SIGN people... Would It be possible for you to get to the HQ at 7.15am to set out around 7.30 with the signage on the circuit? Ideally if MC plus one could go one way with his car and a few signs/stakes/hammers and cable ties and Steve plus one (or two) go the other way and meet in the middle at some point. It took around an hour and a half last year and was a bit touch and go for the beginning of the race. If the signs aren’t up and inspected then the race isn’t insured/safe so this needs to be done in plenty of time. I will have maps and directions on where to place which signs for the circuit so it’ll be pretty easy to follow.
MC, Taff, Steve (and Mark) and Daniel can you confirm this is all ok? Daniel will have to be back for the AM meeting at 8.30 at the HQ so might have to stick a bike in the back and pedal back to the HQ early... Make sense to all? Let me know!
DRIVERS (that’s Andrew Robertson, Dave Wells, Matt Scales, Richard Maynard and Shelton Pell in his new red van) can you email me at will@ccashwell.com with The following info:
Full name Date of Birth BC Membership number Vehicle Make and Model Reg number
The drivers have to be over the age of 21, a BC member and the named and normally insured driver of the vehicle.
You may be on top of this already, but a little note in the Orwell village newsletter to tell locals what is happening always helps spread goodwill. jill.whiteoak@btinternet.com can do the honours. James
Also does anybody have any gardening stakes/fencing posts that we could borrow to hold the signs up? I will probably need no more than 40 and they need to be around 4-5ft long.
So if everybody who’s volunteering could bring 2 each.......
If anybody has a few that they could either bring along or I could pick up this week that would be fantastic. Everything else is pretty much covered.
That’s a very personal question Matthew, but anything you can get a cable tie round and will hold a sign that’s around 4ftx2ft big up in the wind would suffice.
After a few short hours of trauma today where there was a distinct possibility that the race would have to be cancelled/moved to Elmdon I’ve managed to make sure that it will most definitely be on the Kingston circuit, so everything will run as planned (apart from my hair replacement therapy, which is going to have to be increased somewhat).
Here are the final timings:
Sign people (MC, team lightfoot, Taff, Daniel and anybody else that fancies a very early start, I think Dave W and Jenny said they’d lend a hand too):
Meet at the HQ at 7am. You will be sent out around the circuit to put up the signs which I will hopefully have already dropped off at the marshalling points in two cars going opposite ways. It’s important that Daniel and Taff get back for the 8.15 marshals meeting, so maybe they could go in one direction and MC and team lightfoot could go the other way? Please bring hammers and any big cable ties/string/bungee ropes for sign fixing. Fortunately the signs we have this year have stakes attached already and I have a few spare, so that should be covered. I will provide maps that show how and where the signs should be placed at each point.
Marshals, convoy and first aid (Richard M, Andrew R, Dave W, Matt S, Shelton P, Jenny A, Ed N, Martin L, Andy R, Simon K, MC (if signs have been put up), Richard L, Stef D, Daniel D, Bob W and Lil S):
There is a meeting at 8.15 where you will be allocated your posts and drivers talked through what’s required in the race. You will be issued with boards/beacons for your cars and radios to use (possibly radio operators too, depending on how many last minute volunteers turn up). Lil, would be good for you to touch base with the comms too. Shelton, if you could organise the spare wheels as you want and figure out a way of getting them in the back of Matt’s car, that would be great.
Teasmaids/signing on people (me, Iain and Archie):
Feel free to get there anytime from 7 onwards. I need somebody to make some rolls up before the race (around 20 or so for the AMs) these need to be done by the end of the marshal’s meeting so they can take them off to their posts with their little packed lunches that I’ll sort out. Any other roll buttering can wait till during the race, as most people munch on those and the cakes afterwards. Coffee/Tea will need to be prepared from 7.30ish as the riders arrive (I’ll bring a secret stash of posh coffee if you bring a big cafetière Iain, I’ve only got a little one. Just so we can have a couple of nice coffees whilst everybody is out doing the hard work. Don’t tell anyone, it will be our little secret).
After the race, any help clearing up of the HQ is hugely appreciated. If I could ask somebody who has a car (the more the merrier) to nip around the circuit and take in the signs and bring them back to HQ as soon as the race finishes (signs can be taken down by marshals as the race passes them for the last time) that would be great. They are all kindly on loan from BC and I would love to get all of them back in one piece to them by the time the comms and BC reps have to leave!
Thank you enormously for your help in advance, if I don’t get to thank you on the day. It’s a big old ask for the club and all the racers riding are hugely grateful for it.
