Paul Touhy - How to Get Britain Cycling - soon !

[Philip Benstead]

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ctc-gett ... =prof-post

How to Get Britain Cycling - soon !
Dec 1, 2015
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Rebranding and modernising a wonderful organisation that's nearly 140 years old but has only been a charity for 3 years is a pretty big deal. But the CTC (the Cyclists' Touring Club) will soon, in its new guise, be a force that aims to bring us a cleaner, quieter, healthier world because we encourage, support and train more people to fall back in love with the gift of cycling no matter what their background is and what obstacles might be in their way. Its not about racing like my son is seen here, with his grandad cheering him on to warm applause, its about normalising cycling so we see the bicycle in its main adaptations to bring pleasure, health and fun to the nation in normalised way. To do this CTC must change from being seen as a middle aged white, male touring club to being an all encompassing NGO for everyone to tap into our knowledge expertise and authority in cycling and work for us all to - just ride ! This year a £1m grant from DfT enabled us to get over 30,000 people take part in the Big Bike Revival (BBR), a project to get your broken bike, lying lonely in the shed, fixed up for free so you can relive the fun and freedom of cycling. As a result, many of these participants are still riding now! Nearly half who came to BBR were from the poorest communities in the UK. Chris Boardman helped me launch the project and next year our plans are even bigger so we can reach more people whose bikes are simply in need of some love to then be used as they were intended - one of the simplest, cheapest methods of getting about, be it school, work, the shops, the pub or for a family day out.
We want to ensure that everyone, no matter what their challenges in life, have the opportunity to gain the freedom that cycling brings. So the coming year is the most important for CTC in over a century but change is good and times are-a- changing!

[gaz]

Philip, you need to update your LinkedIn Profile which still declares you to be a Councillor*.

Returning to Paul's comments, I would have preferred such a blog to have appeared first on the CTC website, I feel that would have been more open.

... the CTC (the Cyclists' Touring Club) will soon, in its new guise, be a force that aims to bring us a cleaner, quieter, healthier world because we encourage, support and train more people to fall back in love with the gift of cycling no matter what their background is and what obstacles might be in their way. Its not about racing like my son is seen here, with his grandad cheering him on to warm applause, its about normalising cycling so we see the bicycle in its main adaptations to bring pleasure, health and fun to the nation in normalised way. To do this CTC must change from being seen as a middle aged white, male touring club to being an all encompassing NGO for everyone to tap into our knowledge expertise and authority in cycling and work for us all to - just ride ! ...

The only thing that troubles me is NGO, I'd rather we became an all encompassing Club. The phrase may have been chosen for the target audience of the article.

Aside from that if that's the future of CTC then I for one look forward to it.

*Edit: screen print removed + typo.

[Psamathe]

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ctc-getting-britain-cycling-soon-paul-tuohy?trk=prof-post
...

not being a member of LinkedIn I can see anything from the above link (just a prompt to sign-in).

Although I'm not a member, I would question the release of such information to the Linked-In community rather than the cycling community. What kind of strategy games are going on here ? And is it appropriate for such things to be withheld from the wider cycling community (or is Thooy just rejecting/ignoring the cycling community).

Personally I am convinced that CTC is on it's way out and thus regretfully consider BC is the only viable way forward. CTC could be so much more but not with what seems to be happening these days.

Ian

[gaz]

not being a member of LinkedIn I can see anything from the above link (just a prompt to sign-in).

Although I'm not a member, I would question the release of such information to the Linked-In community rather than the cycling community. What kind of strategy games are going on here ? And is it appropriate for such things to be withheld from the wider cycling community (or is Thooy just rejecting/ignoring the cycling community)....

I'm also not a LinkedIn member but I had no trouble following the link.

Incidentally Phillip has responded to the LinkedIn blog but not posted his reply on here. I doubt that's part of any strategy game.

As for withholding things, the forum has been discussing BBR for over 12 months, rebranding for even longer. I can't see anything contained in that statement that amounts to "news".

[Si]

Incidentally Phillip has responded to the LinkedIn blog but not posted his reply on here.

The initial response that Philip made (not sure if he's changed it since) was not deemed to fit within the forum's rules . We welcome constructive criticism of the CTC as long as it does not contain personal attacks and insults, etc. Likewise, if one is going to accuse members or staff of the CTC of wrong doing we would prefer that evidence is put forward and that the accuser sticks to the facts and is diplomatic.

Philip has let me know why he made the attack and has informed me that a complaint is being made at the next Council meeting. I have invited him to post an account ("the facts ma'am, just the facts ma'am") of his complaint and how it is handled at the meeting, should he want to.

[TonyR]

The only thing that troubles me is NGO, I'd rather we became an all encompassing Club. The phrase may have been chosen for the target audience of the article.

Aside from that if that's the future of CTC then I for one look forward to it.

I suspect the NGO is a charitable issue - as a charity the CTC can't be a members' club, it has to be an organisation pursuing its charitable aims for the benefit of all cyclists.

But I too welcome that as the future - taking cycling from the activity of a small minority which will become increasingly marginalised to a large body of cyclists whose interests can't be ignored.

[gaz]

I suspect the NGO is a charitable issue - as a charity the CTC can't be a members' club,...

Indeed, CTC is a membership charity, not a membership club. Silly me .

[Philip Benstead]

Some comment form Linkedin (my comment is the 3rd draft)

1.
1mth
Gwenda Owen
Happy to be playing a part in making this happen Paul.
2.
1mth
Jonathan Owen - Corporate Printing
I believe its the bicycle's time once again! Great stuff Paul.
3.
1mth
Wasim Haq
Well done Paul!
4.
1mth
Rhiannon Davies
Excited to see CTC's rebrand, and great to see a CEO utilising digital channels to be so transparent!
5.
1mth
Ian Richardson
A rewarding year and exciting times ahead! Bring it on!
6.
1d
Seamus Kelly
Paul is, I believe, the man for the job at CTC and I look forward to watching the year develop. Change, very substantial change, is what is need… show more
7.
now
Philip Benstead
It is apparent Paul is a driven individual. His ability to recognize opportunities is fined tune and acts upon them to point that can lead to internal tension. This is reflection on his relative lack of experience of the CTC a democratic membership lead organization. More consensual approach could have been archived if his line manager had shown greater empathy with fellow trustee, but I have seen no evidence of that. Paul welcomes agreement, but is not within what should be the spirit of a membership organization.

[Psamathe]

not being a member of LinkedIn I can see anything from the above link (just a prompt to sign-in).

Although I'm not a member, I would question the release of such information to the Linked-In community rather than the cycling community. What kind of strategy games are going on here ? And is it appropriate for such things to be withheld from the wider cycling community (or is Thooy just rejecting/ignoring the cycling community)....

I'm also not a LinkedIn member but I had no trouble following the link.
...

Tried again and I only get a register/sign-in prompt and no option to skip or any way to see the post. I have found Linked in a bit like this in the past. It seems down to how the individual (profile on linked-in) sets their privacy options (so I've been told - I'm not a member)

Ian

[Philip Benstead]

TRY

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ctc-gett ... EL_COMMENT

[gaz]

That one works just as well .

[Psamathe]

TRY

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ctc-gett ... EL_COMMENT

Same

Ian