Tag: blog post

Summer Shutdown – 1st to 15th August

Posted on by Ross Spencer in What's New?

Next week, from 1st August, I will be heading over to Cumbria to venture out into the hills for a well earned couple of weeks R&R and will not be returning to work until Monday 15th August.

I’m going to be visiting places like this…

During that time I will be mostly unreachable and will not be checking emails on a regular basis. Over the next week or so, I will be doing my level best to tie up any loose ends and make sure that any preparations are in place for anything taking place during my absence.

And doing lots of this…

I will respond to any enquiries or emails on my return and look forward to speaking with you then.

If you’re interested in seeing what I get up to while away, keep an eye on my Twitter and Instagram for updates.

Tea, Cake & Cycling!

Posted on by Ross Spencer in What's New?

A gathering of the lesser spotted Suffolk Road Safety and Cycling Instructors at Alton Water Park.

With the Covid pandemic having caused so much disruption over the last couple years, and given the very mobile nature of our roles, it’s been quite some time since the Bikeability Instructor Team from Suffolk Roadsafe have been able to properly get together and catch up.

Forcing ourselves away from the cake to go for that ride 🙂

However, we managed to break that spell today and those of us who had no prior engagements were able to meet up at Alton Water to chat, enjoy a (well earned) piece of cake and go for a fantastic group ride around this beautiful venue.

We were also joined by our county representative from Cycling UK and were able to have a very welcome discussion about some other possibilities for getting involved further in community cycling.

It was a fantastic day out and a real pleasure to see everyone. Can’t wait until the next one!

Hit The Downs ’22

Posted on by Ross Spencer in Cycle Events

I can honestly say that I had a fabulous couple of days on The South Downs last weekend.

Arriving in Graffham in the early part of Saturday afternoon to set camp and have a quiet evening before our busy Sunday showed what a truly beautiful place this area of the UK is.

We let camp early on the Sunday and made our way to Shoreham to get registered and embark on the 30KM route of the St Barnabas House & Chestnut Tree House Hit The Downs 2022.

Whilst (thankfully) the temperatures didn’t make it up to those we’ve experienced over the last couple of days, we weren’t long into the route before we were starting to feel the heat as the sun started to warm everything up .

At the finish (and much warmer than I look!)

My Ride Track

The View From Chanctonbury Ring – Highest point of the route

Although the temperature wasn’t perfect, the lovely clear skies did provide some stunning views and the South Downs really have a lot to offer with beautiful open scenery and delightful woodlands.

The course itself is a mixture of road, bridleway and narrow track with much of it following the South Downs Way.

No matter where we were on the route, the trail surfaces were all very rideable with no nasty surprises, making the the climbs relatively easy and the descents a great deal of fun.

At the Findon Rest Stop – 20KM Point

I’d like to offer a huge thank you to St Barnabas House and Chestnut Tree House for putting so much effort into organising this great event and Marmalade MTB for the huge amount of effort they put into checking and signing the route in the few days leading up to the event itself.

Click the logos to find out more about these organisations

Next year? I think I’m up for 60KM 😁

Support Us

Event though the event is over, if you’d like to support me and these great charities, there’s still time to head on over to my JustGiving page and make a small donation to help us out.

From £1 to £50, every penny counts and will be very gratefully received!

Total Donations So Far

Hit The Downs MTB Is Almost Here!

Posted on by Ross Spencer in Coming Up

When I posted back in June that I’d be in the South Downs, taking part in the Hit The Downs MTB event to raise much needed funds for St Barnabas House and Chestnut Tree House in West Sussex, it seemed like such a long way off.

Just a mere few weeks later and the weekend has arrived!

After finishing up with providing some Race Timing Services to a great event tonight (more on that later), I’ll be loading up the van and then getting some well earned sleep, ready to head down South early tomorrow morning so that I can make a weekend of it.

The Challenge

I’m going to be riding 30Km across the South Downs, starting at 9am on Sunday taking us along some of the beautiful roads, trails and bridleways in this stunning countryside.

If you’d like to support me and these great charities, there’s still time to head on over to my JustGiving page and make a small donation to help us out.

From £1 to £50, every penny counts and will be very gratefully received!

Total Donations So Far

Hit The Downs MTB Event

Posted on by Ross Spencer in Coming Up

On 17th July I’m going to be in the South Downs, taking part in the Hit The Downs MTB event to raise much needed funds for St Barnabas House and Chestnut Tree House in Sussex.

St Barnabas House provide palliative hospice care for adults and Chestnut Tree House provide care for children and their families across East and West Sussex.

The Challenge

I’m going to be riding 30Km across the South Downs, starting at 7am on the 17th July and I’m looking to raise £100 to support these great charities!

Please Help Me Out

Whilst I’m all to aware that things are tight for us all at the moment, if you can, please head on over to my JustGiving page and make a donation of any size to help me reach my £100 sponsorship target.

From £1 to £50, every penny counts and will be very gratefully received!

Total Donations So Far

May 2022 Events

Posted on by Ross Spencer in Coming Up

With a pretty packed April now behind me, May is looking to be an even bigger month with lots of exciting events happening through the month.

