Woking Bikeathon

Sunday 10^th May.  I grace the annual Woking Bikeathon with my presence, and  the DG comes along with me. Not having attended this event before, I wasn’t sure what to expect, in terms of numbers attending, or the extent of the organisation.  Since taking up office as Consort to the District Governor I have attended a number of events organised by clubs around the District, and have been surprised and impressed in equal measure at just what great events Rotary Clubs can organise. Highlights to date have been Kingston’s Dragon Boat Race and Chertsey’s Black Cherry Fair, so how would today’s event, organised by Woking Rotary Club, compare in such company?

My question was partly answered as we headed over to Woking. We aimed to arrive half an hour before the start of the Bikeathon, and as we drove along the road from Chertsey to Woking we passed increasing numbers of cyclists wearing orange hi-viz tabards with ‘Woking Bikeathon’ emblazoned across them. They were obviously heading for the start line and I couldn’t help thinking that they should be resting in the comfort of a car as they headed for the start, rather than tiring themselves before they even got there. Obviously cyclists are made of stern stuff.

As we arrived at Woking Park, I noticed good signage and several stewards directing traffic to the car park, a good indication of a well-organised event, I thought. We parked up and walked over to the start line. It was still over 20 minutes to the start, and there were cyclists already queueing up at the start line, with the line of riders going so far back I couldn’t see the end of the line. There was the answer to my question – this is a very big event indeed. We met Terry Smith the Rotary organiser, who said that over 900 riders had registered for the event, and £47,000 was being raised for the event’s preferred charities, which included Woking and Sam Beare Hospices and the Woking Mayor’s Charities.  They had road closures agreed, two checkpoints on the route, and stewards along the length of the course.

                                                        Ready to go

Clearly a lot of manpower was needed for the event and the Rotary club just doesn’t have enough members to do everything themselves. So, like other clubs which run successful large events, they enlisted help wherever they could find it. There were, for instance a group of youngsters helping to marshal riders at the start. I assumed, incorrectly as it turned out, that they were Rotaractors, but in fact the young lady I spoke to, was the daughter of a Woking Rotarian, and she had come along to help with some of her university friends.

                                                       The DG and Daisy meet some stewards

Riders had a choice of a 28 mile course or a 13 mile course, and Terry was at pains to point out to all riders that it was not a race. All he wanted was for everyone to get around safely. He had enlisted some big name celebrities to help at the start, one of whom was the mayor of Woking, Tony Branagan, and then there was me. And of course the DG.  All riders were wearing the orange hi-viz tabards we had seen as we drove in. We were told that they all get one of these to keep. Every single one had ‘Rotary Club of Woking’ written across the back, with ‘Woking Bikeathon’ written below. What great marketing  that was, with 900 people cycling around the surrounding area for the next couple of hours, all advertising the Rotary Club! How impressive is that?

                                          The mayor helps organise riders

Before the ride got under way, I went for a stroll around the site with Daisy. There was an excellent steel band playing on a small bandstand, and I went over to get a better view. To my surprise the musicians were all youngsters, aged around 13 to 16 in my estimation. They were all from Bishop David Brown School in Woking, and seemed to have a teacher in evidence, probably needed to drive the minibus, which was parked nearby. I gritted my teeth and visited the portaloos, only to be amazed to find the cleanest portable toilets I have ever made use of. They were spotless, sweet-smelling and well supplied with soap and towels. Clearly they have a better class of portaloo in Woking.

                                                       The excellent steel band from Bishop David Brown school

                                               terrific toilets

I got back to the DG just in time for the grand start of the Bikeathon. Giving last minute instructions to the cyclists to keep in single file and watch out for horses and riders around Chobham was a gentleman whose name I didn’t get, but I understand he works for Honda, who sponsor the event, and he has done this for over twenty years. Obviously practice makes perfect, as he did a very good job. 

                                          The man from Honda gives final instructions

However, to my surprise, there wasn’t a mass start, with 900 cyclists sweeping across the start line on their way towards the leafy lanes of Surrey. In fact the cyclists went off in groups of 30, with about one minute between each group. On reflection, it is obviously sensible to avoid a quarter-mile long pelaton moving slowly away from Woking Park, causing disruption to local traffic. The man from Honda, therefore, had to repeat his pep talk about 30 times before everyone finally went on their way.

                                          The first group get under way, watched by the DG and Daisy

                                                     The DG applauds a group of riders as Terry Smith looks on

After the main Bikeathon were all off, it was time for the Kids Bikeathon, which also attracted 50 to 60 entries. This was for very small children and the event comprised laps of the track around the Park. The children could complete as many laps as they wanted before coming down the finishing straight and collecting their medals. It was quite fun to watch the varied cycling skills of the youngsters, some of whom had stabilisers and others just propelled themselves along using their feet on the ground. They wore small versions of the hi viz tabards that the adult riders had, but even these were too big for some kids, and were dragged along the ground.

                                          A tiny tot races along the finishing straight

The fun of the Kids Bikeathon was hardly over before riders in the main event started arriving back at the Finish line. Some were very competitive, and sprinted to the line, which proved a bit dangerous, as there were people standing there trying to hand out medals to everyone as they finished. The mayor of Woking had enlisted two of his grandchildren to help hand out medals, and they had a few near misses, as fast-finishing cyclists came past. The danger was alleviated when Terry walked a few yards down the road and exhorted riders to slow down. Terry has an imposing presence, and when he says ‘slow down’ you slow down.

                                          The DG chats to Rotarians at the Control Tent

The DG was called into action in handing out medals to the finishers, who soon started to arrive in large numbers. One chap caused a lot of amusement when he crossed the line with a tiny child on the back of his bike, who was fast asleep, entirely oblivious to all the commotion. So there you have it, the perfect way to get a child to sleep, put him on the back of your bike and ride 28 miles.

                                          Plenty of helpers to hand out medals

We had another engagement to attend in the afternoon, so took our leave of the organisers, whilst Terry was busy on his walkie-talkie sorting out problems along the route as they occurred. It had been another great example of how a single Rotary Club can run a major local event, not just once but year after year.

The DG is kept busy