Road events - Are organisers dropping the ball or do we expect too much

[The Ouzo]

Reading feedback from a number of events over the last year or more there seems to be many complaints. Everything from timing, to parking, to seeding etc.

Are we expecting to much from organisers or are they dropping the ball ? And if its the later then why ? 

Have the costs spiraled out of control and organisers are cutting corners in order to host events ?

Most of these events where the complaints are coming from are not new events, teething problems should be well ironed out by now. Inexperience cannot be blamed either.

i know we have a number of people on here that have or still do organise races, as well as people that are well informed and or connected, so their input would be great.

[Jbr]

Only things I can complain about is :

- registration the previous day, this is something that seems to have appeared during covid, I don't remember doing this before... we all work, we have better things to do than waste 1hr/1.5 hours driving somewhere to get one paper number...

- portable toilets, half of the events (mostly Myriad), there's 3 toilets for 300 ppl loaded with slow mags (also know as fast-poop).

 

For the rest I think we're pretty lucky we have so many events it's actually hard to chose which ones to do.

[Bike Dewing]

26 minutes ago, Jbr said:

Only things I can complain about is :

- registration the previous day, this is something that seems to have appeared during covid, I don't remember doing this before... we all work, we have better things to do than waste 1hr/1.5 hours driving somewhere to get one paper number...

- portable toilets, half of the events (mostly Myriad), there's 3 toilets for 300 ppl loaded with slow mags (also know as fast-poop).

 

For the rest I think we're pretty lucky we have so many events it's actually hard to chose which ones to do.

Slow mag = fast poop.. ??😳😳 I did a long ride Friday and the wife gave me painkillers and slow mag that evening..

Saturday morning was a wild experience man.. was that the slow mag.?!😰😰🤣🤣

[Bike Dewing]

In my experience, people just like to have a whinge.!🤷🏼‍♂️🤣

[Jbr]

now you know 😅

Add a bit of betroot juice to the mix, you'll be lighter for the climb, but you must make sure to stop at the N1 engen on your way to the start

[Bike Dewing]

5 minutes ago, Jbr said:

now you know 😅

Add a bit of betroot juice to the mix, you'll be lighter for the climb, but you must make sure to stop at the N1 engen on your way to the start

The more you know.!😉🤘🏻

that’s hysterical.🤦‍♂️🤣🤣🤣

[Jbr]

3 minutes ago, Michael Dewing said:

The more you know.!😉🤘🏻

that’s hysterical.🤦‍♂️🤣🤣🤣

follow me for more racing tips 

[Jewbacca]

IMHO the complaining is something that has crept into society.

There will be 500 of 507 things done brilliantly, the 7 will be highlighted and spoken about.

Ask someone how they are and 9 out of 10 will complain about something instead of tell you about good stuff going on.

I put it down to an influence from a few areas. Notably the media and social media. Look at the current World Cup Rugby. Most of the press has been about Wit Kant, Barnes/refs being poor, bad hotels etc and not focussing on the absolute radness that the Springboks have created a wholly unified team from multiple socio economic backgrounds and cultures who win for each other. 

They have also broken down the barriers of 'Quota' whiners, which I think is amazing! 6 years ago it was quota this and quota that. Now? Not a peep.

But the media and reporting is constantly on about negative, sensationalist and controversial topics so that people interact, fight and feed the algorithm with clicks and comments.

No one quite realises just how much the algorithms are influencing our lives

[Hairy]

22 minutes ago, Jewbacca said:

IMHO the complaining is something that has crept into society.

There will be 500 of 507 things done brilliantly, the 7 will be highlighted and spoken about.

Ask someone how they are and 9 out of 10 will complain about something instead of tell you about good stuff going on.

I put it down to an influence from a few areas. Notably the media and social media. Look at the current World Cup Rugby. Most of the press has been about Wit Kant, Barnes/refs being poor, bad hotels etc and not focussing on the absolute radness that the Springboks have created a wholly unified team from multiple socio economic backgrounds and cultures who win for each other. 

They have also broken down the barriers of 'Quota' whiners, which I think is amazing! 6 years ago it was quota this and quota that. Now? Not a peep.

But the media and reporting is constantly on about negative, sensationalist and controversial topics so that people interact, fight and feed the algorithm with clicks and comments.

No one quite realises just how much the algorithms are influencing our lives

I think you are onto something RE society and complaining.

There is a little something I enjoy doing when shopping and receive good service from a staff member, when I am leaving I ask for the manager. The managers always arrive expecting the worst, and when you pass on the compliment about the staff member you can see the tension lift of their faces ... then they generally go and find the person straight away and let them know they are doing a great job.

Win win.

