I have pretty much got everything sorted now, I’ve had to accept offers of help from other local clubs which doesn’t look too good... but needs must.
WE NEED CAKE.
Seriously, there are going to be 110 racing cyclists there during the day, around 20 helpers and spectators too. I have approx 3 cakes promised to go for the whole day. It’s not going to be enough! If you have the time, please do chuck something in the oven and drop it in Chishill or with somebody who’s helping out on the day to bring along with them. Please!
Will, I can make it for the afternoon if that helps in anyway, Can stay for clearing up, selling cakes, teas etc. I’ll have Erin with me along with chocolate brownies and a lemon drizzle cake. Will try and bake a third cake if we have time
Dan, that’s amazing! Thank you. The busiest time at the HQ will be between 11 and 12.30, the men will be returning from the morning race and the women will be signing on. The women will hopefully finish around 3 and it would be good to get everything cleared up and out of there by 4...
Cheers Ed, that’s fantastic! Could do with maybe a red flag marshal on the circuit at one point, or if you have an iPad (to video the riders going over the line), some help on the finish line would be appreciated?
Cheers Steve. Could come in very useful at the HQ.
Does anybody have access to some really, really big pots to cook with? I’d love to be able to make something hot for the marshals and volunteers to have between races, a couple of big pots of chilli, one veg and one meat with a load of rice would be one idea. Just a big pot of pasta and sauce is another idea. Either way, we need big pots.
Drivers, please be there for a drive round with the comms leaving at 7.30am.
All marshals please be there for the 8.15am meeting.
I shall be there to open up the hall from 6.30ish but need to nip out on to the circuit to drop signs off so if you're helping set the hall up and signing on then any time from 7.15am is good. (Free) Coffee will hopefully be being brewed around then too.
Sign on closes for the men's race at 8.30 and for the women's race at midday, half an hour before kick off.
The HQ is Great and Little Chishill Village Hall, SG8 8SH.
thinking of you all at the race. It's a great initiative the ladies as well as the mens. I hope it goes well. You deserve the clubs thanks Will for making it happen. Couldn't have a better day for it.
Excellent event Will From a commissaire's point of view Thought your two lead car drivers & radio operators did a brilliant job, particularly with the crop sprayer & neutralisation which was required. Sign on was smooth Results were produced quickly Riders were well behaved First Aid efficient Enough food for all volunteers & riders alike & even a piece of cake to take home to enjoy in the garden.
Well done to all those who vounteered from the club & those from other clubs who also helped out - with out whom I suspect it would have been a struggle to go ahead.
All reports submitted & results should appear on BC shortly
Thanks guys, the races were great! We were really lucky with the weather and the riders enjoyed the circuit a lot. Thanks to all the regulars that helped out especially Jenny and Dave who helped behind the scenes before the day too, it’s people like you that keep racing on the road. All racing at regional level is basically organised and put on by us! It’s the clubs that keep this sort of grass roots racing on the road, the racers are enormously grateful and generally will be the first people to give something back to the races when they’re not riding them. Even Neil Murphy who hasn’t touched a bike in a couple of years baked a cake and came and said hello at the HQ. Josh Maynard took a break from his PhD studies to video the finishing sprints and help judge, Luke Danckert helped mop up a few cuts and bruises and provided rather excellent rocky road. It’s a great atmosphere, always really friendly with everybody there to help. I couldn’t figure out whether Carmelo was enjoying signing the women on, but he did seem to be rather smiley for that bit of the day...
I’ve had nothing but positive feedback from both races, some lovely emails saying how welcome everybody felt and that the day was well organised (pure luck) etc. It makes all the stress of running the race worthwhile on the day when you get to see 100 or so people grinning like idiots on their bikes as they bomb around the course fully well knowing that they’re in safe hands. These days most circuits are run using accredited marshals (CCA has 3, Stef D, Richard L and Daniel D who all helped out) who can legally stop traffic which makes the cornering fast and flowing, the first aid requirements have taken a step or two up over the last couple of years too, so the riders are in capable hands should something go wrong.
Only one small crash in the women’s race this year that resulted in a touch of concussion and a few cuts and bruises but otherwise people were commenting on how safe the races were.
Alongside the regular helpers, CCA bought in Bicicletta Cafe con Velo to provide free coffee and tea all day, they also helped out with some vouchers to bump up the prizes and a few primes too. Trisports went above and beyond with their contributions to the men’s race prizes. We’re lucky to have support from these local companies, if anybody has any ideas for other sponsors for the race, do run them by me or Jenny for next year.
