Since the formation of the BCC and in particular since we took control of the allotment we have come across a fantastic amount of support and encouragement from our fellow mountain bikers. As a result we have grown and continue to grow as people join us all with the aspiration to develop our little allotment and meet some other like minded people.
However we have also come across a very small number of people who have found it hard to grasp the concept of what we are doing.
This could be for a number of reasons; perhaps we are not communicating our motives well enough or perhaps our motives simply do not fall in line with as many people as we had imagined. Either way I feel it’s important to make a few points clear:
- We are not charging for any reason other than to cover our costs.
- We are not trying to sell the use of two short DH courses for £35, this is the cost of a full membership based upon our projected membership numbers and first year costs.
- We have not placed a value on this opportunity to build a local, purpose built MTB venue, as stated above the membership fee is purely based on our costs, these will change each year based on the club’s expenses and membership numbers – the more members we have the more likely it is the cost will come down, as the big expenses would be divided between us all.
You will notice the fact that these three points are all very similar – if not the same – however they do seem to be queried (in that order) by a few people. I hope that the above answers clear up any misunderstanding.
Something else that has been said is “I would join but there’s not much there yet, so what’s the point?” Well the point is simple; it’s an opportunity to be a part of creating a local, purpose built MTB venue. Now I know that course building isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but surely the end goal is sufficiently attractive that people will be enthused to work at achieving it. The alternative is to let others (the BCC) do all the hard work and then later reap the rewards. Rather than complain that only two trails currently exist why not join up and help out? That way the rate of progress will increase and we will reach our shared goal far quicker.
For those who wish that they had a place to ride, or get tired of having their illegal work destroyed by a land owner but haven’t joined up yet because there’s not much on offer – this is your opportunity to contribute to a solution.
Remember that our motive is simple; to create a place to legally ride our mountain bikes – something we are moving towards nicely with the help and dedication of our current members.
