My name is Mike Sadler; I am a sixty-six year old "born again" cyclist who has been a member of Audax UK for approximately ten years. During this period it has given me great pleasure to participate in over a hundred events. Many of these rides have been completed on a standard Dawes Galaxy touring bike and I have never ridden an event without mudguards because the current Regulations stipulate that mudguards are required. I do not think that the AUK Committee is a bunch of control freaks, or that the majority of members who attend the AGM are reactionaries determined to maintain the status quo. I do not have a great deal of respect for people who join an organisation and immediately start whinging about the rules.
But I am greatly concerned about the future of Audax UK. I think that the current perception of AUK among the rest of the cycling world is of a bunch of cranks that are obsessed about mudguards. Indeed some of our members seem to have this view. If Auk is to continue to prosper, and that means to continue to increase its membership year on year, then we must attract new blood. There must be hundreds, if not thousands, of potential members who for various reasons have bought their "racing replica" machines. They do not ride in the rain and they would not dream of fitting mudguards to their pride and joy. Do we ignore these potential members or do we try to get them to experience the joy of audaxing and perhaps in time, after a few wet rides, they will appreciate the benefit of mudguards! All I am asking is that we relax the requirement for mudguards to be fitted on all rides of 200 kms and above. I am sure the world will not end immediately and there will be another AGM to discuss the issue yet again.
A valid point has been made that not all members are able to attend the AGM. In order to assess the support for this motion I would like to conduct a straw poll. Write your name and membership number on the back of a sealed envelope, indicate whether you are in favour of, or opposed to, the motion and send it to me, Mike Sadler, 2 Highfield House, Waltroyd Road, Cleckheaton, BD19 3AT. How individuals vote will not be made public but I need some check on the validity of the vote. I will attend the AGM and give the result of the poll before the motion is put to the vote. It will only cost you the price of a second class stamp to register your feelings on this issue that has gone on for years. Then perhaps we can move onto more important matters concerning the future of AUK.
Mike Sadler