A successful event takes a lot of effort. In this column, organiser of fun Antony De Hev’ has some top tips to tick off people like him
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By mragreeable
Get the full story here:
https://singletrackworld.com/2016/10/11-ways-to-annoy-an-event-organiser/
Spot on 🙂
Great article, so many people in modern society expect so much but are prepared to put in so little!
Funny but oh so true. I'm guilty of weather watching before entering. Sorry.
Mr Wilsons Second Liners - LEGENDS!!! 🙂
Things I've loved over the years -
Complaining that there's no singlespeed/grand vets/fatbike/cyclocross bike/etc category. Turn up with a stupid bike by all means but don;t expect your own race-within-a-race just because you're shit/really old and you've brought a ready-made excuse for being shit.
Or just complaining that cyclocross bikes aren't allowed in your mountain bike race.
The guy who sends about a million emails demanding numerous minor changes to his and his team-mates' entry details, just because you're a team of apparently illiterate nitwits.
Screaming in the organiser's face that the race "MUST BE STOPPED!!" because several people have crashed at a super-slippery bombhole survival-is-a-lottery section of the course (thanks a million, screaming-in-my-face woman, Hit the North 1, 2008)
She was right that bomb hole was carnage 🙂
give over. Only 70% of the riders crashed. On every lap....
Brilliant
That's brill.
I organised the North Pennines MTB Marathon a couple of years ago as an intended fundraiser for the Tyne Valley MTB Club. The cost was a major challenge, I was determined to get it no more than £25 entry fee to keep the appeal open. To which end, we broke even with about 120 entries.
Almost everyone enjoyed it, despite the weather and I'm sure most of them, and more , would love to come back.
Unfortunately the land owners increased the land access fee whilst simultaneously limiting the maximum number of entries making the event a complete non-runner. Kudos to Red Bull for managing to host the womens Foxhunt in the same area the other week.
One dick head at HTN had his gazeebo blow away and put a dent in somebody's car. He asked if he could claim on my insurance.
Great article - just a few points though:
1. It was a bit too long
2. One or two of the pictures spoiled the flow of the text
3. I think you should have given us more notice that this was being published
4. and I think this would have been better suited over on MBR
Umm, Tim, who's the mysterious "us" that I should be notifying when I've written another column? Is there a secret fan club out there?
I do hope my little joke wasn't lost on you Mr Agreeable?
Genuinely nonplussed mate. Although it wouldn't be the first time.
er??? Maybe my jokes weren't funny or too subtle.
I thought it was a good piece - spot on.
Refuse to start your section because there might be someone on course and you had to overtake someone on the last section, and you, being so totally awesome and rad deserve to the have the whole course to yourself on account of all your special.
Don't look for signs, then when you've found out you've gone wrong, rather than following the Marshall's instructions that would easily get you back on course and starting the next section, just make your way round the course swearing at every single race official you encounter.
ahhhh. I feel better after that.
Mr Agreeable? More like Mr Literal!
I got it Welshtim.
Good article.
"give over. Only 70% of the riders crashed. On every lap…."
meets the definition of "rideable" then perfectly legal
moaning about the 40 mins from last rider in to process verify and check the results for 10 categories with a near 100% success record over 25 events
not laughing at the organisers "jokes" as he does the rider briefing even if it's the same joke every time
turning up for the novice category more than once with sun tanned shaved legs, smart lycra and a Rapha cap
Send lots of illiterate emails from your phone querying Very Obvious Things - all of which are answered on the FAQ.
Demand a full refund because you had a cold.
Ask for free entry next year because you didn't turn up.
Ask for a refund several months after all profits have been giving to charity. Think of the suffering little children.
Email the organisers on the morning of the race asking if it's still on/where to park/what the weather's like.
Use someone else's number missing the small detail that you are the wrong gender.
Can I have a new number - I moved house and didn't tell anyone/split up with my girlfriend/fell out with my club and don't want their name on my entry
My favourite - grumpy small print type 'Why aren't you insured!? I'm a lawyer you know!' ...turns out he'd entered under false pretences claiming a discount he wasn't eligible for.
Stever, I honestly thought there wasn't much I could add to this article, then you lay a whole part 2 on us. Bravo.
Yes, spot on. On the cost issue, quite frankly I don't know how MTB event organisers do it. Road events cost **much** more. Everything else - yeah, I enter events to have fun, which I do (even at the Passchendaele-without-the-machine-guns events, at least in retrospect) so why can't people who don't enjoy them just stay away? It's a free(ish) country...
Mr Agreeable - happy to help. I merely stand on the shoulders of giants 😉