Originally Posted by
njkayaker
I've been to Europe, China, and Japan (so much for your ability to guess). Train stations are often situated in places that also have lots of heavy traffic. (in places that most riders would prefer to avoid)It isn't actually that convenient to have to stop at two places (a ticket booth and a food shop). And, if the verification is a purchased ticket, it's a waste too.
That would depend on the area. If you're doing a ride that goes through suburbs of major UK cities you'd expect to find lots of train stations on roads that are more cycle-friendly than a lot of other roads I've encountered on brevets. There are a few loops I ride based from home that cover 30-40 miles and many of them pass right by a good half a dozen stations and within a short distance of probably half a dozen more.
Nobody ever said you had to buy a train ticket as proof but if the last shop has closed and you need proof of passage you could just buy a cheap ticket from a machine and buy some food later on. It beats not getting any proof of passage. If there were a supermarket nearby and you felt the urge to do your weekly shopping and request home delivery presumably the receipt spanning several feet would count as proof of passage.
No, the "train station" idea just isn't a very good one.
You made your thoughts on that one quite clear but still didn't address the implications of each control point covering an area that included a station, and a rider submitting a train ticket to the next control point as their proof of passage. You seem to be concerned that you dislike the idea that someone might choose to stop at a station for their proof of passage to the extent you're assuming the ride in question required participants to waste money on train tickets.