Current Rules Regarding Group Rides

From Monday 29th March we will be allowed to re-start cycling events and activities as part of the Government easing of COVID-19 restrictions.

What that means for Ipswich Bicycle Club

We can participate in organised events such as road time trials, road races, mountain biking, cycle speedway, track racing, cyclo-cross and Sportives. Full British Cycling guidance for organisers and participants can be found here Our-plan-to-resume-cycling-events-and-activities

For Group and Club events we can resume the Saturday Social Rides. Full British Cycling guidance for this can be found here The_Way_Forward_-_Groups_and_Clubs_-_March_2021

Taking the aspects that are particularly relevant for SSR please note the following:

1.2.1 Appropriate social distancing must be maintained before, after and when not

actively participating in cycling activities.

1.2.2 British Cycling-affiliated Club rides or recreation programme rides, which

adhere to the guidance set out, can take place with up to 15

participants, on highways, trails and tracks. Informal riding (i.e., groups of friends

meeting to ride together) will still be limited to the Rule of Six.

Note: IBC Ride Leader guidelines suggest groups of no more than 10 and is at the Ride Leaders discretion on how comfortable they feel.

1.2.5 Social interaction before and after cycling activities should only take place

outdoors, and in separate and distinct groups consisting of up to six people or

two households.

2.1 Guidance for group and club rides

While many people will be keen to resume club and group activity it is imperative

that all participants set an example and follow these guidelines to ensure that the

risk of infection/transmission of the virus is minimised.

Strong hand hygiene should be practiced by all involved before, during and after

all cycling activity.

2.2 Before the activity

2.2.1 Participants must not attend a ride or session if they have Covid-19

symptoms, have someone in their household who does and are in the extremely

vulnerable category or if they have been asked to remain at home by the UK

Government test and trace system.

2.2.2 At this step of the Government’s roadmap, you should minimise time spent

outside your home, but you can leave your home to exercise and take part in

informal and organised sport and physical activity. You should always check that

it’s safe to travel before you set out to take part in cycling activities.

2.2.3 Carefully consider the risks when planning your route, avoiding busy areas

where possible, and consider how social distancing measures may impact on the

activity, including things like the areas where you start, stop or take a break.

2.2.4 Participants planning to attend a facility for a ride or session should check

if it is open and what additional Covid-secure measures are in place.

2.2.5 Consider the space needed for club activities, ensuring that participants

are able to maintain appropriate social distancing while not riding.

2.2.6 Where possible all bookings and consent forms should be completed

online prior to the session or activity. Where this is not possible clubs should write

down the details of participants.

2.2.7 Ensure all participants are aware of the safety guidelines and what is

expected before, during and after the activity, including what participants are

expected to do to maintain compliance with social distancing guidelines and all

other health, hygiene and safety guidelines.

2.2.8. Participants should not stay away from home overnight for sport and

physical activity.

2.3 During the activity

2.3.1 Participants must practice good respiratory hygiene during the activity

(i.e. coughing, sneezing into a tissue or the crook of an elbow).

2.3.2 Riders will be required to maintain a ‘one metre plus’ distance from others

while riding.

2.3.3 When riding two abreast, we advise that riders should aim to stay beside

the same rider for as much of the ride as possible

2.3.4 Clubs and groups which do not feel confident or comfortable riding in

groups of 15 at this stage are permitted and encouraged to set a lower limit which

is appropriate for their own circumstances.

2.3.5 Ensure all health and safety and emergency First aid guidelines are followed.

2.3.6 Participants must provide their own equipment and refreshments and avoid

sharing the like of water bottles and food.

2.3.7 Exercise within your personal physical and technical limitations to try and

avoid additional burden on the NHS and the First aiders present.

2.3.8 In line with government guidelines, masks or face coverings are not

required while taking part in cycling activities. All forms of face coverings may

restrict breathing efficiency and should not be used during exercise unless your

doctor advises it.

2.3.8 Refreshment stops are permitted, however at these points you should

default to the Government’s general guidance for social meetings and split into

wholly separate groups of no more than six riders. Individuals shouldn’t move

between different groups during your stop.

You should also make yourself aware of and adhere to all other guidance put in

place by the establishment.

2.4 After the activity

2.4.1 Participants should wash/sanitise their hands after the session.

2.4.2 Participants leaving the activity must maintain social distancing.

2.4.3 If a participant or coach develops Covid-19 symptoms within two days of

taking part in British Cycling activity, they should first ensure that they follow NHS

Test and Trace guidance. This means self-isolating, booking a test and informing

NHS Test and Trace of relevant contacts if the test is positive. They should also

inform the Club, leader or coach so that the other participants can be quickly

informed and take the necessary steps in line with NHS Test and Trace guidelines

When asked by NHS contact tracers, coaches, leaders and club volunteers are

permitted to share details of participants where relevant to support the process.

When informing other participants, a club, leader or coach should not name the

person who tested positive when informing others in order to protect their privacy,

unless there is a specific reason as to why they need to do so.

