Happy New Year and welcome back to a brand-new year with SWAR for 2024!
We hope you are already subscribed to our calendar so you can keep up to date with the events happening and sign up for any that you may be interested in.
You can keep tabs on what we are up to on all our social media below! Don’t forget to join the WhatsApp group for general discussion and if you want to get out for a ride and take someone with you 😊
Disclaimer: The WhatsApp group is an open discussion forum set up by members to enable exchange of info between same – not an official moderated SWAR forum
Memberships
Starting with a little reminder… if you have joined before 2023 or have joined us and passed your test 2023, you will need to pay your membership fees for 2024!
These can be paid very easily into the following account:
Sort Code 30-91-91
Account number 51124868
Please use SUBS24 with your full name as the reference.
Not all members are due to pay this time around. Those who joined us under grant funding in 2023, and have NOT passed their test, are covered for 2024.
Those of you who have passed your tests, joined on the 2022 grant, or joined as a self-funded member, will be due to pay for their 2024 membership for £25 for the year.
Committee
Thank you for joining us at the AGM on the 22nd at Kineton! We hope you had an insightful evening.
Following the nominations at the end of last year, we have elected our new committee who are ready and are raring to go!
The roles and candidates are as follows:
| ​​Role | Candidates |
| Chairman ​ | David Gomez ​ |
| Secretary ​ | AJ Bartlet ​ |
| Treasurer ​ | Adam Franklin ​ |
| Training Officer ​ | Rob Wilkie ​ |
| Membership Officer ​ | David Cooke ​ |
| Technology Officer ​ | Andrew Meechan ​ |
| Media Officer ​ | Gayathri Advani ​ |
| Tours Officer ​ | Rob Wilkie ​ |
Tours in 2024
The tours are coming! If you haven’t already looked into this, please look at them on the Calendar and sign up if you are interested.
For 2024, we have arranged three trips:
April – A Three-day tour around Mid Wales
July – A Four-day tour to Normandy and the D-Day Beaches
September – A Five-day tour to the Vosges Mountains in the Alsace region of France
The conditions of the trips will be:
- Members undertake at their own risk ‘eyes wide open’. ​
- SWAR is not acting as a Travel Agent​.
- Anyone attending will be required to sign a waiver form. ​
- For foreign tours, riders must book their ferries, trains, and any UK accommodation e.g. at Folkestone before le Shuttle​.
- Non-returnable deposits may be required to secure tour accommodation​.
- Riders are responsible for adequate insurance and breakdown cover​.
Rob will be organizing a talk about preparation and what to expect when Riding Abroad and to cover any questions about the tours – though can be contacted directly in the meantime for any queries or to confirm a place.
Observers
For all members who have passed their tests and would like to continue to become an observer, the Observer training weekend will be held on the 2nd and 3rd of March 2024. If you are qualified and are interested please click here to sign up.
Upcoming Meetings
Group meeting on 12th Feb
Rob will be talking us through the dos and don’ts of travelling by bike. What to expect on the tours, and how to pack.
Group ride out on 18th Feb
David G will be leading this ride and details will be shared closer to the day.
Committee meeting
The next committee meeting will take place on the 26th of February so if you wish to share a topic you would like discussed or want to share your thoughts on how we can do better please get in touch before this date.
Skills days
There are skills days organized throughout the year details of which can be found on the following pages or via the calendar. Please click on the links and sign up if you are going to be attending. There are also other events on the calendar which you will be able to sign up for
As always thank you for your support and continued membership with SWAR
