London Centennial Wheelers

Vision

The LCW strives to create an inclusive and respected community of cyclists developed through various disciplines of the sport. 

 Mission:

The LCW through its members fosters an inclusive sporting community of cyclists. Through its events focusses on the growth and development of athletes. Through its activities promotes the benefits of cycling and as a sport for all. 

NEWS

AGM, Year End Celebration and Social

Location: London Bicycle Café

Date: November 29

AGM: 5:30-6:30

Awards: 630

Social post awards to mix and mingle in non-cycling clothing (well, feel free to wear kit)


We also will have some draw prizes to hand out...we hope to see you there. Check in on the socials as we get closer. 

Season Kick off email

Newsletter is out!

https://mailchi.mp/c4257c21e482/agm-kit-orders-year-end-awards

Click to read the details about a lot of things!  Hope to see you out

Registration, 2023 Kits and more...newsletter Below

OCA Membership Types

OCA Membership/Licenses...What you need to know

There was a question today and if one asks...well I know there are more wanting details.

Cheat Sheet.

Club Affiliate $45 - You are only going to ride with clubs or race in things like our weekly race series (out Thursday TT included)

Citizen Permit $65 - Hey you want to ride with the club PLUS want to race the Ontario races. This is what you need. A bit different this year in that a CP allows you to do all the regular events. Exceptions are nationals and if a provincials is held (not likely except cyclocross).

UCI License >$120 and too lazy to look - You want to Race the one the CP gets me plus I might race provincials/nationals. Also, you may want to race a UCI event or internationally. It also makes racing in the US easier but not needed unless a UCI event. Usually US races if you don't have the UCI you pay $10/race.

BEST PART - if you get the club affiliate membership and want to race, you can contact the OCA and pay the difference. Ensure you decide a week in advance and there might be a CCN component.

That is my plan for this year. I did get the Citizen Permit and intend on upgrading if CX season happens and things open up to race a bit in the US. CX there are a couple UCI events I would like to attend if they happen in the US and I will race provincials.

Hope this helps


TT's and more about TT's

Congrats to the Champions at this weekend's TT!  It was a beauty day filled with PR's and Sun.  

Thank you to Ben Hill and Mike Long for volunteering

Thank you to all that came out and had fun racing!

September - Back to Belmont

Shifting back to the old course for the rest of the season.

4 chances for a PR!

Old News

2020 LCW Plans

Good day LCW members, future members, past members and lurkers

First, there is no TL;DR...estimated reading time... =(Wordcount/200) = 6 minutes. #worthit

2020 is shaping up to be an exciting year with some changes and I wanted to take the time to share some updates.

First and foremost (or someone might think I am burying it), is that there will be an increase in the membership costs for 2020. This is driven by the fact that we have had small operating losses and we did not feel it is good planning to continue to do so and rely on the race revenue to offset such losses. We also struggle to add value to your membership if we are already in a negative cash flow position.

For 2020 the membership costs for Adults will increase to $40 and youth to $15. $5/adult member will be directed to a budget for the race series and the same $5/adult member will be directed to a budget for the touring program. A report of spending will be submitted at the end of 2020 to ensure alignment and effective use. We will review this at the 2020 AGM to ensure members see the value.

Vision and Mission:

The executive reviewed club’s mandate and has updated it to allow more alignment and flexibility to what our members want. We are hoping to deliver the below and we are always open to feedback, compliments and criticism on how we are doing to deliver. I hope that this resonates with our membership.

Vision: The LCW strives to create an inclusive and respected community of cyclists developed through various disciplines of the sport.

Mission: The LCW through its members fosters an inclusive sporting community of cyclists. Through its events focusses on the growth and development of athletes. Through its activities promotes the benefits of cycling and as a sport for all.

Racing:

2019 brought an increase in numbers of participants for the Tuesday series and the Thursday TT’s. This was amazing and was driven by new people trying racing in our C’s and a significant increase in youth participants. We saw a lot of personal growth in both series.

For 2020 I am hoping to continue that trend with more learn to race, continued C races and will be adding some skills sessions. Youth and new members are critical to our Clubs continued success. I am looking for new criterium and road race courses. Please share ideas with me, Chris Pollett.

For the value add, in the past there have been off and on prizing at events. Primes and Prizes came out of members’ pockets and volunteer pockets. Small things add up and sometimes that small prize creates some excitement. We also will be having another race week with an overall winner. Lastly, last year we were lucky to have a donation by Craig L to sweep the Meg Drive course by a professional road sweeper. This saved A LOT of hours as it was a disaster (and a few flats I am sure) and I would like to leverage this company again for a sweep for 2020. I also did some course maintenance that had us racing on the Innovation course safely. Who knew I was pretty good at tamping pavement!

Touring:

For 2020 the, “If you want to lead it - we’ll schedule it” will be in effect. The plan is to support those already leading and to bring new people to the touring side through events.

The plan is to develop one-a-month “fondo-style” rides featuring a destination and season- appropriate theme. Think Sugar-bush season opener; an ice-cream ride in July, and a pie-ride. Also looking to have distance and gravel options to ensure everyone can participate. The aim is to provide an event for club member and a social atmosphere to bring some new people to the touring events. Also looking at scavenger hunts, if there is interest.

For the classic weekly Saturday rides in 2020 I’ve already started the process to get group rides posted further in advance by co-ordinating with those who regularly lead rides. Any additional funds will be used to support in the form of coffee-stop funds for those who host rides week-in-week-out.

Social:

As there were no nominations for the role of Social Chair we have eliminated the role for 2020. We have asked that the Racing director, Touring director and President create and host a social opportunity in 2020. I would ask, if you have an idea, please email me, Chris Pollett.

Riding:

If there is interest, we will be able in 2020 to offer MTB rides, CX clinics and gravel rides.

Your 2020 membership registration will be asking some key questions to shape what YOU value in the club and what types of riding you do. If there is interest, and we have someone who can lead, we will facilitate these opportunities, even if it is for weekend adventures.

Celebration:

We have some amazing news to share about an AWESOME partnership with Forest City Velodrome. In the past we have our banquet and celebrated club members with the awards and trophies. We pulled the trophies out, awarded, and then packed them up. We have been working with FCV and are happy to announce we will be setting up a display of the Awards at FCV in a cabinet for all to see. This will be a place that we can all see the amazing history and legacy of our club in our key hub of cycling in the area. More details to follow and we will share when it is ready!

Kits and Racing:

In 2019 Bill Hellems was awesome and rallied the troops and ensured there was a kit available for purchase. This was amazing to see and helped highlight LCW at several races and also, let’s be honest, it is amazing to see the Jersey out there. We will work to facilitate this again in 2020. Also, we have lots of independent racers in the area, did you know if you have a kit, and register as affiliated with LCW you can race under the LCW club? Email Chris Pollett for details.

Website:

In the coming months we will be updating the website. The version of the site has reached a point where updating may cause a loss of data. The plan is to stand up a new site that meets our needs and keep the old content in archive state for ~1year to allow migration and people to get content they want off the site. There is a lot of rich history we want to keep and move over but that will not be an overnight task.

We hope you are as excited as we are for 2020 and what the new season will bring, your comments and feedback are always appreciated and we look forward to enjoying the open road, or a closed loop, with you all soon.