Woolwich cc open day @ crook Log primary school 08/07/2023

Crook Log Summer Fayre and Summer of Cycling event Saturday 8th July 2023

We had a large pitch at Crook Log Summer Fayre. We had received a£250 grant (thanks Dee!) from British Cycling to promote the Club and British Cycling’s “Summer of Cycling” campaign.

Via the monthly Club meeting and emails we had asked for help form members to make this day a success. Success looked like attracting new members and having a safe and fun day as a team.

On the day we arrived and followed our schedule- see below

We had help from Terry, Anne, Rob, Luis and Gabriel to set up. The enormous Woolwich CC gazebo was put up- it takes a minimum of 3 adults to put this up – and we left two sides open so we could see the course and the rest of the field. We had set up a skills course with slaloms, bottle necks, tight turns, limbo and Rob’s famous see-saw. We did a risk assessment and identified various hazards which we were able to mitigate e.g. putting cycling tape around one of the trees.

More help arrived : Mark and Pollyanna, then Graham.

We had a brief team talk before the gates opened to make sure everyone knew what they were going to be doing and then there was time for some tea- although we had to bring our own as there was no stall selling hot drinks.

We asked our riders to test the course, made a few amendments and then set the “gold standard”: this was because we had prizes of certificates and stickers for gold, silver and bronze. So, any course time including penalty points of less than 60 seconds was gold, 1 minutes to 1.15 was silver and anything above 1.16 was bronze.

We could not have set up without the help of these volunteers.

Working together as a team certainly made it go like clockwork

The gates opened to the public at 10.00 and there was a slow trickle of attendees. The weather was sultry and humid. We had our first few riders sign on and by 12 noon we’d had around 16 riders.

There was a signing on table with the usual disclaimers and we asked all parents to sign that they were happy for their children to take part. Then we fitted their helmets (we had brought extra helmets), did a quick clothing check and then either Terry or Mark made saddle adjustments to Club bikes. Some of the riders did have their own bikes and helmets but not many. We’d originally envisioned a regular competition slot but on the day that didn’t happen: triallists turning up was just too sporadic and not everyone wanted to try a timed lap. We were also competing with the circus tent which had one hour shows at 11.00, 13.00 and 15.00.

We had a pin board with pictures of some of our previous adventures and excursions together with our “riders take part at their own risk “signs.

Some of our volunteers had to leave due to other commitments and we did have to ask people to wait until we had enough bikes, helmets and safe space on the course we had set up. The see-saw proved incredibly popular!

We gave out certificates to riders who wanted to do a timed lap. Riders ranged from five to 12. We had a total of 26 riders: 16 boys and 10 girls.

We attracted one new member on the day whose parent signed the forms on the spot and tried to pay the £5 membership but due to the fact we couldn’t handle cash the £5 was returned.  

Alex and Argy arrived and again helped out with either adjusting bike saddles, or marshaling the course or making sure the limbo poles were at the right height and ensuring riders safely talked the see-saw.

The rain did stop play for roughly half an hour and this subsequently made the course more tricky but the riders adjusted. All day we’d had some of our club junior members going round the course: Jake, Pollyanna, Harvey & Gabriel. We give thanks to them for demonstrating so effectively their skills and helping us to look after our triallists.

We gave out some flyers and some of the parents seemed genuinely interested in our club, especially once they realised we are not based in Woolwich.

By 3.30pm and with the Circus tent swallowing up the last of the latecomers we decided to pack up. All hands on deck and we cleared up in around 30 minutes. We left the site clean and tidy (we had brought our own rubbish bag) and had a brief team thank you: everyone who attended played their part and contributed to making a fun, safe and successful day.

A massive and heart felt thank you to all of you

Anne Wright 8/7/23