Did you vote in the recent CTC Council election?

[Drago]

who wants to be a Police and Crime Commissioner

Just about every freeloading waster who fancies a fat paycheck and little oversight. Best bit is your mates can get in on the gig too when you give them nice cushy jobs with fat salaries and unfeasibly large leave entitlements and the heady title of Deputy Commissioner. If you're really, really lucky you'll apply for the Kent PCC job, cos they'll tolerate all sorts of tomfoolery down there.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Wot she said. I was opposed to the charity conversion and I was opposed the CJ's sacking and I have been opposed to the entire drift of the CTC away from a member-centred organisation focussed on non-sporting cycling to an executive-led charity focussed in obtaining and spending government money on sporting cycling in the last decade. If a single one of the candidates had said they were standing to oppose that and to stand up to the Chair and Chief Exec, I'd have voted for them. If any of the candidates -perhaps yourself Philip - intended to convey that, they did it in such opaque code that the message got hidden. I made a positive choice not to vote as the best way, however pathetic, to send a message to CTC - not apathy but something closer to boycott.

^This.

Why would I feed the hand that bites me by taking part in pointless elections to a pointless body. I made a positive decision not to get involved after CJ was let go.

 

[srw]

@Philip Benstead - an interesting set of candidate pitches. But they're interesting in the wrong way.

The word "I" is used to tedium, the word "you" is never used. Only one candidate (who withdrew) attempts to say what he actually wants to change strategically beyond the motherhood-and-apple-pie "make cycling safer and more attractive". You know what - I think it's already very safe and very attractive. None of the candidates bother explaining why they think the election is important to an ordinary CTC member. All of the candidates look to the cynical eye like people looking for power for its own sake. None of them attempt to say why you, the ordinary member with no interest in internal politics or governance, should vote for them.

The issue that CTC as an organisation faces is a split between the people who liked the "old CTC" - local membership groups going out for club runs and social events, and people who couldn't care less about that side of the organisation or about the form of corporate governance but want an effective and efficient voice with a decent presence. "CJ" is obviously a big issue for some people. (Yes, I do know who he is, but quite why I'd go to a single person for advice and wait weeks or months when there's a huge and knowledgeable group of people online able to give advice immediately I don't know).

I assume that "council" is the set of trustees - whose responsibility is to set strategy and direction, and hold the executive to account. The idea that an amateurish election is the best way to find a group of senior professionals with the right skills and competence to do that is silly. But it is what it is, so the responsibility is on candidates to learn from Corbyn and leverage social media. There must be thousands of CC members in the South East who are also CTC members, and many of them will also have friends and colleagues who are members. A carefully directed and active campaign would do wonders.

 

[Dan B]

"CJ" is obviously a big issue for some people. (Yes, I do know who he is, but quite why I'd go to a single person for advice and wait weeks or months when there's a huge and knowledgeable group of people online able to give advice immediately I don't know).

As a user or potential user of the CTC services then I agree with you, but from an "is this organisation promoting cycling" perspective then it makes a lot of sense for the CTC to be paying CJ - and others - to solve people's technical problems instead of relying on the goodwill of everyone else who presumably does it unpaid or while they "should" be adding value to some other organisation (e.g. skiving at work). Something about externalities etc blah blah blah

 

[srw]

That depends on what you mean by "represent". I'm not a member of any political party, but several do a reasonably good job of representing my views.

 

[srw]

As a user or potential user of the CTC services then I agree with you, but from an "is this organisation promoting cycling" perspective then it makes a lot of sense for the CTC to be paying CJ - and others - to solve people's technical problems instead of relying on the goodwill of everyone else who presumably does it unpaid or while they "should" be adding value to some other organisation (e.g. skiving at work). Something about externalities etc blah blah blah

It makes sense for CTC to pay someone to ensure that there is good advice available, and to keep on top of technical developments and talk about them to the membership at large. Whether it makes sense for CTC to pay someone to sit in an office in Guildford and write letters to individual members I doubt. Something about value-for-money.