The next race will hopefully be on June 10th when we will be running a women’s only 2,3,4 over on the Elmdon circuit in the afternoon (HQ will probably be in Great Chisall). Watch this space! It will be more sociable hours and a shorter race on what promises to be a pretty exciting circuit (it’s only 5.5 miles long so you’ll get to see the race go round a few times). All part of the drive to promote women’s road racing (and club membership too hopefully!).
Thanks Geoff... Things are not looking so good for a women’s only race this year as there’s a clash of dates on the 10th of June but we are looking still! Next year we will put one on for sure.
Also, the good news is that Hertfordshire are now (rather tentatively) allowing the use of accredited marshals so we may well be able to get the Ashwell road race circuit approved by the police so our race could be run right out of Ashwell itself in the future.
We’d have to get some nice big blue banners, maybe a live band, LOADS of cowbells and an entire bakery’s worth of cake...
I hope this event went well for all. Had hoped to be there but had to go back yesterday. Keep trying with the womens race Will. That is just what the club needs to kick start a much larger womens section to CCA. It's something I advocated and still hope the club can achieve. In coaching I noticed that the girls were just as competitive but they didn't subscribe to the boys/mens more macho culture. A more collaborative, team approach was required and maybe the club needs to find a way for women to ride together as a group. This race approach is a great first step. Good luck with this.
A HUGE thank you to all who were involved today. Unusually for the Primavera the weather was a bit soggy and not altogether pleasant which combined with some bad road surfaces and a bit of ropey riding led to the race being abandoned due to safety concerns.
It’s very rare that this happens and the decision was made with the safety of the riders in mind. Two serious crashes on opposite sides of he circuit meant that without a rolling first aider (Lil was being an absolute star and sorting out the first crash/waiting for the ambulance when the second crash happened 10 mins later) the safety of the riders was compromised and the comms made the decision to abandon. None of the riders left in the race (around half of the starting 59) argued that this shouldn’t have been done.
The prime was taken by Martin Smith from London Phoenix who stayed away on his own for some time before being caught by and ending up in the break. Jamie generously donated a bontrager Aeolus TT helmet as a prize for one of the primes.
As the prize money wasn’t given out the club have decided to donate it to an ambulance charity in the region.
I’ll add to this post later, but currently in desperate need of a bit of sleep after not going to bed last night between work and the race.
Will. You’re a hero for putting it on every year. Not many people know you finished a gig at The Blues Kitchen in the early hours of this morning and then drove straight to a village hall in rural Cambridgeshire so I and several other odd balls could ride around pot holed roads in circles.
We appreciate it.
Also - Thansk to Lillie and everyone else who gave up a Sunday lay in to ensure the race went ahead in dire conditions.
Thank you to all, MC thanks for printing out all the sheets and getting there super early adorned in a high vis jacket, clearly dressed for the marshalling tasks ahead. Richard Lawrence organised the marshals with suitable organisation skills and equally suitable beard wearing. The same can not be said for Daniel Doncaster who’s face seemed shockingly naked minus his winter racing beard.
Iain and Archie stepped up to the kitchen tasks required with an eerie keenness . It wasn’t until Iain explained that Archie was trying to avoid revising that this made sense. Jenny was brilliant on sign on whilst I managed to spend my time having half a conversation with most people before being distracted by somebody else asking something random or sticking pins into Adam’s derrière. Lil had first aid ready for when the pins became too much for Adam to bear.
It was great that we had enough people to stick in a couple of radio operators in the cars with the drivers and still have enough people to wave a load of red flags around. Cakes were hugely appreciated and enormously consumed. People always comment on how friendly everybody from the club is on our race and it’s good to see everybody smiling at the HQ, even through mud covered faces with arms in slings etc.
It was a very unfortunate situation that ended up with the race being pulled, and a very rare one too. The crashes happened in such a manner that both comms had to stop driving, there was no first aid at the second crash as Lil was attending the first one, the drivers were split up on the course and the NEG was busy marshalling traffic around the first crash and slowing traffic down as the second crash happened in a bit of a blind dip on the main road from Bourn to Arrington.
The bad weather had already led to a few slips from what I hear and there were already riders coming coming back to the HQ from not long after the race started. When the race was abandoned I believe there were only around 30 riders left in the bunch. The prime prize was handed out, but as mentioned before everything else will be donated to the East of England Ambulance Service.
Cakes and refreshments were given free to all of the riders and helpers, everybody deserved it after either standing around in the outside on a miserable morning or dicing with death in the middle of the race, by the sounds of it! The club are hugely grateful, the racers are always grateful for the people that allow their racing to be made possible.
Again, a massive thanks you to all that helped out!
