AUK OFFICIALS' REPORTS 1995 BREVET CARD SECRETARY Last November I was anticipating P-B-P year to be busy. It was! Around 30 more rides and over 2,000 more Brevet cards, I am claiming an 'unofficial record' and a'personal best', For the events (10) on weekend Sept 30th/ Oct 1st I sent 970 brevets, including 575 for Fleet Moss, I am still not sure how I managed to print and post in time. Ignoring those organisers who's orders could only be obtained after a long 'telechase' all over these islands, '95 was a very good year. Thanks to Helen, Joy, Pauline and Jim's Margaret the AUK stand at York enjoyed a continual stream of visitors, including one or two who wanted to see the P-B-P jerseys. Various other AUKs and Committee were also in attendance. Cooperation from organisers and help from TRADEPRINT enabled me to meet my many friends at the Semaine Federale (eventually), and the late October sun reached the low 90's at Playa d'Aro. I look ahead to an easier next year, in preperation I have just ordered FIFTEEN THOUSAND poly-bags. Bry Ferguson Permanents ValidatioN SECRETARY This year has seen a slight increase (329 to 309) in rides done compared to 1994. This is a little disappointing as I thought perhaps more would have been ridden as training for Paris-Brest. Most of the increase is due to Lit Creese on her championship perambulations around the country amassing a total of 113 points in 43 rides. Other notable collectors of points were Dave Lewis (40 pts), Anne Learmonth (24), David Palfreyman (20) and 'Pierre' Gifford (19). The most notable single ride was the Three Capitals ridden by Liz Creese and Steve Underwood in the heatwave at the end of July. The most popular rides were youth hostel darts and Peter Coulson's Midlands series. New events this year include the Cambrian series (22 mutes from 200 to 600km) by Peter Coulson (stealing a march on Audax Cymru), a fine series of shorter rides out of Stockport by Rob Kilby and just announced, the longest PROF of them all, the Calais-Brindisi 2500km reintroduced by Simon Jones. Only 13 days with the high point being the Mont Cenis pass .I understand he already has several enquiries! As part of the move at the AGM to bring in shorter events to encourage more people to ride, ideas for new routes would be most welcome. Classic training rides and Sunday runs would well fit the bill, They don't all need to be grimpeur, perhaps just 'humply'. Duncan Peet VALIDATION SECRETARY Here I am, late again but pleased to report that results were received from all events: Brevets Populaires: 50km 437; 100km 4312; 150km 830; TOTAL 5579. Brevets AUK/RM: 200km 3716; 300km 834; 400km 657; 600km 402; 1000+km 39; TOTAL 5648. 72 Brevets were also validated at 600+km Tourist Populaire and 45 riders took part in the York and Easter Arrows. In all there was a total of 11,344 Brevets validated this year, an increase of 1355. 130 Brevets were not validated due to the riders failing to get their cards stamped as required at controls. In the main the Info controls caused the most trouble. It was noticeable, however, that in events over 200km there were no controls missed at all. Approximately 3500 Brevets were registered with ACP. All the results sheets required by ACP were completed in longhand by Dave Whitney and all the ACP Brevet Numbers were stuck on the cards by Jo. I know you will join me in thanking them both for the hours of work they put into this, enabling some 200 riders to take part in PBP. The sale of medals and badges continues to go well, slightly up on last year. A list of Super Randonneurs is available, showing 310 successful riders, an increase of 113 over last year. A list of championship points for CTC DA, and clubs has been produced from the results sheets supplied by events organisers. The riders' championship points have been compiled from claims submitted by the riders themselves. Bernard Mawson Secretary Once again AUK can look back on a year of steady growth in most areas of activity including recording our highest ever number of members riding, and completing, the Paris-Brest-Paris. In recent years the Committee has met three times per annum. This year four meetings were held to allow sufficient time to review the current functioning of the Association and to think about possible future developments. Whilst not being complacent it was concluded that, in the main, current policies and activities were satisfactory. However, concern was felt when considering the twin phenomena of the relatively low percentage of the membership riding events and the non renewal of membership by over 400 members per annum. The Committee took the view that more should be done to promote the enjoyment element of our rides for all of the membership. Proposals are to be found in the AGM Agenda. Although these proposals have implications for the general workload of Committee, there is no doubt that some members will be under more pressure than others. It was agreed that the Committee, recently strengthened by additional Delegate appointments, would be able to absorb the increased volume work arising from administering the new awards and the predicted growth in membership, but this aspect will need to be kept under review. Peter Hansen TREASURER A copy of the accounts for the year are set out in their usual format (opposite). The position is