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Your view on Cycling/MTB Events  

159 members have voted

  1. 1. What is important around a Start/Finish Venue?

    • Clear Signage
      103
    • Parking
      129
    • Toilets
      138
    • Live band
      6
    • Enough Shade and Seating
      100
    • Lucky Draw
      13
    • Food Stalls to buy cash
      72
    • Meals included in Ticket Price
      15
    • Being greeted by the MC when coming over the line
      12
    • Bar
      40
    • Showers
      47
    • Massages
      11
    • Luxury Tents
      6
    • Own Accommodation
      11
    • Immediate Results
      47
    • I don't care about results
      10
  2. 2. What do you want out of your Ride or Race?

    • Technical sections
      100
    • Climbing
      84
    • Food at the Waterpoints (Specify in the comments which is best)
      43
    • Timing
      95
    • Non-Timed
      2
    • Doing Laps
      10
    • Music at Waterpoints
      12
    • Bike Tech at Waterpoints
      40
    • One Day Race
      92
    • Multi Day Race
      65


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I have been involved with road and mountain bike cycling events for the past few years. I have done everything from organizing, marking and managing the water points.
I would love to know what people want and expect from events these days.

Edited by UndercoverBrother
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i know it's not really that much of a problem, especially if your family are spectators...but with rising race fees and then having to fork out an extra 1-2k per for having your car/crap transported by a stranger between the start and finish sometimes just makes me a sad panda...

 

edit:

this kind of sad sometimes...

 

post-64325-0-97514200-1557759047_thumb.gif

Edited by morneS555
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Goodie bags that have goodies and not 684788 pamphlets

Hi BaGearA,

 

Can you maybe elaborate what goodies you like to get in the goodie bags?

Sometimes having cool stuff pushes up the ticket price.

It is quite a juggle between having a decent ticket price, or a bad ass goodie bag.

 

Thanks for the help~~

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Hi BaGearA,

 

Can you maybe elaborate what goodies you like to get in the goodie bags?

Sometimes having cool stuff pushes up the ticket price.

It is quite a juggle between having a decent ticket price, or a bad ass goodie bag.

 

Thanks for the help~~

I'd prefer to do away with goodie bags all together but getting this huge branded goodie bag which just contains paper with sponser names on leaves a bitter taste , IF you HAVE to have them have them full of samples and small but elegant packaging for said samples that the sponsors should provide 

 

In a Ideal world everyone reuses their SAS boards and just get stickers to put on the board for the relevant race , then we drive down entry fees ( I just quickly want to mention that Avendurance are scum thieves ) and maybe put money towards have food vouchers or drink vouchers included for riders after they finish 

 

these mass produced medals have NO purpose  ,maybe for the kids 

 

all the flyers that get thrown away just waste paper 

 

A 45km marathon should not cost more than R150 and the organisers can still make good profit with the numbers the races reach 

 

 

Food at the water points needs to be more basic , orange squares adn potaotes are more than enough along with cold water , coke if budget allows 

 

* IF A sponser is willing to sponser a water point with all their products that's cool but NOT at th expense of riders/entry fees ( like USN , PVM and co ) 

 

Many more things I legit think i could change to make races fun again but I'm not in the mood to type for hours

 

 

** I'm vividly aware of what medics and insurance cost so I do keep those costs in mind 

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Hi BaGearA,

 

Can you maybe elaborate what goodies you like to get in the goodie bags?

Sometimes having cool stuff pushes up the ticket price.

It is quite a juggle between having a decent ticket price, or a bad ass goodie bag.

 

Thanks for the help~~

Take the Race 4 Victory, pricing is competitive and goodie bag includes a shirt (last 2 years a bit meh - but currently wearing my 3 year old one). After the race you get a good selection of drinks (for free) and some food (to buy).

 

Then take the Trailseeker this Sunday, very good food at the stops (pancakes, pumpkin fritters, fresh fruit, etc.). Immediate results and generally well marked trails (I did the run on Sunday - so please correct me if I'm wrong). And multiple food stalls for afterward.

 

What more could you want?

