The plan, to at least get me riding on a more regular basis has certainly worked with the wife and work automatically assuming that I am out on the hills every Monday evening unless told differently, and most of the local boarders (I think) know that I'll be probably there. Beginners get pointed in this direction and most people find the hill without any problems.
As a result of this, over the course of 10 weeks we've seen an average of 6 people riding per session with a huge 14 in mid May!
It's not always gone to plan as I'm not aware that anyone rode on the 21st May when I was away on holiday and the 11th June, a combination of rain, illness and an England football match meant that no-one turned up as far as I know.
On the 4th June, I was the only one out that evening. On this occasion, the original plan was reverted to: If no-one had pre-booked a lesson, no interest had been shown on Facebook and no-one showed between 7.30 and 7.45, then I could guilt-free go and ride whatever I liked - on this occasion, Allestree Woods.
And so far, the thought that lighter evenings + better weather = more people using Darley Park = more people taking an interest, seems to be proving correct. Last Monday for example went very well with two boarders turning up without even knowing we existed, loads of youngsters asking about what we were doing and how much boards were, plus we had one lad who had a go and turned out to be pretty good already. As the weather gets better and the summer holidays start, hopefully things will get even busier.
A summary of numbers so far might help:
| Monday | Number of Riders |
| 16/04/2012 | 9 |
| 23/04/2012 | 7 |
| 30/04/2012 | 8 |
| 07/05/2012 | 7 |
| 14/05/2012 | 14 |
| 21/05/2012 | 0 (AFAIK) |
| 28/05/2012 | 3 |
| 04/06/2012 | 1 |
| 11/06/2012 | 0 |
| 18/06/2012 | 6 |
So, then plan from now on in? I said from the outset that I would give this project in its current form until the end of British Summer Time, October 26th. Riding after this time is usually too dark to give beginner lessons safely, and if we're riding in the dark out of sight of the public, then it might as well be anywhere - freeriding Allestree Woods probably. I'll just reserve the right not to be there every week!
However, this still gives 4 months; 12 whole Monday evenings to go - we're not even half way yet! And so, because of the good numbers attending thus far, it is growing to be far more than just me out every Monday. So, I'd appreciate any feedback, should any feel vocal enough. Primarily, if you've been before, what went well (WWW) and where could there be room for improvement (RFI)?
Hopefully, nothing too bad because ultimately it is supposed to be fun and if others are enjoying it too, then so much the better. If we can take the best parts of having a club - communication, knowledge, shared fun, etc. without the usual bad parts of being in a club - commitment, responsibility, politics etc. then we can all get on with the best part - mountainboarding.
So, yeah, feedback, if relevant would be great. I'm not changing the day though. Want a different night? Start your own club ;-D
You've inspired us. We're going to try to do something similar down our way.
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