less healthy than previously and conscious that much of our equipment is getting on in years I recommend that the fees should be increased per the motion before the AGM. The Card production costs are set to rise again next year and as trailed by Peter Coulson I recommend the charges for Card production be raised to cover these. My thanks to organisers who cope with the paperwork. May I ask members to make out cheques to event organisers rather than AUK these individual cheques cause more hassle than anything else! If any member would like further information or amplification of the figures would they please contact me before the AGM so that I can extract the required information. Keith Benton MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY The trend of increasing membership has continued this year. The increase in new members is similar to previous years. I have again used the format of previous years for the table below. Membership figures for the period 1989 to 1995 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 Total 1302 1424 1596 1801 2013 2376 2587 including: Family members (reduced rate) 198 212 206 235 216 254 273 Life members * 37 40 40 40 50 57 63 Lapsed (rejoin this year) 30 ? 32 15 15 19 15 New members 317 427 503 528 643 596 711 (including those whose subs cover the following year) 16 16 21 15 25 69 83 Non renewals 204 309 331 355 467 462 572 * As from 1991, life members pay towards magazine costs. Ben Steven EVENT SECRETARY Congratulations and many thanks to all the Helpers and Organisers, (128), who gave AUK its biggest-ever Calendar. There were 260 events published before Christmas 1994, and another 16 added during the year, making 276 in all: 30 more than last year. This year saw the 13th. PBP, entered by over 200 AUKs: our thanks to Noel and his team for ensuring that our mistakes and misunderstandings were spotted and corrected, thereby removing our last excuse for avoiding riding! The qualification for the PBP was very tight on time, which meant that 600s had to be run concurrently; the 1000km was the long-stop, (literally in some cases!), and there was an unfortunate lack of 400s - please, we need more of the distances above 200km, just to get a reasonable spread in time and place. (See the table below). With the PBP as the finish/start of the four-year cycle of the Audax calendar, and this year being just a little different from usual, quite a few organisers are having a rest after many years of effort, and some events, most notably the Windsor-Chester-Windsor, (or wherever), are being dropped. (Note - does anybody want to take on a revamped WCW?). Fortunately there are new organisers and events coming in, and there will be events in some of the more neglected areas. With our membership exceeding 2500 we can afford to run more events, closer together, and have several in the same area throughout the year. Please get in touch if you would like to organise something, or, preferably, several things! The figures for 1995 are: Cat. 50+ 100+ 150+ 200+ 300+ 400+ 600+ 1000+ Totals BP 22 95 ²31 -- -- -- -- -- 148 BT -- -- -- -- -- 2 -- 3 5 AUK -- -- -- ²63 6 ²4 -- -- 73 RM -- -- -- 24 9 ²7 1 8 1 2 50 Totals 22 95 31 87 15 2+11 8 3+2 276 1 includes multiple starts. ²includes Arrows and Darts. Peter Coulson AUK/ACP CORRESPONDANT The role of correspondant is to serve as intermediary between our two clubs and to liaise with RM member countries. And this [PBP] year has been a busy one. It began with the compilation of an advice sheet for new PB riders, 300 copies of which were sent out [to 4 countries] & was followed by a translation of the regulations. In January I represented AUK at the ACP prize-giving in Paris. During a very hectic weekend [at times rather hazy], cycling matters were discussed with Bob and Suzanne Lepertel, & with members of the ACP committee; cordial relations were set up with José-Luis Garcia, one of the two Spanish correspondants. In April 360 PB entry forms went out to prospective riders with an explanatory notes for completion. June saw the checking and despatch to ACP of 208 entries, [a rather disappointing total]. My grateful thanks to Reg Gates & Peter Land for invaluable help with this work. July was mainly devoted to accommodation bookings and answering general queries. Some evenings the phone & fax never seemed to stop. And the postman asked Head Office for a bonus. After the PBP ride I represented AUK at the Randonneur Mondiaux AGM and lunch in Paris, and took part in the election of a new president & treasurer. New and old friendships with other correspondants and representatives of RM countries were toasted with pre-, mid- & post- prandial potations [a very onerous duty]. I have been in contact with several countries during the year; latterly with Scandinavia and South Africa. PB advice was sought from the USA [2], Australia [1], Germany [1]. And regular dialogue has occurred with Eddie Dunne, my opposite number in Ireland. One highlight of the year has been making the acquaintance of Colin and Barbara Farmer [correspondant for Western Australia], who were such delightful company during their stay with us. I look forward to attending the PB prize presentation in December when I hope, among other matters, to finally unravel the intricacies of the Brevet 5000 award [next claims in September- October 