As the outfits and trikes gathered at Hinwick this year it was evident that there were fewer outfits this year. The rain made an appearance as well (which was unusual as most people who know Elsie reckon God wouldn't dare rain on her parade).

There was the usual briefing from the chief marshal, then we lined up the outfits ready for the pupils. By the time our passengers were loaded for the run out the rain had stopped and we set off in convoy. The run to Wicksteed was fairly uneventful with the chief Marshall directing the solo marshals at the front, and his misus bringing up the rear in her car (complete with flashing light and caution sign).

Unfortunately Barrel Member Colin, with all his experience on all kinds of bikes, missed his footing while stopping traffic at the entrance to Wicksteed Park and dropped his bike, smashing an indicator and mirror but without injury to himself. The other marshals were quick to help him and soon we were all parked up unloading the kids.

Helen the pupil who had braved my (Mole's) sidecar was cold when she arrived so she was soon clad in a spare barrel fleece for the rest of the day.

The sidecar and solo riders were soon allocated pupils, some on foot and some in wheelchairs and we set off around the park for a while (Hinwick staff members were with every group to help look after the kids) and we soon ended up in the restaurant for lunch. Lasagne and salad was provided for all the pupils, riders and marshals, then we all took the kids around the park.

In our case the pupils with us were very disabled so we couldn't get them onto any of the rides but the more able bodied kids with us had a whale of a time going on the rides etc. Most of the riders managed to get a few rides in as well (with or without the Hinwick pupils) and we all tried to make it a very special day out.

Our group eventually wandered back up the park towards the train. The train has been partially modified to take wheelchairs but at present has no ramps so between us we man-handled two pupils in their chairs onto the train, while another was lifted out of his chair and onto a train seat. The train ride was magic due to the excited looks on the pupils faces as we went round, and once we had got them off of the train we pushed them back up the hill to the entrance area for a cup of tea.

It was soon time to head back to the bikes and the staff did their best to make sure we were given different passengers for the return journey. There were simply not enough trikes and outfits to go around so there were a few disappointed kids but the staff did there best to make sure the kids that couldn't go on many of the rides at least got to go in a sidecar. This meant some tricky handling on behalf of the staff and outfit riders to get the pupils out of wheelchairs and into sidecars but we were soon ready for the journey back.

The ride back was more eventful with one rider having difficulty with his passenger, and needing to stop to get help from the Hinwick staff. The problem was soon resolved and the marshals did an excellent job gluing the convoy back together. One ambulance driver then took a wrong turn through Rushton which caused more hassle for the marshals but they were soon rescued and everybody got back to Hinwick safely.

The staff at Hinwick provided an excellent buffet tea for all the riders and pupils and to the sound of the jet car warming up, half a mile away at the speed freaks ball, we ate our fill. Some of the more able-bodied pupils came out to thank us. and leaving a whole school full of very tired kids. we got ourselves ready for the journey home.

The whole day was an experience not to be missed, and the pupils were amazing to get to know. There were always trained staff there if anything went wrong or you needed help, and the whole event just seemed to come together without anyone telling anyone else what to do. Everyone just got on with the job in hand, and the atmosphere was magic.

If you can spare any time to come along with an outfit or trike to carry the kids and young adults, or a solo to help with quite the smoothest marshalling job I've ever seen please do. There is nothing to be scared of, just come along for the day (there is camping available the night before and after if you need it) and you'll have one of the most rewarding experiences you can have hanging around with a bunch of bikers. You'll really make a difference to the pupils you take out as well, the staff at Hinwick reckon that after the run, the kids are much more responsive and animated. In many cases they reckon we achieve more in a day than they can do in months for the pupils.

Mole