To those who cut into the Dragon queue...

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Comments

  • alexjones5
    alexjones5 Posts: 42
    Cornerblock wrote:
    jet26 wrote:
    About time these condor riding dentists got off this forum and did some dentistry...

    Not sure I feel comfortable with all these anti - dentite comments. :)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ythrdCsOFJU

    Thanks for the support Cornerblock, don't worry about JET26, he's just sick of looking at my back wheel!!

    Anyone done the etape Cymru??
  • Krys
    Krys Posts: 51
    Not yet...but I have signed up. I'm determined to have a good ride in Wales this year! ;)
    My cycling blog: http://www.thecyclingmayor.com
  • dead sheep
    dead sheep Posts: 109
    Wakey, wakey, rise and shine. Get up and have a drink of some stong coffee!






    Audax!
  • etapecymru
    etapecymru Posts: 8
    Been directed here by a poster who emailed me directly (thanks Gethin) & probably setting myself up but am one of the organisers behind www.etape-cymru.co.uk the new major closed road event in N Wales on 9th October, 2011.

    I have done Dragon Ride for past 3 years (not this year) & have always found it v good and must state categorically that I do not have anything bad to say about the Dragon Ride.

    I am curious to know though- if not too cheeky to take peoples time - what are the 5 main gripes in order that people have about the organisation of sportives in general

    ie is it lack of parking, toilets, waiting at start line, feedstations, after ride food etc

    Any suggestions to resolve the gripes would be interested to see.

    I will post this on other threads as well.

    Many thanks in advance
  • dbg
    dbg Posts: 846
    My biggest gripe re: the Dragon Ride is lack of vfm oh hang on your event is £65!!!!!
    :D
  • Gazzaputt
    Gazzaputt Posts: 3,227
    For me biggest gripes are no thought put into feed stations and it is nice to have good food provided after the event.

    Circuit of Kent has great food after the event with large filled baguettes , cakes, soup with coffee and tea.

    Downlands Cycles feed stations have a savory option at the last feed station with cheese or ham rolls to. Levely cakes at the finish

    Nice to see properly diluted energy drink as well.

    Personally not bothered with goody bags.

    For £65 I'd want an impeccable event.
  • rdt
    rdt Posts: 869
    dbg wrote:
    My biggest gripe re: the Dragon Ride is lack of vfm oh hang on your event is £65!!!!!
    :D

    - The USP seems to be closed roads, but the price (£65) is ridiculous.
    - The "freebies" (inc. gilet with an alleged rrp of £25) are pointless and wasteful - almost everyone riding such an event will already have all the gear they need. We all know that they didn't cost you £25, and whatever modest amount they did cost you has been added to the entry cost; in short, we're better positioned to choose how to spend a few quid on bike stuff for ourselves than to have event organisers attempt to did it for us, padding the entry fee.
    - Entries are supposedly not transferable, which for a £65 ticket seems "harsh".
    - Use of the name "etape" evokes the real etape, but only 6000 feet of climbing in 100 miles doesn't cut it IMO.

    One final thing: it's the "Etape Cymru", but there doesn't appear to be a Welsh language version of the website, which is a bit poor. Welsh is the 1st language of my other half and her family, so I've been trained to think of these things :lol:

    IHTH
  • etapecymru
    etapecymru Posts: 8
    interesting comments!!

    Again, fully understand some people don't wish to get goody bags but if we didn't give them out we'd get even more grief!

    With regards price, just to note the main costs associated with the event relate to the cost of road closures, to name but a few: marshalls, police, highway dept, traffic management services, signage (pre event & event), road clearance, h&s assessments....

    To get to this point has taken several of us nearly 6 months of full time work liaising with all the different local council departments, national government, British Cycling etc. Unfortunately in this country there just isn't the tradition of closed roads and so it's an uphill battle to persuade people of the benefits.

    Again - just giving some facts on the situation. Main thing was just wanted to find out what people view as the biggest areas of gripes in sportive market in general (again my experiences in previous years of the Dragon ride has been nothing but positive) & to give people a chance to comment on solutions....