1996]. Finally, many thanks to Keith Benton for supplying French cheques and especially to Bry Ferguson for reams of photocopying. Noel Simpson MILEATER DIARIES & AWARDS 1994 There was a 10% increase in the sale of diaries over the preceding year which was probably due to publicity in our magazine. The volume and diversity of entries also continue to grow and they record the amazing distances covered by our diarists on a variety of machines in sometimes appalling weather while commuting to work, shopping or riding our events. The Doncaster trophy centre has at last appointed an efficient manager and trophies were despatched early in the year. Winners of the trophies can be found in this edition of Arriveé. NS Press Secretary In terms of publicity AUK has enjoyed a good year. A series of articles appeared in Cycling Weekly culminating with a report on the Paris-Brest-Paris, albeit reduced from the copy supplied. The magazine had requested "lots of photographs" but used only three of the many I took before, during and after the ride. Cost me some time on the road but at least I have the makings of a PBP slide show! Audax events continue to be flagged in the What's on events diary of Cycling Weekly alongside road races, time trials and track venues. With this support from the "Comic" is it reasonable to encourage more members to consider becoming regular subscribers to the magazine? It is essential reading for anyone seeking up-to-date information on the national and international cycling scene and I think the Helms cartoon is often worth the cover price of £1.25! In March Cycling Plus carried a three page feature "How to ride your first Audax" loosely based on the ordeals of my early Dorset Coast rides. Smaller articles appeared in Winning and the Bike Mag and at one stage we had interest from a TV production company in the PBP but nothing came of it in the end. Perhaps the most significant development in 1995 was the appearance of two staff journalists from bike mags riding the PBP and we look forward to reading their accounts of the event. We continue to build up our contacts with the media and it is always rewarding when asking a rider on an event "how did you come to start riding audax?" to be told "I read an article in a magazine". I am seeking to produce a quarterly illustrated report on Audax for Cycling Weekly in 1996. This would be a light-hearted overview of the Audax non-competitive scene but I will need ideas from organisers and riders to weave into the piece. Please drop me a line with interesting topics or anecdotes eg A boost in numbers entering events, very young or not so young riders or riders succeeding despite incredibly adverse conditions etc. There are steady requests from organisers for the AUK/Cycling Weekly Control & Pointer signs and I am pleased to post these out, free of cost to the users. Our stock should meet demand for the next couple of years at least. The Audax UK information leaflet with membership form will be revised for 1996 and again copies will be sent to members on request. Brian Morris INTERNATIONAL EVENTS SECRETARY The International Events desk has been relatively quiet this year, AUK stalwarts probably concentrated on PBP, whilst various organised tours and PROFS satisfy many others. From those who wished to make their own arrangements, the majority of queries involved the Raid Pyreneen, made popular through the Sporting Tours trips, and, secondly, the Brevet Randonneur des Alpes. There are many other rides abroad in addition to these, often available as permanents, so many that enquirers should have an idea of roughly which area they want to go to, and when they want to go, before enquiring. Please remember that calendars from abroad are not usually available until well into March, however early they are requested by us. One of the main expansions this year was in the number of queries from abroad, with riders coming to Europe to ride PBP wanting to know what else was available both before and after. Also, the CTC and BCF passed on some requests for information on events within our province. I have learned a lot from my time as the International Events Secretary, and have enjoyed sharing what I learned with you. I am now early retired and look forward to being able to travel unfettered by the bounds of time, only by economics, but the bicycle provides one with an ideal means of transport as well as sport. David Patey MAGAZINE EDITOR We've again produced four issues of Arrivee plus Arrivee Extra which included the Calendar, 2,400 copies are produced per issue, with 48-56 pages. The 1996 Calender will return to its 1990 format, in an A5 (Arrivee-sized), annual Handbook. Peter Coulson will lay out the Calendar, Francis Cooke the Handbook, and Francis collate the whole. I'm not using the "royal we", we are an editorial team with Francis responsible for much of the artwork, in addition to providing a computer, flat-bed scanner, software and more, for AUK's use; Bry Ferguson the ultimate proof reader; Ray Smith producing address labels and coping with new members; Tradeprint doing the printing, packaging and posting; whilst Tim Wainwright has taken on editorial responsibilities for the summer issue. Heartfelt thanks to all these workers and, of course, to the contributers who continue to entertain and inspire. Sheila Simpson