Following on from the Government guidance issued yesterday as the spread of the virus escalates, the Committee have been discussing the Club’s response to the outbreak and the effect this will have on the Club’s activities.
Members will appreciate that the advice on measures required to reduce the spread of the infection is changing rapidly and consequently we have decided to take a conservative approach, not only to ensure that we comply with official guidance, but that we do everything we can to protect our members, their families and the wider community from the threat. We recognise that this may be a different approach than other clubs in the area.
The Club therefore is taking the following steps with regard to activities with immediate effect and these measures will be in place for the next 14 days and will be reviewed as the official guidance evolves:
- You will have already seen that the Presentation Evening on 21 March has been cancelled. The decision to do this has not been taken lightly, but in the interests of minimising non-essential social contact, we believe this is the best course of action. We’d like to thank Steve for all his work on organising the event and hope that we’ll be able to reschedule the celebration of the Club’s achievements later in the year;
- The Saturday afternoon Go-Ride sessions will be cancelled. Additionally, British Cycling have cancelled all Cluster Sessions and other training events until the end of April. Further information can be found here.
- All group rides, including the Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday rides, the Saturday MTB rides, and the Ladies’ rides are cancelled. This has been a very difficult decision for the committee, as the group rides form the core of our activities. However, taking into account the official guidance we cannot justify continuing the rides for the time being. We know that this will be disappointing for many, but would ask that members respect the decision, which is taken on the basis of official guidance and with the objective of keeping all our members safe;
- As an alternative to group rides, ride leaders will, where possible, seek to post a route as usual on the Facebook pages for members to ride as they wish. Should you choose to ride, we would ask that members don’t use the official Club social media groups to promote the fact they are planning to ride. Please keep in mind Government guidelines, especially with respect to social distancing and consider the perception that a group of cyclists will send to the wider community;
- During the period where the group rides are not running, we will look to establish frequent HSW “meet ups” on Zwift, where club members can ride together and we’ll also look to set up a Discord channel where the usual “witty banter” found on club rides can continue. Members will appreciate that this will take a little time to establish, but please express your interest in joining and event to one of the usual ride leaders and check the FB pages regularly, where details of the meet ups and how to join will be published; and
- With respect to the track sessions, audax, road race and ladies’ hill climb, at the moment we are not taking any steps to cancel these, but clearly we are keeping the situation under review as the advice from the Government and British Cycling evolves.
We know these steps will be hugely disappointing for members but we’re sure you’ll appreciate that, as a club, we have a duty of care to our members and a responsibility to the wider community in Huddersfield and Kirklees. We’ll keep the situation under constant review as the advice evolves and seek to re-establish the regular timetable of events as soon as we possibility can.
In the meantime, it is clear that one of the best ways to minimise the impact of the virus is to remain fit and active, so please ride your bikes as much as you can, either outside maintaining an appropriate distance from others or on the turbo at home. We’ll hopefully see you on the road, trail or track shortly…
If members have any concerns, questions or comments on the steps being taken please feel free to get in touch with any member of the committee or via e-mail