Run Leaders

Run leaders are the main stay of the Club run. They are all volunteers who take on the responsibility of researching, organising and controlling the run. They should all have been over the route a few times and be aware of times, routes and potential trouble spots en-route and should ensure that all participants are aware of where the run is going and any specific riding rules that should be adhered to (i.e. no overtaking, overtaking is allowed etc. etc). If you are organising a run, please ensure that sufficient 'comfort' stops are included.

It must be remembered that all runs should be enjoyable for all concerned and not just the leader. Speeds should be within legal speed limits and at all times be kept at a comfortable level for all concerned. The safety of members and the public are paramount!

No special talents are required to organise a run - all you need is to be a willing volunteer who is prepared to put in some time and effort in order to give other members an enjoyable day out. If you'd like to organise a run, the contact the Section Social Secretary and offer your services - it can be rewarding and is a great way to make friends.

Below is a personal appeal from one of our newest and most enthusiastic run leaders. Note that the views regarding running more than one event simultaneously are not shared by all:

An impassioned plea from Martin Ellis…

As most of you will no doubt be aware, I have decided to become a part of our section by leading some runs and doing other stuff  this year, namely running a camping weekend, contributing to the Journal (incidentally, please note that in order to gain FREE entry and FREE camping, all entrants must be booked in, and all booking forms must be in my possession by no later that June 30^th). Many of you will also know me from the various internet discussion forums such as the  BMW club website, Yahoo BMW group etc etc. I’m also proud to be a member of the BMW club instigated, Grumpy Old Bas**rds group on Yahoo :-). Don’t worry, this is not some obscure form of megalomania, nor do I have delusions of grandeur, or ideas above my station. I know my place in life – I keep getting reminded of it daily….The reason is simple; since I became a member of the club about a year and a half ago, I’ve enjoyed myself so much, and received so much help and encouragement from people like Rob Harvey, Graham Parker, Bill Rogers, and other section members, that I decided that I wanted to ‘put something back’, and I hope that I am achieving that.

One drawback of having one person, or three or four people who live near each other, leading so many runs, is that they are all going to start from a location near to the leader’s home. No-one could reasonably expect me to travel 100 miles away from home, to start a run, that would be silly. It has been mentioned however, in the nicest possible way, that having four or five runs starting from ‘up norf’ of the section, makes it difficult for members ‘dahn sarf’ of the Midland area to take part in a run because some of them may have a 100 mile journey to reach the start point. That’s a day’s run out in itself, there and back! This set me wondering why we don’t get an awful lot of runs (recently, anyway) which start in the Southern half of our section.  I don’t believe it’s that no-one has the time, and I won’t believe that it’s because no-one is interested – even I’m not that cynical, which leaves me with the conclusion that maybe it’s the fact that members may think it too daunting a task., or that it’s not their job. This is wrong. We need to do something about this situation. It’s no good expecting the committee to do everything for us, they already do a lot on our behalf, unpaid remember, and all of them, like the rest of us, have jobs, responsibilities and lives. As for it being too daunting a task, believe me, it’s not. Not all runs have to have a purpose, or a goal, or even a set destination.  I just happen to like having somewhere to ‘end up at’, but that’s only my opinion. Do you know that on the section grapevine, we are thought of as the pipe and slippers brigade?

The popular misconception seems to be that it’s the committee’s responsibility to put on runs. It isn’t!  I don’t want to sound (too) pushy, as a new kid on the block, so to speak, but just because I’m new to the BMW club doesn’t mean that I’m new to bike clubs in general, because I’m not. If anyone wants to have a talk about planning and leading a run, to find out how easy it can be, how much FUN it is, and most of all, how rewarding it is when riders tell you how much they’ve enjoyed themselves, please feel free to e-mail me your contact details, with suitable times for me to phone you so we can talk. Please don’t phone yet, initially leave me your details, and I’ll call you back. I’m also willing to have a ride out to you (within reason), or you can come to me,  then over a cuppa, we can have a chat in comfort.  I can quite understand that our social sec has not been too keen on having more than one run take place on the same day, for fear of diluting the numbers, but if the runs are one from the North of the section and one from the South, or even only 50 miles apart, I’m sure that there will be enough members to go around, and more people will take part in runs. Did you know that you can get recompense for any reasonable expenses incurred in planning and leading a run? We need to get this sorted NOW so that some decent locations/runs can be planned for next year, as runs need planning and riding. Get e-mailing….

Martin Ellis  martink100lt@ntlworld.com