    Many thanks again

    PS £65 also includes a British cycling RIde Membership worth £24 (£53 if already a BC member)
  • P_Tucker
    P_Tucker Posts: 1,878
    dbg wrote:
    My biggest gripe re: the Dragon Ride is lack of vfm oh hang on your event is £65!!!!!
    :D

    Jesus wept. Still, I suppose dentists need to spend their money on something.
  • alexjones5
    alexjones5 Posts: 42
    Yes, that's right and I, along with 6 friends have entered and are looking forward to it.
    The great plus is riding on closed roads as stated by the organiser.
    As for the dementor sucking the fun out of everything for everyone he'll be out riding on his own somewhere.
    Good luck with the event, I for one am looking forward to it
  • dbg
    dbg Posts: 846
    You and your 6 mates are clearly considerably wealthier than me. Of course you do realise on those roads at that time of year you'd think they were closed anyway :D
  • Pseudonym
    Pseudonym Posts: 1,032
    dbg wrote:
    Of course you do realise on those roads at that time of year you'd think they were closed anyway :D

    this is true.. ;)
  • bendertherobot
    bendertherobot Posts: 11,684
    edited June 2011
    dead sheep wrote:
    Wakey, wakey, rise and shine. Get up and have a drink of some stong coffee!






    Audax!

    Mrs won't let me grow a beard. So can't enter, sorry.
    My blog: http://www.roubaixcycling.cc (kit reviews and other musings)
    https://twitter.com/roubaixcc
    Facebook? No. Just say no.
  • rdt
    rdt Posts: 869
    bendertherobot wrote:
    dead sheep wrote:
    Wakey, wakey, rise and shine. Get up and have a drink of some stong coffee!
    Audax!

    Mrs won't let me grow a beard. So can't enter, sorry.
    Worse still, despite being bearded, SPD-sandalled and panniered up, he (or quite possibly she) will still sail past you. :shock:

    Having said that, on the last one I rode there was a fella (non-bearded, non-dentist) with a £3k+ Lightweight wheelset and frame priced to match, so shockingly, even non-stereotypes can enter...
  • Redhog14
    Redhog14 Posts: 1,377
    Etape cymru: the price put me off, I did the Etape Caledonia and all aspects (including the road sweeping) were very well organised, I too have a background in event managementand understand the logistics but have to agree that I don't need the memberships or gillet and just want to ride on closed roads. G very disappointed to hear the dragon ride was so poor. Good luck to you.
    @surroundedbh
  • bendertherobot
    bendertherobot Posts: 11,684
    rdt wrote:
    bendertherobot wrote:
    dead sheep wrote:
    Wakey, wakey, rise and shine. Get up and have a drink of some stong coffee!
    Audax!

    Mrs won't let me grow a beard. So can't enter, sorry.
    Worse still, despite being bearded, SPD-sandalled and panniered up, he (or quite possibly she) will still sail past you. :shock:

    Having said that, on the last one I rode there was a fella (non-bearded, non-dentist) with a £3k+ Lightweight wheelset and frame priced to match, so shockingly, even non-stereotypes can enter...

    I averaged 17mph for the 200k of the Dragon so I'd hope I'd be ok!
    My blog: http://www.roubaixcycling.cc (kit reviews and other musings)
    https://twitter.com/roubaixcc
    Facebook? No. Just say no.
  • Ron Stuart
    Ron Stuart Posts: 1,242
    etapecymru wrote:
    Been directed here by a poster who emailed me directly (thanks Gethin) & probably setting myself up but am one of the organisers behind www.etape-cymru.co.uk the new major closed road event in N Wales on 9th October, 2011.

    I have done Dragon Ride for past 3 years (not this year) & have always found it v good and must state categorically that I do not have anything bad to say about the Dragon Ride.

    I am curious to know though- if not too cheeky to take peoples time - what are the 5 main gripes in order that people have about the organisation of sportives in general

    ie is it lack of parking, toilets, waiting at start line, feedstations, after ride food etc

    Any suggestions to resolve the gripes would be interested to see.

    I will post this on other threads as well.

    Many thanks in advance

    This was nearly a good advert for your over priced dangerous sportive later in the year but you killed it here by the "I do not have anything bad to say about the Dragon Ride" tag.

