Again, well done Phil and everyone else involved, a mammoth task which was well organised.
The race was tough but exciting, nearly got dropped on the neutral lap, the pace was very fast. I dropped off along with a few others and pressed on in our little group untill we were lapped and ordered in.
You caught me in a good moment Mark, some great photos though.
Dave
York City Races
Moderator: Moderators
Well done everyone on a fantastic day, I also like the photos, especially the one of me (with my back turned).
When marshalling, I got to deal with a lot of annoyed people who couldn't cross the route. If this race is done again next year, would it be possible to route it through the walls at all? That would provide pedestrians with a way to cross the route. It would probably involve closing a section of the ring road though, so I doubt the idea's got legs. Another idea would be to build a temporary scaffold bridge, did we look at this?
My main suggestion is that we need to poster it better next time, so that people have more of an idea of when the roads will be closed. I must admit that I had limited sympathy for the people who were stuck during the last two races, they'd had all day to ask an official when they wouldn't be able to cross. However, a bit more publicity will at least give us a better excuse when the angry peds start whining next time.
When marshalling, I got to deal with a lot of annoyed people who couldn't cross the route. If this race is done again next year, would it be possible to route it through the walls at all? That would provide pedestrians with a way to cross the route. It would probably involve closing a section of the ring road though, so I doubt the idea's got legs. Another idea would be to build a temporary scaffold bridge, did we look at this?
My main suggestion is that we need to poster it better next time, so that people have more of an idea of when the roads will be closed. I must admit that I had limited sympathy for the people who were stuck during the last two races, they'd had all day to ask an official when they wouldn't be able to cross. However, a bit more publicity will at least give us a better excuse when the angry peds start whining next time.
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Simon Donoghue
- Posts: 58
- Joined: Fri Jul 20, 2007 11:01 am
More pictures have been posted on Flickr on the BC website - with Ben featured as the cover shot !
http://new.britishcycling.org.uk/road/a ... re-Races-0
http://new.britishcycling.org.uk/road/a ... re-Races-0
The crossings issue really revealed the need for a lot more helpers. Probably minimum two club members per crossing, doing at most two hour stints: one to release the gates on the opposite side from the hired security bloke, and one halfway back to the previous crossing, or around the preceding bend, to signal gaps in the races. Whistles were handed out to signal the next crossing along that you were closing, but you can't blow a whistle and plead with people to stop crossing at the same time. And there was too much other noise. Flags maybe?
The worst agro was during the youth races. The post-lunch shopping rush was on, and once a crowd built up you couldn't let anyone through because, even if there was a gap sufficient for say 10 people to cross, the 11th would still want to cross, and the 12th, 13th, and so on. A shop owner goading the crowd, saying he had laid off staff because of this, and how "they" had run city centre races years ago and promised never to run it again, didn't help.
I actually had the most sympathy for the people stuck during the penultimate race, the 3/4, when for about half an hour all crossings were closed. A lot of these people were shop staff who had just clocked off from a long day of dealing with rude and impatient members of the public themselves, so probably wouldn't have been able to ask an official earlier. Telling them they had to wait over half an hour, watching a steady stream of non-hoper 4th cats (present company excepted) trundle by pointlessly, seemed unreasonable to me. So another suggestion would be to pull people off when they are half a lap down.
I wasn't marshalling during the Elites race, but walking around the course I didn't notice any trouble. It was late in the day and most people were probably there to watch. It was great to stand on the apex of the tight corners and see the pros flashing by right under your nose.
The worst agro was during the youth races. The post-lunch shopping rush was on, and once a crowd built up you couldn't let anyone through because, even if there was a gap sufficient for say 10 people to cross, the 11th would still want to cross, and the 12th, 13th, and so on. A shop owner goading the crowd, saying he had laid off staff because of this, and how "they" had run city centre races years ago and promised never to run it again, didn't help.
I actually had the most sympathy for the people stuck during the penultimate race, the 3/4, when for about half an hour all crossings were closed. A lot of these people were shop staff who had just clocked off from a long day of dealing with rude and impatient members of the public themselves, so probably wouldn't have been able to ask an official earlier. Telling them they had to wait over half an hour, watching a steady stream of non-hoper 4th cats (present company excepted) trundle by pointlessly, seemed unreasonable to me. So another suggestion would be to pull people off when they are half a lap down.
I wasn't marshalling during the Elites race, but walking around the course I didn't notice any trouble. It was late in the day and most people were probably there to watch. It was great to stand on the apex of the tight corners and see the pros flashing by right under your nose.
The feedback I was going to make is the one which Greg made about a temporary scaffold bridge this would be so that anyone who was not prepared to wait could be directed to as this would give all of the crossing point marshal's a way of getting irate people off their back and leave them to get on with the job in hand where we had to give it a great deal of concentration as at times we had only seconds to open and then shut the barriers.
Tact and diplomacy I found was the best way of dealing with people and most were ok if you explained that it was for safety reasons for them as well as the people racing and at the first opportunity we can keep letting a few at a time through which was easier said than done as closing the barrier again on what was quite a large crowd became quite an art.
