York Rally - urc meeting



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Gary Knighton wrote:
> This year out of urc subscribers, I know I met Helen D V, Paul D, Ian Toyn (who has gone into lurk
> mode), Simon Ward and Daryl Rayner.

I rarely lurk here anymore - just looking in for the York Rally threads.

> Generally, the Saturday rides went well. I've heard of one or two incidents which are more amusing
> than really serious, like the man who thought he could keep up with the fast ride when starting
> and decided to return having not kept up before reaching the city boundary, so went back to join
> the 'C' ride (Peter with stoker Atul live up to their reputation again!)

Approx 18 riders started the fast ride and 16 were at the Whistlestop cafe for breakfast. Average
speed was expected to be 18mph, but ended up being 19. I and the chap who formed a 2-up with me at
the front of the group when the road got busy towards York should take some of the blame for that.

> Out of those who came to the rally, what did you think? There have been a few radical changes
> particularly with the Trade and Exhibition area, like the enclosure which Allan, CTC councillor
> for Yorkshire, was guarding like a hawk (or at least he was when I went through)!

He certainly was: leaving my programme at home on rushing back to the Rally after a Sunday club run
was a mistake. Is his middle name Rottweiler?

Overall, I think this year's Rally was even better than usual (despite my lack of preparation of a
Sunday ride). Thanks to those who did help to organise it.

As for charges, I guess a lot depends on trader feedback. I missed opening time, but something
seemed to discourage a lot of people from entering the marquees: was it the charge or the heat? I
don't mind paying a bit for easier bargain hunting, but if the aim is to cover general Rally costs
then I'm with Simon Ward re jacking up parking costs for pollutemobiles.

ian
 
Ian Toyn <[email protected]> wrote:

: I rarely lurk here anymore - just looking in for the York Rally threads.

You should you know - how else will you fill your day? :)

: Approx 18 riders started the fast ride and 16 were at the Whistlestop cafe for breakfast. Average
: speed was expected to be 18mph, but ended up being 19. I and the chap who formed a 2-up with me at
: the front of the group when the road got busy towards York should take some of the blame for that.

I'd like to do this ride again one year, but I had an 80 mile road race on Sunday so gave it a miss
on Saturday.

I quite liked this years format - I don't object to paying to enter the trade area and there was
a good selection of stuff this year. The 3 tents + stuff in the middle format was nice. £2 is
about the maximum to charge for entry though. I'd say £1 would be better. Certainly no more than
£2 anyway.

Arthur

--
Arthur Clune http://www.clune.org Power is delightful. Absolute power is absolutely delightful -
Lord Lester
 
In article <[email protected]>, You know? Just zis Guy wrote:
> guy dot chapman at spamcop dot net - thanks, I did get the earlier one but an up-to-date copy May
> Be Different, so no reasonable offer refused :)
>

Sorry, I have been having grief with ISP and newsgroups at home and have just got sorted (now
changed over to that German one and changed service), so I have only just seen your message. I now
need to sort out the sig line.

Gary (Eddie the Eagle profile on downhills)
 
Gary Knighton <[email protected]> wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>, Arthur Clune wrote:
>> PTW?
>>
> Powered Two Wheelers, aka m*t*rb*k*s, what do you expect at Squires? ;-)
I certainly would expect motorbikes at Squires, but I'd not expect Squires to be at Boothferry[1]
:) I think you meant Red Beck, which is primarily a truckers cafe, and about the only cafe in
Yorkshire who do a full breakfast that I've never finished ;-)

Simon

[1] - Squires has relocated to Newthorpe, which is closer to the A1 (handy for the bikers, I
suppose) but still does the same unhealthy food at low prices :)

--
Simon Ward, Accent Optical Technologies (UK) Ltd., York, YO31 8SD, UK "I took the fall, now you take
the lead..." - 'Prostate', Ned's Atomic Dustbin
 
On 23 Jun 2003 11:22:59 GMT, contributor Simon Ward had scribed:
> Better than usual, although if truth be told the better than usual weather (Sunday morning
> excepted ;-) ) was a major factor.
>

Good to hear.

