Gypsies Green
North Tyneside Riders hosted the 7th round of CXNE last weekend at the beautiful Gypsies Green in South Shields.
Planning started some months ago, trying to secure a venue and getting approvals from the council can be slow however we were given the green light (just in the nick of time).
Setup started on Friday with star of the weekend, Thomas Banks picking up a whole heap of poles and tape to then bring to the venue.
On the Saturday we started once the football inside the stadium was finished and laid out a whole heap of poles and tape to try to create something that looked a bit like the course. The temptation to follow the worn in line from the nationals course which was held a few weekends ago was strong, but we stuck to our plan.
A few who had cycled over to help set up then had a little test ride of the course, all being well the mandatory debrief was then called with some of the helpers heading to The Exchange for a refreshing pint (and some shots?).
Sunday morning started early with the setup outside of the stadium starting at first light, yet more poles and yet more tape. The moment of relief came after the course walk by the commissaires, who approved the course with just one or two rabbit holes needing to be filled with a bit of sand.
The races started off with the V50’s men and all women’s race, we had 5 men taking part and 2 women.
The kids races were next, its great to get to watch the stars of the future along with some of the parents enjoying a cross country style run after their kids.
Finally we had the mens seniors and V40’s race as the sun began to set.
The work for NTR didn’t stop once the races were over however, the whole course needed to be packed away. All hands on deck meant that we got the course taken down in record time, it was even still a little bit light.
Big thanks to Keith, Ian and Thomas from NTR who did a big chunk of the volunteer hours and to all helpers of NTR. Thanks to South Shields Velo for the venu and to Paul and Martin for the extra help. Finally, a thank you to Steve Cunningham for helping with the early morning setup.