[LEL17] THANK YOU VOLUNTEERS!

[Veloman]

I have no doubt all LEL riders feel the same way in their desire to pay thanks and respect to all the volunteers who made the event happen, as without volunteers there is no event.  Those volunteers include the whole team that have spent the last 4 years planning the event and managing all the behind the scenes ‘stuff’ that many of us are completely unaware of.  It also includes all those volunteers we saw at the controls who, unlike the riders, could not be grumpy and greeted every rider with a warm embrace and did their utmost to help and provide support.  I got a medal on completing LEL, they deserve a medal too, as do their loved ones for supporting them while they were away supporting the riders.

No doubt debates will continue on what might have happened and what could have been, how certain things worked and others faired not so well.  I hope such debates are supportive to the notion the LEL is a volunteer led event where sacrifices are made for the benefit of others and very few people are perfect.  The comments made by the volunteers in the “Volunteer Tales” thread are inspiring and summed up by the wonderful post by Peter.

Having volunteered for a full stint at Brampton in 2013 and ridden in 2017, I know which was the easier.  Riding gave me more sleep, more food, less stress, along with requiring less recovery after the event.  Yes, riding was easier than volunteering and I would urge everyone to consider the option of giving something back to the event as a whole by volunteering.

Many thanks volunteers, you are the heroes of LEL.

[GPS]

"Having volunteered for a full stint at Brampton in 2013 and ridden in 2017, I know which was the easier.  Riding gave me more sleep, more food, less stress, along with requiring less recovery after the event.  Yes, riding was easier than volunteering "

Yes - this penny dropped in the hiatus just before I saw the first rider. I'd been so busy prior to that moment though I hadn't had time to think about it.

Thanks for the thanks. I'd like to thank the volunteers from the perspective of a controller while we're on the subject. They made my life much easier than I'd expected. They made it all happen and run so smoothly - along with the paid staff we had too. Even though they were paid, they loved it - and some even came in while they were on their holidays !

[madcow]

Everything wot veloman said ++++.
Any comments are made with a view to making things better for all , less complicated for all and if possible less cost for all.
I saw it at Barnard Castle in 2013 and rode it this time round. Somewhere else Crinkly lion commented that I looked fresher on the return leg at BC than I had when volunteering. I suppose on the bike the rain and wind wash away the blues.
Whichever side of the metaphorical kitchen/ dormitory/ bag room you are it is and hopefully will remain an exciting ,inspiring and above all, an enjoyable event.

[vorsprung]

Riding would have been better than volunteering but riding

1) I had wet feet
2) I only randomly made friends/met old ones, whereas volunteering was more constant

[Divingrob]

Without the volunteers I don't think I could of finished, I had no mechanical issues or really need help but just knowing they were there helped.

"I give cuddles" labels for some volunteers in 2021   

[MikeFromLFE]

Thanks for the thanks!
For me as a virgin volunteer who has not done much long distance riding in recent years, and who has never attempted anything more than a 400 this was a real education. And a real pleasure.
I met some wonderful people, riders, other volunteers, our controllers, interested public people, and members of the school staff. There were surprisingly very few 'sense of humour failures' (although I confess to one).
Thank you.


Tapatalk puts this signature here, not me!

[MikeFromLFE]

Those volunteers include the whole team that have spent the last 4 years planning the event and managing all the behind the scenes ‘stuff’ that many of us are completely unaware of.  .

This effort must not be forgotten or dismissed - and we mustn't forget that their work still continues. Tidying up the loose ends, performing post-mortems, and getting ready to hand on the baton to the next team.
Herculean.


Tapatalk puts this signature here, not me!

[Fidgetbuzz]

Dont exaggerate !!   .. 2013 wind down was  done in about 6 months .. and 2017 start up only really got going in late 2015 .. so not 4 years .. just 2 and a bit I reckon.

[Jon+1bike]

A HUGE THANK YOU & MY RESPECT FOR ALL YOU EFFORTS & COMMITMENT. SO I COULD RIDE MY BIKE.

