Black Canon Collective

Category: Volunteering

  • Spring clean…

    Spring isn’t far away

    The buds will be sprouting and trees will begin to leaf

    The nettles and brambles will be just as excited though, and soon start closing in on our local trails

    Why not take some time to do a bit of seasonal maintenance so that the trails are running sweet for the summer?

    Ian and I did this morning, clearing a single track route through Vallis all the way to Tedbury

    (It was a glorious morning as you can see)

    The job was made much easier thanks to the work that Simon had already done a few weeks back

    Afterwork rides to the Talbott Inn will be far less prickly now

  • East 17

    At the moment I think about raking on the train.

    I plan how some artful mattock use will provide the perfect drainage solution while on the toilet.

    I spend my lunch hour calculating how many trees I will have to saw to finish the marking.

    I use my headphone cables to illustrate my trail ideas to work colleagues.

    But I haven’t had the time to actually work on the new singletrack (“East 17”).

    (Please keep an eye on the forum for the next singletrack dig day).

  • Save Still Woods

    Many of you will be aware that the trails at Still Woods have been closed down, this is terrible news for the local riding community but not unsurprising given it’s scale and illegitimate nature.

    The good news is that the locals have teamed up to save the trails, working hard towards a lease agreement (or similar) with the land owners.

    Now this is pretty much exactly what us Longleat locals went through a couple of years ago, so we’ve offered to help in what ever way we can.  We’ve sent over club documents, important contact info, and any and all guidance docs we could lay our hands on, hopefully this will all help them get to where they need to be quickly.

    If you want to keep up to date with what’s going on or would like to help please check out their website below:

    http://savestillwoods.blogspot.com/

    They’ve worked hard and fast to get themselves organised as quickly as possible, launching their website and producing a great document outlining their intentions (see here: http://www.bristoltrailsgroup.com/downloads/StillProposalfinal.pdf ). It’s clear to see that these guys respect the place and deserve to be taken seriously by the land owner and authorities. As has been proven many times before – when user groups and land managers work together everybody benefits. Lets hope that the land owner realises what a dedicated and passionate group of mountain bikers they are , and gives them the chance they deserve.

  • Ride Leader Training

    Many of you will be aware we raised some money earlier on this year  so that we could afford to train some members as ride leaders.

    With an ever growing club it’s become increasingly important that we have trained leaders (and first aiders), both for insurance reasons, and to ensure that we can lead safe, exciting rides for all of our members.

    • Are you interested in becoming a ride leader?
    • Do you feel that you have some of the skills to lead small groups on rides?
    • Do you have the time to commit to leading a number of rides every year (don’t worry, we don’t expect you to be available all year round)?

    We will be using the CTC to provide all Ride Leader Training, and affiliated organisations to provide the associated First Aid training.

    Full details of the courses are here: http://www.promtb.net/courses/leaderawards/trail.htm

    This really is a great opportunity to learn some new skills and help out the club,  not to mention the fact that over time you could become a fully qualified ride coach (and that’s a pretty nice feather to put in your cap).

    We’re looking to train 6 people, including at least 1 woman, as soon as possible.

    The club will pay for all the training, with an initial payment and then incremental payments over an agreed period. Having said that we are completely open to discussion on this subject, so if you’d like to do it but feel that this payment format just isn’t quite right; let us know!

    If you’re at all interested please contact me.

    andrew.denham@blackcanoncollective.co.uk

    o7870 60 98 71

    Thanks!

  • Job done!

    Team Sprok

    Today was Dig Day.

    Me, Sam, Gordon, Ian, James, Robin, Dave and The Chedge worked until our hands didn’t grip and we couldn’t see.

    Building on the work Neil, Josh, Jim, Dave, Gordon and I put in at the last dig day we managed to finish ‘Spork’.

    Hopefully all the drainage and grading work we did will mean that the run in doesn’t get too boggy either.

    Imagine what we could achieve if a few more people helped out…

    Spork

  • Cobble Wobble – Volunteer Details

    Cobble Wobble Ale

    All those kind people who have confirmed that they can help marshal the Cobble Wobble event this week please see here for details of Mondays Marshal Meeting.

    If you are down as a maybe or someone who can help out later on in the evening, then don’t worry; you won’t be needed on Monday, but we’d welcome your help on Wednesday for the event.

    Thanks!

  • Wednesday 16th September 2009 – Cobble Wobble, Help needed

    CW2

    Frome is hosting the start of the Somerset stage of the Tour of Britain on Thursday 17th September 2009. A number of events are planned for the Wednesday evening before the start of the stage under the ‘Velo Jam’ banner and The Black Canon Collective has been asked to help run ‘The Catherine Hill Cobble Wobble’. It is a come and try uphill time trial for cyclists of all ages and abilities and it will be a great event. Riders will set off at approx 2 minute intervals up the cobbled road chasing the illusive “King of the Hill” title.

    Now this is where we need some help.

    Basically we need the help of 12 (or more) members/ friends/family to marshall the event.

    St. Johns Ambulance will be on hand just in case something goes wrong so there is no need for any marshalling experience or First Aid qualifications. All you need to be able to do is blow a whistle, keep people off the track and look good in a Hi Vis vest!

    If we have more than 12 volunteers it will mean that we can do shifts so that we can all take part in the festivities and even have a go at becoming the King of the Hill! Obviously after the event we will have to sample some of Milk Street Brewery’s special ‘Cobble Wobble’ ale.

    Dates volunteers need to be available

    Monday 14th September (time to be confirmed) – We will have a practice to make sure everyone knows what they need to do and how everything will work

    Wednesday 16th September (as early as possible but 6pm at the latest) – We will need to mark out the course and set up the marshall points before the event starts at 6.30. If you can only turn up later your help would still be much appreciated for packing up and also marshalling so that other marshalls can ride the event.

    So if you and any friends and family can help please let us know on the club forum http://www.southerndownhill.com/forum/index.php/topic,206286.0.html, or by e mailing andrew.denham@blackcanoncollective.co.uk or by calling Andrew Denham on 07870 609 871.

    Cheers