The main aim of putting on the women’s race was to join in with the push towards promoting more women’s events on the road. There is a fairly full calendar now, but still far fewer riders than the men’s races. With the help of Martin L we managed to get a great eye-catching flyer out there on social media and through that and other word of mouth type contacts we ended up with a field of 47 starting the women’s race (only 6 less than the starting field for the men’s). We have to keep this on a roll now, people are talking about CCA in a very positive way, especially for going out of our way to put on an extra race for women this year, I would like this to continue for some time! It may even boost our female membership and hopefully encourage a couple more women in the club to pin a number on.
For those that have never helped out at an event like this, it really was a lot of fun, if you’d only popped into the HQ for two minutes at any point you would have seen how friendly and positive the atmosphere was. I’m yet to do the maths, but I think we turned a small profit (the idea was to throw a bit of money at this race and keep the entry fee down, to make a point, so it is a bit surprising, especially as we gave away all the food and drink, nobody paid for a thing at the HQ). I would like to use this money towards more road race/time trial oriented goals and to hopefully get a few more members of the club to be more active in helping out with these activities.
Anyway, enough from me. I’m enormously grateful for your help. British Cycling is enormously grateful for your help. The racers are enormously grateful for your help. The committee and active members of the club are enormously grateful for everybody giving CCA a good name in the racing community. Let’s keep it that way!
I was one of the racers from the weekend and whilst I’m only just starting out in races (this was my second RR), I wanted to say thanks for a superbly organised and run event. I still have some work to do on my fitness to hang with the group up Essex Hill more than 6 times but it’s a great course and a real test.
Thank you very much for all of your hard work and especially to Will, I’ll be doing my best to be back next year and to bring a few more CC London racers with me!
Hi Will, Just to echo what Damon and David said, as beneficiaries of all the hard work you and your volunteers put into the event - the whole day had a really nice feel to it (partly aided by the great weather you sorted out) - races at this level are always friendly, but I thought Monday's event went well beyond most others. The top quality coffee, cakes and rolls added something special, elevating it up into the league of Rapha-like events. Thanks to everyone who gave up valuable family time, from marshals to drivers, sandwich fillers to toilet roll-checkers - it all added up to a top-notch event, and is great for Ashwell's profile amongst the racing community; I had glowing reports from other racers. The course was great - fast and flowing, and a surprising lack of potholes - just sorry we weren't able to provide an Ashwell winner - if you could do something about that pesky hill for next time, I'll try harder to get on the podium- I think it was the tenth ascent that cracked me... Cheers, Dave
A few emailed quotes from some of the nice people who took part on Monday:
“Thanks, Will. It was a great day. Grateful for what you’re doing to support women’s racing.”
“I just wanted to add my feedback and say how much I enjoyed the race. I was in the mens 3/4 race. The course was really good. Very quiet roads, NO POTHOLES! ( I race normally in Surrey and Kent where the surface is shocking) and an unusually polite and considerate field of riders. That hill was a perfect to break the riders up and make things tough. Wish I had trained harder for it! Maybe next time. I thought the event went really smoothly and was very well run. Little things like the coffee stand and free cans of coke really make a big difference. I know how much work goes i to organising these things so a job well done on you and your teams part. Hope to race again up there soon.”
“Hi will just got the email sent out via British Cycling. Great event and great course and organised perfectly thank you very much”
“Hello - just wanted to say a big thanks to CCA and all your marshalls and comms for organising the Road Race yesterday, we had a great time and appreciate all the work that went into making it such a good event. Thanks also for hosting a women's race, it's great that you're supporting this.”
“Dear Will, This was a great promotion, you should be proud.” (This was from a CCA member and I’m only including it because I am proud of what the active members of the club achieved on monday, very much so).
“Thanks for organising a great race! Was a good day out and really well run, thank you!”
“Just a quick note to say thank you for today’s race. It was very well organised, with generous prizes and the free drinks & great coffee were much appreciated! Hope the women’s race went as well this afternoon.”
So, we managed to put on two road races that really were as lavish as a Rapha road race without having a membership fee of £135 per member, precisely £120 more per year than our first claim fee.
For anybody interested in the numbers we managed to make a profit of about £30. We usually make more money, with one race and charging for rolls and tea/coffees and not having decent hot drinks. Now we have all the racing clubs chatting about our races which can only help our club in popularity, we supported women’s racing, we put on a men’s road race as part of the Eastern Road Race League and both of them were the cheapest races to enter in the region, something of which I am very proud. I don’t think that it should cost an arm and a leg to race a bike around a circuit for a couple of hours on a Sunday morning, it’s not a sportive, for sure.
