The second running of Matlock Rotary cycling fundraiser the Tissington Triangle Charity Cycle Challenge took place on April 19th.
Unlike 2008 when we had snow, a lovely sunny spring morning, failed to bring out the number of cyclists we had hoped for and despite our valiant effort with publicity, including posters, press releases, flyers, e-mails, mail shots and a Radio Derby slot, only 57 people took part in this year’s event. This compares to 73 last year.
Despite the drop in attendance, those that took part really enjoyed it and said they would come back next year. Many travelled far to the event, from Telford, Wolverhampton and Birmingham, just to mention a few.
Everything went well, we had no injuries or participants getting lost and marshals and checkpoints did a sterling job.
Matlock Rotary Club President Andrew and club member Jonathan Short and their team helped boost the numbers and had respectable finishing times, although these were flattered a bit by the clock used for timing gradually running slow (next time put a fresh battery in).
We would like to thank all the entrants and their efforts to raise sponsorship monies. Over £1,000 was raised in total, including entrance fees. This was intended to be presented to Highfields School, in Matlock, as a contribution towards their mini-bus appeal. However, due to a change in circumstances, the school has declined the sponsorship and accordingly the Rotary Club of Matlock has re-assigned the funds raised to the Fairplay Mini-Bus Campaign, which aims to raise enough funds in North Derbyshire to buy a special mini-bus for disabled children.
It might be the credit crunch effect, the date or the difficulty of contacting cycling enthusiasts. Whatever it is, we would like to learn your thoughts on where else we can advertise to get a bigger response before we can recommend running the event again next year.
