join ctc ?

I (re)joined in 1998 primarily to get the members' discount on the Harwich-Esbjerg ferry...

Dave Larrington - legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uklegslarry.beerdrinkers.co.ukOpen ↗
===========================================================
Editor - British Human Power Club Newsletter
bhpc.org.ukbhpc.org.ukOpen ↗
===========================================================

I joined to be part of a large and constructive lobby organisation, but the magazine and free third party insurance are sufficient value to justify the subscription on their own. The fact that they can provide third party insurance for so little money shows how little risk cyclists pose to other road users . It is reassuring to know that if you have your head down and crash into someone's merc (see earlier posts) you are not going to lose all your assets as well as your dignity.

In "]news:[email hidden], Dave Larrington <[email hidden]> typed:

Quoted message said:

I (re)joined in 1998 primarily to get the members' discount on the Harwich-Esbjerg ferry...

ROFL. Their members discount on that ferry has always been miniscule compared to what you could get
from the ferry company direct. IIRC CTC offered 10% off for early booking. I got over 50% off by
going direct during the month of travel.

Also had an interesting arguement with the ferry company. It was much more expensive to go as four
passengers with two tandems than as four passengers with a car. They would not accept booking as a
car and not taking the car so we ended up taking the tandems on the back of the car on the ferry,
parking up at the Esbjerg and then heading off on our tandems.

Tony

--
"I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve immortality through not
dying." Woody Allen

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Ian Smith

BOn Sat said:

also found that the CTC often appeared to descend into futile debates

I think the ATBs issue pretty much resolved yourself, ... However, I'm a bit worried by the latest flurry of outrage at putting a
picture of some roadies on teh cover and some pictures of road bikes without mudguards (gasp)
inside. Here we go again...

(Also, did anyone understand the bit about wrong side of teh road in one of the letters of outrage?)

/B]

I was a bit depressed about the letter that attcked them for riding bikes with visible decals and *smiling* whilst doing it. OK, I would never wear a replica kit for much the same reasons the correspondent gave but I wouldn't write in with that sort of rant. I wander what colour ink he used.

I would guess that the comment about sides of the road stemmed from them riding on the left and the location looking like alps/pyrenees etc. Can't recall if this was stated or assumed.

I joined to support their campaigning and for the mag (which they ever send to me until I complain and get a copy mailed manually). Pretty much the same reasons for joining LCC, plus the third-part insurance although you only really need *one* of them.

best wishes
james

"Ian Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I think the ATBs issue pretty much resolved yourself, and as you say the apparent official line is
now quite happy with them. However, I'm a bit worried by the latest flurry of outrage at putting a
picture of some roadies on teh cover and some pictures of road bikes without mudguards (gasp)
inside. Here we go again...

Mr Angry bleated on about "Lycra" and "aspirations" etc. What amused me is that on a CTC organised
event I partook of on Sunday the majority seemed to be wearing some Lycra and/or team tops and/or
had "racing bikes".

Pete

[Interleaved quoting: please read to end for all comments] Peter Clinch wrote in uk.rec.cycling:
about: Re: join ctc ?

Quoted message said:

doobrie said:

apart from the ctc legal protection what other benefits are there? worth joining? is it possible
household insurance covers the same? (i will check with them)

I'd been meaning to join for years, finally got around to it last year.
The main reason to join up was to put a bit more power in the cycle
lobby: I know I can live without the other benefits, I've been doing it

Be aware then, that as a member living in Scotland, you'll get virtually zip for your money in the
campaigning regard, then.

CTC has numerous staff at their HQ in Godalming, England, and do an excellent job (or at least a
better job than if there were nobody doing
it) of lobbying the UK Govt in Westminster. Unfortunately, the UK Government has virtually zero
influence over land use planning, allocation of transport budgets, (most) transport policies or
(most) transport schemes in Scotland.

The UK Government does have some input over transport policies in Wales, as the poor folks in the
Welsh Assembly have to go grovel to Westminster every time they want a piece of leglislation
passed, but even despite this (as I have recently discovered) the CTC actually has a Campaigns
Officer in Wales.

Scotland has nothing. A nation of 5M people, able to instigate its own policies and laws with
regards to planning, all forms of road transport, all non-cross-border rail developments, and a
network of crucial ferry services incomparable elsewhere in the UK, and CTC has virtually no
corporate input into any of this.

All the campaigning required to make this work is left to CTC Scotland, a voluntary wing of the CTC
(receiving no funding from the central pot to which members in Scotland obviously contribute), a
cliquey, secretive (and not very effective) close-knit bunch of old chums in Edinburgh who rarely
communicate with the other volunteer activists elsewhere in Scotland and who have seen many keen
fresh-freshed volunteers want to try to get involved over the years yet have effectively brushed
them away so that a small group of 3 or 4 old men can play big boys pretending they're running the
country (and they don't even liaise back to and from CTC HQ much, either).

It's not good news, I'm afraid. But do feel free to join up and try to change things for the better.
We certainly need new and dynamic people to take on the campaigning work and unseat those
self-elected representatives who are neither representative nor effective.