> Like last year, I was doing a lot of my stewardy-type things in 'passive' mode and not rushing
> round like a blue-arsed fly;
>

I know the feeling, I take two days annual leave from work prior to the rally to prepare paperwork
etc. and 'er indoors decides that it is good opportunity for me to relay a carpet in the toilet,
take the children to school/playgroup and collect the same. My laser printer decided it will have a
toner fit, where the printed page is almost black, and miraculously cleared up on Thursday evening
after two weeks, so had to use the very slow colour ink jet printer to produce some of the
information like ride programmes as seen on the "bus stops" on Ebor Way and the A4 versions in the
information tent. Fortunately, the laser printer was working for the big versions of the programme
that is spread over 9 or 4 A4 sheets and the B&W map spread over 9 sheets. At the 'last minute', I
discovered that a vital email didn't arrive with attachments with ride sheets for four rides, so I
had to go home, print some masters, find a copy shop that was open and discovered they were all
closed or closing, so I ended printing over 250 route sheets myself (it's as well I got a new ream
of paper handy), which is why there weren't any available on Friday evening until 8pm and then not
many (just as well the toner fit ended).

> I think for this reason I enjoyed it more than usual - I did think about going on the ride to
> Bishop's Wood on Sunday, but the mother of all hangovers put paid to that (aching legs, too -
> riding fixed on grass is bloody hard work!)
>

Just as well, it wasn't a fast ride, more a pub crawl, they didn't get back until nearly 4pm because
they found another pub.

> Drop the 'entrance by programme' bit - if the Rally Committee want to make money then they
> could do it better by seriously jacking up the costs for those who bring cars onto the site.
> This is a cycle rally, remember - the least that could be done is to encourage more people to
> turn up by bike.
>

Car Parking charges were considered and have been for the past couple of years, but it is the
practicality of imposing the charge in that there needs to be people/volunteers at the gate to
collect the charge from each vehicle entering the Knavesmire, this in turn will create queues which
will back up into Knavesmire Road, causing problems there. Also, those wishing to evade the charge
will park in neighbouring streets, again causing problems, the combination of which will not go down
well with local residents in the South Bank area.

As mentioned in a previous post, programme sales reflect a more accurate indicator of the numbers at
the rally than traditional methods which gave an inflated figure due to multiple counting (remember
figures like 30,000 have been quoted in the past whereas it is nearer 10,000).

What I am going to raise at the next committee meeting is the number of vehicles between the
information/stewards/lounge/catering tents and the arena, this was supposed to be restricted to
three specific vehicles and there were nearer 20 there belonging to competitors, strategically
placed picnic table (there were 12 available) may assist in solving the problem. The problem here is
enforcement, who is going to be on the Knavesmire from 8.30am to stop competitors' vehicles getting
so close to the arena. Competitors parking will be addressed, the retiring committee chair is aware
of the situation and will remain on committee enabling him to make independent noises rather than a
collective decision (chair's neutrality etc.).

> The 'arena' area was generally well received by those I talked too, although I admit I didn't see
> many of the events (the Jez Avery stunt spectacular was very good, by all accounts).
>

JA's stunts were quite something, more to the point the trust of the volunteers, like the three lads
who stood at the end of the launch ramp to have JA leap over their heads.

> Having stands outside was good, and a welcome respite from the heat in the tents - not sure how
> well it'd have worked if the weather was bad, though.
>

There has always been outdoor traders/exhibitors, except they weren't as prominent in previous years
merging into the area between the big marquee and the arena or position next to catering vehicles.
But there were more outdoor traders and exhibitors too. I hope Fisher (Burley dealers) return
despite there misfortune, as they had their van broken into while at a nearer hotel and few
recumbents and a plastic trailer wheel (hence the Burley trailer with missing wheel) went AWOL.