Ipswich Bicycle Club Virtual Reliability Ride

9am Sunday 21st March

Zwift – Surrey Hills

As outdoor group rides remain restricted, we are doing the next best thing and running a group Reliability Ride on Zwift starting at 9am on Sunday 21st March. The ride will be about 50 miles (two laps of the Surrey Hills route) with the option to only do one lap for those looking for a shorter ride. The event is open to all including non IBC members and other local clubs. The ride will be set up on Zwift the week before so please put it in your diary now! If you would like an invite, please follow me (Chris Rudolph) on Zwift and let me know in the comments below. I hope that we will have ride leaders riding at varying speeds on the day. If you would like to volunteer let me know. Looking forward to seeing you on the ride. If you have any questions please get in touch. Chris

British Cycling Updated COVID-19 Guidance

How can I continue to ride?

Under the new restrictions you are permitted to cycle, and we would encourage you to do so, while following these rules:

  • You should only ride alone, with your household/support bubble or one other person.
  • Stay local, ride within your limits and ensure you are self-sufficient. ?
  • Leave the house to exercise only once each day. ?
  • Keep a safe distance from others and practice good respiratory hygiene (i.e., no spitting, use a tissue).
  • You can only leave your home to exercise, and not for the purpose of leisure (such as a picnic or a coffee break). ?
  • If you need to travel, such as to work or go to the shops, you are encouraged to cycle where possible.?

What do you mean by local?

Last month British Cycling, along with British Triathlon and Cycling UK, wrote to the Government to ask for clarity on the use of the world local in its published guidance for the current national lockdown.

In his response, the Minister for Sport reiterated the importance of exercise for our physical and mental wellbeing, and stressed that riders should remain as local as possible while exercising and use their common sense to determine what is and is not a reasonable distance – reflecting the fact that each individual will have different personal circumstances.

As a result of this, our recommendation is that you should ride from your front door where possible, ride within your ability and ensure that you are self-sufficient. If you do need to travel for exercise, you should do this as close to home as possible. We all have our part to play in reducing the spread of the virus, and by riding responsibly and taking extra precautions (such as avoiding crowded areas) we’ll be helping to keep ourselves and our communities safe.

Former IBC member, Joan, to walk 102 laps of local park before her 102nd birthday!

Former NHS worker and WW2 veteran, Joan aims to walk a lap of Allenby Park’s pathways 102 times before her 102nd birthday in September to raise money for the NHS. (Each daily lap is 560 metres door to door.) This Girl Can!

Joan was born in 1918 at the height of the Spanish flu epidemic. There was no NHS to help sufferers then, in fact, no NHS until Joan was 30 years old. She will be 102 years of age on her next birthday. Not only was she part of the generation that that knows what it’s like to be without the NHS, she was an NHS worker herself – first at Hillingdon Hospital, then at Felixstowe General Hospital as an auxiliary nurse in the Outpatient Department from 1964 to 1978. She loved working there, and the inspirational, dedicated people she worked with. She is also proud to have had a great aunt who was a matron at St Thomas’ Hospital.

Joan says: ‘Even behind a mask today’s NHS workers can make people smile, so let’sall smile.’

Joan’s early life: places she has lived

Joan was born in Meriden, as she refers to it: ‘The very heart of England’. She lived in a variety of places as a child – her father was a writer and travelled for inspiration so as well as Meriden, when she was very young Joan lived in Borehamwood, Coombe Martin and Herne Bay, but for most of her life Joan lived and went to school in four different parts of Suffolk: Felixstowe, Hadleigh, Sudbury and Ipswich.

Her first job was in Ipswich, working on a vegetable stall in the Butter Market – cold work, with chilblains on her hands. Later, during the late 1930s to early 1940s, Joan worked as a manager of the Co-op greengrocer on Norwich Road, Ipswich.

In Joan’s spare time, she was a keen member of the Ipswich Bicycle Club. Known at the time by her maiden name, Joan Ashford was joined in IBC by her sister Jean, brother Ted and future brother-in-law Ted Wyard. She still has her club badge!

Joan had two bikes, one she saved up for and had made in an Ipswich bike shop opposite the Regent Theatre. She chose a green frame, which she was very proud of, and cycled in shorts or plus fours with thick knee length woolly socks. Joan enjoyed long trips, time-trials and exploring Suffolk. Every Sunday IBC gathered at The Greyhound pub in Claydon and set off from there on their treks. IBC mixed with the Bedford Bicycle Club too and Joan made great friends in both clubs. She unexpectedly met up with some from IBC in very different circumstances, after VJ Day in 1945.

War years

When war broke out in 1939 Joan was living in Ipswich. She met up with her cycling friends that day. They rode the Suffolk lanes, wondering what the future held for them all, and when they would get the chance to cycle together again.

Joan continued working at the greengrocer, adding voluntary Ipswich fire-watch duties to her weekly routine. In 1942 she joined the Army and was posted to Nottingham, then to the Middle East as a ‘Red Cap’ with the Provost.

Ever a carer Joan’s Middle East military duties included greeting and helping with the rehabilitation of POWs returning from Japanese camps. Released POWs docked in Alexandria and spent time there, before completing their journey home to England. Imagine Joan’s surprise when a new arrival called out, ‘Joan, you’re a bloody Red Cap!’ It was not just one, but a gang of her good friends from the Ipswich Bicycle Club, who had joined the Suffolk Regiment and been captured at the start of WW2.

