FNRttC Friday Night Ride to the Coast - Brighton 14th October 2011

[Quagga]

As a very occasional Wayfinder, and probably someone who has got a lot more out of FNRttC than has put into it, let my offer my two cents.

I find that because I'm generally pottering along and am not the quickest by any means, that it's very rare that I get an opportunity to act as a Wayfinder, because I keep getting over taken by the super fast boys racing to the front to do their stint again. Which is nice, but does leave me feeling a tad selfish, especially as the point is Wayfinders don't have to be super fast, they just have to be reasonably fast so that they don't end up slowing the tail down. And if I really want to be back at the front, I can always wait until the ride collects itself together again

I also suspect that as I've only done 5 or so of the rides that when there is an opportunity people pick someone else who they recognise more. again not an issue but it does put the pressure on the same old people. On the flipside of course, you want to appoint someone that understands the system, so it's easier and safer to go with someone you know.

Re TECs, as someone who broke a spoke on their first ride, and watched in amazement at the speed and efficiency of the repair, I'll freely admit to being in awe of the skills they possess. At the same time though, the skills of using a mobile phone or holding a light are slightly less awe-inspiring and maybe there is a role for relative technical novices to get involved on the communication/lighting side even if only to allow the proper TECs to focus on the real issue. I'd be more than happy to volunteer for that aspect, especially as I'd probably learn a lot.

I suppose what I'm really saying is that we currently seem to be using a gold plated solution, when actually by defining the roles a bit more, we could widen the pool of suitable people, and involve free loaders like myself

 

[Flying Dodo]

In previous years, when I've been Wayfinding, I've deliberately gone OTT with the hand waving/pointing (and even going as far as foot waving) because a) it keeps you warm, b) some people cycling along on their own really are half asleep and don't spot you otherwise, and c) it provides a bit of levity for those who are awake.

Re the back end issues, you've got to have the very tail end person know they're the tail end and stay at the tail end so that they can do the "All Up" to the Wayfinders. I still feel guilty re Andrew in Wales because I'd allowed myself to move a bit forwards, so those people a few hundred metres behind me hadn't realised they were at the back and needed to call out.

Also, you need a core of TEC people who agree they'll always carry a certain number of tools/tyres if they're riding and agree beforehand who's doing what.

Dell - you have email.

 

[thom]

Re wayfinding, my thought is that if you are keen enough to be part of making the pace at the front, you're essentially volunteering to be stationed as a wayfinder for a bit to help the ride.

Simon, why not say something about wayfinding with the safety briefing, along the lines of:
For those who haven't done the ride before, you'll see pretty soon that we rely on leaving one or two wayfinders to point out where to go at important junctions... If you find yourself at the front of the ride, I assume you are happy to volunteer for such duty and if asked, you are critically responsible to the other people on the ride to await the "All up" call, likely given by X here.. So if you aren't so keen to do this, just hold back from pushing at the front a bit.

You could leave 2 people together if they're not used to doing it.

 

[swansonj]

Tiredness/grumpiness? I've done two FNRttCs, both this year, and I've been amazed how awake I've felt, not just during the ride but during Saturday as well. A while back our (now teenage) children were babies and would sometimes give us sleepless nights, and I'd be completely washed out the following day. Before that, I used to do occasional all-night shifts on a telephone at a charity, and if the phone kept ringing all through the night, I wouldn't get through the next day without a snooze. And before that - when I was half the age I am now - I did the Lyke Wake Walk through the night a few times, and barely made it on and off the train home through tiredness. I don't know what's different about the Fridays, but this time I cycled home (only an extra 40 miles, but still extra), had a bath, and went to a concert my daughter was playing in - and had no problem staying awake (mind you, it would have been a bit difficult to snooze through Iron Maiden's Fear of the Dark arranged for 20-odd trumpets and trombones).

 

[GrumpyGregry]

I suppose what I'm really saying is that we currently seem to be using a gold plated solution, when actually by defining the roles a bit more, we could widen the pool of suitable people, and involve free loaders like myself

don't wait to be picked, get to the front and just shout 'do you want this one marked?' they never refuse if it needs doing ime.

it is useful to know what the tecs look like, easy if rocket red laser guided tim is captain teccy, or davy's distinctive silhouette is bringing up the rear, or if teef is blotting out the moonlight. it is helpful to look for em as the ride goes buy because sometimes the non-tec people at the back of a bunch have been known to shout 'all up' when all are not.

Also, you need a core of TEC people who agree they'll always carry a certain number of tools/tyres if they're riding and agree beforehand who's doing what.

Those of us who habitually try to eschew trains as a means of returning home will, no doubt, have a stash of get-me-home tools and spares aboard their bikes in a funny not-so-little bag hanging off their saddle. I do. I am happy to share my largesse.

might be worth putting in the blog that if you are riding car valved 26" tyres you should expect to bring your own tubes and you ought to carry your own pump as most roadies and elitist mtb-ers are packing prestas.

 

[mcshroom]

+1. Just find a gap in the group and ride along alone until the joie de vivre of riding a bike returns (can take a while if it's cold and wet or if we're in Erith at 2am)

There's nothing wrong with Erith at 2am that couldn't be solved by a tactical nuclear strike

 

[sbird]

Or just ride off the front 200m from a junction that needs marking and mark it. Obviously it helps if you pick one that needs doing.