 

Edit: Spelling

Edited by Roul
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I'd prefer to do away with goodie bags all together but getting this huge branded goodie bag which just contains paper with sponser names on leaves a bitter taste , IF you HAVE to have them have them full of samples and small but elegant packaging for said samples that the sponsors should provide

 

In a Ideal world everyone reuses their SAS boards and just get stickers to put on the board for the relevant race , then we drive down entry fees ( I just quickly want to mention that Avendurance are scum thieves ) and maybe put money towards have food vouchers or drink vouchers included for riders after they finish

 

these mass produced medals have NO purpose ,maybe for the kids

 

all the flyers that get thrown away just waste paper

 

A 45km marathon should not cost more than R150 and the organisers can still make good profit with the numbers the races reach

 

 

Food at the water points needs to be more basic , orange squares adn potaotes are more than enough along with cold water , coke if budget allows

 

* IF A sponser is willing to sponser a water point with all their products that's cool but NOT at th expense of riders/entry fees ( like USN , PVM and co )

 

Many more things I legit think i could change to make races fun again but I'm not in the mood to type for hours

 

 

** I'm vividly aware of what medics and insurance cost so I do keep those costs in mind

Didn't the SAS boards use to be like this? Edited by Roul
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For me except things such as parking, clear marking and toilets which I consider essential, a lot of those are nice to have, same as medals. More important in my view is rider safety and good marshaling, also is the race for organizer profit or do proceeds go to charity. Goodie bag I can take or leave but having said the Sedhaven which I consider the best value for money local race with affordable entry and a wind jacket included, proceeds to charity. If you are going to charge a fortune and pocket the proceeds then I would want a goodie bag with something other than a few pamphlets and waterbottle. 

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Looking at the last two events I did, last one Saturday past ....

 

Both events had good signage.  Still I managed to miss one marker at event 1, got back on track a 100m further.   At both events people were asked for "clearer signs" ... if you could not follow these signs you are going to get lost doing Hermanus trails ....  But we have also seen parents go off the deep end when the 8km ride turned VERY long because of very poor signage at another event ....  Nice clear black arrow on a yellow board really works well.

 

 

 

#1 Parking well marked and managed (just a section of gras, but a bit of planning and some danger tape works well),  #2 a free for all in the parking area 40 minutes before the race starts .... Lots of people got parked in, and the MC had to ask people to move their vehicles.

 

#1 the MC had a GOOD vibe going !!  Even had his music pre planned.  Each song would finish, give him a bit of time to count down to the start, do a few race announcements, then the next song.  Last song finished some 20 odd seconds before the start.  He managed to involve the riders and the spectators.  #2 ... MC was never in control of the event, need to say any more.

 

 

Toilets obviously important ... when you leave home at 4:30 to get to the venue for the race you are bound to use the facilities ....  Really creates a weird vibe when the venue hosts a big day long vestival, then locks their restaurant toilets, and points you to the plastic cubicles under the trees ... early morning these were still super clean and good to use, have to wonder about later in the day ....

 

 

At some of these festivals you finish riding early and spend many more hours at the venue ... YES, then showers are handy.  For normal day rides I will rather shower at home.

 

 

A live band can be nice, but also a pain if it is so loud that you cant talk with your buddies .... guess it depends on the event .... but please allow enough space for those that dont want to sit next to the speakers ....

 

 

Shade and seating .... YES, pretty please !!!

 

 

FOOD .... #1 had a NICE spread of options !!  #2 was 20m from the farm restaurant, yet they used local labour to make and sell the food .... total chaos ....  And having been on the road since 4:30 I want something to eat after my ride ....  The BEST I have seen was at the Autumn Splendour event, even some healthy options all the way to the typical fast food options.

 

 

Immediate results .... never been an issue for me.  But I must admit that it IS "nice" to be able to log into TimingMobi and see the event results minutes after the race.  I sent photos to a coach buddy of some of his students, and could immediately add their timing as well.  BUT, as we were out on a farm the cell signal was weak and upload time was bad ....  and I would expect this to be par of the course for most rugged events.  Frankly time out in nature trumps the electronic wizardry ,,, as nice as it may be to have the timing available

 

 

What do I want out of race ?  We take part in races for TWO reasons :

 

1) FAMILY ride - when the timing works our 7 year old godson joins us for an event.  Then we look for 10km rides, now beginning to look at slightly longer rides though I dont want to spoil the fun factor .....  These short rides should be kid friendly, with no high hazard sections, and it helps if there are ample wider sections for passing (or being passed).

 

2) Day out in nature - I know I am not going to podium any time soon ... So I drive 300km and spend the day to cycle 20 to 40km in pristine nature.  I ENJOY the views these rides offer us.  Yes, I like the odd technical section.  I dont mind a few hills, I even entered #1 purely because it is known as being the toughest 30km ride of the season, almost 750m climb in such a short route.