(And not many people knew that I’d come straight from a gig, but the people who did most certainly did, I may have mentioned it once or twice as my eyes were closing half way through my own sentences).
“Thank you very much for your kind donation of £205.00 via our website on behalf of cycle club Ashwell. We were sorry to hear that your annual road race had to be abandoned and we hope you will be able to re-schedule this event.
On behalf of all the people who we have assisted, we would like to say a big and heartfelt thank you – your support is very much appreciated.
The Essex & Herts Air Ambulance, unlike NHS emergency services, is a Charity providing a free life-saving Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) for the critically ill and injured of Essex, Hertfordshire and surrounding areas. It costs in the region of £500,000 per month to cover all charitable costs and aircraft operations. Without access to National Lottery funding and with only limited support from the Government, we rely upon the generosity and goodwill of the people and businesses of Essex and Hertfordshire to remain operational and keep saving lives.
For all our latest news, please visit www.ehaat.org - it’s a great way to keep in touch and to find out about our new and exciting plans for the future.
Once again, on behalf of us all, a very sincere thank you. We hope that you will continue to support us in the future.
Comments
MC, Taff, Steve (and Mark) and Daniel can you confirm this is all ok? Daniel will have to be back for the AM meeting at 8.30 at the HQ so might have to stick a bike in the back and pedal back to the HQ early... Make sense to all? Let me know!
Full name
Date of Birth
BC Membership number
Vehicle Make and Model
Reg number
The drivers have to be over the age of 21, a BC member and the named and normally insured driver of the vehicle.
Thanks!
Judith will help with signing on if needed - let us know
Me and Archie can man the teas, coffees, cake and broom.
Iain
James
Who’s bringing cake? We need lots of it...
So if everybody who’s volunteering could bring 2 each.......
If anybody has a few that they could either bring along or I could pick up this week that would be fantastic. Everything else is pretty much covered.
I'll bring a cake also.
Here are the final timings:
Sign people (MC, team lightfoot, Taff, Daniel and anybody else that fancies a very early start, I think Dave W and Jenny said they’d lend a hand too):
Meet at the HQ at 7am. You will be sent out around the circuit to put up the signs which I will hopefully have already dropped off at the marshalling points in two cars going opposite ways. It’s important that Daniel and Taff get back for the 8.15 marshals meeting, so maybe they could go in one direction and MC and team lightfoot could go the other way? Please bring hammers and any big cable ties/string/bungee ropes for sign fixing. Fortunately the signs we have this year have stakes attached already and I have a few spare, so that should be covered. I will provide maps that show how and where the signs should be placed at each point.
Marshals, convoy and first aid (Richard M, Andrew R, Dave W, Matt S, Shelton P, Jenny A, Ed N, Martin L, Andy R, Simon K, MC (if signs have been put up), Richard L, Stef D, Daniel D, Bob W and Lil S):
There is a meeting at 8.15 where you will be allocated your posts and drivers talked through what’s required in the race. You will be issued with boards/beacons for your cars and radios to use (possibly radio operators too, depending on how many last minute volunteers turn up). Lil, would be good for you to touch base with the comms too. Shelton, if you could organise the spare wheels as you want and figure out a way of getting them in the back of Matt’s car, that would be great.
Teasmaids/signing on people (me, Iain and Archie):
Feel free to get there anytime from 7 onwards. I need somebody to make some rolls up before the race (around 20 or so for the AMs) these need to be done by the end of the marshal’s meeting so they can take them off to their posts with their little packed lunches that I’ll sort out. Any other roll buttering can wait till during the race, as most people munch on those and the cakes afterwards. Coffee/Tea will need to be prepared from 7.30ish as the riders arrive (I’ll bring a secret stash of posh coffee if you bring a big cafetière Iain, I’ve only got a little one. Just so we can have a couple of nice coffees whilst everybody is out doing the hard work. Don’t tell anyone, it will be our little secret).
After the race, any help clearing up of the HQ is hugely appreciated. If I could ask somebody who has a car (the more the merrier) to nip around the circuit and take in the signs and bring them back to HQ as soon as the race finishes (signs can be taken down by marshals as the race passes them for the last time) that would be great. They are all kindly on loan from BC and I would love to get all of them back in one piece to them by the time the comms and BC reps have to leave!
Thank you enormously for your help in advance, if I don’t get to thank you on the day. It’s a big old ask for the club and all the racers riding are hugely grateful for it.
The next race will hopefully be on June 10th when we will be running a women’s only 2,3,4 over on the Elmdon circuit in the afternoon (HQ will probably be in Great Chisall). Watch this space! It will be more sociable hours and a shorter race on what promises to be a pretty exciting circuit (it’s only 5.5 miles long so you’ll get to see the race go round a few times). All part of the drive to promote women’s road racing (and club membership too hopefully!).