Gary

--

The email address is for newsgroups purposes only and therefore unlikely to be read.

For contact via email use my real name with an underscore separator at the domain of CompuServe.
 
On 23 Jun 2003 11:22:59 GMT, contributor Simon Ward had scribed:
> Better than usual, although if truth be told the better than usual weather (Sunday morning
> excepted ;-) ) was a major factor.
>

Good to hear.

> Like last year, I was doing a lot of my stewardy-type things in 'passive' mode and not rushing
> round like a blue-arsed fly;
>

I know the feeling, I take two days annual leave from work prior to the rally to prepare paperwork
etc. and 'er indoors decides that it is good opportunity for me to relay a carpet in the toilet,
take the children to school/playgroup and collect the same. My laser printer decided it will have a
toner fit, where the printed page is almost black, and miraculously cleared up on Thursday evening
after two weeks, so had to use the very slow colour ink jet printer to produce some of the
information like ride programmes as seen on the "bus stops" on Ebor Way and the A4 versions in the
information tent. Fortunately, the laser printer was working for the big versions of the programme
that is spread over 9 or 4 A4 sheets and the B&W map spread over 9 sheets. At the 'last minute', I
discovered that a vital email didn't arrive with attachments with ride sheets for four rides, so I
had to go home, print some masters, find a copy shop that was open and discovered they were all
closed or closing, so I ended printing over 250 route sheets myself (it's as well I got a new ream
of paper handy), which is why there weren't any available on Friday evening until 8pm and then not
many (just as well the toner fit ended).

> I think for this reason I enjoyed it more than usual - I did think about going on the ride to
> Bishop's Wood on Sunday, but the mother of all hangovers put paid to that (aching legs, too -
> riding fixed on grass is bloody hard work!)
>

Just as well, it wasn't a fast ride, more a pub crawl, they didn't get back until nearly 4pm because
they found another pub.

> Drop the 'entrance by programme' bit - if the Rally Committee want to make money then they
> could do it better by seriously jacking up the costs for those who bring cars onto the site.
> This is a cycle rally, remember - the least that could be done is to encourage more people to
> turn up by bike.
>

Car Parking charges were considered and have been for the past couple of years, but it is the
practicality of imposing the charge in that there needs to be people/volunteers at the gate to
collect the charge from each vehicle entering the Knavesmire, this in turn will create queues which
will back up into Knavesmire Road, causing problems there. Also, those wishing to evade the charge
will park in neighbouring streets, again causing problems, the combination of which will not go down
well with local residents in the South Bank area.

As mentioned in a previous post, programme sales reflect a more accurate indicator of the numbers at
the rally than traditional methods which gave an inflated figure due to multiple counting (remember
figures like 30,000 have been quoted in the past whereas it is nearer 10,000).

What I am going to raise at the next committee meeting is the number of vehicles between the
information/stewards/lounge/catering tents and the arena, this was supposed to be restricted to
three specific vehicles and there were nearer 20 there belonging to competitors, strategically
placed picnic table (there were 12 available) may assist in solving the problem. The problem here is
enforcement, who is going to be on the Knavesmire from 8.30am to stop competitors' vehicles getting
so close to the arena. Competitors parking will be addressed, the retiring committee chair is aware
of the situation and will remain on committee enabling him to make independent noises rather than a
collective decision (chair's neutrality etc.).

> The 'arena' area was generally well received by those I talked too, although I admit I didn't see
> many of the events (the Jez Avery stunt spectacular was very good, by all accounts).
>

JA's stunts were quite something, more to the point the trust of the volunteers, like the three lads
who stood at the end of the launch ramp to have JA leap over their heads.

