Big bikes and little bikes

This is bike week. It is your chance to channel your inner Victoria or Sir Chris, or in my case to make sure I give them plenty of room when I pass them in my car. Last week there were lots of cyclists on the A30. Are they all heading to John O' Groats?

Did you know that Hornby is making an electric velodrome? Put your bid in now as it will be THE Christmas gift in 2011. My brother explained it as Scaletrix for bikes (!) I tried to find out more on their website but couldn't see anything. It was from an item in Cycling News but see http://www.hornby.com/ to find out more.

I wonder if Lego will come up with cycling Playpeople and will they resemble any of the current stars in British Cycling?

I need sunshine

It is chilly and damp and the forecast for the week isn't much better. This could be the year that Devon Games to Inspire gets rained off.

The outdoor pitches can cope with the rain, but I am not sure how many of the kids can. I knew it was a mistake to put so much effort into Being Sunsafe.

Colleagues are now trying to work out how many things we can do indoors in the corridors of the Sports Centre. As we are talking about 1000 kids that will be interesting.

The latest news is that Ryan Scott, a London 2012 hopeful from Bristol, will be coming along to chat to the kids on Saturday. Last year he won a Commonwealth Gold in the 4 x 100m Relay race. I guess he is used to running in the rain.

Read more on the Relays South West Facebook page or on our website
www.universitiessouthwest.ac.uk/relays/

Get your t-shirts now

As part of the Devon Games to Inspire ,which takes place on June 18th, the young people taking part are given a coloured t-shirt. This identifies which part of the County they represent.

Our supplier tells us that t-shirts are in short supply globally, particularly some colours like magenta. Large and extra-large sizes are also difficult to source.

So, what's the reason for the short supply? Are more people in the world wearing them? Is it due to a cotton harvest failure? Is it just a story we are being given to stop us hassling the company?

Still, I'll look after my favourites more carefully from now on, just in case it is true.

Tickets anyone?

Three people have told me that money has been taken from their account, so they know they have got some tickets. I also heard from two that they haven't got anything

The fortunate ones are taking it well that they won't know what they have got for a couple of weeks, though one accepts it is unlikely to be the cycling. But what if it is? I will be jealous.

I was disappointed in the BBC Newsround coverage where kids were saying "It's not fair" or people complaining it was stupid system.

So what would your plan be? Speak up please. I guess it would be fair if they got tickets but others didn't...

I did like that London Mayor Boris Johnson wanted us to know he didn't get any tickets.

Yes, but he will be at the Opening and Closing Ceremonies and he won't be paying for those!

I am depending on VISA to let me win some. You will be the first to hear if I do!

Carrying the Torch

I have written two draft nominations for the Torch Relay. I need my nominees to agree of course.

There are other people I have mentioned this to and they said the same thing, "I am not inspirational". Well I think you are or I wouldn't have suggested it!

There are plenty of people in our communities who do things that keep life going for the rest of us. They fund raise for the local school and local charities. They give their time, like the the members of the Dartmoor Rescue Group or the RNLI. Teachers who encourage their students. All the people who run local clubs and sports facilities.

They inspire me and I am happy they are recognised in this way. Perhaps we should continue this after 2012?

Find out more at www.london2012.com

Torch Relay

The initial route was announced yesterday and my first thought was Oh No. Devon will get two nights of events and Cornwall isn't getting any.

I checked some local papers today though and they all seemed positive and are taking the view that Cornwall is the start and will get all the national coverage. Phew! I just hope the weather is better than it was yesterday when Lands End was shrouded in mist. Not the photos Visit Cornwall want!

TV coverage in the Bristol area was great, but more restrained here. You can watch it on our Facebook page at relays south west. It includes former Olympian Jason Gardener wearing a RELAYS t-shirt.

I am feeling uninspired

Do you know about the Inspire Mark for projects inspired by London 2012? Or about the Get Set network for schools? Well, I guess you are like all the people I meet who say "The What?".

I have just been online to get the form for the Inspire Mark. I was on five different pages to be told I need to contact the programmer. He left at the end of February and hasn't been replaced yet.

For schools to be eligible for competitions and free tickets they need to be registered with Get Set. It is clear that people are not understanding this judging by the list for Devon and Cornwall schools involved. It is also not clear how long it takes to get an approval. I now learn from a school I encouraged to complete the application that it took six weeks. People need to know this.

I know my way around the system and I can ask people who know the current information what to do, but the website needs to be really spot on.