Today was ace.
We had a great turn out of regulars, newbies and even some non members.
We cut up loads of fallen and recently felled trees making piles and stacks as we went.
The temperature was zero (or there abouts) but everyone managed to work up a sweat.
But best of all – the tea stayed hot and the biscuits were tasty.
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This months dig day will be going ahead despite the recent arctic conditions.
The ground is said to be frozen up to 10cm depth meaning that digging is likely to be even harder than normal so with that in mind we’ve decided to focus upon other worthy tasks such as raking, collecting wood and rocks, improving the shelter, re-marking the trails, and most importantly of all perhaps – taking time to walk around the allotment and day dream a little.
We’ll also be shortening the day so that people stand a chance of staying warm; it will start at 10:00 and finish at 13:00. Short and sweet.
And in case you thought we’d forgotten – there’ll be cups of tea and biscuits a plenty.
See you there!
Friday nights rainfall caused problems for a lot of people.
The allotment got its fair share resulting in some pretty impressive ruts, mini lakes and silty swamps.
But if it wasn’t for the water leaving a trail on its way down the hill we’d never have known where to dig drainage, every cloud……
We worked all day to weather proof 143; we dug drainage, built a water bar, rebuilt ‘flip flop’ from scratch, re-routed the very bottom section and gave everything else a good rake and shape.
We all stopped for lunch, ate sausages and drank tea.
By the end of the day it looked like new, better even, it was just begging to be ridden.
Chris, Jack and co worked hard to make the most of the soft conditions and dug all day at the jump spot. It’s gonna be ace by spring time.
Sunday saw some new faces, some old and some who looked like they should have drunk less the night before.
We rode all day, crashed a bit but made the most of our new old trail.
I must admit to wanting it to rain, in the same way that you do when you have a new coat, I wanted to test out our newly weather proof trail.
It didn’t though, it stayed dry and fast and we kept on going until we couldn’t see where the hell we were going.
This is what the weekend is for.
P.S. Kudos to Rob for doing the mini step!
Last weekend’s dig and ride days were a great success…
We got loads done thanks to a really good turnout and some ace sausages (thank you Mark)!
By mid day on Sat we’d significantly improved the drainage on both BBMS and Spoons then raked and remarked both.
The afternoon was spent renovating 143; an old favourite with lots of flow, some nice undulating corners and floaty jumps.
The jump spot was also the subject of some hard graft thanks to Chris, Garry, Jack and the other usual suspects.
Over the course of the weekend we met 10 new people, 1 even helped dig all day Sat despite having hoped to ride (thanks Adam!) and has since joined along with two of the others.
It’s great to see that we’re still growing despite the time of year.
To see so many people getting stuck in is also fantastic, it’s what we need if we’re going to succeed.
Sunday was spent riding the trails, unsurprisingly 143 saw the most action leading to a relaxed day of sessioning and the freelap staying in my bag.
There’s something magical about riding homegrown trails with friends, and what a large group of friends this is becoming….
… woods today (well tomorrow),
You’re sure of a big surprise (hopefully not that big especially as we do this every month).
If you go down to the woods today (again it’s actually tomorrow),
You’d better go in disguise (although funny some warm clothes would probably be better).
For every member that ever there was (we hope)
Will gather there for certain because
Today’s the day (see comments above) the BCC members work on their allot-ment.
(You can make up your own second verse)
Sausage time for me-mbers;
The BCC members are having a lovely time today (I can’t emphasise enough that it’s not actually today).
Help them build some super lush trails,
And see them work hard on this Saturday.
See them gaily gad about (unlikely…).
They love to eat and dig,
They’ll be wearing lots of layers.
At four o’clock they’ll pack up and leave
They’ll go off home to bed (they’ll probably eat dinner and watch some TV first)
Because they’re tired BCC me-mbers.
This months BCC Weekender has been rescheduled for the weekend of the 22nd-23rd November. It’ll be the same format with a day of digging followed by a day of riding. We’ll be cooking sausages and making cups of tea for all those that get stuck in on Sat and we’ll set up the timing system for those that fancy training on Sunday.
If you’re not a member please do come along anyway – we’d be glad to meet and show you what we’re up to. You’ll even be able to join as we’ll have forms that can be filled out on either day (just remember to bring your membership fee).
There’s lots to be done so please come along and we’ll lend you a pair of gloves….
