Author: Ken Dean

Start Venue Survey

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The changes made following our departure from Shoreham Golf Club have been in place for some months. At the last committee meeting the issue of start venues was discussed in the light of negative feedback from some members and it was felt that now would be an appropriate time to canvas the opinion of the membership on the issue. To that end a survey form has been developed by Ken Dean which allows members to provide feedback on the current venues and provide a basis on which we can make any changes which are felt beneficial. If you wish to take part in the survey just click on the link at the end of this message. When complete click on the Submit button.

 

In considering your ratings and any suggestions do take into account issues such as suitability, distance, as well as how appropriate and welcoming the venue. If you have any questions or would like to discuss the issues please feel free to contact Paul Godfrey. The results of the survey will be provided as feedback and the matter discussed at the next committee meeting before any decisions are taken.

 

Complete the Survey

 

The closing date for submissions is 30 September

Holland: June 2019

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Dordrecht, Mon 10th to Mon 17th June

Heather and Barry (contact data see below) are organising a club trip for next June 2019. They are proposing to go to Holland via Harwich and stay in Dordrecht for five nights.

33 people have signed up so far see FAQ  for details

We will leave for Harwich on Monday 10th June (see travel options below) in order to board the ferry about 20:00 for a departure at 23:00. We propose a group dinner on the ferry at about 20:30. There will be no need for overnight accommodation as we will be spending the night on the ferry. (see ferry prices and details below).

We will arrive in Hook of Holland at 08:00 on the Tuesday morning with breakfast included and have a very easy (34 miles direct) ride to the Hotel Stayok . We stay at the hotel for five nights.

We leave on Sunday morning to ride the Hook of Holland. We board at about 19:00 hours to depart at 22:00 hours. Once again we propose a group dinner on the ferry. We arrive in Harwich at 06:30 on the Monday morning where having had breakfast, we set off for home.

The rooms are all four bedded, but the rates per room for single double and triple occupancy are shown below. If four people get together to share then it will be slightly less.
These rates include breakfast and evening dinner each day.

The holiday is officially closed now. However, if anyone is interested, The group ticket for the ferry does not have to be sorted out until the end of the year so you can easily join this part of the holiday. You will have to sort out your own accommodation as we  no longer have rooms on hold at the Stayok hotel.  If you talk to Heather, she may be able to help.

If possible send your 25% deposit to the club account club account
Sort Code: 09 06 66 Account No. 43226774. With relevant reference
If this is not possible then you can send a cheque to Chris Simms
6 Petersfield Drive, Culverstone Green, Meopham, Kent, DA13 0TR.

Room Rates

Dates No. of rooms  Single occupancy Double occupancy Triple occupancy
11 – 16 June 2019 5 nights rate pp 22 rooms booked £321 £252 £232
Non-refundable Deposit 25% pp £82 £64 £60

Ferry Price – Return (provisional)  £45

Cabin Prices

Single cabin inside £35
Single cabin outside £47
2-berth cabin inside £47
2-berth cabin outside £55
4-berth cabin outside £80
Captains Class, 2-berth cabin outside £105
Captains Suite, 2-berth cabin outside £130
Comfort Class, 2-berth cabin outside £78
Comfort Class 3-berth cabin outside £87
Stena Plus Lounge Seat £13

Food Prices

Breakfast £10.50
Dinner £23.00
Combi dinner/breakfast £27.00

Sailings

Departure Arrival Duration
Out 2300 08:00 8:00
Return 22:00 06:30 9:30

Travelling to and from Harwich

There are several options:-

  1. Cycle via Gravesend – Tilbury ferry about 85 miles of fairly easy cycling. You have all day to do it
  2. Cycle to Shenfield station via Gravesend – Tilbury ferry about 30 miles. Catch train to Manningtree about £20 and cycle from Manning tree to Harwich about 11 miles or catch another train.
  3. Go by train all the way into London then out again about £60.
  4. Drive to Harwich. Parking at ferry quay is about £8 per day.
  5. If  you are intending to take the car all the way, then maybe it would be better to go to Dover – Calais/Dunkerque.
  6. The train that goes from Shenfield leaves from Liverpool street and calls at Stratford, so either of these stations would be an alternative.

 

For Additional Information see Holland FAQs

Contact Data

Contact data for Barry and Heather (Member nos 1 & 123) via the web site – click here

 

LCD; Chipstead

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Item 1 – Note from Dee, Chipstead Lake

Hello to all everyone in Meridian Cycle Club

It was lovely to see you all last Wednesday, even though it promised to be a very hot day for cycling.
Once again you all showed such generosity, donating £358.53 . We want to spend the money on something that all service users will enjoy. originally we had thought of something for the garden.

We have an ongoing project to make our hilly and in winter waterlogged terrain more user friendly, with paved sitting areas and flower beds etc. However there have been many delays so we are not quite ready to buy the ‘extras’.
To use you kind gift to benefit all the service users, Kevin Parkes the service manager and I have decided that we should use you gift to organise some weekend entertainment a winter draws in.

Please extend our thanks to all your cyclists

Item 2 – Note from Jenny McLaren

Good morning!

