valygrl

Triple Bypass registration is open, and this year they are not allowing any transfers. First 3500 entries get in.

https://www.teamevergreen.org/HTML_MA...plebypass.html

DataJunkie

I am in for my first ride. Now I have something to train for. That and my first brevet sometime in the spring.

wolfpack 

hmmm. this sounds interesting for this flatlander. wonder if the training plans (here & here) offered would help a lot?? will have to ponder this ride a bit....

BikeWNC

Been there done that, got the jersey, WP. The hardest part of the ride is coming from low elevation to ride at near 12,000'. It is really hard to train for that. The grades are much easier than what we ride here in the SE but the climbs are long.

Chezhoff

I think it's annoying that they aren't allowing transfers/refunds. Due to family plans my ability to participate is up in the air this year. I want to register though in case I can do the ride. If I couldn't I would transfer to someone else who wanted to. It wouldn't be hard for TE to maintain a wait list and then, if they allowed refunds, the spot could go to the next person on the list.

valygrl

I agree! Last year I signed up 3 weeks before, by buying a transfer spot on craigslist - good for me, good for the seller. But I can barely plan my schedule 2 weeks in advance, let alone 7 months, so I'm not signing up.

If you don't mind walking away from the entrance fee, you could always buy and bail if needed, but ... if lots of people do that, the event will have hundreds fewer participants than expected, the organizers won't know how many people to expect, there will be tons of wasted food... super lame.

In fact, I think I'm going to write a note to Team Evergreen right now....

valygrl

I just sent this email to the TBP coordinators cc: the president of team evergreen


Dear ride coordinators:

I am writing to express my sadness at the decision not to allow transfers or wait lists for the 2008 TBP. I think you are really making a mistake, that will hurt both the event and the participants.

I might be tempted to sign up now, if I have the money to possibly waste, just so that I can do the ride "just in case" I am able. In fact, that is my situation. If I'm around in July, I would love to do the ride. But I might be traveling, for work or vacation, there's no way for me to know, now. How many people are there just like me, who are willing to blow $120? Lots, I bet.

So, your rider turnout is going to be LOWER THAN USUAL this year, because of this new rule.

Suppose I sign up now and can't make it for whatever reason (injury, work commitment, family commitment, forgot to train), my spot will go unused. But you won't know that I'm not showing up (since there's no wait list and no refund, there's no reason for me to tell you), so you will provide food and other support for me, which will be wasted. Someone else who wanted to do the ride will hear, after the event, that only xx% of the riders showed up. They will be angry that they couldn't have take the place of one of those no-show riders.

EVERYONE IN THE RIDER COMMUNITY will be angry at Team Evergreen for just taking our money and providing nothing for it, while denying the opportunity to do the ride to someone else who could have done it. We already think this event is too expensive.

You guys are blowing it. You need to reinstate transfers or wait lists, or just allow the wristbands to become a commodity on the open market (which of course they already are).

You could institute a transfer fee, if the cost of managing the transfer information is what made you change the policy. Last year I did a transfer to enter the event, and I would have been happy to pay you an additional $10-$20 to facilitate it. You could have people self-adminstrate the transfer process, via a web site. You coulud keep a wait list, and as people cancel you could sell their registration to the next person down the wait list. I'm sure there are a number of other ways to handle it.

Please rethink this policy. It is really a mistake.

velo2000

Do you think they'll be checking ID on the day of the ride? No. I don't see why you couldn't buy or sell a registration packet. As long as you have a wristband on the day of the ride. Just don't expect the organizers to change the name on your registration info from the original registrant.

Also, my co-worker knows an organizer and said 500 people had already signed up as of yesterday.

superdex

I'm a maybe, but not because of the new transfer rule. Gotta think about it for a couple days....

Pwnt

I'm too slow...wolves will eat me.

bmclaughlin807

Don't wait too long! It will fill up fast. Last year they sold out on March 3rd... this year will likely be sooner.

I'll be doing a mail-in registration next week, thanks to my Club Hypoxia friends.

It's a great ride... I was sick as a dog when I did the ride last year, and couldn't finish, but I enjoyed it anyway!

Besides, it's a great excuse to get you close enough to actually meet and ride with you!

Club Hypoxia will be having a picnic the day before the ride in Lakewood/Golden... We'll have more info on it later... last year we all had a great time! This year will be bigger and better!

c_bake

I'm not sure I want to pay the $129 reg. fee. I feel thats a bit excessive, I think I'll save that cash for the 2008 Bicycle Tour of Colorado. I mean, come on, us locals can ride the TBP route any time we want right?

bmclaughlin807

Yep. But you don't get:

1. manned and catered rest stops
2. sag wagons
3. spiffy jersey (They look REALLY good this year!)
4. catered meal afterwards
5. Route signage
6. Police presence along the route (Last year a cop pulled someone over for passing us too close!)
7. Invitation to the Club Hypoxia pre-ride picnic (OK... not part of your registration fee... but if you're not riding, I'm not inviting you! )

Team Evergreen really does put a LOT of effort into this ride, and it shows!

Chezhoff

Great lettter! Let us know if 'they' respond!

valygrl

Thanks.

Tey responded. Basically said it was too much work to manage the transfers, and lots of people were willing to train and commit to the event, and plan their vacations around it, and that no other events offered refunds.


I told them lots of other events offered day-of registration, and the event that i could think of that is most like the TBP - the Death Ride in California - offers limited refunds and a wait list.

They basically said sorry their policy disturbed me, and feel free not to register. I guess they feel like they have pretty good reasons for it. It's a shame, because I really enjoyed it last year, as a transfer participant.

Oh well.

wolfpack 

well, i'm still contemplating this ride even tho it's been suggested i should wait....i'll probably know more next week whether i do it or not.

Chezhoff

Well, that attitude is a bummer. However, as someone pointed out...there's no reason you couldn't (probably pretty easily) find someone on Craig's List, ebay, or (gasp!) even BikeForums.net to transfer it to. They check that everyone has a wrist band and a number, but other than for the event photos, they don't check your ID against your wristband/number or anything like that.

bmclaughlin807

Even for the event photos they don't check your name... just the number on your helmet.

valygrl

I don't like that they are incenting people to cheat.

bmclaughlin807

I would guess that a good number of the 'transfers' from previous years were the same thing... the ONLY reason I would be motivated to transfer someone else's name off of it is so I could get the TE membership in my name... what other point would there be? Who cares if their records say someone else rode it if I have the jersey and all the memories?

Besides... if I remember correctly there was a pretty hefty fee for transferring, and the membership was non-transferrable, anyway...

So, out of $115 I think you actually only got $65 or $90 back if you used their transfer process.

It really was a mess, and it penalized people that chose to pay the membership from the ride price.

Pwnt

If I do this....you guys HAVE to help me train! Think you can do that for me?

bmclaughlin807

*steals your car keys*

There. Now you HAVE to ride. Everywhere. That's good training!

valygrl

fixed

DataJunkie

You are more than welcome to come along on my weekly saturday climbing training in the spring. Except that don't you have prior commitments on Saturdays?
That is my one weekend day to train without a 4 year old.
The rest of the week is training (AKA commutes).

bmclaughlin807

Well, thanks to my Club Hypoxia buddies, my TBP registration went into the mail today.

I'll be there! (Well... hopefully! The ride is already about 2/3rds full after only a week! )