I am. Looking forward to it.

aye, likewise. should be a cracker. Mind, it’s got to go some to beat the Burgess Hill Classic this weekend for quality…

Let’s hope the waymarkers don’t get pinched this year.

you doing it Rich?

Not this year. Too much winter road riding is done on those roads to make it attarctive. Enjoy it, though, especially Mow cop and Swiss Hill.

you doing it Rich?

Nope. Did it last year. Organisation considering the entry price was shabby.

If you know anyone who needs an entry let me know. I cant do it now.

yup, doing the 100 mile one and dreading it , not done enough training, to fat , etc , etc

Nope not this year, I also wasn’t impressed with the organisation last year.

what were the problems last year?

what were the problems last year?

Several of the waymarkers were pinched, and loads of people got lost. I emailed the organiser after and he didn’t really seem to think it was his fault. Sort of $hit happens attitude. Oh, and apparently the same happened with the waymarkers the year before.

Considering the number of entrants and the ticket price, a marshall on every corner wouldn’t have been a bad idea if it had happened before.

Or is it all about maximum profit for the least possible effort?

He’ll never see another penny of my money.

andyfla – don’t forget a couple of spare tubes…….

I will, as I know what happens when you borrow one off strangers

Should have listened to MrsFla about meeting up with people you meet on t’internet…..

apparently the same happened with the waymarkers the year before

Correct. My first ever proper long road ride, and it was extended by about 20 miles….

oh goody

Not me.

Like OMITN, all the good stuff is local to me. No point driving halfway across Cheshire to ride home, ride out again and then drive home.

As well as Swiss Hill and Mow Cop other treats include Wincle, Macc Forest and Ewrin Lane.

Take it easy on the descent to Lamaload too – some chap had a bad crash there on Friday: http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12611566&start=40 – it’s fast and narrow and before you know it you’re into a couple of bends with no grip (the road there is always wet and gravelly)

Should have listened to MrsFla about meeting up with people you meet on t’internet…..

it was the lycra bit I didnt listen to properly

i’m doing it; any locals have tips about the climbs? Did my first one this year a couple of weeks ago, with fairly poor preparation so some local knowledge would be good!

Considering the number of entrants and the ticket price, a marshall on every corner wouldn’t have been a bad idea if it had happened before.

On a 100 mile course? Where do you think all these marshals will come from? Regardless of ticket price, being able to mobilise a small army of folks willing to give up their day to stand on a grass verge in a tabard, is not always a possibility for an organiser. Manpower is often one of the most difficult requirements to fulfill at an event of this size.

Having said that, there are ways to avoid missing markers. We have motorbike pre riders and a roving van on our sportive courses; you can’t completely avoid signs going walkabout, but you can often catch the problem before the riders do, or react to any reports quickly mid event.

i’m doing it; any locals have tips about the climbs?

What do you want to know?

Mow Cop is brutal – it’s not called the ‘Killer Mile’ for nothing
Wincle is long, straight(ish)
Macc Forest is long, narrow and saves the worst for last.
Ewrin Lane is short, twisty, steep (also known as Dead Man’s Lane) and has been resurfaced – it’s a favourite of mine ‘cos it’s downhill all the way to my house from there.

Swiss Hill is a real treat – cobbled, steep, twisty, off-camber – it’s a technique climb. Just hope the rider in front of you doesn’t fluff it.

£28 for a reliability ride with a website sounds like an awful lot to me.

On a 100 mile course? Where do you think all these marshals will come from? Regardless of ticket price, being able to mobilise a small army of folks willing to give up their day to stand on a grass verge in a tabard, is not always a possibility for an organiser.

1600 entries at £28 a go. Just short of £45,000

Pay the marshalls to do the job.

£28 to go out and ride 100 miles?

Twenty eight pooooonds?

Christ on a bike, why not just get up on sunday, get the train to somewhere 100 miles from home and ride back?

Or sit down with a map and work out your own route?

Or talk to your local bike club?

I don’t get it at all; why would you pay that much to ride on roads you can ride on any day of the week for free?

I’ve since done a couple of Audaxes that have websites, map and gps downloads. No marshalls, cost £5, and when we got to the finish we were refunded £1.50 because they hadn’t provided “free” tea and cakes.

£28 = pure greed.

richpips – Member

I’ve since done a couple of Audaxes that have websites, map and gps downloads. No marshalls, cost £5, and when we got to the finish we were refunded £1.50 because they hadn’t provided “free” tea and cakes.

£28 = pure greed.

So your idea of a reasonable amount to pay for a day out is £3.50. Your missus is a lucky, lucky woman.

😉

I wasn’t fast enough for the stolen signs to be a problem but I went the wrong way earlier as there were long long stretches with no signs! I emailed and was told that it is hard to get lots of signs up in the country lanes – odd the merdia marathons manage it off road! I also thought the lack of organised parking was a problem, no word to the residents before the event either, just lots of cyclists parking on their roads. But the big thing for me was the big lecture about not urinating in public at the start, getting the first feed station queuing 15mins to use the only toilet and then the guy who shut the door for me was shouted at as they were running a hose from the tap so it stopped the water supply.

I did enjoy the course though!

I’m so glad I entered 😯

terrahawk I’m doing it so you won’t be lost on your own

I think there’s 1598 ripped-off unhappy punters besides us!

£28 = pure greed

Yes definitely. Ive done a few Sportives (inc a few biggies like the Fred Whitton Challenge) and the only one I felt “worth it” was the Three Counties Challenge which I did in 2006 after the Three Peaks CX was cancelled.
I’d spend the same amount of money on a normal ride with a cafe stop or two, I no longer feel the need to get a certificate to prove I’ve ridden 100 miles. The best “organised” ride of that sort is actually the Dunwich Dynamo, a 200km night ride from London out to the Suffolk coast. Barely organised, it’s a turn-up-and-go event starting at a pub in East London. £1 buys you a route guide, a few quid for a mid-ride food stop in a village hall plus a few quid more for the cafe at the end.

I might head out to Mow Cop to watch the carnage though, should be interesting!

Was ace that. Cracking weather. But yeah, overpriced. Still, good to get to know a new area. Certainly won’t be paying that entry fee next year but sure I will ride that route again some time. No problems with signs however, and that Mow Cop wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

These things do cost a lot to put on, for some examples:
Timing chips – I’m just in the process of buying a system for an organisation I’m involved with – the transponders are £85 each and the rest of the system costs about £8,000 – these usually have to be paid for somehow, as most sportive riders expect timing and results out that night.
HQ hire costs a fair bit, unless you’re hapy to meet in a layby somewhere.
Negotiations with the Police and LA take time.
When I used to help with the Archer GP, I used to end up driving about 700-800 miles just to recce the course, then putting the signage out, then driving round to check the signage in the morning then taking food bags out to all the marshaling posts, then driving round again to meet all the marshals and to check that they’d actually turned up, then after the race had gone through driving round again to pick up the signs and the rubbish, and then taking it back to the storage unit – oh and I didn’t get any money for it.
In the end if you don’t like paying for it then don’t, things will sort themselves out in the end.