CTC HQ's campaigning staff do acknowledge that Scotland is a special case and is completely
under-represented in terms of their campaigning effort, but it would appear that the beancounters
and those who steer policy aren't in too much of a hurry to change things. I often suspect that most
people in England simply are not aware, either through ignorance or perhaps (hopefully not) through
prejudice, that "as in England, as in Empire" no longer applies and that chapping at Westminster's
doors has little effect elsewhere in the UK... :-(

Quoted message said:

for years, but no regrets with parting from the cash. They give the impression of having hearts
and minds in more or less the right places, and actively campaigning for cycling from a cyclist's
perspective (as

Their hearts are in the right place. They just don't seem able to equitably allocate resources to
recognise that the UK is a federal nation and that those of us in the Celtic nations are
effectively subsidising campaigning works which only benefit members in England, while we get
little in return.. :-(

Quoted message said:

opposed to the "well, my political party is for cycle paths, because even though I know nothing
about them, they sound like they must be safe, and we all know the roads are too dangerous" noises
others seem to make).

As an active member of a political party, I can assure you that at least one of the parties
represented in our Parliament (that's the Scottish one, of course) has the resources on tap to know
what's really needed regarding facilitating cycling. Unfortunately, another difference between
England and Scotland is that the ScotExec has little say on LAs' transport policies, so they can
still do (or not do) pretty much whatever [censored] they like.. :-(

--
David Marsh, <reply-to-email is valid at time of writing> | Edinburgh, Scotland. [en, fr, (de)] |
web.viewport.co.ukweb.viewport.co.ukOpen ↗ | Learn usenet and netiquette: read news:news.announce.newusers |

Quoted message said:

Please interleave & trim quotes otherwise your posts will be ignored.<

begin Outlook is broken: see web.viewport.co.ukoutbreakOpen ↗ |

David Marsh said:

CTC has numerous staff at their HQ in Godalming, England, and do an excellent job (or at least a
better job than if there were nobody doing
it) of lobbying the UK Govt in Westminster. Unfortunately, the UK Government has virtually zero
influence over land use planning, allocation of transport budgets, (most) transport policies or
(most) transport schemes in Scotland.

Interesting point. I will take it up with them. I am meeting Roger Geffen next week, and Ill ask
what the position is.

Guy
===
** WARNING ** This posting may contain traces of irony. chapmancentral.comchapmancentral.comOpen ↗ New!
Improved!! Now with added extra Demon!

[Interleaved quoting: please read to end for all comments] Just zis Guy, you know? wrote in
uk.rec.cycling: about: Re: join ctc ?

Quoted message said:

David Marsh said:

CTC has numerous staff at their HQ in Godalming, England, and do an excellent job (or at least a
better job than if there were nobody doing
it) of lobbying the UK Govt in Westminster. Unfortunately, the UK Government has virtually zero
influence over land use planning, allocation of transport budgets, (most) transport policies
or (most) transport schemes in Scotland.

Interesting point. I will take it up with them. I am meeting Roger Geffen next week, and Ill ask
what the position is.

Hi Guy,

Roger and I have discussed this on various occasions, and he's aware and concerned that it's a
problem that needs to be addressed. However, I do get the impression (possibly wrongly, I do hasten
to add!) that CTC 'corporately' isn't overly concerned about this(?) [after all, Scots are a
minority, and minorities tend to receive less fair treatment and lack the clout to demand better]
(and it's impossible to get any answers/assistance from the cliquey CTC Scotland committee), but
that the decision-making and beancounting powers are outwith Roger's hands..?

Unfortunately I've been somewhat preoccupied with the somewhat more pressing tasks of staying alive
and non-homeless over the past few months (you'd naively think that the housing benefits system
would _automatically_ pay the rent, no hassle, of somebody diagnosed with a very serious potentially
life-threatening medical condition, wouldn't you - sadly not) to have been in touch with Roger
recently to further discuss any ways in which we can improve this situation. Say Hi to him for me,
though, please! :-)

David.

--
David Marsh, <reply-to-email is valid at time of writing> | Edinburgh, Scotland. [en, fr, (de)] |
web.viewport.co.ukweb.viewport.co.ukOpen ↗ | Learn usenet and netiquette: read news:news.announce.newusers |

Quoted message said:

Please interleave & trim quotes otherwise your posts will be ignored.<

begin Outlook is broken: see web.viewport.co.ukoutbreakOpen ↗ |

In message <[email hidden]>, David Marsh
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Unfortunately I've been somewhat preoccupied with the somewhat more pressing tasks of staying alive
and non-homeless over the past few months (you'd naively think that the housing benefits system
would _automatically_ pay the rent, no hassle, of somebody diagnosed with a very serious
potentially life-threatening medical condition, wouldn't you - sadly not)

uk.gov.social-security offers inside advice on actually getting action, plus FREE bonus troll if you
admit you're a new poster. Don't ask: "What does happen automatically in a housing benefit unit?"

--
Sue ]|(🙂