Also, the good news is that Hertfordshire are now (rather tentatively) allowing the use of accredited marshals so we may well be able to get the Ashwell road race circuit approved by the police so our race could be run right out of Ashwell itself in the future.
We’d have to get some nice big blue banners, maybe a live band, LOADS of cowbells and an entire bakery’s worth of cake...
Keep trying with the womens race Will. That is just what the club needs to kick start a much larger womens section to CCA. It's something I advocated and still hope the club can achieve.
In coaching I noticed that the girls were just as competitive but they didn't subscribe to the boys/mens more macho culture. A more collaborative, team approach was required and maybe the club needs to find a way for women to ride together as a group. This race approach is a great first step.
Good luck with this.
It’s very rare that this happens and the decision was made with the safety of the riders in mind. Two serious crashes on opposite sides of he circuit meant that without a rolling first aider (Lil was being an absolute star and sorting out the first crash/waiting for the ambulance when the second crash happened 10 mins later) the safety of the riders was compromised and the comms made the decision to abandon. None of the riders left in the race (around half of the starting 59) argued that this shouldn’t have been done.
The prime was taken by Martin Smith from London Phoenix who stayed away on his own for some time before being caught by and ending up in the break. Jamie generously donated a bontrager Aeolus TT helmet as a prize for one of the primes.
As the prize money wasn’t given out the club have decided to donate it to an ambulance charity in the region.
I’ll add to this post later, but currently in desperate need of a bit of sleep after not going to bed last night between work and the race.
We appreciate it.
Also - Thansk to Lillie and everyone else who gave up a Sunday lay in to ensure the race went ahead in dire conditions.
You’re all heroes. Thank you. Adam.
Iain and Archie stepped up to the kitchen tasks required with an eerie keenness . It wasn’t until Iain explained that Archie was trying to avoid revising that this made sense. Jenny was brilliant on sign on whilst I managed to spend my time having half a conversation with most people before being distracted by somebody else asking something random or sticking pins into Adam’s derrière. Lil had first aid ready for when the pins became too much for Adam to bear.
It was great that we had enough people to stick in a couple of radio operators in the cars with the drivers and still have enough people to wave a load of red flags around. Cakes were hugely appreciated and enormously consumed. People always comment on how friendly everybody from the club is on our race and it’s good to see everybody smiling at the HQ, even through mud covered faces with arms in slings etc.
It was a very unfortunate situation that ended up with the race being pulled, and a very rare one too. The crashes happened in such a manner that both comms had to stop driving, there was no first aid at the second crash as Lil was attending the first one, the drivers were split up on the course and the NEG was busy marshalling traffic around the first crash and slowing traffic down as the second crash happened in a bit of a blind dip on the main road from Bourn to Arrington.
The bad weather had already led to a few slips from what I hear and there were already riders coming coming back to the HQ from not long after the race started. When the race was abandoned I believe there were only around 30 riders left in the bunch. The prime prize was handed out, but as mentioned before everything else will be donated to the East of England Ambulance Service.
Cakes and refreshments were given free to all of the riders and helpers, everybody deserved it after either standing around in the outside on a miserable morning or dicing with death in the middle of the race, by the sounds of it! The club are hugely grateful, the racers are always grateful for the people that allow their racing to be made possible.
Again, a massive thanks you to all that helped out!
(And not many people knew that I’d come straight from a gig, but the people who did most certainly did, I may have mentioned it once or twice as my eyes were closing half way through my own sentences).
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmdRFGHY
A good representation of how grim it was - we had to turn the heating in the car right up...
“Thank you very much for your kind donation of £205.00 via our website on behalf of cycle club Ashwell. We were sorry to hear that your annual road race had to be abandoned and we hope you will be able to re-schedule this event.
On behalf of all the people who we have assisted, we would like to say a big and heartfelt thank you – your support is very much appreciated.
The Essex & Herts Air Ambulance, unlike NHS emergency services, is a Charity providing a free life-saving Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) for the critically ill and injured of Essex, Hertfordshire and surrounding areas. It costs in the region of £500,000 per month to cover all charitable costs and aircraft operations. Without access to National Lottery funding and with only limited support from the Government, we rely upon the generosity and goodwill of the people and businesses of Essex and Hertfordshire to remain operational and keep saving lives.
For all our latest news, please visit www.ehaat.org - it’s a great way to keep in touch and to find out about our new and exciting plans for the future.
Once again, on behalf of us all, a very sincere thank you. We hope that you will continue to support us in the future.
Kindest regards”
CCA saves the world again!