    We are not amused :lol:
  • Swansea_Dave
    Swansea_Dave Posts: 73
    etapecymru wrote:
    Been directed here by a poster who emailed me directly (thanks Gethin) & probably setting myself up but am one of the organisers behind www.etape-cymru.co.uk the new major closed road event in N Wales on 9th October, 2011.

    I have done Dragon Ride for past 3 years (not this year) & have always found it v good and must state categorically that I do not have anything bad to say about the Dragon Ride.

    I am curious to know though- if not too cheeky to take peoples time - what are the 5 main gripes in order that people have about the organisation of sportives in general

    ie is it lack of parking, toilets, waiting at start line, feedstations, after ride food etc

    Any suggestions to resolve the gripes would be interested to see.

    I will post this on other threads as well.

    Many thanks in advance

    The only issues that I had with the Dragon Ride were at the start. The delays were unacceptable (and I managed to get off at a semi-reasonable 9.15am). Once underway I had a great time and was very happy with the feed stations, etc. If I had missed the 200km cut-off time on the Bwlch, as seemed to happen to quite a few people due to a delayed start, I would have been spitting mad.
  • petemadoc
    petemadoc Posts: 2,331
    etapecymru wrote:
    Been directed here by a poster who emailed me directly (thanks Gethin) & probably setting myself up but am one of the organisers behind www.etape-cymru.co.uk the new major closed road event in N Wales on 9th October, 2011.

    I have done Dragon Ride for past 3 years (not this year) & have always found it v good and must state categorically that I do not have anything bad to say about the Dragon Ride.

    I am curious to know though- if not too cheeky to take peoples time - what are the 5 main gripes in order that people have about the organisation of sportives in general

    ie is it lack of parking, toilets, waiting at start line, feedstations, after ride food etc

    Any suggestions to resolve the gripes would be interested to see.

    I will post this on other threads as well.

    Many thanks in advance

    First I think it's great that you've come on here to ask people's opinions, more than most would do.

    Waiting at the start seems to be a general problem with big UK sportives, however you're setting yourself up for a mass start which will probably present it's own problems. Basically you don't want to be hanging around for 1hr + in your cycling kit which is inadequate for standing around in the morning cold.

    The price of your sportive is high but with the closed roads I think it could be justified . . . . if it's run smoothly (good luck with that). The thing that has really put me off is the date, October isn't known for it's fine weather and I don't fancy paying £65 to ride around in the rain. UK weather is unpredictable at the best of times, but October! I'm still undecided weather to ride this one or not, if it was in Early Sept I'd have probably booked it by now.

    Litter - You usually get a letter from with your pack and timing chip so why not just "remind" people that littering is a criminal offence, it's disgusting, don't do it!

    There will always be complainers and moaners but if you pull this off It'll be a great advert for cycling in Wales! Good luck
  • holker
    holker Posts: 88
    Why would anyone want to pay a load of money to hang around in a car park with next to no toilet facilities in order to cycle on public roads which are open 24/7 and free to use? Makes no sense.
  • garetjax
    garetjax Posts: 175
    I have only done just two road sportives, but waiting in a queue seems to be a persistent problem with these road sportives. I have done many mountain bike events and they never seem to have this problem, even though in some cases we (2-4 thousand of us) are started en masse, sometimes onto a main road as in the Ruthin Merida.

    Why the need for timings in these events? This seems to be the cause of a long queue at the start if it's not organised correctly (as at the Cheshire Cat).

    I was thinking of doing the Dragon next year but, well, maybe not.
  • Ron Stuart
    Ron Stuart Posts: 1,242
    holker wrote:
    Why would anyone want to pay a load of money to hang around in a car park with next to no toilet facilities in order to cycle on public roads which are open 24/7 and free to use? Makes no sense.

    Unfortunately my friend there is a whole lot of stuff that people do that makes very little sense. :wink:
  • applebrown
    applebrown Posts: 7
    So,why would you want to consume gels from as little as 5 miles into the event.Suggest the idiots who did and then chucked the wrappers on the roadside need educating in proper hydration and care of the countryside..
    On most european events they have acode of conduct for this problem of which we volunteer to sign up too..
    The most rubbish ive seen on any event,probably sums up the dragon ride!!!

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