Many thanks for your support at the coffee morning on Wednesday!  Please see attached – Our news sheet, with some photos of the day…

If you would like any more, please let me know…

Regards,
Jenny McLaren
Physiotherapy Assistant,

Item 3 – Extract from Chipstead Newsletter – July Edition

Meridian Cycle Club

We were delighted, once again, to welcome the Meridian Cycle Club to Chipstead Lake on18th July 2018. This club is a wonderful supporter of Chipstead Lake and, once a year, they come in to visit us and join residents for coffee and cake whilst presenting us with funds they have raised. Everyone at Chipstead Lake would like to say thank you to them for their continued support and we look forward to seeing them again next year.

 

 

Club Summer Party !!

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You are invited to the Meridian Summer Party on the 11th July from 12.30pm at
The Cricket Club, Horton Way, Farningham  DA4 0DQ

 

We are most grateful to the committee for partially subsiding the food, this has enabled us to have a ticket price of £10/head which includes a cold two course lunch plus your first drink. Additional drinks will be available as a very reasonable price. During the afternoon we will have our club anniversary cake with tea and coffee.

 

We hope to have good weather and will have outside games such as rounders, boules, croquet & bat and trap – with some inter-group rivalry!. (Please let us know if you would like to suggest anything!) If we have rain this venue has suitable inside space and we will find indoor activities. We hope this will be a light hearted and fun event with as many guest and partners participating as they wish.

 

To be helpful to us organise and have sufficient quantities of sustenance, the final day we can accept bookings with payment will be the 4th July.

 

Book Online

or

Print Booking Form

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Data Protection – Revised

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As you are no doubt already aware, due to the flood of emails you will have been receiving from various companies and organisations over the last few days, the new General data Protection Regulations (GDPR) came into effect on 25th May.

 

The Club Committee recently agreed to update our current policy to ensure that it complies with the new regulations. The updated policy is now on the website – Click here or at the bottom of this page. Please take a few minutes to read it.

Rouen: 2018

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 Important Information

The Rouen trip is confirmed. From 10th June to 15th June 2018. This is slightly longer than usual to accommodate the longer ferry trip.

If you are interested:-  Click here

By now all participants should have paid £33 to Barry / Chris. This is a commitment to the holiday and although it may be possible to get a refund up to 30 days before sailing, it cannot be guaranteed.

OUTBOUND

The ferry will be leaving Newhaven at 09:00 Monday 11th June.  We will need to meet in the dock at 07:15 to be sure of sorting everything out.

I do not think it will be possible to arrive on time if you get a train on the Monday morning especially as the trains to Newhaven require a change somewhere. There is a Premier Inn at Newhaven and I suggest we all stay there for the night before.

The ferry will be arriving in Dieppe at 14:00.  It is just over 40 miles from Dieppe to Rouen, and fairly flat, so it is quite doable by all riders.

If anybody does not feel up to the ride there is an excellent train service from Dieppe to Rouen (about 12 Euros) every half hour.

RETURN

The return ferry leaves Dieppe on Friday 15th June at 12:30 (check in closes at 10:15) and arrives in Newhaven at 15:30. 

We will need to spend the Thursday night in Dieppe in order to catch this ferry.

This means you will be able to get a train home at a sensible time or if you are feeling fit you could cycle home.

The ride from Newhaven to Sevenoaks is only about 45 miles so quite reasonable.

A Group

Ride from Newhaven to Orpington Ride
Ride from Polhill to Newhaven (53 Miles Suitable for all groups)  Ride
Ride from Dieppe to Rouen (40 miles suitable for all groups)  ride
57 mile ride using bridge and 4 ferries Max. climb 15%!!!  ride
76 miles mostly flat ride
70 miles a bit challenging  ride
82 miles mostly flat to Monet’s Garden (well worth a visit, but a tough days ride) ride
Ride from Rouen to Dieppe 50 miles  ride
B Groups

It is likely that there will be sufficient riders to support two B groups, corresponding to B1 and B2. There is no necessity to ride with the same group every day.

Heather, Cathy and John T have volunteered to organize some B1 rides
Di, John Thompson, Brian Slade and Peter Ham helping with the B2 rides.

Sunday ride to Newhaven – It looks as though there will only be an A ride to Newhaven, B riders are making their own individual arrangements.

For those concerned about riding from the boat to Rouen on Monday afternoon (approx 42m), there is a good train service that can be used for some or all of the journey.

 

Ride Ideas around Rouen

B ride 44miles mostly flat
Two rides to Monet’s garden (well worth  a visit)  by train and return by bike. Or visa versa.
56 mile ride and 49 mile ride

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HOTELS Rouen

There are many hotels in Rouen. I recommend the

IBIS at Rouen Centre Rive Gauche Saint Sever Hotel link to website

Also there is Ibis budget Rouen Centre Rive Gauche nearby link to website

As in previous years you will be responsible for booking your own hotel accommodation and organising any sharing you may wish to do. There is a system on the web site for notifying who you intend to share with to help those looking for sharing partners. Click here

Hotels Dieppe

There are several suitable hotels in Dieppe all fairly close together:-

ibis Dieppe Val Druel Hotel   link to website  

Hotel F1   link to website

Balladins  link to website

B&B Hotel DIEPPE  link to website

Members attending the ride.   Click here

Contact Barry at  reply  to this mail  ID=1

Two documents supplied by the ferry company for information.
DOV-GD-032 Cyclist Group Leader Safety Instructions – Rev004
Bicycle Leaflet

 

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