Minutes of meeting held 11/11/25 at Alma Arms, Uckfield
Present: Darren Haynes (DH) – Chairman; Paget Cohen (PC) – Club Run Coordinator and Press Secretary; Graham Faultless (GF) – Treasurer; Neil Edwards (NE) – Time Trial Secretary; Alex Steer (AS) – Club Secretary
Apologies: Dan Street (DS) – Road Race Secretary
OFFICER’S REPORTS
CHAIRMAN
Darren Haynes reported an overall feeling of positivity at the club. Rolling News has proven a popular addition, with lots of good feedback about it. Membership has increased with several members bringing their time (planning/leading group rides) and diverse skills to enhance what we can offer to all members.
SECRETARY
Alex Steer suggested highlighting the new CTT ZWIFT time trial series to club members. This was agreed to be included in the next edition of Rolling News – NE to action.
TREASURER
Graham Faultless reported that club finances are holding steady at ~£6,300. A £10 subsidy per head was agreed for the 31 members and guests confirmed for the Jubilee lunch, with an additional £75 float for table decorations etc.
With no significant capital expenditure planned for 2026, there was felt to be no pressing need to increase membership fees from the current level of £20.
The Club year-end is 31 October, and GF will liaise with Graham Jeffs and Anne Baker to get the accounts completed and audited in time for the AGM in January.
ROAD RACE SECRETARY
Dan Street confirmed by note that he will be renewing the BC affiliation and meeting with John Powell, who will take over running the CRITS next year.
The Committee agreed that John should be invited to the AGM in January 2026 and a subsequent Committee meeting to report on ideas and progress.
TIME TRIAL SECRETARY
Neil Edwards provided the provisional schedule for the Club Time Trials next season:
- Circuit of Danehill: 22 March
- Circuit of Laughton: 27 May
- 8 x weekly Evening 10s commencing: 1 June
- Hill Climb: 27 July
- Circuit of Chailey: 27 September
NE proposed adding an additional 2Up competition to the Evening 10s series to take place on the Laughton/Ringmer circuit. This was agreed.
There are no plans to resurrect the Earwig Corner TT for next season due to insufficient demand among club members.
The criteria for points in the Evening 10 TT competition were discussed, including club, bike type, number of races, courses ridden, and average times. The consensus was to keep it as simple as possible, with the fastest average speed across any four of the eight races on either course being deemed the winner. Separate classifications will exist for road bikes and TT bikes.
The Committee agreed to continue using Result Sheet for another season and not to switch to the CTT alternative unless a compelling reason to do so presents itself. The current cost of Result Sheet is £5 per race.
ESCA TT events will be highlighted in Rolling News nearer the time with the aim of encouraging more riders to represent the club and increase our place in the ESCA standings.
MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY
Neil Edwards reported on behalf of the Membership Secretary that we have 77 current members.
Michael Bauie (10/25), Ally Challis (8/25), Alice Gilmore (10/25), and Chris Hurcomb (8/25) are additions since the Committee last met, and it was agreed that they all amply represent the demographic we seek to attract. Chris Hurcomb’s stepping forward to run gravel rides, and Alice Gilmore’s successes in the local Hill Climbs are particularly noteworthy.
DH confirmed that personalised welcome letters are now being sent to all new members.
NE said that Chris Hurcomb has a Strava group called “Lewes Gravel” with ~90 members, and he is amenable to rebranding it in due course. This could prove a useful recruitment vehicle.
Memberships are due for renewal on 31 December. MemberMojo will automatically distribute the first reminder 28 days beforehand, with further reminders nine days before expiry, one day after expiry and 28 days after expiry. NE will review all the reminders to make sure they are up to date. An initial “heads-up” of pending renewals will be made in the 28 November edition of Rolling News.
In line with the Treasurer’s report, it was agreed that the membership fee should stay at £20 for 2026, although we should flag an increase to £25 in 2027.
NE suggested that we should take steps to recruit a Women’s Representative to the Committee at the AGM. This reflects the increase in female members this year and our desire to see more join.
A brief discussion on E-bikes took place, following a membership enquiry from a lady who rides an e-mountain bike exclusively. We agreed that she and similar riders would be welcome.
PRESS SECRETARY
Paget Cohen reported that Sussex Express continues to feature LWCC news, with expanded coverage recently, including pictures. We agreed that this remains worthwhile publicity for the Club and the effort to secure it should continue.
CLUB RIDES COORDINATOR
Sunday Social Rides
Paget reported that the Sunday rides are increasingly well attended, with a pool of ~20 regular riders.
Off-Road Rides
Chris Hurcomb and Mugs Gohl have been leading popular gravel rides, which were agreed to be welcome additions to the Club’s offering.
Forge Ride
The Forge ride has maintained its popularity and has been a useful recruitment tool.
Comment was made that it is getting faster and faster, which, on the one hand, is attracting good talent to the club, but on the other is deterring some of the original Forge riders from coming along. The suggestion was made to split the rides into two groups if there are enough riders to accommodate it. We agreed that knowing who is attending in advance would be helpful, but knowing that most people just turn up, it is likely to remain a decision on the day.
Spain 2026
Dates and options were discussed with Richard and Maddy having offered Dénia as an alternative to Calpe. NE advised that there have been 13 expressions of interest in the Dénia option: 10 “Yes” and 3 “Maybe”. 11 people want to stay in the villa vs. a half-board hotel. There are 4 votes for dates in February, 5 for April/May, 3 for either, and 1 for both. NE agreed to speak with Maddy and Richard about the next steps.
OTHER BUSINESS
Jubilee Lunch
NE reported that we have 31 attendees, and all food pre-orders are in.
Harvey’s Brewery has provided a gift of 30 low alcohol bottles of beer.
The order of events was discussed and agreed. Darren will say a short grace to start, and will then do acknowledgements between the main course and pudding. This section will also include some of the Club Time Trial Results.
NE will continue to liaise with the venue and organise table decoration beforehand.
GF offered to pay the £250 net club contribution from his credit card and reimburse himself afterwards. This was agreed. (A £50 deposit has already been paid to the venue, taken from the TT petty cash box).
Communications
NE requested support with content ideas for Rolling News. The ambition remains to keep Rolling News coming out weekly over the winter, but a lack of content could compromise this.
There is a feeling of room for improvement in our Instagram presence, as this is now our main face to the outside world. NE noted that Crawley Wheelers and East Grinstead CC were both doing well on Instagram, and he would like to see us doing better than them. We should aim to post twice a week. Currently, we run at just under one post a week.
AGM
The date of the AGM is set for 20 Jan 2026. DH will explore options for a venue in Lewes in keeping with the Club’s heritage.