Author: Archive User

  • Do Lectures

    For the past two years howies have held an event called ‘the do lectures’ where they arrange for people who do things to inspire others to go and do things too.

    This years event took place between the 4th and 8th of September and was a real success with 22 speakers and 75 attendees. 

    I must admit to being very jealous of those who were lucky enough to take part but thanks to the kind folk at howies we can watch all the lectures on their do website.  Have a look; theres loads to learn……

    www.dolectures.com

    Look here for a great lecture by Dafydd Davies who’s responsible for building the very first official mountain bike trails in Wales (at Coed y Brenin) and for masterminding the creation of the 5 main trail centres back in the mid 90’s.

  • Safety is no accident

    For those who weren’t riding at the allotment yesterday:

    Darren binned it on BBMS (his first run) whilst approaching the rock garden. He flipped over the bars and landed on his right shoulder separating his collar bone from its ligaments. Not good.

    Sam (new member, Darren’s mate) took him to Bath A&E where he was told that he’d be off the bike for approx 12 weeks.

    It’s our first ‘proper’ injury at the allotment since the BCC was formed and although mildly amusing (for Sam more than anyone else) it’d be good if we could all refrain from braking ourselves whilst riding there. I’m speaking to some bubble wrap suppliers about suffocation concerns but hope to have the first BCC full body suit on sale within the next few weeks…

  • National Mountain Bike Conference 2008

     

    The National Mountain Bike Conference 2008 is almost here:

    “Are you on the right track to developing and providing facilities for off-road cyclists? Whether you are catering for family cyclists or mountain bike enthusiasts, the CTC & IMBA-UK conference at Earls Court is for you.”

    “CTC – the national cyclists’ organisation and IMBA-UK are bringing together key speakers from across the world for this major mountain bike conference at Cycle 2008. The programme has been specifically designed for those who are passionate about off-road cycling including: trail builders, project managers, sports development officers, funders, landowners, AONB and National Park staff, and all those involved in managing or developing off-road cycling in the UK.”

     

    This is a fantastic opportunity to learn from the people who spend their lives doing what have just started to.  I will be attending the conference on behalf of all of us at the BCC so want to make sure that we make the most of it by going prepared.

    My intention is to attempt to secure a high profile contact that we can treat as a mentor, and to get some guidance on what we are doing  and how best to go forward.

    If you have any thing that you would like to ask, or any ideas please let me know (either by e-mail or simply leave a comment below).

    For more information and the full press release please see here

    Cheers

  • Dirty jumps

    Big things are gonna be happening at the allotment over the next couple of weeks and months…

    We’ve just approved the build of a dirt jump spot (map shown below) to include both big and small and to cater for all. We chose the spot a few weeks ago because the ground is soft enough to dig, on a slight slope and shielded by the surrounded bushes and trees. Poifect.

    But best of all we’ve got local Pro Chris Smith (of MBUK fame) to run the show! Yep Chris (BCC member) will be in charge of both the design and build of the jump spot ensuring that we end up with an awesome spot to call our own.  We’ll be posting progress here on the site so you can stay informed but if you wanna join in then please get in touch; all you need to do is join up and you can take part in this and any of our other projects.

  • It's a sign

    Finally, after having failed miserably on our first dig day (the ground was stupidly hard) we’ve managed to erect two of our permanent signs at the allotment!

    Neil, Chris Sheppard (new member) and I put two up; one at the top of the hill and one at the half way point.

    As silly as this may sound; it makes the place really feel like it’s ours now, officially.

  • What's in the suggestion box?

    Well thanks to you we’ve got a load of work to be getting on with…

    Here are some of the suggestions so far ;

    1. Website Gallery – Work in progress.
    2. Monthly Dig Day – Done! This is now the second Saturday of every month.
    3. Track specific web page with detailed course info – To do.
    4. Timing markers on every course – Work in progress.
    5. PayPal donation and membership payment facility – Work in progress.
    6. Monthly newsletter – Work in progress.
    7. Video podcast – To do.
    8. Club XC rides – Work in progress.

    All great ideas so please keep them coming.

  • Bow saw and muddy spoons

    Earlier today Al, Caroline, Darren, Sam (new member), and I went out to the allotment to cut up a large tree that had fallen across BBMS – within 25 mins we’d turned it into a log pile thanks to a nice new bow saw. I like bow saws.

    We then went about clearing and remarking Spoons which was really wet and lacking any direction in places.

    We’d only gone out there because Darren had mentioned that he’d seen the tree yesterday and wanted to ride today – kind of like an MTB A-Team; “Today, still wanted by the Longleat Estate, they survive as builders of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire… The BCC-Team.” OK maybe not.

  • Old news…

    I’ve finally updated the track times section of the website.

    You sub 40 boys have set the bar, and with little dry weather forecast between now and next summer it looks like your records will be unchallenged for some time…….or will we see a Champery esq performance in the driving rain by any of our Hill wanabies?

    Under 40s in the full wet, now that would command some respect!

    We have also received a fantastically generous donation of £250 from Frome Selwood Rotary club following a successful presentation made by Neil, Robin and myself back in July. The BCC are enormously grateful and keen to put the money to good use. Special thanks to Neil Carpenter for organising the meeting and introducing us to the Rotary club.

  • Suggestion Box

    As the last post says we’re committed to getting things right but aren’t too proud to admit when we’re wrong. We are also very keen to listen to other views and ideas , so; we’ve set up a suggestion box.

    Be it constructive criticism, wishful thinking or just a novel idea we’re all ears!

    So please write down any ideas that you have in an e-mail then send it to us at suggestion.box@blackcanoncollective.co.uk and we’ll make sure your thoughts get aired at the next committee meeting.

    Thanks!

  • Membership Applications

    Well although we’ve been a bit quiet lately things are still rolling along nicely; we’ve been busy fund raising and out riding so haven’t posted much but rest assured we’re still here!

    We do have some exciting, but unconfirmed, news relating to donations so look out for more information on this shortly.

    Now on to the issue of Membership Applications:

    Over the last few weeks we’ve had many membership applications but haven’t kept up too well, the truth is that up until recently we knew all the new members and so hadn’t really tested out our joining process fully (we were able to give them any paperwork/membership cards in person). The reality is that the vast majority of applications are now from new people outside of our pre-existing riding circles. This places far greater importance on our membership application procedure – namely our ability to successfully communicate the fact that we’ve received their money/application and what they should do/look out for next. To be honest we’ve been pretty bad at doing this.

    Now of course we do keep a secure record of every application, associated payment and photo info but this isn’t the issue; we just haven’t been getting back to the applicants once they’ve signed up. This has obviously got to change.

    So we held a committee meeting last night and discussed this issue in some detail – our aim being to come up with a better way of dealing with new membership applications. The outcome was positive, and will be implemented in the next two weeks.

    So if you have already joined but are waiting for some communication from us; rest assured that we will be doing so very shortly. And if you are thinking of joining; well we’ll be improving the whole process to make it easier (including a paypal facility we hope) and ensure that you’re not left wondering if we’ve received your details.

    We’re committed to getting things right and aren’t too proud to admit when we’re wrong.

    So; here’s to getting better…