Ride the North thanks 'community-spirited' residents of Huntly and surrounding areas
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ORGANISERS of Ride the North have thanked the 'community-spirited' residents of Huntly and surrounding villages for their help in making the event a success.
The cycling event, which took place on Saturday, August 26, started and finished in Huntly – travelling through Rothiemay, Insch, Rhynie, Kennethmont, Cabrach, Dufftown, Keith and more.
A social media post from Ride the North said: "Saturday's event was possible because so many community-spirited people got involved and helped make it happen.
"A big thank you to the communities/community groups involved who welcomed cyclists. There is an awful lot of food preparation that happens ahead of the event.
"In the early days of Ride the North, I was a little unsure of the reaction I'd get from people who found themselves on the route. I'd perhaps been influenced by media/social media reports that people didn't much like cyclists.
"People, I have learned, are very, very largely absolutely lovely. If nothing else, Ride the North is a triumph of community spirit and I'm hugely grateful for all the very kind people who step forward to get involved."
Residents in all villages were thanked for putting up signage; providing bike fix solutions; providing medical aid; marshalling and riding the course – and more.
The committee of the King George V Memorial Playing Fields in Rothiemay, one of the event's checkpoints, was also keen to thank people for their generosity in helping the event run smoothly.
"Thank you to all those involved in setting up a fantastic event," Ian Aitchison, vice chairman, said. "We hope that we can repeat this again next year.
"Honourable mentions to our chairman Neil Johnson, who did a 15-hour day on Saturday to keep things running smoothly, David Buntrock for being chef extraordinaire at the barbecue fires, Senga Buntrock and Hazel for towering up burgers.
"Donations of £515 were given by the riders for the playing fields, which was greatly appreciated.
"A big thank you to Tesco Huntly and Tesco Keith for supplying hot dogs, burgers and rolls, without them we couldn’t have done it.
"Thanks also to all the villagers who threw themselves into this event, and last but by no means least the cyclists who were all looking forward to getting back to Huntly to complete their run."
Rhynie SWI also added their thanks to people who helped. "We would like to thanks all who gave up their time to cater for around 1000 cyclists," the group said.
"We appreciate the team effort and hard work required to make this possible and are very grateful to the gentlemen who assisted us.
"Thanks to members and volunteers who helped barbecue, prepare and serve food, the ladies who stamped the cyclists' cards and to those who provided lovely home bakes."
