Help starting an organized ride
 

Working on a plan for a unique organized ride and will soon be presenting outline to local group. Couple sponsors already lined up as well as an event planner. What I need now is input on good and bad ideas as well as problems you have had with previous events.

I suggest starting with a disorganized ride and yelling at everyone until you have coerced everyone to behave or driven off the ones who will not be docile.

Where/when?
Jon

dont condone alcohol at the starting point. Stock up on patch kits for those in dire need. Advise against eating sliders the day before the event.

It might help to share an outline of your proposal? :geek:

To make sure everyone has enough calories on board to finish the ride, have everyone eat a lot of ice cream immediately before the ride.

If it's unique, then input from other events would not be of any use.

Stuff and things! Any suggestions?

Don't forget all the legalities:

Insurance
Parade Permit
Police Consultation


And what makes your ride "unique"?

SAG. It's been my experience that organized events attract people and bikes that are not up to the task. My club runs an annual organized event to Brooklyn. One year a woman broke down about 100' from the start. Don't know how she got home since she took the charter bus from the city to the start. I assume she had a friend drive out to pick her up.

I have four thoughts for you:

---make sure the course(s) are marked well...many of us don't ride by gps and rarely consult the maps...I really like the rides with both signs at strategic points and painted arrows on the road

---Support stops...mark support stops clearly on the route sheet and remind folks at the start where they are. I like a first stop at the 12-15mi mark----potty break. And some may need a bike adjustment early on. Hotter weather, more stops.

---Sweeper vehicle(s) and pickup for those who fall out. Make sure there are enough vehicles with communication to pick people and bikes up that are in distress or falling out (my buddy fell out for heat exhaustion last year in TX and we were able to get him picked up quickly). The final sweeper vehicle drivers need to have their act together...I rode a 100k last year (not saying where) where the final sweeper got ahead of the last riders (I was one) and picked up all the directional signs (no paint on the roads) leaving the remainder to navigate hilly farm country with the route sheet. ((And it was nowhere near the time advertised for the end of the ride)). They also closed the support stop early, so H2O was very light after the 30 mile mark and was gone by the 50...I ended up breaking it off and heading straight into town.

---Boy Scouts (or similar organized youth)---they are great to help run support stops.

pre-clean debris from the route! cant suggest that loud enough..

I will leave out the key component for now. Here are some of the major points so far:
This will probably be attractive to older riders.

No sag wagons needed and no rest stops so smaller number of event support personnel needed. In early planning a sponsor has suggested providing and supporting the start point and last minute registrations - again less ride organization personnel needed.

Start point/line but no pre set finish other than optional optional metric and mile century crossing points.

More than one charity involved so teams can pick where money goes

Sponsor contributions based on paying registered riders and if ride canceled - no sponsor contributions

Early registration - rider numbers assigned by age - oldest rider #1 - this should motivate the older riders.

Ride will be in CO. but unlike most mountain state cycling events - this one is almost ALL downhill with very little climbing.

Suggesting that ride be held late summer - probably after Labor Day for less tourist traffic on the roads. Also late summer event will allow riders time to acclimate to high altitude

So that is what I have so far. Any comments appreciated.

Just added insurance, permits and police to outline
Sorry - holding off on unique component till plans for first ride are well established and on the web. There should be "value" in being the first and later on being able to claim title to being "the original xx ride"

So ... nothing particularly unique like, say, an alleycat ride or scavenger hunt ride or something similar.

But what does this mean:

"Start point/line but no pre set finish other than optional optional metric and mile century crossing points."

And why would wearing a single digit number indicating I might be the oldest rider there be motivational?

No sag support needed - each "team" will fill that need.

I've never ridden in an event that didn't have SAG. It's a HUGE part of the reason many people do organized rides-- the support. Even if it's just people under an E-Z Up with cookies, bananas, and water. I've also not been to one that didn't have at least one tech station with bike mechanics, usually from the LBS.

So when someone cuts a tire or tacos a wheel in the middle of a century they are on their own? Where do I sign up? :rolleyes:

Sorry, dude, but holding back "key details" so you can possibly gain some personal satisfaction and/or notoriety for allegedly being the first to think up X is not very helpful. Asking for assistance is a two-way street.

Sounding better and better all the time. :rolleyes: At least with no support you won't have to charge a registration fee. Good luck.

That's the news, and I am outta here.

Good points. I had sag driver pull off road in front of me and open door in my face. I was doing over 25mph. Ride communications will be limited to cell phones and about 15 miles of route will have no coverage.

[QUOTE=Machka;20574424]So ... nothing particularly unique like, say, an alleycat ride or scavenger hunt ride or something similar.

But what does this mean:

"Start point/line but no pre set finish other than optional optional metric and mile century crossing points."
Century points will be marked on maps and actual spots will have banners for photo ops.

And why would wearing a single digit number indicating I might be the oldest rider there be motivational?
I may be wrong but I am thinking it would help older riders do well. I am #10 and see #31 in front can I catch up with that kid. Think Strava and age groups.

So ... like a mini RAAM?

​​​​​​​Or a fleche?

Indyfabz - "At least with no support you won't have to charge a registration fee."
Hopefully all registration fees will end up as donations with ride expenses covered by sponsors

Fleche? Had to look that one up. I was not really thinking of this as competitive event - more of a fun to do thing while achieving personal goals. But since each team could have more than one rider I suppose there could be competition within teams and I would not see anything to prevent/stop competition between teams. At this point I just want to get the first ride setup and then - if it is successful it will grow and evolve on its own.

Designated restrooms available along the route...

Cue Sheets printed and available, because electronic devices fail...