 

 

If I may add a few things we look for :

Route profile - it is VERY handy to plan your ride if you know where the hills are ... when to hold back a bit, and when it is safe to burn the matches ....  Typically we look for this when looking at the event information prior to entering the event.  For event #2 I could not get this information ... it was unnerving to ride "blind" ...  (I dont want to download the route, just have and idea that there is a 8% climb at 7,5km and 10% climb at 17km ...)

 

 

Sweepers ... During Saturday's event #2 a lady had a flat tire, tire cut and it could not be repaired on the trail.  Took more than 2 hours for race control to get her recovered - any 4x4 could have reached her in 10 minutes.  Just plain bad planning ....  Most other events I have seen some sort of recovery vehicle patrolling the route.

 

 

You dont mention safe parking for the bikes .... THIS is certainly turning into a key thing at these events.  I DONT know the perfect answer to this, but look forward to the day organisers can help with this.  For now we only stay if I can sit in line of sight of my bike - hardly ideal ....

 

 

 

EARLY advertising of the event .... February this year we stopped at Manic Cycles in Worcester.  We KNOW that they co-sponsor many of the rides in the area .... imagine my total surprize when they could not give us dates of any 2019 rides.  Most of these rides no longer make use of PPA, which also limits their advertising opportunities ....  Event #2 we only heard about from a local that send me a message, and the VERY low turnout ( a THIRD of the number of 2017!) is testimony to the issues with getting the message out there about upcoming rides.

 

 

 

 

MOST IMPORTANTLY - A very big thank you to one and all that takes on the task of arranging these events !!!  It is "easy" to type up the issues after the fact, but I know how much work goes into arranging these events and just how easily things can go wrong.  Which I dont want to name the events where things went wrong, as the intention is not to focus on the wrongs, but to provide real examples of where things can be improved.

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My most important features during a race:

  • Seeding and/or adequate A,B,C-lines for passing or being passed. If I have to wait 30mins in a queue, only to find it's caused by people who cant cross a tiny river crossing or bump in the road, that's it. I'm out. 

 

  • Scenery/Route - Don't rat-maze me to squeeze in distance.
  • With good marking: My brain turns off when I'm having fun and am tired. I don't pay attention, and I get lost.

Pretty much agree entirely with Chris above.

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i know it's not really that much of a problem, especially if your family are spectators...but with rising race fees and then having to fork out an extra 1-2k per for having your car/crap transported by a stranger between the start and finish sometimes just makes me a sad panda...

 

edit:

this kind of sad sometimes...

Hi there, shot for your input.

 

It is very difficult when the Start and Finish venue is separate from one another.

There is really not a lot of services that do car transfers.

 

Mainly companies make use of Rotary, who's profits go towards their charity. Their price I don't find too bad as it is between R400 - R500.

 

The other option is to get a shuttle service to take the riders back to their cars at the previous venue, but once again to transport so many bikes becomes a bit difficult. 

 

Would you prefer a shuttle, or a service like Rotary?

 

Cheers

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I would like to think we can in this age move past number collections. Especially the road races.

I hear what you are saying, and totally agree. 

The reason races still have the number collection is to keep the entries open a bit longer, then having to pack and distribute 1000 - 2000+ numbers within a week or two can become a scary task. 

I would like to think that maybe one can close the entries earlier, then all the people that do late entries, will have to collect their numbers either the previous day, or race day.

 

Another problem with sending numbers to the riders will be the postage fee. I mean it is not that expensive, but when you dealing with 2000+ riders, it will affect ticket prices.

 

Shot man!

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Looking at the last two events I did, last one Saturday past ....

 

Both events had good signage.  Still I managed to miss one marker at event 1, got back on track a 100m further.   At both events people were asked for "clearer signs" ... if you could not follow these signs you are going to get lost doing Hermanus trails ....  But we have also seen parents go off the deep end when the 8km ride turned VERY long because of very poor signage at another event ....  Nice clear black arrow on a yellow board really works well.

 

 

 

#1 Parking well marked and managed (just a section of gras, but a bit of planning and some danger tape works well),  #2 a free for all in the parking area 40 minutes before the race starts .... Lots of people got parked in, and the MC had to ask people to move their vehicles.

 

#1 the MC had a GOOD vibe going !!  Even had his music pre planned.  Each song would finish, give him a bit of time to count down to the start, do a few race announcements, then the next song.  Last song finished some 20 odd seconds before the start.  He managed to involve the riders and the spectators.  #2 ... MC was never in control of the event, need to say any more.

