who would be an events organiser ??

after  a week spent setting up our latest cycling event – including 2 whole days and some 260 miles of driving round the routes twice attaching some 300 odd arrows to every signpost on or near each junction along the way and getting ready to do it once more to to erect the large warning signs for motorists – while all the time keeping an eye on the weekends forecast – i had a horrendous decision to make yesterday

each days check of both the bbc and the excellent mountain weather information service forecast brought little joy – and after a sleepless thursday night spent worrying about hypothermic riders shivering out on the wild bowland fells – waiting for our broom wagons,  i checked once again first thing friday morning and found several horrendous forecasts for sunday 16th september – predicting heavy rainfall all day throughout the area of our sportive

our plan for friday was for chris to go round the routes once more erecting the warning signs while lynn would purchase lots of snacks and fruit for the feedstations and muffins for the finish line

i felt compelled to make a decision whether we could risk riders safety by going ahead   as planned regardless of weather conditions – call the event off and give entrants a couple of days notice or go ahead as planned and see if weather improved by sunday – then go ahead or cancel on the morning after folk had travelled to lancaster

i have never had to make such a decision – i lead a lot of outdoor www.door2dooradventures.co.uk  activities and would wrap folk in layers of waterproofs and chose a low level / shorter route  faced with a similar situation or go out another day – neither options were available – so i completed one of the risk assessments we use prior to every adventure activity {see photo) and got a score of 64 out of 68 – using the information available first thing friday morning – which is an unacceptable level of risk  so took the heartbreaking decision to call the event off – as i could not stand up in court to justify running it with knowledge i had to hand

so friday morning was actually spent personally e mailing each and every entrant to tell them of my decision and offering them a place in a future event instead – standing down our team of fantastic helpers and informing british cycling and asking them to put “cancelled” on the online entry system

so its now saturday afternoon – all signs were taken down in a long day yesterday – the weather forecasts don t look quite so terrible and we all feel sick and worried that we or rather i made the wrong choice and disappointed a lot of good people – and maybe some people will still turn up in the morning due to not getting the information or expecting to enter on the day

so who would be an event organizer ?? well me actually – because at the end of the day its just a bike ride (all be it an amazing one) and nobody’s life will be at risk  tomorrow – nor will i have to stand up court to explain why i let an event take place after getting the highest risk assessment score  ever

so i am happy that i have done my job as both event organizer and safety officer and am more than grateful for the kind messages of support from both riders and top dog team members i have received – and most especially lynn who has taken a weeks annual leave this week (as she has for the last 2 x events) to help me set up the day – only to take it all apart again !!

we will learn from the experience though and are thinking about much improved sportives next season – and hope to see old and new friends there to share these stunning rides

sorry folks ……..

chris packman @

 

 

 

 

all good to go for this sunday’s forest of bowland adventure – planning done, marshals booked and briefed, medals bought, maps printed and snacks ordered

next 3 x days will see us putting out some 300 odd yellow arrows to mark both routes and stressing that nobody moves them again !! ( we drive round to check early sunday morning)

but we have worked tirelessly to make this event happen and can do no more – just hoping that more riders will come along and make it all worthwhile

see you sunday

chris, lynn and team @

 

 

we are busy organizing our next 2 x events –

an epic day on a bike exploring remote fells of the forest of bowland ready for 16 september – more info on 95 miler or 60 miler 

also very excited to be working closely with the wonderful reynolds family @ leighton hall to bring you our first “try a trail” run event on 30 september – more info 

after a hectic summer of guiding folk on adventures it’s great to be focusing on our ideas for stunning days in around this amazing area we are blessed to live in

hope you can join us

chris, lynn and team @

 

 

top dog events – yorkshire dales 100 – 15 july 2018

last sunday, 33 riders sacrificed their normal lay in to gather at 3-1-5 health club. the reason?, for an early start for top dog events latest sportive – the yorkshire dales 100.

here, chris packman, co-director of top dog events tells us all about the event!

‘a bit like brexit, the riders where closely split between the 100 mile and 100 km routes: 18/15. the weather was kind to all, being a little cooler than the previous weeks of tropical conditions.

before

the club was opened at 6.30am by marcus and neve (thanks for that) with riders starting to arrive. the start-line and registration desk were next to come online, thanks to sue and steve.

lancaster’s newest cycle store ‘on yer bike’ provided mechanical cover on the start. thankfully they had little to worry them as most riders came on well prepared bikes.

all riders got underway in the allotted time between 7 and 8am, with a few banding together for a group start at 7.45am

during the event

both routes headed towards ingleton then up and along the roman road between whernside and ingleborough to ribblehead. next was the remote dales countryside to their 1^st refreshment stop – manned by deena from 3-1-5 and the junction with dentdale.

here the routes split, with the 100+ km riders descending into dentdale, then through the village of dent itself, with its cobbled streets and handy public loos. they then continued to sedbough and re-joined the 100 milers shortly afterwards.

meanwhile the 100 milers continued north through amazing limestone scenery towards the town of hawes, then up and over the legendary pull of buttertubs. they turned west to ride along hidden valleys and wild fell sides before steeply descending into nateby and along the main road to their 2^nd feedstation. thanks to james from lancaster’s omm advice center for manning this station.

