Rides from Hornbeam Update

Rides Restart Postponed to 19 July

Following the recent downbeat assessments  from the PM and his ministers, the delay to implementing the last phase of the lockdown reopening has come as no great surprise and on balance the view is that we  continue with the current arrangements for the rides at Hornbeam and extend the “Lockdown Calendar” on the Website for another four weeks. Nothing has changed materially so far as the Club is concerned in the way of either increasing or relaxing the restrictions but following the current advice from Cycling Uk the intention is to take a more relaxed view of the numbers in each group whilst maintaining the policy of having small groups with gaps between, particularly on busy roads.

The intention now is to work up a plan to restart all official rides from Hornbeam with effect from the 19th, taking account of what it is thought is most likely to happen to the level of restrictions from that date. This can be tweaked the week before when the Government announce what will actually happen on the 19th and it is hoped this gives members some certainty and something to work towards in the meantime. There will also be a reassessment in early July when it is known if the Government review, that was promised, proposes any changes.

The hope is that by setting out a strategy for a full return to Hornbeam on or around 19 July members the current “WhatsApp” and “Rule of 6” groups can prepare themselves for that and ensure a return to the pre-pandemic levels of support and turnout at Hornbeam.