 

 

Toilets obviously important ... when you leave home at 4:30 to get to the venue for the race you are bound to use the facilities ....  Really creates a weird vibe when the venue hosts a big day long vestival, then locks their restaurant toilets, and points you to the plastic cubicles under the trees ... early morning these were still super clean and good to use, have to wonder about later in the day ....

 

 

At some of these festivals you finish riding early and spend many more hours at the venue ... YES, then showers are handy.  For normal day rides I will rather shower at home.

 

 

A live band can be nice, but also a pain if it is so loud that you cant talk with your buddies .... guess it depends on the event .... but please allow enough space for those that dont want to sit next to the speakers ....

 

 

Shade and seating .... YES, pretty please !!!

 

 

FOOD .... #1 had a NICE spread of options !!  #2 was 20m from the farm restaurant, yet they used local labour to make and sell the food .... total chaos ....  And having been on the road since 4:30 I want something to eat after my ride ....  The BEST I have seen was at the Autumn Splendour event, even some healthy options all the way to the typical fast food options.

 

 

Immediate results .... never been an issue for me.  But I must admit that it IS "nice" to be able to log into TimingMobi and see the event results minutes after the race.  I sent photos to a coach buddy of some of his students, and could immediately add their timing as well.  BUT, as we were out on a farm the cell signal was weak and upload time was bad ....  and I would expect this to be par of the course for most rugged events.  Frankly time out in nature trumps the electronic wizardry ,,, as nice as it may be to have the timing available

 

 

What do I want out of race ?  We take part in races for TWO reasons :

 

1) FAMILY ride - when the timing works our 7 year old godson joins us for an event.  Then we look for 10km rides, now beginning to look at slightly longer rides though I dont want to spoil the fun factor .....  These short rides should be kid friendly, with no high hazard sections, and it helps if there are ample wider sections for passing (or being passed).

 

2) Day out in nature - I know I am not going to podium any time soon ... So I drive 300km and spend the day to cycle 20 to 40km in pristine nature.  I ENJOY the views these rides offer us.  Yes, I like the odd technical section.  I dont mind a few hills, I even entered #1 purely because it is known as being the toughest 30km ride of the season, almost 750m climb in such a short route.

 

 

If I may add a few things we look for :

Route profile - it is VERY handy to plan your ride if you know where the hills are ... when to hold back a bit, and when it is safe to burn the matches ....  Typically we look for this when looking at the event information prior to entering the event.  For event #2 I could not get this information ... it was unnerving to ride "blind" ...  (I dont want to download the route, just have and idea that there is a 8% climb at 7,5km and 10% climb at 17km ...)

 

 

Sweepers ... During Saturday's event #2 a lady had a flat tire, tire cut and it could not be repaired on the trail.  Took more than 2 hours for race control to get her recovered - any 4x4 could have reached her in 10 minutes.  Just plain bad planning ....  Most other events I have seen some sort of recovery vehicle patrolling the route.

 

 

You dont mention safe parking for the bikes .... THIS is certainly turning into a key thing at these events.  I DONT know the perfect answer to this, but look forward to the day organisers can help with this.  For now we only stay if I can sit in line of sight of my bike - hardly ideal ....

 

 

 

EARLY advertising of the event .... February this year we stopped at Manic Cycles in Worcester.  We KNOW that they co-sponsor many of the rides in the area .... imagine my total surprize when they could not give us dates of any 2019 rides.  Most of these rides no longer make use of PPA, which also limits their advertising opportunities ....  Event #2 we only heard about from a local that send me a message, and the VERY low turnout ( a THIRD of the number of 2017!) is testimony to the issues with getting the message out there about upcoming rides.

 

 

 

 

MOST IMPORTANTLY - A very big thank you to one and all that takes on the task of arranging these events !!!  It is "easy" to type up the issues after the fact, but I know how much work goes into arranging these events and just how easily things can go wrong.  Which I dont want to name the events where things went wrong, as the intention is not to focus on the wrongs, but to provide real examples of where things can be improved.

Thanks man!

This was really helpful and shot for your input!

 

It is quite the process to put an event together, and takes a lot of time to get the nitty gritty sorted.

These days it gets more difficult as events are suffering getting riders, and you pretty much planning a whole event without knowing the number of attendees.

 

Have a great day!

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