> Having stands outside was good, and a welcome respite from the heat in the tents - not sure how
> well it'd have worked if the weather was bad, though.
>

There has always been outdoor traders/exhibitors, except they weren't as prominent in previous years
merging into the area between the big marquee and the arena or position next to catering vehicles.
But there were more outdoor traders and exhibitors too. I hope Fisher (Burley dealers) return
despite there misfortune, as they had their van broken into while at a nearer hotel and few
recumbents and a plastic trailer wheel (hence the Burley trailer with missing wheel) went AWOL.

Gary

--

The email address is for newsgroups purposes only and therefore unlikely to be read.

For contact via email use my real name with an underscore separator at the domain of CompuServe.
 
Excellent show. Congrats to Melita and her team.

Admission by program an excellent idea in spite of mutterings of discontent heard at the entrance by apparently blind people who hadn't seen the sign at the entrance.

Layout of the exhibition tents excellent.

Had a good laugh at a group of about 15 people off the car camping section who expected the single prpgram they had to get all of them in.

How about doing something to make the car campers pay a more reasonable amount per person on their plot?

Very impressed with Mr Avery jumping over the car and he certainly got the crowd on his side. Also impressed with Derek Carpenter (Bo the clown) riding a very tall bicycle wearing stilts.

There seemed to be a few previous exhibitors missing, Cotswold Camping and Parrot spring to mind. Was the cost for them too high?

I give up. What does URC stand for?
 
>I give up. What does URC stand for?

urinary retention clamp ;-)

Cheers, helen s

~~~~~~~~~~
This is sent from a redundant email Mail sent to it is dumped My correct one can be gleaned from
h$**$*$el$**e$n$**$d$**$o$*$t**$$s$**$im$mo$ns*@a$**o$l.c$$*o$*m*$ by getting rid of the
overdependence on money and fame
~~~~~~~~~~
 
On 24 Jun 2003 08:41:22 GMT, contributor Simon Ward had scribed:
> I certainly would expect motorbikes at Squires, but I'd not expect Squires to be at Boothferry[1]
> :) I think you meant Red Beck, which is primarily a truckers cafe, and about the only cafe in
> Yorkshire who do a full breakfast that I've never finished ;-)
>

My ride definitely went to Squire's at Newthorpe near Sherburn-in-Elmet. Graham and Derek took rides
to Red Beck truck stop, which is slightly out of range for a 45 mile limit out and back.

> [1] - Squires has relocated to Newthorpe, which is closer to the A1 (handy for the bikers, I
> suppose) but still does the same unhealthy food at low prices :)
>

My order was for a mug of tea (one pint) and two toasted teacakes (their portions are a little small
or is it the way they are cut!).

Gary

--

The email address is for newsgroups purposes only and therefore unlikely to be read.

For contact via email use my real name with an underscore separator at the domain of CompuServe.
 
Excellent show. I think the £2 charge was reasonable as only the bargain hunters were affected,it
didn't prevent anyone enjoying the arena events.Perhaps charge CTC members £2 and non-members £3
say,membership cards to be produced to get the discount.Might get a few more members.The car parking
charge should be pursued,why not charge in advance for car parking then no money has to be taken at
the gate only some sort of pass quickly checked. I'm sure the police could instigate no parking
restrictions in the surrounding area.Presumably when horse racing is on there is a charge to park.

