How is this going effect CUK?

[Philip Benstead]

How is this going effect CUK?

British Cycling’s partnership with HSBC UK officially begins tomorrow, 1 January 2017. 
The eight-year partnership seeks to embrace communities nationwide and will work across the sport from participation at the grassroots to major organised cycling events through to the highest level of performance with the Great Britain Cycling Team.

Read more at https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/about/article/20161229-HSBC-UK-Partnership-officially-begins-0#qTetYfreyUQyMEkR.99
https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/about/article/20161229-HSBC-UK-Partnership-officially-begins-0

[Jakob W]

...not all that much? It still looks like a basically sports-focused programme; and anything that might give Chris Boardman a platform to talk sense about cycling conditions is a win, right?

[Si]

Well, speaking as someone who is one of those spearheading BC's embracement of communities (all day long I'm hugging people) via the RA programme (for instance: this summer at just one location within the city we have gotten around 120 mostly Muslim, inner city women cycling for the first time), I think that it's going to be helpful as we are working alongside CUK and their Community Cycling Clubs officer to help build CCCs in some of the most deprived areas of our city where cycling definitely wasn't popular! It's interesting when you generate a map of all the people that BC has traditionally reached in our city via membership, breeze, sky/local, etc (which would probably be exactly the same areas as CUK have traditionally reached), and those that the new BC community oriented work has reached - virtually no overlap!

CUK are good at building Community Groups, we are good at teaching people to ride and putting on rides - so we compliment each other well.


Of course, you may argue that this does little for the traditional hard core touring member of the CTC/CUK.  But to that I would say: 1/ I can't see it hurting them either, 2/ that surely having more voters on bikes helps every other cyclist as it gives us more political sway, and 3/ am I bovvered?

[Peter]

A lot of sense there, Si.  However, I think that you might want to re-visit 3 in your last sentence.  Do you think you really mean that?  We want to reach as many cyclists as possible - all the time, don't we?

Peter

[Si]

Im quite happy with my statement - my team and i are doing our best to get people cycling , people from communities where cycling isnt popular.  Should i feel bad because i dont work to directly promote serious touring to hard core ctc members?  Let me put it another way - the vast majority of people on this form do jobs that have nothing to do with cycling - should they be bovvered that their jobs dont promote cycle touring?

It's a funny thing about working in cyclng - when i worked in IT no one cared that i did nothing for cycling, but tell some people you work in cycling and they immediatley tell you thst you are doing it wrong and promoting the wrong kind of cycling, etc.  So its best to just ignore them if they are not willing to opentheir minds and try to get on with doing the little that you can.

[Peter]

It's fine that you concentrate where you think best.  I just thought "am I bovvered" indicated a dismissive, even rude dismissal of a group of cyclists.  The language, not your choice of concentration, really.  I am now still happy with my assessment.

Peter

[Si]

At the risk of wheeling out an overused forum reply: perhaps you should respond to what i actually said.  The only group of people who should even c0me close to feeling offeded are those who really believe that cuk/bc spending hsbc money to promote cycling in disadvantaged areas is a bad thing.

[Kim]

It's a funny thing about working in cyclng - when i worked in IT no one cared that i did nothing for cycling, but tell some people you work in cycling and they immediatley tell you thst you are doing it wrong and promoting the wrong kind of cycling, etc.

I bet they still ask for help with their computer, thobut.

[mattc]

"strength in numbers" - dunno who invented it, but CTC have been very much behind it.

Getting more riders out there should benefit us all on the roads, touring/commuting/pootling/whatever. 

[Peter]

@ Si

I agree with everything in your defence of what you are doing.  Just don't know why you bovvered wiv your last remark.  What makes you make the (wrong) supposition that I didn't read what you said?  That's just cheeky!  I was just puzzled by the throwaway nature of your last remark - as if you didn't care about offending someone.

But it's no big deal and I'm not really bovvered.

Good luck with your work.

Peter