CCA are doing very good things for road racing in the Eastern region! Nobody in CCA took a penny of profit from this event, hours of time were put in by several members (as with all events that the club put on) for free, even the Accredited Marshals in the club who are due their expenses for the day turned down any mileage.
Don’t you think it’s time you gave it a try too? Think about the options that are available to you as a CCA member in cycling in the region, the grass track, CX, ERRL membership, ECCA, N&DCA time trials, the interclub TTs and hill climb, the coaching sessions, the youth section. All the club runs, chaingang and weds night TTs, all of these events need to be supported by YOU to run!
Well put Will. Starting and building anything with the right ethos is a tough task. Keeping it running at a high level of satisfaction for riders is even tougher. Our club is fortunate to have such a proactive core of individuals but they are stretched and need the clubs help. Come on CCA. Until you try it you won't fully appreciate how much of a buzz there is in making something worthwhile happen.
Comments
I have pretty much got everything sorted now, I’ve had to accept offers of help from other local clubs which doesn’t look too good... but needs must.
WE NEED CAKE.
Seriously, there are going to be 110 racing cyclists there during the day, around 20 helpers and spectators too. I have approx 3 cakes promised to go for the whole day. It’s not going to be enough! If you have the time, please do chuck something in the oven and drop it in Chishill or with somebody who’s helping out on the day to bring along with them. Please!
THANK YOU!
Does anybody have access to some really, really big pots to cook with? I’d love to be able to make something hot for the marshals and volunteers to have between races, a couple of big pots of chilli, one veg and one meat with a load of rice would be one idea. Just a big pot of pasta and sauce is another idea. Either way, we need big pots.
Who’s got some?
There’s something I never thought I’d type on the forum...
Drivers, please be there for a drive round with the comms leaving at 7.30am.
All marshals please be there for the 8.15am meeting.
I shall be there to open up the hall from 6.30ish but need to nip out on to the circuit to drop signs off so if you're helping set the hall up and signing on then any time from 7.15am is good. (Free) Coffee will hopefully be being brewed around then too.
Sign on closes for the men's race at 8.30 and for the women's race at midday, half an hour before kick off.
The HQ is Great and Little Chishill Village Hall, SG8 8SH.
Please ask if you have any questions.
Ta
From a commissaire's point of view
Thought your two lead car drivers & radio operators did a brilliant job, particularly with the crop sprayer & neutralisation which was required.
Sign on was smooth
Results were produced quickly
Riders were well behaved
First Aid efficient
Enough food for all volunteers & riders alike & even a piece of cake to take home to enjoy in the garden.
Well done to all those who vounteered from the club & those from other clubs who also helped out - with out whom I suspect it would have been a struggle to go ahead.
All reports submitted & results should appear on BC shortly
Alison
A very successful day's racing and a great advert for the sport and for the club.
Would just like to say a massive thank you for this event. Was one of the best organised/setup events I have done.
I hope this is on next year.
Damon Bond
Chelmer CC
I’ve had nothing but positive feedback from both races, some lovely emails saying how welcome everybody felt and that the day was well organised (pure luck) etc. It makes all the stress of running the race worthwhile on the day when you get to see 100 or so people grinning like idiots on their bikes as they bomb around the course fully well knowing that they’re in safe hands. These days most circuits are run using accredited marshals (CCA has 3, Stef D, Richard L and Daniel D who all helped out) who can legally stop traffic which makes the cornering fast and flowing, the first aid requirements have taken a step or two up over the last couple of years too, so the riders are in capable hands should something go wrong.
Only one small crash in the women’s race this year that resulted in a touch of concussion and a few cuts and bruises but otherwise people were commenting on how safe the races were.
Alongside the regular helpers, CCA bought in Bicicletta Cafe con Velo to provide free coffee and tea all day, they also helped out with some vouchers to bump up the prizes and a few primes too. Trisports went above and beyond with their contributions to the men’s race prizes. We’re lucky to have support from these local companies, if anybody has any ideas for other sponsors for the race, do run them by me or Jenny for next year.
The main aim of putting on the women’s race was to join in with the push towards promoting more women’s events on the road. There is a fairly full calendar now, but still far fewer riders than the men’s races. With the help of Martin L we managed to get a great eye-catching flyer out there on social media and through that and other word of mouth type contacts we ended up with a field of 47 starting the women’s race (only 6 less than the starting field for the men’s). We have to keep this on a roll now, people are talking about CCA in a very positive way, especially for going out of our way to put on an extra race for women this year, I would like this to continue for some time! It may even boost our female membership and hopefully encourage a couple more women in the club to pin a number on.
