Red Kite Ride 2023 Review

A rabbit is well and truly pulled out of a hat!

The run up to the 2023 edition of the Red Kite Ride has been somewhat tense. Numbers have been down on previous years all the way along. And yet… registrations ramped up at the last minute! We had 421 entries, and 358 riders on the day. The proverbial rabbit was certainly produced from the legendary hat!! (And the weather probably helped too)

The result was another fabulous event with a tremendous feel good factor, great feedback from participants, and, early estimations are that it will have made about £10,000 for charity. So by any measure, another successful event.

This is totally down to the hard-working committee that toil throughout the year to ensure that everything runs without a hitch on the day, and of course, our lovely members who lend their time and enthusiasm.

We were well supported by local clubs with sizeable teams from Bia, High Wycombe, Maidenhead and Beaconsfield.

And our oldest rider of the day was once again Ian Pike (Susie’s Dad) who rode the 50 miler on his bike.

Cris from Flat Harry’s provided Broom Wagon support, with Dave Rooney and Rob Thompson riding shotgun - with their customary keg of beer to revive the flagging spirits of anyone in need of rescue. As it turned out, no-one did need picking up this year, but the beer was still put to good use anyway (you’d expect nothing else from the Gravel Collective).

With Pound Lane closed after a budding arsonist tried to burn down a tree, Marshalls John and Jay did a great job of keeping everybody safe.

Marlow FM once again provided some cool sounds to accompany the all-afternoon barbecue. Anyone that ventured too close was pulled into the booth to be interviewed!

Speaking of the BBQ, organised and run with military precision by Harriet (known to many who read the Jags ride report as ‘the noisy one’), with only a handful of burgers left at the end, she did a fab job on procurement too.

The event village had some interesting exhibits with all the supported charities turning out (TV Air Ambulance, Wycombe Homeless Connection, Windsor, Slough & Maidenhead Samaritans and AITC Bucks. Raffle tickets sold like hot cakes (or perhaps given the soaring temperatures, like ice creams!), thanks to our tireless hawkers, and to all the members that bought tickets/donated prizes!

After ride massages were provided courtesy of Horizon and were very well received. But possibly the most popular attraction was the Stolen Goat stand where you could snap up some bargain kit (and one Sportive Director, who is famously careful, procured enough new kit to see him through the next 5 years - allegedly).

Speaking of Sportive Directors - Colin has been on the RKR committee for every single edition of the event (this was our 11th!), and he’s still enthusiastic (despite currently recovering from a bout of COVID). A huge shout out to a few others that have been in the mix since the very beginning including, Jane Johnson, Sue Baretto, Jonathan, Andy Buick, Andy AS, Gill, Mark Smith, and Maurice.

The RKR Committee needs YOU!

This year a few committee members are standing down after doing their stint - so we’re looking to recruit some new blood, and new ideas. AT the moment we are planning to run the RKR next year, but only if we get a full committee and the support from our membership.

Don’t be shy, if you’d like to get involved in this fabulous event, just reply to this email, or speak to your ride leader on your next club ride.