[mattc]

Having volunteered for a full stint at Brampton in 2013 and ridden in 2017, I know which was the easier.  Riding gave me more sleep, more food, less stress, along with requiring less recovery after the event.  Yes, riding was easier than volunteering and I would urge everyone to consider the option of giving something back to the event as a whole by volunteering.

Harder than riding? You're not exactly selling the volunteer experience!!

(Riding in 2009 was pretty tough for this rider - there is no way I'd have volunteered if I'd thought it would be even harder! Fortunately it wasn't. Both times had a few tough hours, but were mostly pleasant. Of course many stronger riders find LEL pretty easy, so maybe this thread is aimed at them! )


Anyway: you are welcome. As are all the very grateful and polite riders I met at St Ives this year.   

[LiamFitz]

I keep saying I had a blast albeit a weird sort of one.

I worked mostly in the kitchen at St Ives poisoning feeding riders who were almost uniformly grateful.  And I saw loads of people I hadn't seen for ages. And I made some new friends.

Volunteering has definitely been one of the highlights of 2017.

No medal needs but I did manage to blag a second T shirt !

Liam

[CrinklyLion]

Harder than riding? You're not exactly selling the volunteer experience!!

(Riding in 2009 was pretty tough for this rider - there is no way I'd have volunteered if I'd thought it would be even harder! Fortunately it wasn't. Both times had a few tough hours, but were mostly pleasant. Of course many stronger riders find LEL pretty easy, so maybe this thread is aimed at them! )

I suspect that much as it is very variable how hard the ride is depending on the rider/start time/flukes of weather/an element of luck, so the volunteering experience will vary a fair bit.  Some controls will be bonkers but for a short time (e.g. St Ives northbound which will have seen the entire field pass through in less than 24 hours), some will be supporting a long spread out field of riders with many at the edge of what they could do (e.g. Great Easton southbound), some will have a bit of a rest and regroup between the northbound full value leaving and the southbound fast boys and girls arriving, some will have a significant overlap, some will be particularly desirable because of weather or geography... I remember being quite unreasonably cross with Graeme in 2013 who had spent a night dancing with another volunteer (or perhaps two?) on the gate at a control guiding in the masses, because we'd not staffed the gate at all at the control I was in since, despite everyone putting in typically 18 hours out of 24 on a split shift rota and running the night kitchen on a skeleton staff of 3 we simply didn't have anyone to spare for the gate.  I've got over it now though  

[Zed43]

Many thanks volunteers, you are the heroes of LEL.

So true! Sure, in itself the availability of food, a shower and a bed is just great. But after riding for hours, often alone and sometimes in inclement weather, getting welcomed by the volunteers at the controls, their interest in your ride, having a chat about anything and nothing was just a balm for the soul.

My personal favourites? The men and women standing on the street waving you in and sending you on your way again (in the right direction ).  To all of you who did a shift out there in the dark, the rain, the wind and yes even in occasional sunshine: thanks for being there, seeing you never failed to bring a smile on my face.

And that's just the people that I directly met, there must be dozens of heroes behind the scenes organizing things, making the IT work, and whatnot.

Big thanks to all for making this such a great event for us riders, and I hope to return in four years.

[Angstbremser]

Good evening!

It's been more than a week now, nevertheless... I would like to express my gratitude for all the help and support encountered on the way to Edinburgh an back. In particular the German couple in Moffat and Eskdalemuir who said they knew us from Mallorca. And the totally knackered mechanic at Brampton who changed my gear cable and could thankfully avoid cutting my brake cable in the process. He looked a lot worse than me and I was worried a bit when he said he was about to drive a DNF to the next station. And finally I would like to thank the Great Easton staff. I could easily see how stressed out they were early Friday morning yet the 30 minutes of sleep they arranged for us saved our ride.

For us it turned out well in the end, thanks a lot to everybody working endless hours to help make it happen.