Lakes IV - Weekend Comments
 

Chaps,

So the weekend has been and gone, the pictures have been paraded, ridiculed and have no p!$$ left in them !

But what did you really think ?

As a planning team, we need to understand what makes a great event, we (the planning team) feel it went well, but we need your honest and open feedback, so;

People who attended the weekend

* What did you think about the timing, the dates, Thursday - Sunday, was it better, worse, would you have it any other time ?

* Camp Site, was it good, bad, what would you change?

* Facilities (provided by the Planning Team), was the marque a good idea? what would you change?

* Cost, did you feel it was too much, too litte, or perhaps you would prefer to pay the site direct (and forgo the marquee, tea, coffee etc)

* NavXT - Was there anything we should change ? were the instructions adequate? were the way-points well placed? were the prizes useful? would you prefer to have prizes allocated per position, or did the 'choose your own' option suit everyone?

* Location, is the Lakes still a great base? should we move it?

* Anything Else? Any other comments at all ?

People who DID NOT attended the weekend

* What could we change that would make you come along next year ?

* Did anything put you off ? the date? the location ? the distance ? the cost? the people ?

* What is the one thing we could do that would make you come next year ?

I want you guys to be honest, I want the truth. We do put weeks of work and hundreds of miles into this event each year, it is done for your enjoyment, if we don't know where we go wrong, the event will fade away.....


Come on then, speak up :nike:

I personally had a great time and am looking forward to the next one!, comments on your points in order,

Timings- i wish i had turned up on thursday so i could have had a ride out friday instead of travelling but its a work issue, only worth carrying on to monday if its a bank holiday in my opinion.

Camp site- good and out of the way but close to the amenities, took me a while to find the way round to it but i was doing the bloke thing and didnt ask for directions till desperate. a nice site.

The marquee was a great idea and provided a communal meeting place and took the place of the pub for socialising and its good to have the option of a brew and a bit of heat, however maxwells choice of burgers require more scrutiny but they kept the mossies away!

Cost- was good, i have no problem paying you cos it meant less hassle and its better for the group discount option if the site deals with the one person.

Nav Xt- i was a bit sceptical at the start to be honest but got into the swing of it and thoroughly enjoyed myself and saw a lot of the lakes at my own pace so i am a convert, i had no problems with the instructions and it was well put together.

Location- I have only been to the lakes a few times so a lot of it was new to me, i would go to it wherever it was in the uk, i enjoyed the lanes i was on, if the majority of folk wanted it moved it would need to go to a similar location and have someone with the local knowledge to pull it off, darren and his team did a very good job.

The only problem i had all weekend was the initial finding of the campsite entrance, i found the farm location easily but the track to the site caught me out, should have gone to specsavers! the marquee was better than being close to a pub as it made for a better atmosphere in my opinion, i have been to loads of normal bike rallys and helped run a few and this was a very enjoyable weekend planned well and had the right mix of people to make interesting conversation, old school and enjoyable, if your are thinking of coming do as you wont be dissapointed!
Regards,
Jim:partyondude:

I think the site was great, and having the marquee made a big difference. I think the proof of this is in the fact we didn't go to the pub all weekend. Wouldn't change anything about that and was happy with the cost. Also liked not having to book and pay for the site directly, because it was much less hassle to paypal you some money, and I'm lazy. :D




Only possible improvement -

I know the idea was for Friday to be a "do whatever you like" day, and I also know you don't want to be leading a column of thirty bikes around.

However I think it would be good to make some attempt to plan in advance some "people who are happy to lead and/or tail-end small groups on trail or road rides" and link them up with "people who would like to be taken on a planned ride". That way we can:

- get a bit more riding in, because we're not dithering around trying to decide what to do on the day.
- avoid people who want to go on particular rides missing out because they aren't in the right place at the right time.
- try and send groups to different areas, so they don't bump into each other on particular trails.
- try and make sure people get what they want/expect in terms of difficulty levels.

In the interests of being 'part of the solution', (assuming I can make it next year) I'm perfectly happy to lead either a full day, or a couple of half day trail rides at whatever difficulty level people want. I just don't really have the local knowledge to plan it on the day.

As far as I know, everyone who came out with Bernard and I this year had fun (even though Scott almost called it quits after the first trail - because I had no idea what it would be like and it wasn't really suitable for his tyres), but I also think I could have done it better with a bit of advance planning.

* What did you think about the timing, the dates, Thursday - Sunday, was it better, worse, would you have it any other time ? suited me better than previous

* Camp Site, was it good, bad, what would you change? perfect, our own area, to populate as we saw fit, that's getting rare!

* Facilities (provided by the Planning Team), was the marque a good idea? YES, it gave the group a good social area what would you change?

* Cost, did you feel it was too much, too litte, or perhaps you would prefer to pay the site direct (and forgo the marquee, tea, coffee etc] Super value! [a little on the low side, the charity aspect was neglected], if you attend any race weekends it's a lot more ���� for less

* NavXT - Was there anything we should change ? were the instructions adequate? were the way-points well placed? were the prizes useful? would you prefer to have prizes allocated per position, or did the 'choose your own' option suit everyone? All's good, certainly on a par with the HUMM or ROD events.
i did a rally of discovery in the west of ireland in dec and to spice it up a little the organiser Phil added a few one off, take away tags[bonus prizes] to some of the markers to drive you the more inaccesable point on the maps. don't worry i got my share!

