Bike events rides - be prepared

brianonyx
brianonyx Posts: 170
edited June 2012 in Sportives/audaxes/training rides
I quite like the bike events rides - cheap and cheerful but with good signage and nice routes.

However - I did the Essex Countryside ride on Sunday and the latest articles about rip off charity rides really struck home.

I understand how you might have to pay for food at stops separately - and on a 60 mile ride it isn't really that important. You could though, reasonably, expect at least water at the 'refreshment' stops.

On Sunday's ride all the 'refreshment' stops were just a sign in a pub car park. That was it. If you wanted any liquid you had to go into the pub and sort something out. One pub landlord wasn't too happy at me and others trying to use a rank tap in the toilet to refill our bidons.

I was amazed at the lack of any official water stops on a ride which costs 20 quid.

The ride was good and if I had known I would have checked the map for convenient stores for buying bottled water and any other flapjack type stuff. All the 20 quid really funded was a map and a bit of road signage.

Comments

  • bikergirl17
    bikergirl17 Posts: 344
    the more shocking thing is that NONE of the fee goes to the charity. it says specifically on bike events' site that only goes to covering the cost of running the event. i assume bike events is a third party, for profit that runs these events on behalf of the charity.

    have done several in the past until i realised this. now think best way to do these rides is to make a direct donation to the charity (plus i can get company match for them too!) and ride the route without registering.
  • brianonyx
    brianonyx Posts: 170
    That's a very good idea. After all you will be just as well supported.
  • bikergirl17
    bikergirl17 Posts: 344
    ironic isn't it?

    i realise that these charities don't have the infrastructure to organise a ride and it is our decision to participate (which i do admittedly). but i def don't get how it costs £18 per person when the overhead is largely a fixed cost and they attract upward of 1,000 people on many of those rides.
  • brianonyx
    brianonyx Posts: 170
    Bike events sent me a reply today. Apparently they had arrangements with pubs, for the pubs to supply water free and then charge for anything else. Fair enough, but at least one of the pubs didn't honour the free water and thought it would be more fun to charge for bottled water instead. Bike events were as unhappy about that as we were and said they had had other complaints.

    When I replied saying it wouldn't have cost them much to post a few water canteens at the stops they said "that is outside the scope of what we supply".

    So basically, 1000 odd people pay 20 quid for a route, signs and some company.


    Mind you, still probably do the next one.
  • DNQ
    DNQ Posts: 45
    brianonyx wrote:
    Bike events sent me a reply today. Apparently they had arrangements with pubs, for the pubs to supply water free and then charge for anything else. Fair enough, but at least one of the pubs didn't honour the free water and thought it would be more fun to charge for bottled water instead. Bike events were as unhappy about that as we were and said they had had other complaints.

    When I replied saying it wouldn't have cost them much to post a few water canteens at the stops they said "that is outside the scope of what we supply".

    So basically, 1000 odd people pay 20 quid for a route, signs and some company.


    Mind you, still probably do the next one.
    I'm sure they will be more than happy to charge you £20 again! Why don't you try an Audax instead? http://www.aukweb.net/events/

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