For those that have never helped out at an event like this, it really was a lot of fun, if you’d only popped into the HQ for two minutes at any point you would have seen how friendly and positive the atmosphere was. I’m yet to do the maths, but I think we turned a small profit (the idea was to throw a bit of money at this race and keep the entry fee down, to make a point, so it is a bit surprising, especially as we gave away all the food and drink, nobody paid for a thing at the HQ). I would like to use this money towards more road race/time trial oriented goals and to hopefully get a few more members of the club to be more active in helping out with these activities.
Anyway, enough from me. I’m enormously grateful for your help. British Cycling is enormously grateful for your help. The racers are enormously grateful for your help. The committee and active members of the club are enormously grateful for everybody giving CCA a good name in the racing community. Let’s keep it that way!
I was one of the racers from the weekend and whilst I’m only just starting out in races (this was my second RR), I wanted to say thanks for a superbly organised and run event. I still have some work to do on my fitness to hang with the group up Essex Hill more than 6 times but it’s a great course and a real test.
Thank you very much for all of your hard work and especially to Will, I’ll be doing my best to be back next year and to bring a few more CC London racers with me!
David
Just to echo what Damon and David said, as beneficiaries of all the hard work you and your volunteers put into the event - the whole day had a really nice feel to it (partly aided by the great weather you sorted out) - races at this level are always friendly, but I thought Monday's event went well beyond most others. The top quality coffee, cakes and rolls added something special, elevating it up into the league of Rapha-like events.
Thanks to everyone who gave up valuable family time, from marshals to drivers, sandwich fillers to toilet roll-checkers - it all added up to a top-notch event, and is great for Ashwell's profile amongst the racing community; I had glowing reports from other racers.
The course was great - fast and flowing, and a surprising lack of potholes - just sorry we weren't able to provide an Ashwell winner - if you could do something about that pesky hill for next time, I'll try harder to get on the podium- I think it was the tenth ascent that cracked me...
Cheers,
Dave
“Thanks, Will. It was a great day. Grateful for what you’re doing to support women’s racing.”
“I just wanted to add my feedback and say how much I enjoyed the race. I was in the mens 3/4 race. The course was really good. Very quiet roads, NO POTHOLES! ( I race normally in Surrey and Kent where the surface is shocking) and an unusually polite and considerate field of riders. That hill was a perfect to break the riders up and make things tough. Wish I had trained harder for it! Maybe next time. I thought the event went really smoothly and was very well run. Little things like the coffee stand and free cans of coke really make a big difference. I know how much work goes i to organising these things so a job well done on you and your teams part. Hope to race again up there soon.”
“Hi will just got the email sent out via British Cycling. Great event and great course and organised perfectly thank you very much”
“Hello - just wanted to say a big thanks to CCA and all your marshalls and comms for organising the Road Race yesterday, we had a great time and appreciate all the work that went into making it such a good event. Thanks also for hosting a women's race, it's great that you're supporting this.”
“Dear Will, This was a great promotion, you should be proud.” (This was from a CCA member and I’m only including it because I am proud of what the active members of the club achieved on monday, very much so).
“Thanks for organising a great race! Was a good day out and really well run, thank you!”
“Just a quick note to say thank you for today’s race. It was very well organised, with generous prizes and the free drinks & great coffee were much appreciated! Hope the women’s race went as well this afternoon.”
So, we managed to put on two road races that really were as lavish as a Rapha road race without having a membership fee of £135 per member, precisely £120 more per year than our first claim fee.
For anybody interested in the numbers we managed to make a profit of about £30. We usually make more money, with one race and charging for rolls and tea/coffees and not having decent hot drinks. Now we have all the racing clubs chatting about our races which can only help our club in popularity, we supported women’s racing, we put on a men’s road race as part of the Eastern Road Race League and both of them were the cheapest races to enter in the region, something of which I am very proud. I don’t think that it should cost an arm and a leg to race a bike around a circuit for a couple of hours on a Sunday morning, it’s not a sportive, for sure.
CCA are doing very good things for road racing in the Eastern region! Nobody in CCA took a penny of profit from this event, hours of time were put in by several members (as with all events that the club put on) for free, even the Accredited Marshals in the club who are due their expenses for the day turned down any mileage.
Don’t you think it’s time you gave it a try too? Think about the options that are available to you as a CCA member in cycling in the region, the grass track, CX, ERRL membership, ECCA, N&DCA time trials, the interclub TTs and hill climb, the coaching sessions, the youth section. All the club runs, chaingang and weds night TTs, all of these events need to be supported by YOU to run!
Come on CCA. Until you try it you won't fully appreciate how much of a buzz there is in making something worthwhile happen.