 

[Dan B]

It makes sense for CTC to pay someone to ensure that there is good advice available, and to keep on top of technical developments and talk about them to the membership at large. Whether it makes sense for CTC to pay someone to sit in an office in Guildford and write letters to individual members I doubt. Something about value-for-money.

I assumed he posted everything on the Web when he'd finished it. I've certainly referred many times to his Shimergo stuff

 

[jay clock]

My impression of the CTC is
a) very poor admin when I was a member 8-10 years back
b) runs local cycling clubs who instead of doing 2-4 rides on carbon in bright lycra do 2-4 hr rides on steel with canvas saddlebags
c) run by people (mainly men) who seem to love committees
d) any election where a sizeable proportion were spoiled ballots due to lack of membership numbers suggests a poor process.

 

[jay clock]

PS, what exactly do they need to carry in their saddelbags that I don't need to carry?

 

[jay clock]

PPS, I am assuming the ballot was by post. And with the price of stamps and most people doing stuff online, that can't have helped

 

[snorri]

. "CJ" is obviously a big issue for some people. (Yes, I do know who he is, but quite why I'd go to a single person for advice and wait weeks or months when there's a huge and knowledgeable group of people online able to give advice immediately I don't know).

Perhaps a little off topic but I consulted several professionals and numerous amateur cycle mechanics regarding a problem I was experiencing. Eventually I went to CJ who replied promptly with a detailed explanation of the situation along with what turned out to be the solution to the problem, I just wished I had consulted him earlier.

 

[mjr]

PS, what exactly do they need to carry in their saddelbags that I don't need to carry?

Possibly https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/what-are-your-must-havetools-for-your-ride.167991/#post-3349788 and I also carry wet wipes, food, first-aid kit and spare locks so we can rescue most people on a group ride if needed. The number of people who turn up without any/enough of those surprised me.

It is completely inappropriate for the OP to express disapppointment in the numbers voting - it is their right, and the CTC's job is to respect that, not criticise it.

How would that respect be shown?

And where's the criticism from CTC? (I may have overlooked it but I'm seeing confusion in the OP and it looks like he's not/no-longer a CTC official anyway.)

 

[srw]

Perhaps a little off topic but I consulted several professionals and numerous amateur cycle mechanics regarding a problem I was experiencing. Eventually I went to CJ who replied promptly with a detailed explanation of the situation along with what turned out to be the solution to the problem, I just wished I had consulted him earlier.

If that had been a paid-for consultancy service at sensible rates, perhaps subsidised, it would have been a valuable use of financial resources. But it sounds as if my membership sub was enabling you to get free advice.

I assumed he posted everything on the Web when he'd finished it. I've certainly referred many times to his Shimergo stuff

If it was I've never seen it!

I don't want to sidetrack further down the "CJ" route. It's not my main point. My main point is to do with governance and strategy.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

One thing CJ used to do was write reviews of cycling stuff, primarily stuff that was useful to touring and utility cyclists, two groups who have a great deal in common imo, from an astute, experienced, informed, technical and engineering perspective rather than with the excited breathy repetition of the latest press release sent by marketing approach beloved by most reviewers today.

I once sought his advice. I ignored it. Surprise, surprise! He was right and I was wrong.

The CTC has strategically re-aligned itself as a campaigning/lobbying body, masquerading as a charity, and it used to be a club. But it still tries to use the old goverance and income generation models of the club-era to run the 21st C lobbying function. Which is inefficient, ineffective and somewhat patronising to its members. Who finally appear to have worked out what is going on.

 

[shouldbeinbed]

"CJ" is obviously a big issue for some people. (Yes, I do know who he is, but quite why I'd go to a single person for advice and wait weeks or months when there's a huge and knowledgeable group of people online able to give advice immediately I don't know).

You could make the same comment about going to the GP or coming on here to ask people to diagnose what the big red lump on your elbow is.

there is a place for the hive mind - or few of us would be here and cycle chat would just be the chat not the cycle, but for you to be to be quite so cavalier in dismissing someone with a very good and IMO deserved reputation as a technical go to guy is somewhat off, and the means in which CTC dismissed him in a far more formal manner doesn't inspire confidence or warmth to those currently directing operations.