Oxted Cycling club is entering it's teens. I've been a member since 2020. I have made many good friends, discovered plenty of great cafes, and eaten lots of cake.
Russell, the club chairman, takes us down memory lane.
"In the summer of 2013 I started exploring the idea of a new cycling club in East Surrey I considered a few towns as 'centres' but Oxted had a lovely, traditional, family bike shop, Petra Cycles and I approached them to help. The boss was a lovely South African man, he had named the shop after his daughter, it's a name from the First Testament. I told him my plans and said I'd send business his way if he could send customers my way! And the first lovely people he introduced were Richard & Gilly Byford and Ollie Orchard.
This is the first Oxted CC Club Ride, to Four Elms on the 17th of August 2013! They haven't aged at all!
Two weeks later Oxted CC was seven people. From left to right, Scott Cheshire, a friend of mine who urged me to 'get on with it' in starting the club, Austen Reid, who was riding with the Old Ports at the time, Dik Kingdon-Jones, Gilly, Biff, the wonderful Cass Humm who inspired many new riders, and me, wondering what kit we might decide on...
In June 2014 we ran our first big Brighton ride."
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| Groombridge Place |
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| three river crossing route |
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| The Milk Churn |
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| Blackstock Estate |
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| Daily Bread Rusthall |
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| Brockham Reading Room |
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| Lindfield Coffee Works |
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| Ridings Lane cafe |
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| broken spoke; no-one gets left behind |
The Rapha ladies 100 km from 2022. Words by Russell.
"A WONDERFUL LADIES DAY! Huge thanks to our superb leaders yesterday, everyone made it to Kingdom at around the same time. Jo looked after the shorter ride which worked out well. The weather was glorious and Kingdom was a lovely stop, though their coffee machine was a bit overwhelmed with the numbers.
It
was great to see Lisa Calnan back on her bike, she's been out of action
for quite a while with an injury, all fixed now. And she took this
photo of us relaxing in the sunshine...
We were a bit slow organising a group photo, Jo's merry band had moved off...in the pic, Duncan & Laura, Austen, Ian Luxford, Richard. Marian, Lisa and Amanda in the front. Behind them Andy Smith, me, Celia, Neil, Matt, Pat and Stuart. To the right Louise, Frances, Bren and Andy Thornley. Not sure who's hiding behind Louise!
A lovely photo of Marian, Neil and Austen along the way. Marian is a very accomplished athlete, not just an awesome T3/4 rider but also a runner. And always cheerful!"
My biggest achievement came during the first full year as a member; in June 2021. A club ride including getting to Oxted and back clocked up 162 miles. Here is the reason I eventually joined a club, and why I chose Oxted CC.
Some words from Austen Reid.
"How 10 years flies by! We have all made great new friends, and in some cases found new partners! I think we can safely say the club has been a great success.
We have catered for many different types of rider from leisure to competitive cyclists, and the tandem section has been quite exceptional.
Our OCC Majorcan adventures ( and the annual Brighton run ) helped bond the membership, although sadly we lost one of our friends, Pete Abbott."
Many will have been approached by Russell to enter TT's and hill climbs.
It is not all about competition. The main focus is socialising, keeping fit and being out on the bike.
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