Re-Mo! Tivation
The Inaugural Shaftesbury Cycle Revival took place on Sunday 12th June and, boy, what an event. This has been Colin's dream since moving to the bottom of Gold Hill last year and with time (a lot of it) and support from Hovis, the local Tourist Information Centre & Town Council, Stonehenge Cycles, Off Camber and Gillingham Wheelers (among many other willing helpers) a true celebration of cycling took place. Saltward timekeepers Mary and Dennis saved the day on the Shooter with pencil, not ink and a wealth of experience on how to record times in adverse weather conditions; only for modern IT (looks over shoulder ...) to make a pigs ear of it ... apologies, I.must.practice.on.attention-to-detail! (x100).
Colin was first off up Gold Hill, riding the local bakery, Indulge, bike - a Schwinn Cruiser!
The Shaftesbury Cycle Revival is a celebration of cycling in ... well, Shaftesbury. Perched as it is on a very high escarpment, the Urban Downhill event drops as steeply as the infamous cobbles of the Gold Hill climb. When it was my turn to pit guts and tyres against the hillclimb (I, eh, forgot my full face helmet. And dirt bike - anyway, you don't have to do both) my nerves where well and truly gangling.
A large group of spectators, honking and cheering and Joolze snapping pictures gave me that extra surge, just as oxygene debt was starting to expect payback. I tried to chat after crossing the line but had to give up and simply gulp in air until everything stopped being woozy.
Colin has started casting his mind towards 2012, the Olympic year Shaftesbury Cycle Revival with plans for mountain bike orienteering, guided rides via his Enroute guiding business and with the same festival feel. I'll be there, for sure and will have the following day off, if an after-event party is going to be in The Salt Cellar Cafe again.
The motivation I take from this is that Colin had a vision, let it grow into an event and then found help and, through that difficult process, created something wonderful.




