West Surrey member publishes cycle-touring book

While the Sunday All-Day Intermediates were enjoying elevenses at Pilgrim Cycles at West Humble who should walk in but long-standing member Clive Williamson.

I expect that very few reading this will remember him, for he is now 86 and says that he no longer keeps up with club rides.  To jog your memories you could look at the first two photographs on this archive page.  He lives in Walton and rode with the Weybridge Wheelers until that club’s demise, and now he is a member of Little Ron’s club, the Hounslow and District Wheelers.

Only a couple of months ago he published a book describing a selection of his many world-wide cycle tours.  ‘Life Cycle’ is a substantial, well-produced paperback describing 18 tours widely scattered across the northern hemisphere, and is well illustrated with photographs and maps.  Many of the tours were solo, or with a single companion, enabling/requiring Clive to interact closely with the natives and cultures of the countries visited.  Another was a small group tour to Gorbachev’s Russia in 1990, with Clive in charge of the UK arrangements.  And a year later Clive organised a return visit of their Russian friends and led their tour of south-west England.  There are also accounts of a few CTC Tours to Asian destinations.

Clive writes well, and his accounts are as much about the people as about their lands.  A good read!  Recommended!  Make sure it goes on the Christmas present list of your nearest and dearest, or simply present yourself with it, like I did.

The paperback is available from Amazon or Waterstones at a very reasonable £10.99, and Amazon also sell a Kindle version at £5.99 but Clive says that has a problem with the display of the maps (electronic) which needs to be fixed.

Rastatt cycling trip

Many years ago, Rico Signore and Geoff Smith organised a twinning trip with Rastatt in Germany, and those who were fortunate enough to go will recall it as an unforgettable experience.

That city are now planning a very special tour next year to celebrate their 50th such event, and again have invited friends from Woking, as well as their other twin town of Ostrov in the Czech Republic.  The plan is for the tour to take place from 29th August to 10th September 2018, and the invitation is for 3 cyclists from our club, plus a car driver to provide support.  The tour will start with a special welcome in Rastatt, followed the next day with a drive to Orange in France, another twin town.  There will be another welcome in Orange, for those who have recovered sufficiently from the night before.

The cycling starts the following day from the triumphal arch in Orange, with 7 stages of approx. 150-160 kms per day, to Fano, Rastatt’s partner city in Italy.  There will be a rest day before the drive back home.

This should be a very special trip, and the organisers are even seeking European funding; don’t worry, we would still qualify, I am sure, despite Brexit.

If anyone is interested, please contact Rico who will put you in touch with the organisers.

John Murdoch

Ladies cycling jersey

It has been pointed out that the only ladies jersey available is the sport fit, which is described as unisex, and therefore may well not be ideal for ladies. I have therefore added another item to the list of clothing available, being:-
Ladies short sleeve pro fit jersey, 3/4 zip  Price £43  Sizes S1 to S10 (see Owayo website for full details)
The pro fit is more expensive than the sport fit, but I have applied a similar level of discount.  The pro fit is also a more snug fit, we have had one previous order for this item (in 2015), at size S7, and if you are concerned about sizing I can put you in touch with that purchaser, if you e-mail me to let me know.
If you wish to order this item, please e-mail me by the deadline, this Sunday, 19th November.
John Murdoch

Club clothing – update

As a result of popular demand, another product has been added to the list of available clothing items in Club colours.  This is Men’s 3/4 length bib tights in Pro fit (tighter than Sport), priced at £60 for club members, and with sizes available being 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12; see Owayo website for full details on sizing.
If you would like to order this product, please e-mail me (johnmatsouthview@btinternet.com) by this weekend latest, stating size.
John Murdoch

Club clothing order

A quick reminder that the very final date for placing an order for club clothing is this Sunday, 19th November; see the blog post of 20th October.
The cost of individual orders is prohibitive, which is the reason why we order in batches; once this order has been placed it may be some time before demand is sufficient to warrant another batch order, so if you want some more kit, I suggest you order now.  You will see that generous Club discounts have been made available.
Please e-mail me if you have any queries.
John Murdoch