Membership matters

As always, a warm welcome to new members who have joined us recently, and welcome back to those that decided to sit out 2021 and have now rejoined. Our membership numbers made a good recovery in the second half of 2021 – reaching 8282 at the end of the year, which is a new high. One quarter we very nearly ran out of back copies of Arrivée to send our new joiners which is a nice problem to have. We also started the new year with a record number of members – so a big thank you to all the renewers, maybe the threat of lost LEL places helped get the subscriptions in on time? I spent some time sorting the list of eligible members for the LEL team and answering questions from members who thought they should be included and weren’t. Of course, as things turned out, with a decrease in overseas interest (for obvious reasons) and an increase in the number of places available compared to 2017, everyone who wanted to enter has been able to get a place. For those who like a graph, opposite is an updated version of one I published last year as we started up activities again following lockdowns, showing the number of members at the start of each month.

A quick housekeeping item – a few members still have a xxxx@member.auk dummy email address in our system. If this applies to you and it is because you don’t have an email address then that’s fine, but I am sure some of you do and either never told us, or we had an obsolete address and so replaced it when we migrated to the new system in 2020. If you are in the second group, then you can update it yourself on line provided you can still remember your password, but otherwise just email me and I can do it for you – but don’t forget to include your membership number and full postal address too.

Wishing everyone a great season full of hilly/flat/easy/ challenging/sunny/rainy/solo/group/type 1/type 2 fun cycling (delete as appropriate!)

We’d like some help to update some of the content on the website, such as the history page, and the Hints and Tips for new riders. We’d also like some new content, so if you have ideas for an interesting page or news item we would like to hear from you. You don’t need technical web site experience – you just need to produce the words and any associated photos and we’ll add them to the site for you, it’s your writing and creative skills that we need. If you’re interested, send an e-mail to webcontent@audax. uk. We’re happy to hear from people who would like to contribute just a single page, or people who would like to get involved on a regular basis with enhancing and updating the site.

ARE YOU READY FOR THE TOUR DU RICKY?

Three new rides on the edge of London – 21 May

New for 2022, 50, 100 and 200km rides exploring the best of the Chilterns, Bucks and Oxfordshire on 21 May. Starting at Woodoaks Farm and heading through country lanes, the routes are designed to appeal to seasoned Audaxers and newcomers alike. A brewery finish plus plenty of great country to explore. Organised by Willesden Cycling club – part of our 2022 SR programme.

Check out our website www.tourdericky.uk