the long route then headed south by following the old roman road between the howgills and the river lune / m6 (chris’s new favourite road) before joining the 100+km participants on the outskirts of sedburgh.

all riders now enjoyed the traffic free lanes to their final pit stop of the day just outside kirkby lonsdale, manned by jane. to finish they continued back to lancaster and 3-1-5 via quiet lanes through borwick, the kellets and halton village.

after

once back at the finish – all riders were presented with a well-earned muffin and goody bag.

everyone then headed into the club to be presented with their finishers medal – and a fresh brew. all entrants were then offered the opportunity to relax for rest of the day enjoying 3-1-5’s amazing pool side facilities (thanks for this sean and co).

judging by the feedback both on the day and since – see https://topdogevents.co.uk/event-reviews/ a challenging but highly enjoyable day was enjoyed by all. this in itself is ample reward for the weeks of effort the top dog team has spent organising the event.

thanks also to lynn and steve in the broom wagons who spent the day following behind each route.

going forward

we are now busy planning our next events,  the forest of bowland 100 miler and the forest of bowland 100 km sportive’s and a “try a trail” 5 km and 5 mile runs from leighton hall on 30 september.

hope to see you there’ ????

 

chris, lynn and the top dog events ltd team

 

top dog events – yorkshire dales 100 – 15 july 2018

last sunday 33 riders sacrificed their normal lie in to gather @ 3-1-5 health club, lancaster, for an early start to top dog events latest sportive – the yorkshire dales 100

a bit like brexit – the riders where closely split between the 100 mile and 100 km routes – 18 / 15 – the weather was kind to all, being a little cooler than the previous weeks of tropical conditions.

the club was opened by 0630 by marcus and neeve (thanks for that) with riders staring to arrive – the startline and registration desk were next to come online – thanks to sue and steve

lancaster’s newest cycle store – on yer bike provided mechanical cover on the start – but thankfully had little to worry them as most riders came on well prepared bikes

all riders got underway in the allotted time – between 0700 and 0800 – with a few banding together for a group start at 0745

both routes headed towards ingelton, then up and along the roman road between whernside and ingleborough to ribblehead and on into the remote dales countryside to their 1^st refreshment stop – manned by deena from 3-1-5 and the junction with dentdale

here the routes split – with the 100+ km riders descending into dentdale, then through the village of dent itself, with its cobbled streets and handy public loos – then they continued to sedbough and re-joined the 100 milers shortly afterwards

meanwhile the 100 milers continued north through amazing limestone scenery towards the town of hawes, then up and over the legendary pull of buttertubs, and then west along hidden valleys and wild fell-sides before steeply descending into nateby and along the main road to their 2^nd feedstation – expertly manned by james from lancaster’s omm advice centre.

the long route then headed south by following the hidden road between the howgills and the lune / m6 (chris’s new favourite road) before joining the 100+km participants on the outskirts of sedburgh

all riders now enjoyed the traffic free lanes to their final pit stop of the day just outside kirkby lonsdale – manned by jane – before continuing back to lancaster and 3-1-5 via quiet lanes through borwick, the kellets and halton

 

once back at the finish – all riders were presented with a well-earned muffin and goody bag.

everyone then headed into the club to be presented with their finishers medal – and a fresh brew – before spending the rest of the day enjoying 3-1-5 s amazing pool side facilities (thanks for this sean and co)

 

judging by the feedback both on the day and since – see https://topdogevents.co.uk/event-reviews/ a challenging but highly enjoyable day was enjoyed by all – which is ample reward for the weeks of effort the top dog team has spent organising the event

thanks also to lynn and steve in the broom wagons who spent the day following behind each route

we are now busy planning our next events – the forest of bowland 100 sportive on 16 september and a “try a trail” 5 km and 5 mile runs from leighton hall on 30 september

hope to see you there ????

 

chris, lynn and top dog events ltd team

 

the best thing about our new venture – organizing events for folk – is without doubt meeting, and getting to work with some amazing people 🙂

we know we can t fail with these guys on our side

thank you one and all – you make our mission a whole lot more achievable

come and meet us all on 15 july 2018

chris, lynn and top dog team

with just over a week to go – all is in place behind the scenes to make our next event the yorkshire dales 100 an epic day in the saddle

we look forward to welcoming lots of new riders to this great area – and showing you some amazing places to be riding in 🙂

chris , lynn and team @

 

our gala runs last weekend went swimmingly 🙂

it was great to be able to support the omm – runners centre lancaster in setting up and co-ordinating a selection of local trail runs as part of the bolton le sands annual village gala, for the first time in its history

we got some great feedback from happy runners and have the bug to organise lots more similar events in the north lancashire / south lakes region – so keep running and watch this space !!

 

 

top dog events are starting to dip our toes into the world of organizing trail runs –

by helping the original mountain marathon team lay on a couple of new runs as part of the bolton le sands gala this weekend

come for a trot round our local trails and say hello if you are in the area

chris and lynn @

 

 

the top dog team are starting to plan our next great event to build on the success –

great feedback and ideas gained from our initial event – lake district 100 last month

this time riders will get the chance to explore some of the remote hills, dales and villages of the yorkshire dales national park

the scenery is unbelievable and you will definitely encounter more sheep, chickens and herds of wild ponies than you will people and vehicles

 

 

we hope you can join us on our second cycling adventure

chris, lynn and the team @