments and input from a handful of our members and parents - we really need ALL our  U16 Members to please take a few minutes to click the survey link , and let us know about your Slipstreamers experience to date, good or bad, and how YOU want the club to improve. Every single comment will be logged and reviewed, and we promise to consider every single suggestion and take on board all your input to ensure we run the club based on what our members what. YOUR VOICE MATTERS! So please Members, make sure you fill in your survey as soon as possible and let us know what you would like to see at your club.

A reminder that Prime Coaching are holding a skills session morning for grown-ups on Sunday September 7th, which will be led by some of the coaches you already know from Slipstreamers. This is great for parents of Slipstreamers who would like to learn similar bike handling skills to those which their children have. Road bikes are not required, and any bike style can be used as long as it has 2 brakes and is safe and road worthy. Helmets must be worn. If we get enough takers, we might lay on the Bronze assessment course!! For more details if you are interested, please click here.

If you recently passed your assessment in August, and are owed a certificate, these wil be handed out on Saturday after the main session, during the announcements. Please don't ask us for these in the morning, as we will be busy printing them out - they will only be ready after 12! If you are owed a certificate from assessments pre August, then feel free to see us anytime as it is likely we have these in our uncollected pile.

We are hoping to have new kit in stock and ready for sale during early October. For further details, please email kit@slipstreamers.co.uk directly.  Chris will be able to advise you via email what is available for purchase currently, and what will be due in a a few weeks.

 

Fancy a Free BC Licence?

If you are not yet a British Cycling member and wish to join, please email membership@slipstreamers.co.uk and Asti will explain how you can get your first year of BC membership free, which includes a free youth racing license.
 

 

Winners Corner!

 

Saturday Club Session Races - 23rd August...

And the weekly session winners recorded in our Winner's Corner are:
 

Mountain Bike Racers:

1st place for the boys is William Jones, and Priya Sunda for the girls
 

Circuit Racers:

U8  : James Brown for the boys, Shehrezade Graham and Bobbie O'Brien for the girls
U10: Tom Stringer for the boys, Millie Coleman for the girls
U12: Nathan George for the boys, Ella Coleman for the girls
U14: Matt Harrop for the boys, and Zoe Brooks for the girls
U16: Ben Moriarty for the boys, no girls


Fantastic results all of you!!

 

From Further Afield, Wearing the Slipstreamers Colours...

BC West Thames 20, 23rd August

U12 Boys:  1st Nathan George,     2nd Oisin Murphy
U12 Girls:  1st Isabella Escalera,   2nd  Abby Old
U10 Boys:  1st  Joseph O'Brien,     2nd  Jed Smithson,      3rd  Alex Uphill
U8 Boys:    1st Finlay Hawker,      2nd  Finn O'Brien
U8 Girls:    1st  Millie Coleman,    2nd  Bobbie O'Brien,     3rd  Kim Bowler

 

Summer Cross in the Park Grass Criterium, 23rd August

Our 1st cyclo-cross race of season for Slipstreamers
U12/10 Boys overall :  2nd  Alex Uphill,   5th Ben Bisson

 

Well done to every single one of you, and if you didn't win or don't see your name above, don't worry - there are plenty more opportunities to race at each Saturday session and at all the various races out there, so keep at at, and please don't give up!!


 

Did You Know...?

Cycling has Featured in Comic Strips for Years...