Month: April 2016

Our club is getting bigger and better, which means there are plenty of great opportunities to get involved and help our fantastic teams.

Check out the list below and please get in touch if you’d like to lend a hand or just find out more!

Marshal Training and the Enstone crit

Jonny Revis has organised marshall training for the Oxfordshire Road Race League on Sunday 1st May at Enstone. We know its a bank holiday weekend BUT if you’re in Oxford and you’d like to help out at a couple of races this year, please do consider putting your name down. It’s a great chance to learn about what goes on behind the scenes and you’ll be directly contributing to keeping your club members and other riders safe during the races.
Following the training there will be afternoon crit races for women plus Cat 4 and Cat 2/3 men! This course is fast and furious with lots of corners to get your teeth into. If you’re in Oxford please come and race or put your newly learned marshalling skills into practice!
When: Sunday 1st May plus hopefully one or two ORRL dates
Speak to: Jonny Revis

Ride Leading

Ride leading is the backbone of our club and if people didn’t step up to lead rides we simply wouldn’t exist! It’s been great to see new and old faces at the recent ride leader training sessions. Now is the time to put your skills to good use! With lots more people joining we’ll need more ride leaders and helpers going out, particularly at the social end of the spectrum. We’d love to encourage all members to get more involved and if you’d like an ‘old hand’ present for your first few in charge please just let us know, we’re happy to help!
When: as soon as you can! 🙂
Speak to: Cheryl Reid or Jon Harle

Time Trials

We all love a time trial pain cave. But sometimes its nice just to watch other people suffering instead! We always need helpers to do sign on, stand at roundabouts, act as stopwatch time lords or take pictures of us gurning. If you’d like to help out then speak to one of the awesome TT committee! Choose your dates tactically and you can avoid riding the 25 mile TT 😉
When: 10th May, 16th June, 16th July, 18th August, 19th September (hill climb)
Speak to: Cathy Naylor, Brett Kamino, Rob Freshwater or Tyra Rivkin

Racing

You might be aware that sometime we host our own races! (see Enstone crit above). We’re also running an ORRL race on 10 July and may even have a cyclo-cross race later in the year to play with! Similar to the time trials, we need help with sign on, marshalling and photo bombing. You can even help scope out the best place for cheerleading – aka Condor’s corner!
When: Sunday 10th July ORRL
Speak to: Stephen Tearne

Bike Oxford

Sunday 11th September is the day for the calendar! We’re extremely lucky to have our own sportive and it takes a good bit of manpower over the weekend. From putting up signs the day before, taking them down afterwards, manning the feed stations, helping with sign on or handing out finisher medals, there are lots of jobs that need doing. If you’re not riding this year please consider volunteering and you’ll get free entry in 2017!
When: Sunday 11th September
Speak to: Jonny Revis

Website Officer

Tom Woodforde did a fantastic job with our lovely website and since he stepped down, Cheryl and Jon have been covering this role. While they’ve managed not to break it (yet!) it would be great to have someone who really knows what they are doing. Uploading and managing content are the key requirements, but if you’re a technical wizard then we might find more exciting jobs for you! This role sits on the board and it means you get hang out with all the other cool board members plus have a say in what goes on in the club!
When: as soon as you like! 🙂
Speak to: Cheryl Reid

Treasurer

We are very sad to say that Hari will be moving away during the summer which means we’ll be looking for a new treasurer before long. It’s a really important role which also sits on the board – you have to be confident with accounts, budgeting and online banking. It’s a lot of fun too, as you get to veto some of our crazier ideas! (pink and black balloon tunnels, flag pyrotechnics etc).
When: around July time
Speak to: Cheryl Reid or Hari Lehal

As you can see there are lots of ways to give back. If you have any questions about these, or any other opportunities within the club please do get in touch at [email protected] or catch Cheryl Reid or Jon Harle during the next ride.

Keep the volunteering up!

Owned by top condor and Kit Officer Mark Glendinning, Green Oak specialise in all types of construction, design, carpentry and joinery. Ask nicely and they might even make you a house in the shape of a bicycle! Green Oak were instrumental in supporting us with the Helen & Douglas House charity event in March and we look forward to wearing their green leaves on our kit.

Four of our lovely condors work at this amazing digital design company, located off the Cowley Road. You might remember seeing some of Jo Lankester’s fantastic design work at the hill climb championship, on the membership card or the flyers in Beeline. But that barely scratches the surface of what they really do! From web design to mobile apps, White October have the whole spectrum covered. 

If you’re looking for the best sports nutrition delivered to your front door, look no further. Our favourite nutrition team, led by keen cyclists Jonathan Beckett and Huw Williams will sort you out a fantastic selection of gels, bars and drinks. They even offer a 10% discount for Condor members! The variety box is proving to be a popular favourite among club members, check out the full range here

You’ll be seeing all three represented on the kit in the next order. We are extremely pleased to that they are supporting the Condors and the club’s continued success.