The Off Topic Aftermath thread

[Dr S]

the truth is though that i feel closer to say, fluffychicken than i do Dr S or marin man as i have ridden with fluffy chicken several times. i get his humour, i understand the way he posts.

Nice to be mentioned in the same breath as Marin Man

Does Ben have a sense of humour??



(joke btw, I like Ben, he's a rebel without a helmet )

 

[lewis1641]

the truth is though that i feel closer to say, fluffychicken than i do Dr S or marin man as i have ridden with fluffy chicken several times. i get his humour, i understand the way he posts.

Nice to be mentioned in the same breath as Marin Man


Does Ben have a sense of humour??



(joke btw, I like Ben, he's a rebel without a helmet )

ben holds no punches!

just 3 names that popped into my head. [/b]

 

[KeepItSteel]

If RB members are more keen on chatting with members they have met, then I think there needs to be more of an emphasis/drive toward inviting new members & even longer established members that have yet to show their faces, to certain meet & greets.
I dont think there is enough effort to encourage 'freshers' to events, and for the more shy amongst us, the prospect of such a meet can seem fairly daunting.
I think a big drive to get everyone to meet up in one way or another could help with the harmony online.

If people spent less time pissing about in General and Off Topic and looked towards the rides and area group sections they would see that Retrobike has been busting a gut to get more people to rides this year.
We always warmly welcome newbies to rides in the hope they like what they see and come back for more.
As for fears of not being fit/ competant enough to join in, look at me, I'm a right old donkey and got to be an AEC!

The rides are there, the welcome is there. Join in!

but I did post when I joined on several meet up threads, the response wasnt red hot.

Anyways, for the more casual member/rider, scanning the entire forum itself is an achievment enough, and they may also need convincing that they need to get out and join some rides.
I think Lewis' idea of gentle persuasion may go a long way.

 

[Easy_Rider]

There was an amazing turnout at the first national status event at Gisburn early this year. I know the NW crew put in a lot of work and hold many rides and many new riders have become regulars.

 

[marin man]

I have been out on several rides with my local "get a long gang" and get on fine with them,I cant do to much due to work commitments and having a family life etc.And financial constraints also stop a lot of people attending meets that are a good distance away.

I have pm'd several new members that are in norfolk and met with a few for a ride,so I do get involved,I just cant get to lincolnshire or any other northrn counties..It is impossible

 

[Dr S]

KIS,,We had 33 happy punters at this years BDW, some newbies included and some that drove 8 hours each way to be there. We always publicise the events months in advance and always write up a comprehensive aftermath thread with plenty of inviting photos to attract new riders. Apart from sending out Heathy and Wu to pressgang new 'victims' I can't see what else we could do to attract more riders.

Maybe you could suggest ways in which we can gently persuade newbies to join in? It would be a help to get your perspective.

Cheers
Si

 

[drystonepaul]

If people spent less time pissing about in General and Off Topic and looked towards the rides and area group sections they would see that Retrobike has been busting a gut to get more people to rides this year.
We always warmly welcome newbies to rides in the hope they like what they see and come back for more.
As for fears of not being fit/ competant enough to join in, look at me, I'm a right old donkey and got to be an AEC!

The rides are there, the welcome is there. Join in!

Well put Si.
During the past year as part of the North West Area events team I've had the pleasure of meeting and welcoming dozens of new people during dozens of rides.
Once you've met a forum member and shared the great experience of riding old bikes together, you often find it easier to then relate to them online too.
I've made some good friends through RB, all of whom I've met at some point.

In terms of the Off Topic section. It was my perception when I joined a couple of years ago, that Off Topic was predominantly for Off Retro Topic stuff. As in it was still largely a forum to discuss the wider subject of a shared interest of cycling.
Of course there's always space for other interesting stuff too and I often scan Off Topic to see what people are contributing.

It has to be said though that just because this is a publicly accessible forum, it shouldn't mean that any old nonsense should go in there.
This is out of respect for other forum members and visitors who might read it, moderators who are obligated to read it to make sure it's appropriate, and to John who has to spend money to keep the server running. A server full of inconsequential filler is a waste, and all the crap steals bandwidth from the valuable RB resource we all share.

Let's face it, there has been some really pointless crud posted up, from the "You're fat!" "No you're fat" playground banter, to devisive topics which at times appear to openly invite or incite arguments.
Some people it seems are determined to push their own personalities and agendas onto other people.

I'm sure that there are other places on the web beyond RetroBike to discuss Politics, Race, Religion and Word Association...

I'm just here for the old bikes.

 

[Tad]

I mostly agree.
I guess im guilty of not getting around the different threads more, I barely ever cotton on to various rides.
Ill keep my eyes peeled for more casual hacks.

Perhaps some way of being more assertive in approaching newbs is what I was thinking, other than letting them happen across a ride on a random thread.

KIS I stood down as deputy AEC for the South East a few months ago and we've been struggling to find a volunteer for my replacement, candidates putting themselves forward so far is NIL. You seem to have good ideas and issues with involvement why don't you take my old post and get the newbies involved? London is in the SE catchment area.

As has been said before, ask not what Retrobike can do for you... PM Green Rabbit, he'll be delighted to hear you've taken the Retrobike shilling as his deputy!

 

[marin man]

Go for it KIS I think you will do a great job

 

[makster]

We always warmly welcome newbies to rides in the hope they like what they see and come back for more.
As for fears of not being fit/ competant enough to join in, look at me, I'm a right old donkey and got to be an AEC!

The rides are there, the welcome is there. Join in!

It was going to my first ever organised retrobike ride that got me back into cycling. (cheers jonnyboy )
I was made to feel really welcome by both established members and other relative newbies alike.
As a result of me riding again, I've manged to coax at least 8 mates out now for regular rides.

The downside is that my 'spare' room is now more of a 'spares' room

Vive la retrobike