The significance of Allenby Park(s)

Two Allenby Parks have been significant in Joan’s life because, by coincidence, in the MiddleEast Joan lived close to Jerusalem’s Allenby Gates and the city’s Allenby Park. BothFelixstowe and Jerusalem parks were named after Lord Edmund Allenby, 1 st Viscount Allenbyof Megiddo and Felixstowe. Famous for his military achievements in Jerusalem in 1918, LordAllenby once lived in a large house, called Felixstowe House which, until 1923 stood on thecurrent site of Suffolk’s Allenby Park. For the last fifty-three years, more than half her life,Joan has lived in a house with views of Felixstowe’s Allenby Park. She loves her house andintends to stay there!

Post War Years and NHS Work

In 1947, back in civilian life, Joan returned to Felixstowe with the man she married inJerusalem. In the 1950s, they lived, worked, and raised a family of four in Buckinghamshire.For part of this time Joan worked as an auxiliary nurse in Hillingdon Hospital, her first role inthe NHS.

In 1964 Joan came back to Felixstowe, after her husband died, bringing her children withher. She was a true trailblazer for mothers who are single parents, working hard, again as anauxiliary nurse for fourteen years until her retirement in 1978.Joan often recalls making trips from Felixstowe’s hospital to nearby to Allenby Park in hernurse’s uniform, to retrieve a patient who had sneaked off to sit in the park’s relaxing grounds!

Charity and Voluntary Work

Once retired Joan worked in a charity shop. She also used her nursing skills as a volunteer for Felixstowe’s Mencap Club, Gateway. To celebrate 25 years of voluntary work for Gateway,she held a mini garden party at her daughter’s former house, to raise money for the group. Onher 90 th birthday Joan didn’t want gifts but had a strawberry tea in a village hall to raise moneyfor Cancer Research UK. In 2013, aged a mere 95, Joan completed a 5K charity walk forCancer Research UK.

Present Day

Joan loves walking in Allenby Park, enjoying the flowers, trees, wildlife, and friendly visitors she meets. When the gates reopened, Joan resumed her regular park walks and marvelled at the NHS motive of love mown into the grass. She hopes to raise money for the NHS by completing a daily circuit of Allenby Park’s pathways totalling 102 walks before her birthday. There and back is 560 metres, of course, she’ll keep socially distanced, and only go when weather permits. Although Joan now uses a walking frame, the Allenby challenge should be a walk in the park for Joan! On 22 nd April she walked through the open gates and the countdown began.

Please support former NHS worker, Joan by giving a donation to the NHS, no matter how

small. http://justgiving.com/fundraising/Diane-Rich1

Save The Date!

The annual Ipswich Bicycle Club awards evening will be held on Saturday 21st March 2020 at Ipswich Sports Club, Henley Road IP1 4NJ.

This is set to be a fun evening including live entertainment, a fabulous buffet and presentation of awards. This a fantastic opportunity for members to socialise ‘off the bike’.

Tickets are £10.00 each and payment can be taken via Paypal as ‘Friends and Family’ to ibcsecretary@btinternet.com. Please quote ‘awards 2020’ when purchasing your tickets. If you are not familiar with Paypal you can purchase tickets using cash at Elmy Cycles.

Ipswich Bicycle Club Road Race

Ipswich Bicycle Club is hosting the local road race this weekend (7th July) on the Butley Circuit. Once again using the Community Centre at Tunstall for the HQ.

You can find more info about the event on the British Cycling website, download the race programme for all the details, and download the GPS of the circuit

The National Escort Group will be in attendance for the safety and well running of the event, which forms part of the Eastern Road Race League

Racing starts at 09:30 after a short rollout to the actual circuit.

With riders from all over the East, this is a fast course without too much traffic. The weather should provide dry conditions.

Regrettably the Club had to cancel the Womens race due to the low entrant numbers, but does hope to hold it next year subject to entries.

The Club extends its thanks to all involved, and its appreciation to the riders for choosing this event.


Point to Point Challenge

Bank Holiday Monday 27th May

A team based fun cycling event for a bit of fun to see if they can work out the clues and navigate to each destination by the quickest or shortest route!

Teams will be given their start pub location in he morning on the day. Clues to the following pub destination will be issued.

Teams will have to navigate to each of the 5 pub locations however they like in turn using the clues given, before each team navigating to the final 6th pub.

Maybe finish off with a couple of drinks and dinner with everybody at the end.

Final pub location is within easy reach of Ipswich, so cycling home wont be an issue.

If enough teams enter we will have teams traveling clockwise and anti clockwise around to the destinations

All team members must arrive at each designation together

Clues will be sent to each team via messenger, text or similar.

Proof of all team members being at each location must be given prior to receiving next clue.

All team members must be current members of IBC

All team members must wear club Jersey (if they have one)

Maximum of 10 team places will be available

What do you win!…… The knowledge that you are this years point to point champions

Please get your teams together, appoint a team leader and get in contact with me to book a place timcanham75@gmail.com