* Location, is the Lakes still a great base? should we move it? ? Knowing the amount of work that is required it's easy to become reliant on your [Lakes team] local knowledge.
unfortunately the event will perhaps dwindle without alternative venues, imho. I still think we have a community that could support a european meet, perhaps year about?

* Anything Else? Any other comments at all ?

I was at Lakeland11 and had fully intended to be there this year, but... I have to work months and months ahead on planned work commitments and had taken a chance on it being the same weekend in May this year, arranging everything to suit... sadly for me it all happened a week earlier and I was committed to that particular weekend with work that I couldn't get out of easily. If a date could be set as soon as possible I will most definitely be there in 2013.

Camping is fine by me and 'Have bike, will travel' so location is ok almost anywhere as it will involve a ferry across the Irish Sea, I do like the lakes though... May is a good time of year with the longer evenings and relatively uncrowded roads.

That's my tuppence worth :-)

Cheers.

Ni on perfect, thought the campsite was great, markee with tea and coffee was a cracker idea, BBQ for heat (and some smokey cooking) was good, lakes area isnt an issue with me as with work i never really know where im going to be from time to time. Dates of may are ok with me, Thursday to Sunday was good as it means only really taking one day off work and leaving a bit eariler on the thursday from work.

Similar idea with uber that Friday a few pre planned rides, although i when out with GULG and thought it was well planned off the cuff (but then he does know the area)

Part from this roll on next year:campfire:

People who DID NOT attended the weekend

* What could we change that would make you come along next year ?

Nothing that I can think of from what I've seen of the photos/reports it looks great.

* Did anything put you off ? the date? the location ? the distance ? the cost? the people ?

Not sure this is of any help really as they're my problems and can't be helped! Being a teacher I'm completely stuck with when I can take time off - I can't, it's the school holidays or nothing. I know we get lots of holidays (before I get shot down in flames), but it really is a pain in the proverbial not being able to choose when you have time off. For me the Lakes event is just that little bit too far to go for what would effectively be one day (arrive late on Friday night and go again Sunday lunchtime). I also run a smallholding (pigs and cows) and the last two Lakes events coincided with my sow farrowing, this year to cap it all she had a piglet with a dislocated hip and one with a herniated testicle! I think what I'm trying to say in a roundabout way, is nothing is putting me off, the organising team clearly does a cracking job, it's just personal circumstance. However, I will try harder and make more effort to attend next year even if it's just for one bloody night!

* What is the one thing we could do that would make you come next year ?

As Irishguyonabike says, getting as much notice as possible about the dates would be a real help (unless you want to do it in the school summer holiday when every Tom, Dick and Harry is in the Lakes ;) - I think not!)

Guys - Thanks very much, excellent comments.

Uberthumper - (Friday)Yes totally agree, and that was the intention, just run out of time.

Jimf - NavXT, you are not alone, we had the same comments last year. Maybe we're just not selling the event right ?

Irishguyonabike, Pleiades - Another point we already talked about, and acting on. Appreciate the teacher thing, to some extent I'm in the same boat as my wife is a teacher too.

Max - I've rode every road around here, I know then like my back yard! Putting a route together in my head is second nature. I must try harder!

Stoic - good points, European meet is a must, needs someone to get it moving, bit or organising etc. I like the comment on the 'one off' markers, might use that to devise something interesting for next year.

These are all very constructive comments, what about the guys that signed up initially? The weekend is nothing without the support of the forum.

Why
 

:eusa_dance:WORK ! That is the only reason I missed what was obviously a great weekend, will again try to be at next event, have booked a couple of nights at same campsite in June, got to try new tent !! from what I have read, improvement would seem difficult, only sorry I could not make it, heres to 2013 !!

i could not attend this shin dig as was planing two.gutted but im doing a france trip in july and money is tight .defo be there next year good work guys keep up x

Everything was great , 2 things I would add
1) Make sure we add enough cost to cover a reasonable contribution to the air ambulance.
2) As part of the official agenda add a clear up and pack of the van session on Sunday morning

+1

Nice thoughts.

I thought everything was very well organised, the site was great.
That particular weekend clashed with Toura****s big weekend (dont know if many XT'ers went ?) if i hadn't come to the lakes i would have probably gone to the TT one but not sure if it had an effect on numbers.
NavXT, i too was not too keen initially but once i got my head around the OS maps and ignored my GPS i really enjoyed it.
I saw a post ref last years doo from a member saying he had offroad tyres on his bike last year but would be coming with road tyres this year so i took it that there was not going to be much trail riding. In retospect although my bike is too big for offroading i would have fitted TKC's so i could try a few trails.
Cost was very reasonable, without the gazebo it would not have been as cosy and sociable.
I had a great time and if next years is in the same place at the same weekend, i will be there. Top job by the commitee :eusa_clap:

Well, it is always easy to think of bad things to say but before I start I must say that "I hate camping".

That is an Important point to me because I tried.! (Yes I know I failed before you all remind me)

If it was exactly the same next year it would be a great weekend away.
I am not much into group riding or group gatherings but this one I liked a lot.
Why?
I think it was the people for me. Lots of nice characters and friendly chat.

But..and this is only a point of view as I am old and grey. I would have preferred the NavXt stuff the night before.

Oh and if Uber comes next year I vote he has to do the navXT on a push bike to give some one else a chance...........................

Yeah but watching Uber in full map concentration mode, I'd still put my money on him .

Maybe next year I should try using a GPS?

i recon what ever you use you will still find a way of winning!!:male:

http://youtu.be/1q3LV2yyzJg