 

[Mamil]

I think the races are generally well organised and I regard myself as lucky to be able to ride an event like the one tonner for a reasonable price and have it pretty well organised but it's often that the ship is spoiled for a ha'penny worth of tar. 

There are few events where it's hard to imagine how it could be improved - the 36one, Transbaviaans, CTCT (apart from the compulsory number collection expo maze walk) so it can be done.

 

 

 

[Bike Dewing]

1 hour ago, Jewbacca said:

IMHO the complaining is something that has crept into society.

There will be 500 of 507 things done brilliantly, the 7 will be highlighted and spoken about.

Ask someone how they are and 9 out of 10 will complain about something instead of tell you about good stuff going on.

I put it down to an influence from a few areas. Notably the media and social media. Look at the current World Cup Rugby. Most of the press has been about Wit Kant, Barnes/refs being poor, bad hotels etc and not focussing on the absolute radness that the Springboks have created a wholly unified team from multiple socio economic backgrounds and cultures who win for each other. 

They have also broken down the barriers of 'Quota' whiners, which I think is amazing! 6 years ago it was quota this and quota that. Now? Not a peep.

But the media and reporting is constantly on about negative, sensationalist and controversial topics so that people interact, fight and feed the algorithm with clicks and comments.

No one quite realises just how much the algorithms are influencing our lives

I feel like needless complaining has always been there, we’ve only recently realized the scale of our whingeness as a society due to social media giving everyone a platform to voice there gripes openly, and sometimes secretly with fake profiles etc.. 

there's not enough gratitude, and not enough forgiveness in this world..

[bleedToWin]

At One Tonner the poor parking, lack of PA system to communicate with those in and around the start area, and poor vibe at the finish area are all valid points to complain about without being labelled a snowflake. It felt like no-one involved in the planning had ever participated in a road bike event. The difficulties were predictable, making it even more frustrating. A large reason for participating in these events is the mass start with riders of similar ability and half the field were denied that, reducing it to a club ride with marshals and water points.

[SwissVan]

2 hours ago, Jewbacca said:

IMHO the complaining is something that has crept into society.

There will be 500 of 507 things done brilliantly, the 7 will be highlighted and spoken about.

Ask someone how they are and 9 out of 10 will complain about something instead of tell you about good stuff going on.

I put it down to an influence from a few areas. Notably the media and social media. Look at the current World Cup Rugby. Most of the press has been about Wit Kant, Barnes/refs being poor, bad hotels etc and not focussing on the absolute radness that the Springboks have created a wholly unified team from multiple socio economic backgrounds and cultures who win for each other. 

They have also broken down the barriers of 'Quota' whiners, which I think is amazing! 6 years ago it was quota this and quota that. Now? Not a peep.

But the media and reporting is constantly on about negative, sensationalist and controversial topics so that people interact, fight and feed the algorithm with clicks and comments.

No one quite realises just how much the algorithms are influencing our lives

Simply put there are to many choices (races) in SA, if there were only half or less then maybe folks would look back and think twice about whinging

 

[love2fly]

4 hours ago, Jbr said:

Only things I can complain about is :

- registration the previous day, this is something that seems to have appeared during covid, I don't remember doing this before... we all work, we have better things to do than waste 1hr/1.5 hours driving somewhere to get one paper number...

- portable toilets, half of the events (mostly Myriad), there's 3 toilets for 300 ppl loaded with slow mags (also know as fast-poop).

 

For the rest I think we're pretty lucky we have so many events it's actually hard to chose which ones to do.

If you're taking Slowmag to avoid cramp rather train harder and hydrate and IF you get cramp chew on 3 or4 Rennies. No more pooping.....🙂

There's nothing worse than a rocket toilet filled to the brim with Godawfulstinky slurry ...

[Frosty]

2 hours ago, Hairy said:

I think you are onto something RE society and complaining.

There is a little something I enjoy doing when shopping and receive good service from a staff member, when I am leaving I ask for the manager. The managers always arrive expecting the worst, and when you pass on the compliment about the staff member you can see the tension lift of their faces ... then they generally go and find the person straight away and let them know they are doing a great job.

Win win.

 

I think I need to do that a few times; when I do go to the shops.

[Jbr]

25 minutes ago, love2fly said:

If you're taking Slowmag to avoid cramp rather train harder and hydrate and IF you get cramp chew on 3 or4 Rennies. No more pooping.....🙂

There's nothing worse than a rocket toilet filled to the brim with Godawfulstinky slurry ...

Thanks coach, will try to move from 600+TTS-avg weeks to 1000

 

Edit : oh wait... I have a job and a family so I can't really train more

Edited November 7, 2023 by Jbr