Sam Salt

Gary Knighton wrote:
> On 23 Jun 2003 11:22:59 GMT, contributor Simon Ward had scribed:
>> Better than usual, although if truth be told the better than usual weather (Sunday morning
>> excepted ;-) ) was a major factor.
>>
>
> Good to hear.
>
>> Like last year, I was doing a lot of my stewardy-type things in 'passive' mode and not rushing
>> round like a blue-arsed fly;
>>
>
> I know the feeling, I take two days annual leave from work prior to the rally to prepare paperwork
> etc. and 'er indoors decides that it is good opportunity for me to relay a carpet in the toilet,
> take the children to school/playgroup and collect the same. My laser printer decided it will have
> a toner fit, where the printed page is almost black, and miraculously cleared up on Thursday
> evening after two weeks, so had to use the very slow colour ink jet printer to produce some of the
> information like ride programmes as seen on the "bus stops" on Ebor Way and the A4 versions in the
> information tent. Fortunately, the laser printer was working for the big versions of the programme
> that is spread over 9 or 4 A4 sheets and the B&W map spread over 9 sheets. At the 'last minute', I
> discovered that a vital email didn't arrive with attachments with ride sheets for four rides, so I
> had to go home, print some masters, find a copy shop that was open and discovered they were all
> closed or closing, so I ended printing over 250 route sheets myself (it's as well I got a new ream
> of paper handy), which is why there weren't any available on Friday evening until 8pm and then not
> many (just as well the toner fit ended).
>
>> I think for this reason I enjoyed it more than usual - I did think about going on the ride to
>> Bishop's Wood on Sunday, but the mother of all hangovers put paid to that (aching legs, too -
>> riding fixed on grass is bloody hard work!)
>>
>
> Just as well, it wasn't a fast ride, more a pub crawl, they didn't get back until nearly 4pm
> because they found another pub.
>
>> Drop the 'entrance by programme' bit - if the Rally Committee want to make money then they
>> could do it better by seriously jacking up the costs for those who bring cars onto the site.
>> This is a cycle rally, remember - the least that could be done is to encourage more people to
>> turn up by bike.
>>
>
> Car Parking charges were considered and have been for the past couple of years, but it is the
> practicality of imposing the charge in that there needs to be people/volunteers at the gate to
> collect the charge from each vehicle entering the Knavesmire, this in turn will create queues
> which will back up into Knavesmire Road, causing problems there. Also, those wishing to evade the
> charge will park in neighbouring streets, again causing problems, the combination of which will
> not go down well with local residents in the South Bank area.
>
> As mentioned in a previous post, programme sales reflect a more accurate indicator of the numbers
> at the rally than traditional methods which gave an inflated figure due to multiple counting
> (remember figures like 30,000 have been quoted in the past whereas it is nearer 10,000).
>
> What I am going to raise at the next committee meeting is the number of vehicles between the
> information/stewards/lounge/catering tents and the arena, this was supposed to be restricted to
> three specific vehicles and there were nearer 20 there belonging to competitors, strategically
> placed picnic table (there were 12 available) may assist in solving the problem. The problem here
> is enforcement, who is going to be on the Knavesmire from 8.30am to stop competitors' vehicles
> getting so close to the arena. Competitors parking will be addressed, the retiring committee chair
> is aware of the situation and will remain on committee enabling him to make independent noises
> rather than a collective decision (chair's neutrality etc.).
>
>> The 'arena' area was generally well received by those I talked too, although I admit I didn't see
>> many of the events (the Jez Avery stunt spectacular was very good, by all accounts).
>>
>
> JA's stunts were quite something, more to the point the trust of the volunteers, like the three
> lads who stood at the end of the launch ramp to have JA leap over their heads.
>
>> Having stands outside was good, and a welcome respite from the heat in the tents - not sure how
>> well it'd have worked if the weather was bad, though.
>>
>
> There has always been outdoor traders/exhibitors, except they weren't as prominent in previous
> years merging into the area between the big marquee and the arena or position next to catering
> vehicles. But there were more outdoor traders and exhibitors too. I hope Fisher (Burley dealers)
> return despite there misfortune, as they had their van broken into while at a nearer hotel and few
> recumbents and a plastic trailer wheel (hence the Burley trailer with missing wheel) went AWOL.
>
> Gary

---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.491 / Virus Database: 290 - Release Date: 18/06/2003
 
On 24 Jun 2003 21:30:37 +0950, Seamus <[email protected]> wrote:

>How about doing something to make the car campers pay a more reasonable amount per person on
>their plot?

I wouldn't discourage the car campers too much - York is a long way for some of us to
bring families.

>I give up. What does URC stand for?

