If you don't read any further than this, at least take this to heart because the life of the club depends on it! If anyone at all can help in recruiting more front riders, could they please contact Derek on 0161 764 1239 or Alan Hughes on 0161 724 7284 to discuss its feasibility. This is extremely urgent!
Since the club began in 1983, Derek has made a first-class job of maintaining our fleet of tandems and has given unstintingly of time and effort for no remuneration. This is an arduous task even for a sighted mechanic and Derek's deteriorating eyesight makes the job a whole lot more difficult and time-consuming. Furthermore, he no longer lives near the workshop. For this reason, he has now decided to retire from tandem maintenance and will be replaced by Dave Harrison who will be remunerated by the club. For this reason, it is even more important that our yearly fundraising brings in considerably more than in previous years. It effectively needs to be doubled. Our sincere thanks are due to Derek for his unfailing commitment during the past nineteen years.
In November, in a ceremony at the Town Hall's Elizabethan Suite, Derek was awarded the title of Disabled Sportsperson of the Year by Bury Metropolitan Sports Council. This award lasts for one year and takes the form of a plaque bearing individual names and the year for which the award was given. This plaque is kept for one year by the person concerned. In addition, a smaller separate plaque is given to keep. The award represents Derek's enthusiasm for his sport, his performance in eight time trials, his high level of fitness, his contribution in time and effort to our club and his membership of the committee. Congratulations Derek!
There is now a notebook and pen in the workshop for reporting any faults with tandems which riders notice while out riding. If anyone does notice a problem with their tandem, could they please document it in the notebook as soon as possible so that Dave can fix it before the tandem is used again. The tandem front rider must document any problems personally and must not ask someone else to do it on their behalf as this could lead to communication breakdowns. Such details must include: the front and rear riders' names, the date, the tandem used and precise details of the problem.
The Annual Dinner will take place on Friday February 8 2002 at 7.30 pm at the Waterloo Hotel, Manchester Road, Bury. Could everyone please aim to arrive by 7.00 pm. The cost is £15 per person and tickets are available from Dave Harrison tel. 0161 797 7912. The menu is as follows:
Soup, Melon or Pâté.
Turkey, Beef or Chicken plus all the usuals. There is a vegetarian option, but the Waterloo Hotel needs to be told in advance of numbers.
Christmas Pudding, Fruit Cocktail or Apple Pie.
Mince Pies, Coffee and Mints and a glass of wine.
Attendance at this year's AGM was not as high as expected. Alan and I were intending to collect everyone's addresses and phone numbers at the AGM to ensure that the club's address list of all members is up to date. In the event, we only collected twelve because of the low turn-out! Therefore, would everyone who was unable to attend the AGM please let me have your postal addresses, home and mobile telephone numbers and e-mail addresses (for those who have them) as soon as possible. You can either post the information to me at: 178 Markland Hill Lane, Heaton, Bolton, BL1 5PB, phone it through on 01204 840860 or e-mail it to jrobinson@wisteria40.ndo.co.uk.
Many thanks.
John Robinson
At a recent presentation by Bury Lions to a number of local charities, Bury Tandem Club was represented by various committee members and received a donation of £150. This was gratefully accepted and a letter of thanks has already been sent out. The Mayor of Bury was also at the presentation and during the course of the evening, he discussed the possibility of us being given air time on a Tower FM broadcast from the mayoral parlour. This would be a unique opportunity for us to advertise for new front riders. We are still awaiting details, but if the event does go ahead and we are allowed air time, Will Stewart has agreed to represent us.
Terry Thessman of New Zealand designed and built a bike measuring 72.96 feet long and weighing 340 pounds which was ridden a distance of 807.8 feet on 27 February 1988.