UCI World Championships, Track, TT and Road. Great results!

[Hans Datdodishes]

[Hans Datdodishes]

[Plurien]

Still not letting the facts stand in the way, eh Hans? Difficult for yuo, since you were never anywhere to be seen when there was work to be done. Your blind prejudice would come in for a nasty shock if you ever came up against the things we've experienced.

There was an ashen look on Brian's face when he first saw Rammey, over six months after his organisation had 'wholeheartedly'approved the Rammey scheme for relocation When he was asked by an LVYCC youth rider why BC wanted to move Eastway here his look of dejection around the site and his low murmur of; 'We don't' wasn't eactlly a ringing endorsement of the dug-in attitude being inflicted on all by the other party you name.
It actually took the users' and the LDA's concerted actions in a meeting over the possibilities for Hog Hill against Rammey to persuade one BC exec that funding would come from the LDA, so it could drop its call to the 'guaranteed funding' it wrongly thought would come from the LVRPA for Rammey. The exasperated look on the faces of the LDA people as they made common-cause with us in the meeting against one particularly nasty and entrenched individual stays with me now. It shows how nothing even remotely acceptable would have been secured by BC had they been left alone as they first insisited. Right from the first phone call and then dragging that person to a first meeting in 2003 it was obvious we weren't his clients. That's when users learned Eastway was to go and that the NGB had secured no relocation and no legacy for road or off-road. You bet we were committed from then on.

And no, we have no idea why they would act in that way either! We just go by what we had to do.
You do wonder where the current vacant words of support which come from people like Hans who had absolutely no involvement and made no effort to go out of his way to secure facilities would have got riders in seeking to secure the facilities that are on the way for relocation and legacy phases.

Still, all's well that ends well. Hog Hill is nearly open and there will be good legacy for our sport from the Games. - Just don't go naming anything unless you want a return to the days of dictatorship and complete disregard for the needs of the people who actually did the sport of cycling on Eastway.

It might also be inconvenient to say, but EUG didn't stand for any position on the national board, because that would be outide its remit. Don't confuse a particular person with the collective effort in which he/she might be engaged. There's all sorts of wider lessons from history on that one which are definitely OT.

[Hans Datdodishes]

[Hans Datdodishes]

I've been asked by PM to stop poking the mentals, so this is my last post on this subject.
Look forward to seeing some of you on the VR HHUG rides. x
_________________
World Masters Drive HillClimb For Taureans Category C Champion 2013.

I'm a qualified coach.

[Plurien]

Fair enough

All's well that ends well and Hog Hill is there for all to enjoy, irrespective of anything.

That's our sport and vive la difference so no hard feelings.

[Brian Cookson]

I am very disappointed that I have been dragged into this by name again by Michael Humphreys (Plurien), with his highly selective recollection of comments I made on a visit to the potential post-Eastway sites a couple of years ago.

For the record, once more, I don't accept his version of the history of this saga, I find his approach of trying to discredit and smear British Cycling or anyone else who sees things differently from him extremely offensive, I think his habit of claiming the credit for all the "good" elements whilst blaming everyone else for the "bad" elements is despicable, and I feel that continuing to perpetuate a "dispute" that has been effectively resolved to the satisfaction of all the other people involved is extremely regrettable to say the least.

After a lot of hard work by a lot of people (and no-one denies that includes Michael), it is looking like our sport will gain a brilliant set of facilities in London. Please can we just get on with doing the best for our sport without this silly sniping.

Please don't post another lengthy riposte, Michael, I won't be responding. There are great things happening in our sport at the moment and I prefer to put my time and effort into those.

Brian.

[Brian Cookson]

[Plurien]

Yeah, look what you raked up!

Wonder why you're selectively recollecting the Hog Hill and Rammey visit. There's no doubt you made the response that you didn't think it was a good idea to move to Rammey once you'd seen it .... and no question you were a little late in getting along to see it.
We're pleased you did though, and we said that at the time because it led to the reversal.

You got good cred that day and it was good to meet you because around that time we (EUG and LDA) had to persuade other BC people that the funding was from the LDA and that their opposition on grounds of funding was unfounded.
There's also no doubt that the re-opened consultation which led to the correct decision on relocation came from EUG and was only allowed by BC with very great reluctance.

Put another way, do people (apart from Hans, sorry) think that the riders who used Eastway would have secured such good relocation and legacy without their own efforts, which it was always sad to note had often to be made in the teeth of BC opposition?

All is well that ends well. Accept that we all learned a lot and it is seriously to be hoped that this will have a longer-term effect on the full spectrum of riding and how BC regards the importance of its client groups and the commitment they bring to the sport. It's give and take.

Hog Hill and the legacy will be there for everyone, not for anyone in particular and it ought to be used to the max. That's the best we could have wished for and it took us all - working together - to get it. Legacy announcement is due any day now.

[JohnC]

I have never been involved in politics/committees etc before Eastway. We were being shafted and BC was endorsing the shafting, no matter what they said about behind the scenes work, etc. The EUG came together because of the desperate situation - although I'd spent a lot of time at Eastway and my team organised a lot of stuff there, I had not really met most of the people who spontaneously came together when Rammey Marsh was endorsed by BC.

We were treated to fake consultations when the decision had already been taken; the findings from the consultations were not credible. BC was wheeled in to meetings to give credibility to the proposals.

I think EUG demonstrates a fine British characteristic, in that if pushed the people will rise up!

BC continues to be the preferred ODA cycling body, so anything that comes out can be credited to them. However, without the EUG a totally different story would have emerged.

Most of the people who will enjoy Hog Hill, and the soon to be announced improved legacy (it needs it) will not have put in the time and commitment of the EUG. But thank God for those who put in the work and stand up when necessary. As I said, this is the first such group I have been a member of, but it is borne of a passion for cycling and the situation that we found ourselves in.

Yes Hans, I did go to Manchester and back and stand for the BC Board, my choice because there were only one or two from south of Watford on the Board (well voting takes place in Manchester - why?). The Board members who stuck up for the Eastway legacy had a hard time of it and were treated badly. I was encouraged by those Board members to stand – EUG did not know.

So I may go back again, I did not expect to get on first time. But I do think that the AGM should be held in different places, certainly in London, perhaps on alternate years.

The likes of Plurien and my own team are organising a substantial amount, I’d say the majority, of events at the temporary replacements, so we don’t just make trouble for no reason as Hans would have you believe.

Our main focus is promoting cycling; EUG came out of that because the future for cycling for young people in London was threatened.

Day to day, every day, that is what we are doing. It’s a shame that the only time you hear from us here is when we have to respond to untruths such as Hans has recycled here. It gives the wrong impression, and I’m sorry for that.

[hunterbark]

[KJ]

Has place of voting anything to do with outcome of voting. As I remember it all regions are represented at an AGM.


There are no women on the board either!!
_________________
'You are a free woman. You will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, de-briefed (that you should be so lucky ) or numbered. Your life is your own.'

[Plurien]

Run towards Change as getting the first stake in the ground often leads to a better share.