URCing it now ;-)

Guy
===
** WARNING ** This posting may contain traces of irony. http://www.chapmancentral.com Advance
notice: ADSL service in process of transfer to a new ISP. Obviously there will be a week of downtime
between the engineer removing the BT service and the same engineer connecting the same equipment on
the same line in the same exchange and billing it to the new ISP.
 
"Just zis Guy, you know?" <[email protected]> wrote: ( On 24 Jun 2003 21:30:37 +0950,
Seamus <[email protected]> ) wrote: ( >I give up. What does URC stand for? ) (
URCing it now ;-)

In fairness, that might not be exactly obvious to someone who thinks they're in "the Bike Café".

(I wonder whether I show up there...)
 
I give up. What does URC stand for? ) (
URCing it now ;-)
Click to expand...

Ah, yes. I get it now. Not sure if I should blame it on my Inherent Stupidity Syndrome or the sideways route I come onto the page.

Feel free to call me thick.
 
>Ah, yes. I get it now. Not sure if I should blame it on my Inherent Stupidity Syndrome or the
>sideways route I come onto the page.
>
>Feel free to call me thick.

Reminds me of when I first frequented a migraine newsgroup. People kept referring to their HAs. Took
me ages to work out they were referring to their headaches ;-)

Cheers, helen s (known to be thick in more than waistline on occasion)

~~~~~~~~~~
This is sent from a redundant email Mail sent to it is dumped My correct one can be gleaned from
h$**$*$el$**e$n$**$d$**$o$*$t**$$s$**$im$mo$ns*@a$**o$l.c$$*o$*m*$ by getting rid of the
overdependence on money and fame
~~~~~~~~~~
 
Seamus <[email protected]> wrote:
: Ah, yes. I get it now. Not sure if I should blame it on my Inherent Stupidity Syndrome or the
: sideways route I come onto the page.

as an aside, it's a lot easier reading urc via a proper news reader (Outlook Express does it for
starters).

Arthur

--
Arthur Clune http://www.clune.org Power is delightful. Absolute power is absolutely delightful -
Lord Lester
 
>>>>> "Arthur" == Arthur Clune <[email protected]> writes:

> Seamus <[email protected]> wrote: : Ah, yes. I get it now. Not sure if I should
> blame it on my Inherent : Stupidity Syndrome or the sideways route I come onto the page.

> as an aside, it's a lot easier reading urc via a proper news reader (Outlook Express does it
> for starters).

First time I've seen anyone describe OE as "a proper news reader" :)
 
On 24 Jun 2003 21:30:37 +0950, contributor Seamus had scribed:
> I give up. What does URC stand for?
>

Really want to know?






Keep reading







Not there yet







u.r.c = uk.rec.cycling

You wish you didn't ask!

Gary

--

The email address is for newsgroups purposes only and therefore unlikely to be read.

For contact via email use my real name with an underscore separator at the domain of CompuServe.
 
On Tue, 24 Jun 2003 14:41:43 +0000 (UTC), contributor Sam Salt had scribed:
> Perhaps charge CTC members £2 and non-members £3 say,membership cards to be produced to get the
> discount.Might get a few more members.
>

Notice it is the York Cycle Rally not the CTC National Rally or any other name with CTC in it. Some
of th organising committee are not CTC members, the rally receives very little financial support for
the rally, just administrative assistance.

> The car parking charge should be pursued,why not charge in advance for car parking then no money
> has to be taken at the gate only some sort of pass quickly checked.
>

I've mentioned the reasons in a previous post.

> I'm sure the police could instigate no parking restrictions in the surrounding area.Presumably
> when horse racing is on there is a charge to park.
>

Who going to pay for police time to put out cones, issue resident permits (a lot of residents on
street parking in the area) and patrol it over the whole weekend? May as well not charge for parking
to save paying that, after all I believe racecourse (on race days) charge some extortionate amount
for parking for afternoons only.

Gary, York Rally Committee

--

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