Stoke on Trent Tour Ride - Worth £30?
guttertrash
Posts: 147
Was thinking about entering my first sportive, and spotted this one but was thinking that £30 entry fee is a bit steep.
Anyone done this before? What do you get for your £30?
http://tourride.co.uk/stoke-on-trent-challenge-ride.asp
Anyone done this before? What do you get for your £30?
http://tourride.co.uk/stoke-on-trent-challenge-ride.asp
Ribble New Sportive
Specialized Pitch Pro
Specialized Pitch Pro
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Comments
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They claim to provide:
- a goodie bag
- food stations
- timing chips
- pre-evening pasta meal
You can reasonably assume that the route will be waymarked. Nothing is said about showers or changing facilities. To me it looks like an expensive day out for riding along a fairly mediocre route.
If you can't be bothered with timing chips or the guff in the goodie bag, I would recommend that you turn up on the day and ride the public highway for free. Otherwise find an audax nearby at less than a quarter of the cost.0 -
I did it last year. It was the best stocked sportive that I have done, with plenty of mule bars/energy drinks/food at feed stations. Signage was good with good motorcycle support and broomwagon. Pasta meal at the finish was welcomed. All in all I'd say it was a good price compared to other sportives.0
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It is supposed to be raising money for the Prostate charity.
Now I've no idea how much of that £30 goes to the charity, but it's not all going into an organiser's pocket like some sportives.0 -
weapons wrote:I did it last year. It was the best stocked sportive that I have done, with plenty of mule bars/energy drinks/food at feed stations. Signage was good with good motorcycle support and broomwagon. Pasta meal at the finish was welcomed. All in all I'd say it was a good price compared to other sportives.
Seconded. Was my first Sportive and best value of the dozen or so i've now done. Brilliantly organised, great food and goody bag and for "charidy" too.
inspired me to develop cycling as a serious hobby. I'll be doing it this year for sure.0 -
weapons wrote:I did it last year. It was the best stocked sportive that I have done, with plenty of mule bars/energy drinks/food at feed stations. Signage was good with good motorcycle support and broomwagon. Pasta meal at the finish was welcomed. All in all I'd say it was a good price compared to other sportives.
+3
I did it last year as my first sportive (only started cycling because of it) and loved it, already signed up for this years and am attempting the pro ride, which should be fun :S0 -
+1 I think pro ride is too steep..
Will just do the route and make a good day ride out of it with 2 caf stops !!0 -
weapons wrote:I did it last year. It was the best stocked sportive that I have done, with plenty of mule bars/energy drinks/food at feed stations. Signage was good with good motorcycle support and broomwagon. Pasta meal at the finish was welcomed. All in all I'd say it was a good price compared to other sportives.
I would say way overpriced. The Richmond 5 Dales provides all of the above for £15. Even throws in a ride up Fleet Moss and Park Rash for free!
Crediamo in te, bici!
My Bikes.0 -
Probably cheaper to purchase your own gel bars for a couple of quid and follow the route on the day. Otherwise it is too expensive.0
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me and my mates did the stoke tour ride last year and had a great day of it.
The food before during and after was excellent and everything was well organised.
Motorbike marshalls were in plenty and even handed out free inner tubes if you had a puncture. There are mechanics at the feed stations and the route is good too.
Ok it helps that I live in stoke and know the area, but we are still going to do it again this year.
Food is provided by M& S this year, dont know if that a good or bad thing as far a cycling nutrition go.
Trojan_House
we are also planning on doing this event as well next month, not forgetting The Brian Rourke Cat and Fiddle later in the year
Simon0 -
M&S?
The pro ride tho' is 40quid
http://tourride.co.uk/stoke-on-trent-pro-ride.asp
.. now that is on the steep side, you have to admit, charity or no charity0 -
JGSI wrote:M&S?
The pro ride tho' is 40quid
http://tourride.co.uk/stoke-on-trent-pro-ride.asp
.. now that is on the steep side, you have to admit, charity or no charity
Marks and Spencers0 -
just checkin' ... 30 for 80 miles is ball park, but 80 mile is not such a challenge as I often do rides up to that length, but 100 + miles are always a bit more thought provoking as they tend to put you in that 'place' where you actually do need the food. 0 -
Too expensive for me.0
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40 quid is too much for me, if you're in the Stoke area theres:
http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/events/ New Geoff Thomas charity one, starting in Congleton, 28th August covers some of the same climbs / £25
And the Brian Rourke one http://www.cftrust.org.uk/help/events/catandfiddle , though thats more of a fun event, 3rd October /£150 -
No denying it is expensive compared to some other sportives but we really pull out all the stops to make it a great event. Like Trojan_House and stokey1964 say there are lots of benefits on the route not least the neutral service and the barriers and gantries of the Tour of Britain at the start and finish.
The reason for the cost is because the event is raising money for The Prostate Cancer Charity - it is a charity event. The whole registration fee goes there. There are no minimum sponsorship fees to raise like some other events and so the entry fee is higher.
We have had a great response so far and raised nearly £300,000 last year so thank you to everyone who has supported us
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Tour Ride Steve wrote:The reason for the cost is because the event is raising money for The Prostate Cancer Charity - it is a charity event. The whole registration fee goes there. There are no minimum sponsorship fees to raise like some other events and so the entry fee is higher.
That is reassuring. People's reluctance to enter events including those related to charities relates to the dubious activities. Some purport to be raising monies for charity be in reality this either seed-corn or a designated beneficiary for riders seeking to raise extra cash. In other words, little or no money goes to charity from the registration fee.
In this instance it appears to be a genuine charitable effort. Thanks for guidance, Steve.0 -
Steve GT wrote:weapons wrote:I did it last year. It was the best stocked sportive that I have done, with plenty of mule bars/energy drinks/food at feed stations. Signage was good with good motorcycle support and broomwagon. Pasta meal at the finish was welcomed. All in all I'd say it was a good price compared to other sportives.
I would say way overpriced. The Richmond 5 Dales provides all of the above for £15. Even throws in a ride up Fleet Moss and Park Rash for free!
Many would have paid for a £30 option that let you do it without going up Fleet Moss and Park Rash Faster than a tent.......0 -
Philip Whiteman wrote:Too expensive for me.
My response is now rescinded knowing that surplus funds are going to a charitable cause rather than a pocket lining.
Well done to the organisers for being transparent. I just wish others would follow your example.
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In my opinion it was the best sportive by far. Great organisation, feed stations and the route was amazing, it was a really good atmosphere. I did the pro ride and it was £40. EXPENSIVE but really good day out.0
