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Describe your perfect mass participation event


Frosty

What attracts you to enter an event?  

33 members have voted

  1. 1. On your Road Bike

    • Full road closure (majority of route on highway)
      22
    • Partial road closure (on country roads)
      14
    • No road closure
      1
    • Undulating
      10
    • Climbs
      15
    • Flat and Fast
      8
    • Goodies bags
      8
    • Rider safety
      25
    • Small start batches
      5
    • Separate start & finish (but still close to the main venue)
      6
    • Hospitality area after event
      7
    • Race day number collection
      12
    • PERMANENT NUMBER for a specific event
      13
    • Photos along the route
      8
    • Individual timing
      14
    • Stage race (one-day, multi-stage)
      6
    • Criterium series (during winter)
      5
    • Team race
      2
    • Distance <50 Km
      0
    • Distance 50 - 80 Km
      3
    • Distance 80 - 100 Km
      12
    • Distance 100 - 120 Km
      19
    • Other details (specify in comments)
      1
  2. 2. On your Mountain Bike

    • Single-day event
      22
    • Multi-day event (no sleepover)
      8
    • Single track
      24
    • Jeep Track
      16
    • District road
      7
    • Climbing
      19
    • Flat and Fast
      4
    • Undulating
      12
    • Distance 30-50 Km
      8
    • Distance 50-70 Km
      12
    • Distance > 70 Km
      12
    • Other (specify in comments)
      3


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Greetings everyone,

 

As many now, I am involved in organising a race and lending some help with others. Each event has it's unique challenges and is almost impossible to please everyone all of the time. The idea is to please as many of the cyclists as often as one can.

 

From the list (above), what is important to you as a cyclist - I've tried to split it between ROAD and MTB. Please don't compare to the BIG MTB events in the sticks that enjoy big, mountainous climbs - we don't have such luxuries in the urban centres. 

 

I'm trying to get an objective view of what people would like, compare it against what is possible, and then see how we can get other organisers to buy into the collective ideas to make as many races as possible satisfactory.

 

You'll notice that the ROAD poll has an option called PERMANENT NUMBER. While I am still trying to get some officials and race organisers to buy in the PERMANENT NUMBER concept to ease the hassles related to number collection, this one is specific to the event I am associated with:
 

  • Assume the permanent number concept doesn't take off, and the status quo remains as is, would you buy a permanent "cloth" number that can be used exclusively at our event for the years ahead (and maybe one or two others)?

Feel free to add to the list and submit your comments, which I hope will help my efforts to bring about improvements in cycling (in our province and perhaps elsewhere too).

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One nice feature over here with races is you pay a euro extra and your race no gets posted to you.

 

You can then collect your goodies bag on the morning and not have to do 2 trips to the venue.

 

For mtb showers and bike wash afterwards are great :thumbup:

 

You can never have to many toilets at a start.

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MTB Specific:

 

Basic Mechanical support at at least one water point.

 

Perhaps saving a long walk to the finish, wait in the sun for sweep vehicle.

 

(as found with leverage corp races)

 

Clean sufficient toilets.

 

ITO Route.

 

Challenging, keeping in mind the amount of riders participating, and batching accordingly.

 

It would be great to use one number board for all events, Like gummi said the relevant sponsor's stickers can be picked up at registration (like USN races) before the event. (Posting will not really work in this here old country of ours)

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There's no option for "Starts on a glacier and ends 30km and 700 vertical meters down"????

If we put some ice on the ground at the start, will that count as a glacier?  :ph34r:

 

 

MTB Specific:

 

Basic Mechanical support at at least one water point.

 

Perhaps saving a long walk to the finish, wait in the sun for sweep vehicle.

 

(as found with leverage corp races)

 

Clean sufficient toilets.

 

ITO Route.

 

Challenging, keeping in mind the amount of riders participating, and batching accordingly.

 

It would be great to use one number board for all events, Like gummi said the relevant sponsor's stickers can be picked up at registration (like USN races) before the event. (Posting will not really work in this here old country of ours)

 

A courier option is available for the race I'm involved with - R80 (a touch expensive, if I may say so). 35 people used it this year (February event).

 

There's no option for "Starts on a glacier and ends 30km and 700 vertical meters down"????

If we put some ice down at the start, will that count as a glacier?

 
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A big problem I have experienced is marking on the route, specifically for mtb. More than enough route markings are always good and make sure there is more than one arrow showing a turnoff, as its easy to miss in a race! Good luck for the event(s)!

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A series.

One race number.

Clean toilets. Plenty of them

Easy parking

We spoke about this 2 years ago - an informal discussion between a few local (East Rand) event organisers.

 

Problem is that each organiser wants to do their own thing and fail to see the bigger picture.

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We spoke about this 2 years ago - an informal discussion between a few local (East Rand) event organisers.

 

Problem is that each organiser wants to do their own thing and fail to see the bigger picture.

 

Problem is maybe more the timing companies? I have racetec, championchip and sas board, each one with their own seeding, which annoys me.

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Pretty ladies serving cold beer... :)

 

Good parking, toilets, photos always welcome for those who run club/ream pages.

 

Don't care for goodie bags, or race number collection.

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Clean toilets.  I hate wiggling my way out of a bib in a tiny portaloo. So those larger loos that come on a trailer are really appreciated.

 

Good route marking.

 

Ive done a few mtb races where it feels like you are just going just to make up the distance. Climbing, descending, some singletrack, a lekker view are all awesome but the moment I sense the organisers have run out of places to take you and are running you around fields then i get irritated.

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 Quite often the main prize in the lucky draw is an entry level bike donated by the lbs, rather do away with the medals and put the medal money towards a more desirable prize? (A nice groupset perhaps) More bums on seats at lucky draw.

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Clean toilets. I hate wiggling my way out of a bib in a tiny portaloo. So those larger loos that come on a trailer are really appreciated.

 

Good route marking.

 

Ive done a few mtb races where it feels like you are just going just to make up the distance. Climbing, descending, some singletrack, a lekker view are all awesome but the moment I sense the organisers have run out of places to take you and are running you around fields then i get irritated.

So the case of taking the route close to the finish and then zig-zagging close by is a no-no?

 

Is 40km of quality better than 60km of so-so routes?

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