Well we were in the London last week to see a bit of London, but also to attend a volunteer briefing for the Tour de France. Volunteering for these big events can be a good thing as you can get close to the action and it is generally a big thing to be a part of. rr
The co organisers of the Tour while it is in London is ‘Transport for London’. Their role in general is to assist in improving the transportation around London. They try and encourage people to use the public transport system and bicycles rather than their private cars. This is a good objective and one that should be encouraged in all major cities.
So we were given the run down on what our role would be on the day that we volunteer to marshal the crowds. We essentially would attempt to keep people off the course until all the official tour vehicles had passed that follow the bikes along the route and also while the advertising caravan goes past. So we would be standing and assisting the event for much of the day starting at mid morning.
Now … I know you volunteer to be part of the event, but you also do it for the benefits too. I hear you say no you don’t but you do. We all do. For our trouble we get a backpack with a bottle of water, a hat and a bright orange safety bib so people can see us in a crowd. We don’t get anything else out of the event. No special pass to the tdf village or a something like that. We don’t even get free travel to the event that we are assisting in. For an organisation that is promoting public transport this is wrong. Especially when someone specifically asked about parking space for the volunteers. At this point they should have said .. “oh don’t worry about parking … You can get public transport in for free!!!” But alas this was not said.
Even at a Club event that I am part of in Australia, we provide the volunteers with whatever we can so that they are happy to come back and assist us again next time we have an event. We will provide them with a ticket that entitles them to lunch (ok it isn’t a four course lunch but it is lunch), if they have used their vehicle on the course of the event, we give them petrol money, and sometimes a little extra. This is a club that runs on the smell of an oily rag as far as finances go with the only source of funds entry fees from the clubs weekly racing.
Will I be doing it still? Not sure but yes I still want to be there in London and at the finish line at Kent …
