April Meeting

Welcome to our April meeting and I really hope that everyone is fit and well.
The past month seems to have been really quite busy considering we are in the middle of lock down but as always the Wheelers are a busy lot.
We’ll start with welcoming Sonjia and Anne back from their travels to South America. We await the full report as I understand it will be an entertaining read. Sonjia in true Sonjia style made the most of every minute she was at sea. I understand there were plenty of cocktail parties, masked balls and many other events that were enjoyed. The weather was perfect and even though they were isolated near the end of the cruise they were upgraded to a luxury suite with a balcony.
Our NHS hero Chris is still working exceptionally hard ensuring that prescriptions are dispensed and delivered. He even delivered an Easter egg to us that we won and very grateful we were too for that. The Easter egg was won after we entered a raffle in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support that Chris and Lucy are raising money for, for their 126.2 challenge. Lucy for the London Marathon and Chris for the ride London 100. On what would have been the day of the London Marathon Lucy stepped 2.6 miles in her back garden. Well done Lucy.
There have been a number of challenges this month, let’s start with Dean who has trekked to Everest Base camp by either climbing his stairs or a step ladder. He started by tackling Snowdon using his stairs. That was 1085 meters, 417 times up and down stairs but he said he forgot something so ended up doing 420 times up and down. The 5 day hike to Everest base camp from Lukla then caught his eye and he did this along with his daughter who is in Paris. The total height was 2700 meters. The first 3 days were done on the stairs and the last 2 days he used his stepladder. 4 steps equalled 1 meter so is was 1050 times up and down. The summit was too great a challenge to miss and this was 3515 meters over 2 days of about 5 hours a day using the stepladder. The warm up for the summit challenge was the Eiffel tower, 324 meters. A big round of applause for a fantastic achievement, well done Dean. I must also point out that this was all done without the aid of oxygen.
Robin still has his Myllorca 765 challenge on the go and Adrian Hitchman too threw down the gauntlet of a hill challenge. He had sought out a Mongleath Road hilly route which he was hoping to ride daily and suggested that I had a hill or two near me. Old Hill was conquered two days running and I’m now building up to Symons Hill and Jubilee Road. Next month’s report maybe? Robin is still finding hills around the Mylor area and I’ve lost count of how many now make up his Myllorca 765. I have met him twice as he was speeding up Truro hill whilst I have been riding home so Robin has certainly been putting in the training in preparation for his Mallorca trip which unfortunately has been cancelled this year but will hopefully go ahead next year. I foolishly checked the weather forecast for Mallorca the other day and wished I hadn’t.
Ian is taking a different tack and has decided to dismount from his bike and has taken on the challenge of walking 26.2 miles around a field in Mabe. Ian was to have done this on Tuesday but due to inclement weather and a dodgy ankle has very wisely decided to postpone this until things improve. Hopefully it will be back on next week. Ian is raising money for Cornwall Hospice Care who are organising the ‘Marathon at your Pace’ and they are giving participants 4 weeks to complete the distance but typically Ian has decided to complete the distance in a single day. If you wish to donate, please go to Ian’s just giving page https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ianmurrells1 There are more details on the website about the challenge and why Ian is raising money for this very worthwhile cause. There has been a suggestion of an interview with Ian via zoom which can go on the website, watch this space!
Talking of zoom, Amanda has set up a zoom meeting for any members of the Wheelers to join on a Friday evening at 6.30pm. This is chance for us to ‘meet up’ on a regular basis and it’s good to be able chat to others and we find the topics of conversation are varied giving a much needed break from the current news. You can just dip in for a few minutes to say Hi or stay for a little longer. The details are on the message board section of the website.
We have been looking forward to the Tour of Britain coming to Falmouth in September and as yet we haven’t heard that it will be cancelled though the open meetings with Falmouth Town management have not been taking place so we are not sure if they are managing to move forward with the plans. It would be great if it is still able to take place as it would be a boost to both morale and the local economy. Though, we have heard that the Tour de France has been re-scheduled for late August running through to September clashing with the Tour of Britain. How many riders would be taking part in both races? To be discussed on Friday maybe.
I received an email from a chap called Trevor Lund. He is a cyclist living in Skipton and he has just published his first book. It details a 16,000 mile cycle journey that he completed from Argentina to Alaska. His book is available either on Kindle or paperback and he has asked if I would share this with the Club. It sounds as if it could be a fascinating read. He has also offered to do a talk if we would like via zoom. I will look into this for a future date.
Simon has asked if as a club we may like to donate some money to the NHS. I feel that this should be discussed when we are back meeting as normal at Woodlane. We didn’t get the opportunity to vote for our nominated charities at the March meeting though if members have any comments please make them known.
Liz emailed me the other day and commented on how lucky we are to be able to get out on our bikes with almost all other sports being stopped. At least we are able to cycle solo, not so easy if you are part of a football team or squash or tennis club. She has spotted Sonjia out on her bike again and Clive and I bumped in Liz in Gweek a short while ago. Liz has also said that the little Premier store in Gweek has a self-service coffee machine offering a variety of hot drinks in take away cups for just £1.00. There is a very nice grassy area just opposite so an ideal spot for a coffee stop. She has noticed a lot more people out on bikes as have I. It’s amazing what is hidden at the back of the shed. Apparently the bike shops that have been able to remain open have been swamped with work and with Liz needing to replace her back brake blocks and wasn’t able to get the shop to do it managed to change them herself. She had a struggle to get the old ones off even with the correct Allen key though with a good dose of WD40 she eventually was able to replace them herself. We are wondering if this new interest in cycling will see us gaining a few new members.
A.O.B – A date for your diaries – The Christmas Dinner and Dance at Merchants Manor is booked this year for Friday 18th December. A small increase in the cost this year to £28.00 per person.
That’s all for is month, keep putting any ride reports on the website as it’s always good to read them. Keep safe and well.
Kath