1st May – Race Timing @ The Heritage Coastal Run

Off to Thorpeness to start my month at the Rotary Heritage Coast Run (Half Marathon, 10K and 10K Canicross)

8th May – Course Director @ The Woodbridge 10K
Visit the Woodbridge Shufflers 10K Website

The 8th May sees me returning a little more to my roots in supporting the Woodbridge Shufflers 10K as their Course Director.

14th May – Race Timing @ The Ipswich Twilight 5K
Ipswich Twilight Road Races Website

The start of a fairly busy weekend and I’ll be heading off to Ipswich for an evening 5K at the Ipswich Twilight 5K

15th May – Race Timing @ The Mammoth Marathon
Visit the Mammoth Marathon website

After my visit to Ipswich on Saturday, I’ll be off to Sea Palling on the Norfolk Coast on Sunday for the Mammoth Marathon!

22nd May – Race Timing @ The Sunny Hunny Triathlon
Visit the Maldon Mud Race website

The last of my working events this month, heading off again to the Norfolk Coast to race time the Sunny Hunny Triathlon

29th May – Participating in the Norwich 100 Cycle Ride
Visit the Maldon Mud Race website

Strictly speaking a weekend off so I’m going to be participating in the Norwich 100 from Bike Events, in aid of The Big C Cancer Charity.

Have a fantastic May and enjoy everything that you get up to. Hopefully the weather will stay good for us all!

April Events – Update

Posted on by Ross Spencer in Coming Up

April has turned into an even busier month than expected for the Race Time Result team and in order to keep up with the ever growing demand, I’m now going to be providing race timing services for the Northstowe Half Marathon and Fullscope 5K This weekend.

24th April – The Northstowe Half and Fullscope 5K
Visit the Northstowe Half Marathon Website

The Northstowe Half Marathon is a multi-terrain race, heading through the scenic and developing town of Northstowe.

The 2022 Maldon Mud Race
Visit the Maldon Mud Race website

Fear not though, one of our other timing teams from Race Time Result will be at the 2022 Maldon Mud Race to ensure that our usual high standard of timing services are delivered to this excellent event!

The End of COVID-19

Posted on by Ross Spencer in COVID-19 Update

From 1st April 2022, COVID-19 Restrictions in most of the UK have been been ended.

From 24th February 2022

  • The legal requirement to self isolate following a positive test ended
  • Self Isolation payments ended
  • Routine Contact Tracing ended with the requirement to test for 7 days after contact needed
  • The legal requirement for non-vaccinated close contacts to self isolate ended

From 1st April 2022

  • Those with COVID-19 symptoms are expected to exercise personal responsibility
  • Free COVID-19 Testing (Symptomatic/Asymptomatic) has been stopped
  • Voluntary COVID-19 status certification is no longer recommended

In line with these current recommendations, I have taken the decision to cease working with restrictions in place and return to operating under a more ‘normal’ set of practices. As such, the COVID-19 Policy previously available here has been removed, together with the “We’re Good To Go” Logo, and the associated risk assessment annotated as no longer being valid.

Naturally, I will continue to monitor any changes to the situation in the UK and beyond and, if needed in the future, will re-implement any appropriate restrictions in order to keep myself, my clients and others safe.

Thank you to everyone who I’ve worked with over the last couple of years while we’ve battled against these very troubling times. Lets hope we don’t see a resurgence of the virus ever again.

April 2022 Events

Posted on by Ross Spencer in Coming Up

Now that we’re heading full pelt into the spring and summer months, things are starting to really heat up. Whilst I’ve got a bit of a break on the GPS Tracking side of things (for the moment anyway), it looks like April is going to be another fun packed month!

3rd April – The Yorkshire Warrior
Visit the Yorkshire Warrior website

The first of our April weekends is going to see me travelling up to Harrogate with the Race Time Result team to provide timing services to the Yorkshire Warrior.

17th April – The Fakenham 5K Fun Run
Visit the Fakenham 5K Fun Run Website

The 17th April will see me journeying slightly closer to home to time the Active Fakenham 5k Fun Run. This is a massive event in the Fakenham calendar with a variety of events on throughout the day. Check out the website to find out more.

24th April – The 2022 Maldon Mud Race
Visit the Maldon Mud Race website

And to finish off this month’s events in style, I’m also going to be travelling to Maldon to race time the 2022 Maldon Mud Race. This looks to be another fantastic event and I can’t wait to see it!

Whatever you’re getting up to this month. Have a fantastic April and enjoy yourself!

Changes With Race Time Result

Posted on by Ross Spencer in What's New?

Back at the beginning of 2022 I joined with Race Time Result as their GPS Tracking Manager to provide a high quality bespoke tracking service to event organisers and race directors across the UK.

Since then, and as the Events Industry continues to get back on it’s feet after a very difficult couple of years, things have got more and more busy for us. Most weekends a number of the team are out in a variety of locations to deliver both GPS Tracking and Race Timing Services to events across the country.

Visit Race Time Result

As things have continued to develop, there’s more and more work needed to be done behind the scenes and I’m delighted to announce that, from April 1st, my role with Race Time Result will be changing and I’ll be taking on additional work as their Race Timing & GPS Services Manager.

While I’ll still have a significant focus on the GPS Tracking services, this increased role will involve coordinating the maintenance, logistics and delivery of the timing services that the team offers.

After what has already been a very positive start to 2022, I’m really looking forward to being even more involved in this hugely exciting area of event support.