Greetings members,

As 2020 draws to a close, it’s a good time to reflect on what’s transpired. This was meant to be a year of celebration being our 40th year of existence, however that all changed & we have all been impacted by COVID-19, some more than others. We all learnt how to social distance & wear face masks, use hand sanitiser & learn new terminology like Isolation, 5Klm radius & work/school from home. The holding of our breath every morning waiting for Dan’s daily numbers became compulsory viewing. Back in September a few members started asking if I thought we were any chance of racing this year & my gut was telling me no way.

Then finally the numbers started to fall in October & we all started talking about “double donut” days. As they continued, so did our hopes rise that we could race this year. Then on Tuesday 24th of November we held our first race back & have been racing ever since. One thing I know about cyclists is that we are a resilient lot, & many showed thier resilience with strong form in early races. Others gained a few “COVID kilo’s” & were a long way off thier best but came back & raced anyway.

In the meanwhile, your committee has been working hard behind the scenes. We have been holding a video meeting every month as there was plenty to get done. We had to form a COVID safe policy & committee & thanks to Dean Tune & Dale Walton for taking this important task on. We also decided to go cashless & move to online entries via Entry Boss.

We also had to investigate the merits or otherwise of moving across to AusCycling & this meant the winding up & cessation of Veterans Cycling Vic. We have since done this & so far, the move seems like a winner. We’ve already seen an influx of members from other clubs come race with us & we had 65+ ride in the Christmas Handicap last Saturday, many of whom were visitors from other AusCycling (old Cycling Australia) clubs.. Please make sure you join AusCycling before 31st of December which is when your insurance under AVCC will cease. All details of how to join are on our website or if you need help, please reach out to Madame Secretary Susan.

My thanks as always goes out to the committee. Firstly, to our wonderful outgoing Treasurer Juantia Stumbles. We paid tribute to Juan last Saturday. Juan has done more than her fair share for ECC & we thank you for your hard work over the last 12+ years.

Susan Williams has been working tirelessly as secretary, thanks you Madame Secretary for your hard work once again. We have the best Club Captain in the cosmos with Max Michelson, his energy & passion for ECC is 2nd to none & infectious. Pete Mackie just keeps on keeping on & PAM made the selfless gesture to referee every Tuesday & Saturday race up until Christmas, well done PAM. Also, a shout out to Dean Tune who has agreed to caretake the Treasurer role until next year’s AGM, thanks DT.

My thanks also goes to the broader committee, Dean Niclasen & Brendan Wain have taken over from Col Mortley with the race director & race permit roles & both have been doing a great job. Andrew Buchanan is still doing the race referee & marshal duty list, thanks AB. Nick Tapp did a great job with the newsletter. Lawrence Lee keeps the website up to date, even though he wasn’t a member this year, thanks for that Lawrence. It’s great to see some new blood coming onto the committee & Glenn Newnham & Rob Lackie have been attending the last few & we hope to see more of them in 2021.

Also, a big thankyou to our wonderful first aid officers, Shelly Timson & Kevin Marks. Well done to John Williams & Dean Niclasen for running the popular Wednesday morning sessions at the Loop.

There are many others who help keep the club running & if I have missed anyone, please accept my apologies. To all our Race Referees, thanks for keeping us safe on race days. We need more referees so please let us know if you can help in 2021. You can now do the accreditation with AusCycling online so it’s much easier these days.

Have a wonderful & safe Christmas & New Year. When you’re riding over the next few weeks, be smart about how, where & when you ride.

See you all in 2021 for a bigger & better year of racing for ECC.

Regards Adam