As for the event it was a great days racing which looked spectacular as they sped through the streets of York, well done to all the Clifton guys who took part it looked very fast in that bunch.
And finally thanks to Phil who must have put hours and hours into the organization leading up to this event as well as all the work on what was a very long day.
Ian H
Tact and diplomacy I found was the best way of dealing with people and most were ok if you explained that it was for safety reasons for them as well as the people racing and at the first opportunity we can keep letting a few at a time through which was easier said than done as closing the barrier again on what was quite a large crowd became quite an art.
As for the event it was a great days racing which looked spectacular as they sped through the streets of York, well done to all the Clifton guys who took part it looked very fast in that bunch.
And finally thanks to Phil who must have put hours and hours into the organization leading up to this event as well as all the work on what was a very long day.
Ian H
I've used up my reserves of tact and diplomacy for the rest of the year. But I didn't mean to imply the event was badly run. For a first attempt, and with just barely enough staff, I think Phil did a very good job. As he said, some things didn't work so well in practice, and could be improved if it is run again. I suspect a bridge would fall foul of health and safety regulations, or budget cuts, and anyway there probably wouldn't be room for one anywhere but up by the cathedral. Lots of people weren't prepared to walk 50m along Church Street to the next crossing, let alone half a mile up to the cathedral and back around the outside of the course. With or without a bridge, a dedicated crossing for wheelchair users and parents pushing prams might be a good idea. Possibly replacing the unhooked sections of barrier with those retractable belt things you sometimes see at nightclubs would be worth a thought. They wouldn't stop the everyone, but then neither did the barriers, and it would be easier and safer to close them, and might possibly reduce the feeling of being penned in. Although it is probably a case of having to make do with to what British Cycling, or their contractors, have got.
Thanks for the comments, positive and negative; there's a feedback meeting in mid-August and I'll condense all comment on here and take it along.
It's hard to explain how much planning went into the event and yet how much was unknown - we started planning this back in October last year, and my "City Centre Races" email folder has, oooooh, hold on I'll check - 1114 messages in it. But we just could not predict exactly what the level of interest would be, nor the level of "disinterest" - the bulk of humanity that would be inconvenienced. Plus I had no idea how much support I'd get from within the club; in the event about twenty people put in a pretty full (and fantastically stressful) day. About a dozen people contacted me with good wishes and apologies that they were tied up elsewhere, which means about 180 members just chose not to have any involvement. It's hard to predict, so all we can do is be honest about mistakes and learn from them, and try to do better next year. And use some creative and lateral thinking.
Just to give you all a bit of context for the forward thinking, the council put in a fair chunk of cash via the Cycling City York project and seem likely to do so again next year, albeit they'd like to reduce their input and get sponsors on board. And personally I'd like to not have to deal with 1114 (and counting) emails next year - we need a small team to take on the various aspects and do a better job than I did. Then we can really make sure it's a fixture in the calendar, sustainable financially, and an event that becomes linked in everyone's mind with Clifton, and hence something we can all be proud of.
It's hard to explain how much planning went into the event and yet how much was unknown - we started planning this back in October last year, and my "City Centre Races" email folder has, oooooh, hold on I'll check - 1114 messages in it. But we just could not predict exactly what the level of interest would be, nor the level of "disinterest" - the bulk of humanity that would be inconvenienced. Plus I had no idea how much support I'd get from within the club; in the event about twenty people put in a pretty full (and fantastically stressful) day. About a dozen people contacted me with good wishes and apologies that they were tied up elsewhere, which means about 180 members just chose not to have any involvement. It's hard to predict, so all we can do is be honest about mistakes and learn from them, and try to do better next year. And use some creative and lateral thinking.
Just to give you all a bit of context for the forward thinking, the council put in a fair chunk of cash via the Cycling City York project and seem likely to do so again next year, albeit they'd like to reduce their input and get sponsors on board. And personally I'd like to not have to deal with 1114 (and counting) emails next year - we need a small team to take on the various aspects and do a better job than I did. Then we can really make sure it's a fixture in the calendar, sustainable financially, and an event that becomes linked in everyone's mind with Clifton, and hence something we can all be proud of.
Few more pics from the 3/4 and elite races here... http://picasaweb.google.com/cathjmusgr/ ... directlink
Hello to all - it's been a good while since I was last on here, surprised to see that my login still worked!!
Was up in York that weekend, thoroughly enjoyed the evening's racing. I see Phil has mentioned that the event will be making a comeback next year, excellent news! Took a few photos on the day which can be found here;
http://www.flickr.com/photos/60525/sets ... 960584651/
Early days yet but I may yet be returning to the Clifton ranks for a *third* time; just applied for a teaching fellowship at the University - watch this space.
Dave B
Was up in York that weekend, thoroughly enjoyed the evening's racing. I see Phil has mentioned that the event will be making a comeback next year, excellent news! Took a few photos on the day which can be found here;
http://www.flickr.com/photos/60525/sets ... 960584651/
Early days yet but I may yet be returning to the Clifton ranks for a *third* time; just applied for a teaching fellowship at the University - watch this space.
Dave B