On the subject of all up, I'll echo others here. Introduce the all up person at HPC so that waymarkers recognise who they are looking for. That person stays right at the back and only they tell anyone that we are all up, having other members of the TEC group a bit further forward being helpful on this score is all very well but the risks outweigh the helpfulness. Holding an arm aloft and calling out "all up" should be clear enough but checking that the waymarker is back on and riding should do it.

I'll +1 that and what Dell said earlier on all-up. I found myself doing a bit of ad-hoc wayfinding on the Whitstable ride this year where the ride had stopped to admire some church architecture then departed down the lane and turned left at which point I "ad-hocced" the wayfinding since others were still doing some admiring and the ride was stretching out.

I left the junction without really knowing whether the end of the ride had passed but also anxious since I didn't know the way onwards. So yes all-up responsibility could be strengthened.

 

[mcshroom]

I think there are probably a few more people (like myself) who are happy to do waymarking TECing if you want it, but are a little shy about their pace and potential to get back up with the ride.

Also what do you make to non designated people stopping and helping with mechanicals? I've always done it if I could (and yes I tend to carry too much kit really), but I appreciate this does run the risk of upsetting a well oiled system.

 

[dellzeqq]

Re wayfinding, my thought is that if you are keen enough to be part of making the pace at the front, you're essentially volunteering to be stationed as a wayfinder for a bit to help the ride.

Simon, why not say something about wayfinding with the safety briefing, along the lines of:
For those who haven't done the ride before, you'll see pretty soon that we rely on leaving one or two wayfinders to point out where to go at important junctions... If you find yourself at the front of the ride, I assume you are happy to volunteer for such duty and if asked, you are critically responsible to the other people on the ride to await the "All up" call, likely given by X here.. So if you aren't so keen to do this, just hold back from pushing at the front a bit.

You could leave 2 people together if they're not used to doing it.

hhhmmmm......actually the truth of the matter is that I think some people are cut out for it and some aren't. So I don't exactly go looking for volunteers, more hoping that, at each turn, a familiar and re-assuring face will present itself. Yours for example.

 

[dellzeqq]

I think there are probably a few more people (like myself) who are happy to do waymarking TECing if you want it, but are a little shy about their pace and potential to get back up with the ride.

Also what do you make to non designated people stopping and helping with mechanicals? I've always done it if I could (and yes I tend to carry too much kit really), but I appreciate this does run the risk of upsetting a well oiled system.

it doesn't really upset the system. What I hope for is that when the TECs come across a problem a kind of hypnocracy cuts in. People just assign themselves parts of the whole - this being the perfect example, although one wonders if something a little stronger than Proplus was taken.....

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOqvN_SSBnk

 

[dellzeqq]

might be worth putting in the blog that if you are riding car valved 26" tyres you should expect to bring your own tubes and you ought to carry your own pump as most roadies and elitist mtb-ers are packing prestas.

http://fnrttc.blogspot.com/p/basics_05.html covers it, although I do sometimes make the point in the e-mails by saying that the TECs will probably only be carrying tubes for 700c23 wheels

 

[dellzeqq]

I'll +1 that and what Dell said earlier on all-up. I found myself doing a bit of ad-hoc wayfinding on the Whitstable ride this year where the ride had stopped to admire some church architecture then departed down the lane and turned left at which point I "ad-hocced" the wayfinding since others were still doing some admiring and the ride was stretching out.

I left the junction without really knowing whether the end of the ride had passed but also anxious since I didn't know the way onwards. So yes all-up responsibility could be strengthened.

the end of the Whitstable ride is a bit of a special case - we effectively go our own way at the Graveney Marshes turn, and some people take the coast path and others, like myself, just go straight to the high street - but I do issue a map showing the Waterfront in the week before the ride. We don't post Wayfinders on the way in to Brighton, but, somehow, everybody gets there. I think.

 

[Shadow]

Typing this i've just watched the semi-final on sky+, in my stinking filthy cycling kit.

Bloody 'ell Greg, your kit was fine at the Madeira, that must have been some ride home....or the sesh at The Partridge!!!



Turners Hill to Lindfield, terrific, Shadow sitting to my rear and taking advantage of the AyUps in their full glory.

Then YOU for leading so well, it is a joy to follow, and learn, from a good rider.


There is still something very special about the smiles on the faces of those who climb the beacon as you sit there watching them come around that bend.

Couldn't agree more; it is what makes these rides so special.

 

[Dan B]

While we're on the subject of introducing the TECs to the potential waymarkers at the start, TECs may wish to note that some of us identify them by their clothes/bike/helmet not by their face and if they decide to add or remove layers after they have been presented at court they should probably be especially ebullient then approaching waymarkers who may as a result no longer recognise them.

But we really are talking about marginal gains here. The system works as it is, let's not turn it from a contribution into a chore

 

[dellzeqq]

Initially I worried about the effect of sleeplessness too, but I'm an insomniac at the best of times and must be used to it. To my surprise on these rides I've found I'm normally so full of adrenaline that it has the opposite effect, and I feel quite stupidly happy and usually garrulous into the bargain. So if you're feeling grumpy I should steer clear of me, or you might end up wanting to push me off the bike!

The only time this didn't apply was on the Genteel Brighton, when I was soaked to the skin and morose, and sloped off home early as a result.

Edit: There must be drugs you can take at about 5 am to cheer yourself up?

see post re hypnocracy above.

This chap has always been my inspiration. Werner Erhard 'a man with no formal experience in mental health, self help, or religious revivalism, but a background in retail sales'. The perfect background for '.....the creator of transformational models and applications for individual, organizational and social transformation'. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werner_Erhard