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Old 21-Mar-2006, 20:09
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DSC Member Jools Jools is offline
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What is expected of a Regional Organiser

What's expected of a Regional Organiser?

It's a bit like asking how long is a piece of string, since everybody is an individual and goes about it in their own way.

There are a few things that are common to all regions and for which Regional Organisers (RO) make themselves the focal point.

Rideouts

Some of us are loners, and prefer to ride without company, but most of us like to go out with other people on bikes, better still if there are loads of Ducatis. Rideouts are a great way to make new friends with a shared passion for bikes in general, and Ducatis in particular, and the RO for every region will organise at least one rideout each month.

Typically, this will be on a given Sunday in the month and could consist of a short meet up for breakfast followed by a mornings ride or it could consist of a whole day out (most RO's ring the changes with their rideout format)

Depending on the region you are in rideouts might take different forms. Some regions prefer to just get on and ride, others prefer to ride to an event of general interest somewhere (usually automotive - we've never had a ride out to a garden centre), other folks want to just meet up somewhere for brekkie or lunch and then go home or any combination.

Personally, I ride with the Beds/Herts/Cambs region (BHC) and their formula of converging on a central meeting point for breakfast, followed by a mass rideout (sometimes a 'loop' that takes a couple of hours, sometimes a 200 mile loop that takes all day) interspersed with a stop at a pub for a beer and some devilish banter with your mates (and a second stop for tea and cakes if we're out all day) suits me just fine - even if it means I can't get into my leathers anymore and have to wear my Cordura.

Sometimes the RO leads the rideouts, but you don't have to be a riding god to be an RO. If you're not confident enough in your riding ability, maybe you can do the organising and somebody else who is a riding god can lead. It's often a real chore getting the pace of rideouts right. Sometimes they're not fast enough for the quickest riders who are frustrated by the lack of pace, at the same time the same ride can be too quick for the less experienced rider, or one who is simply not happy going quickly. The last thing that any RO wants to do is organise a rideout where the quick folks are bored and never come again and the gentler paced folk are intimidated by getting left behind, get lost, and never come again.

Using the BHC as an example again, there are a core of people who can all ride at the same pace, have ridden thousands of miles together and trust each other, so when the only people to turn up at rideouts are 'the usual suspects' it's easy for the leader to judge the pace. When we have a bigger group we often split into different groups - one for those that want a blat and one for those that want a bimble - sometimes with a third group somewhere in the middle. Something there for everyone.

The emphasis should be on EVERYBODY riding at a pace at which they are comfortable and rideouts SHOULD NOT be about how quick they are and towing less experienced people round. A succesful ride out has everybody turn up safely at the end of the ride, buzzing because they've got what they came for.

In the summer, people might want to go out on an organised ride more than once a month, but then you probably will too. In the winter, some regions want to hibernate, others want to ride all year round.

So that's rideouts. Where you go, what you do and how quickly you do it (with the above safety considerations) is up to you, so if you think you can organise something along those lines at least once a month, you're a good way towards being an RO.

Publicising what you are doing on the DSC message board works wonders as well - otherwise you might be the only one turn up.

Going to events

Most RO's will organise rides from their regions to some of the annual highlight events, such as trips to see the UK rounds of MotoGP, WSB and BSB (where they're all UK rounds naturally - well, except Mondello Park). There are also regular trips to see rounds of the DSC's very own DesmoDue series. These trips are much like regular rideouts, but usually taken at a gentler pace so that everybody arrives at the same time

Again, most RO's organise this by posting direct onto the board


Weekday Meets

In the summer people like to meet up in the evening. There are usually not so many of them because of work commitments and childcare etc, but it's still fun to go for an hours ride on a warm summer evening.

In the winter, it's usually dark in the evening, but some regions revert to a night out in the pub once a month, just to have a chinwag and bullshite about how fast they were in the summer or the bhp they're getting after their latest winter rebuild.

Some regions do the weekday thing - others leave it out.

Mailing Lists

Most RO's obtain a mailing list of the email addresses of the members in their region and just send a mailshot out once a month to everybody letting them know what's going on.

Reports on rideouts

Most RO's follow up their rideouts with a report posted on the DSC site with some of the highlights of the day. Sometimes the RO doesn't need to bother doing this because people who went on the ride out will still be buzzing from a good day out and will write it themselves

Contributions to Pronto

Not many RO's do this at the moment, because i haven't asked them too, but I will be encouraging them to contribute some key things about what they get up to in their region to the club magazine - just so people know whats going on and whats available

As with most things, the more you put into it the more you get out. It's obviously a voluntary position so there are no demands that anybody, least of all the DSC Management Team (MT), can make from you if you decide to have a pop at organising something in your region.

What the DSC can do is use all of it's resources and offer my help, as Regional Coordinator, to help you run events that will potentially benefit every Ducati owner in your area.

If any RO's want to add their experience to this thread - feel free
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