Sponsoring?

freehub

Hi.

Well may next year I intend on cycling across France, from Calais to the Pyrenees, around 100 miles a day, now it's going to cost me allot, 500+ quid, I'm going to be doing it with a group of about 12 others, I've got some donations from family/friends, the only thing that's stop me from doing it is if on that specific week I'd have an exam, which I hope not as I really would love to do this.

With sponsoring though, I assume you obviously get money depending on how you get sponsored, but does it not all go to charity? Could I not go to a company and say, I'll wear your logo for cash?

I'm just curious if sponsoring is something I should look into, hopefully I might have a job that will help me save up / use abit of student loan.

Thanks
Will.

acidstrato

companies only sponsor people (use that term loosely) to get recognition for their brand, so that some kid turns to his old man for example and says he wants a pair of nike gloves cos if lance wears them they must be good. Companies want to be associated with winners and on some very frequent occasions, good humanity but if theres no recognition on their behalf. why bother?

it makes little sense for a company to sponsor an unknown doing any old willy nilly ride that him and his mates fancy doin.

by all means try, good luck with that

personally i love your statement "I'll wear your logo for cash?" you expecting the free clothing range as well. Might as well try and get a bike + unlimited tubes/tyres too!

rjh299

Can't see many companies/people sponsoring you to do a ride with your mates but you may get lucky. I got given £250 from Jewsons a few years ago for a football tour/taining week in Spain with the college. You can only ask! If it were for charity you might get more success but then you'd still need to pay out for yourself, because you 'can't' spend the charity money.

El Gordo

rjh299 wrote:

I got given £250 from Jewsons a few years ago for a football tour/taining week in Spain with the college.

Which may not have got Jewson's much publicity at the time but then a few years later you post on a forum telling a few hundred people how nice Jewson's are and how they encourage kids sports etc. and some of those people might just go and buy some timber from them next time.

I can't imagine any company giving money to a few people doing an easy ride in Europe but you can but ask.

tatanab

The way I read this is that you want other people to pay for your holiday. I don't regard this as sponsorship in the sense that a sponsor pays you to accomplish some feat on behalf of charity. Also, a company is extremely unlikely to to give you cash to wear a T shirt with their logo, even if you are an employee. So my blunt answer is - you want a holiday then you pay for it.

rjh299

El Gordo wrote:

rjh299 wrote:

I got given £250 from Jewsons a few years ago for a football tour/taining week in Spain with the college.

Which may not have got Jewson's much publicity at the time but then a few years later you post on a forum telling a few hundred people how nice Jewson's are and how they encourage kids sports etc. and some of those people might just go and buy some timber from them next time.

I can't imagine any company giving money to a few people doing an easy ride in Europe but you can but ask.

So do you reckon it's worth going back asking for some more because of raising their profile?

freehub

I'd hardly class going across France on a pedal bike doing 100 or more miles a day for a week a holiday. I am going to pay it myself/ maybe abit of help from family and friends and there is nothing wrong with that tbh, I just thought I'd ask about the sponsorship, clearly it's not an option.


Thanks
Will.

amaferanga

freehub wrote:

I'd hardly class going across France on a pedal bike doing 100 or more miles a day for a week a holiday. I am going to pay it myself/ maybe abit of help from family and friends and there is nothing wrong with that tbh, I just thought I'd ask about the sponsorship, clearly it's not an option.


Thanks
Will.

Would you do this without being paid/sponsored? If so then it is a holiday.

freehub

I'd cycle to Tan Hill in the dales and back clocking up 170+ miles without being paid/sponsored, so that's a holiday too?

amaferanga

If you stopped overnight at Tan Hill then yes. You're going to France to ride your bike (something you obviously enjoy doing) - how can you not consider that to be a holiday? I did LEJOG earlier this year (not for charity) in 5 days so I was cycling 175 miles/day. May not be a conventional holiday, but it was still a holiday....

GavH

+1 on the fact it's a holiday.

+1 also on the idea that no company is going to sponsor you in order to cover your costs. Now if the money was for charity that's be different. That would be a charitable donation on their part and has tax implications for them.