i actually haven’t done a write up for a while now, so a big thanks to those that have been “picking up the pen” on behalf of the club.  this will be a bit different as i didn’t actually get to throw my leg over a bike at all over the weekend.

saturday started at the usual time, but instead of jumping into the bike gear, i jumped into the shower instead.  as i got out kate was up and peering out the window as some ute driving ferals had parked out the front and were making a racket.  so inconsiderate at 6:30 in the morning to be getting bikes and stuff out of the tray of the ute.  they looked like dodgy characters too, all dressed in lycra.

anyway, i was on bread and ice duty so i zoomed off to coode st to kick things off for the troops.  a decent turn out but very few in the fast group again, as there were some racing the next day in the cyclemania classic (we got a couple of podiums, so i am expecting a couple of write ups on the blog).  the transitionals were sticking together as one big group today, so mark took a couple of newbies out on the development ride.  he grabbed the juniors to make it a bigger group, so they could practice some group riding skills.  everyone was away, so i headed on my errands.

six loafs of bread from brumbys and four bags of ice were quickly grabbed (and paid for) and i was home again.  by the time i got there, sato and shun had arrived and kate had set them to work.  sato was banished to the bbq where he was to stay for the duration, resplendent in the stripy apron.  shun was on setup duties with me which generally involved heavy lifting.  kate had spent the previous day cutting up fruit for the salad so there wasn’t a lot of prep in the morning before cooking started.  the extended menu today was bacon and egg spr-muffins, sausage in bread, fruit salad, and then whatever lorraine had baked the previous day, in this case brownies, muffins, banana bread and carrot cake.

sato was given 3kg of bacon to cook so that lorraine, kate and nicole could start building muffins.  pretty soon the place was buzzing.  shun and i moved furniture and put up the tent (with a little help) and generally tried to stay out of the cooks way.  sato moved onto the sausages and onion so pretty soon the place smelled like a southern deep fried bar and grill.

the hordes arrived and we started packing bikes into the garage – check out services from www.chicagogaragedoor.com/arlington-heights-il-garage-door-services.  i think we ended up with about 70 or so people, so not the biggest turn out, but really our place can’t support much more than that.  the nicer weather meant that cold drinks took preference over hot ones and so we skipped on the hot choc this time.  however, there was enough variety for all to enjoy something.  jody had turned up early to help out and this turned into a bonus for her as she got the lucky ticket with no number.  ben wasn’t happy as there was no number for him to read out, but jody was happy as she walked away with a pair or oakley sunglasses.  this is not the first time that she has picked up the major prize at a spr raffle.  no wonder brendan brings her along.

we also tried to acknowledge some of the other people that help in the running of the club and had some small gifts for the committee for their work this year.  toby has done an exceptional job at getting the club involved in the racing side of things and has been the catalyst for getting some riders to race for the first time.  we got him a special gift to show that we appreciate his efforts.

mike bonner also had his efforts in the hills acknowledged as he had accumulated the most hills points over the last year to take out the inaugural prize.  yas for the bike clinic donated a polka dot messenger bag made by timbuktu.

i didn’t escape unscathed and it seems that the committee had snuck around behind my back to do a whip around for a gift.  as of tomorrow my car will be sporting “rouleur1” number plates.  i will just have to save up for a green paint job to match.

so thanks to all of you that have made it a very successful year for the rouleurs.  thanks to bec halliday as well for the kind words at the breakfast and good luck with the move over east.  as i have pointed out, our membership numbers now sit at 193.  we were aiming for 150 members this year and 200 next year, so i think we have a good chance of aiming even higher.  we have assisted in putting on a few race events as well this year which is a great step to say that our club is not a race focused club and have only been around a couple of years.  the annual family day was also a success, thanks to a crazy clown that kept the kids and adults entertained.  we also ran a 200km challenge which we will do again in 2011.  it was a challenge for some, that didn’t involve racing or thousands of other people, so it had a more comfortable feel to it.

basically, we are trying to provide for the club and give it what it wants in the future.  not everyone want to race, so we need to look at what we can do for our members, after all that is who we are there for.  hope you have a good and safe christmas.