AGM 2022 Minutes
Minutes of Wheel Easy Leisure Cycling Ltd
Annual General Meeting
7:00pm Thursday 6th October 2022, at the
Empress Hotel, 10 Church Square, Harrogate HG1 4SP
- Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 7th October 2021:
These were agreed as correct and approved. - Company Report
The chair stated that the 2022 Annual Report had been circulated with the papers for the meeting and published on the Wheel Easy Website. [attached as an link below for information] No queries were received.
The chair continued to say that he hoped the meeting agreed with the assessment that the Club was in good shape, following the consultation with members and the instigation of a work programme for the year, most of whose goals were achieved. He then made 3 observations :
1) Wheel Easy has one of the broadest range of cyclists among many clubs which we should cherish and encourage, but with this comes the fact that not all members want the same things from the club. He made a plea for tolerance.
2) The club has an ongoing need for volunteers. The request for ride leaders will be made soon and we currently need an Awayday Co-ordinator. He requested members to give serious consideration to volunteer requests and not just to assume that someone else would volunteer.
3) Ride discipline is much improved with ride leaders and groups limited to 9 cyclists, but the general level of conflict between cyclists and vehicle drivers appears to be getting worse. He reminded all club members to ride with awareness and consideration for others and to obey the law with regard to red lights and riding on the pavement. - Presentation and adoption of the accounts
Company accounts approved - Resolution 1: Reappointment of director – Mrs Helen Bevis
- Resolution 2: Reappointment of director – Mrs Yvonne Davies
- Resolution 3: Reappointment of director – Mr Vincent Grealy
- Resolution 4: Reappointment of director – Mr James Grimshaw
- Resolution 5: Reappointment of director – Mr John Hackett
- Resolution 6 : Reappointment of director – Mrs Virginia Margolis
- Resolution 7 : Reappointment of director – Mr Colin Broadbank
- Resolution 8 : Reappointment of director – Mrs Monica Webber
- Resolution 9 : Appointment of co-chair – Mrs Helen Bevis
- Resolution 10 : Appointment of co-chair – Mr Vincent Grealy
The above resolutions 1-10 were all approved unanimously. - Resolution 11 : Membership fees – Approve membership fees for the year 2023/24 at the figure of £5. It was questioned whether the current level of subscription was a limiting factor and whether there would be more club activities if the subscription level was raised. The chair confirmed that the current plans for club activities did not justify an increase in subscriptions, but this could be addressed in the future should the situation change. The resolution was approved unanimously.
- Suggestions for future Club activities
The chair reported that the Challenge Rides had proved to be a great success and it is planned to repeat them in the coming year. It was suggested that this might be combined with a BBQ at the end of the day whilst keeping the charity ride payment separated from the payment for the BBQ food and the chair stated that the committee would consider this.
The idea of yoga classes was raised again but the chair reported that there had been insufficient interest shown to run them.
The proposal to have a pub social, perhaps on a regular basis was welcomed by the majority of members. It was also confirmed that a quiz night would be held, probably in the New Year.
Suggestions were made for one-way rides: Trailer Rides whereby cyclists set off from Harrogate and return by coach with the bikes on a trailer and Drop Rides which is the reverse, whereby riders are transported with their bikes to a starting point and ride back to Harrogate. The likely cost of this according to one member is £25; the coach company Sherwoods do have liability insurance for this. It was noted that they have reduced their capacity following the Covid pandemic.
Some cyclists on the Brisk Rides occasionally meet up at the pub afterwards and a member proposed more rides did this, but it was agreed that as not all rides finish at the same time, this could be difficult to co-ordinate.
Trips to the velodrome were proposed. The chair reported that it had been discussed and that the current understanding is that groups need to be small and supervised and that the Manchester Velodrome is currently closed, but he confirmed that the committee still intends to pursue this.
The chair reported that some initial dates had just been agreed for the winter talk series to be held at Chevin Cycles and that more details would be out soon. He stated that the intention was for the initial event to be a Travellers’ Tales session in late October, but that we currently needed a volunteer organiser and a venue too as Chevin Cycles are unable to host it. - Any Other Business
Although Sustrans is not formerly part of WELC, there is a link on the website for those interested in volunteering to help. Steve W has a list of 40 volunteers from which an average of 10 turn up regularly. He asks if those who are likely to come could let him know in advance, then he can allocate specific roles.
Mike & Fiona W. raised the Short Awayday rides that they have kindly been organising to increase the geographical scope for members who prefer a shorter ride. They reported that there has been poor attendance at the 8 rides organised this year and they questioned if the Short Awayday is sustainable. The chair undertook to ask for views in a forthcoming club newsletter.
Steve W. raised the issue of Short Ride routes. As many of these routes are now arranged and mapped by ride leaders to introduce some variation to the limited number of club short routes available, Steve W. suggested that we try to capture these routes to add to the club route list. Leaders who have created a ride using Garmin, Wahoo, RidewithGPS etc could send their route in for inclusion in this category and make it available for future use by any short ride leader.
Gia noted that the programme of short ride leaders had resulted in a very successful take up and that the short ride was now well established.
The chair reported that the committee had considered the proposal of extending the distance limit of the short ride to 25 miles for regular riders and to add an additional shorter ride perhaps once a month for those new to cycling. Brian proposed that the club could offer to provide someone to ride with new cyclists, but the chair expressed concern that if we offered this there might be times when there was nobody available who was prepared to do this; Tim Rh suggested advertising beginner rides in the local newspaper. Colin asked the chair how many enquiries the club received using the new member enquiry form. The chair responded that there were usually about 10-15 a year, although only about a third of the people turn up to try a ride.
Julie suggested that if short route riders were in need of more routes that they could take the train to start a ride somewhere other than Harrogate (Cattal, Poppleton etc) but it was confirmed that the train operating companies limit the number of bicycles it will carry on its trains so that it was unfeasible for a group.
One member who has hearing difficulties stated that it was not always easy to hear the announcers identifying each ride category. Members were reminded that rides are published on the website, that ride leaders raise their hands to identify themselves during the announcements and that anyone unsure should approach the day’s Announcer to get clarification and to be pointed to the appropriate group.
There was concern expressed that groups with a mix of e-bikes alongside slower regular bikes presented a challenge for ride leaders. The question was raised as to whether the club should have a separated E-bike section. The consensus was that there was no need for this but it requires awareness and consideration on both sides of the limitations of speed of E-bikes over different elevations. One member asked about E-bike cycling behaviour, in particular whether E-bike riders should stop and wait at the top of hills. The chair stated that many rides in the club do not stay in tight groups and that it was unlikely that this would change significantly, but it was noted that it was more difficult for the ride leader if the group was strung out and that riders should be understanding of others in their group and their ride leader when considering how they ride. It was also noted that effective group riding is a collective responsibility for all, not just the ride leader.
An update on the new club kit availability was sought : the chair replied that the designs were close to being signed off and that, once they were agreed, arrangements would be made for sizing kits to be delivered to Chevin Cycles for members to try on. These would comprise sample items in a full range of sizes and would be available for a nominated three week period during which orders will be taken on the club website. At the end of the three week period the initial bulk order would be finalised and sent to Santini for production and be delivered to Chevin Cycles for collection. The intention is for the club to subsidise the initial order. For subsequent orders, a club shop model will operate. This will involve nominated items being available to buy direct from Santini for a specified period. The aspiration is for this to be twice a year with summer kit available in the spring and winter kit available in the autumn, but it will depend on demand and minimum numbers.
