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21 comments
Ive done the RL for charity in the year of the great storm :). Ive tried several times to get into the event via ballot-failed.
I tried the Tour of Cambridgeshire last year and really enjoyed it-probably because its the same type closed road event, but without the hassle of riding with too many others. The other plus is that the event starts later in the morning and I can travel there and back in the day without laying out hundreds for accomodation and trains. Signed up again this year. Also its a UCI qualifier if you've got the speed
Saw comment on another event saying handcycles and recumbents banned...shameful...whatever the perceived problem must be a way to sort it and allow access for all ...here's a good article from down under about a bigger than life hand cyclist completing the Bowral90 event ...from Oct18 so might have seen https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.bicyclin...
We're pretty much blanket banned from all events, on some nebulous grounds of undefined "safety".
Also, RideLondon keeps referring to handcycles as pedal cycles when, by definition, they have no pedals whatsoever. Minor irritant.
Recumbents weren't banned in 2017 - I started in one of the later waves with a load of them.
Saying that, they probably weren't doing the 100, just the 46.
Are handcycles still banned with no good reason?
Yeah, still banned, still no explanation why.
My rant was aimed more at those that masquerade a bloody nice holiday as a charity event and lots of the donated money is going to flights and set up fees!
For the first time this year, I am pondering whether to do RideLondon without raising money (in spite of feeling a bit guilty about that). I have done it three times before ... first time was my first ever century and I rode for Shelter, second time The Alzheimer's Society (very close to my heart as this was in memory of my Mum who suffered that horrible illness in her final years) and last time for two of the house charities at the school where I teach, as I got a place in the ballot for the first time, and I was combining it with VeloBirmingham in the same Summer for my first double century year.
Didn't do it last year (didn't even enter the ballot) but put in for this year's ballot on the off-chance (as I do really enjoy the ride) with no intention of signing up for a charity if I didn't get my own place, and duly got one ... not in the main ballot but the additional one for those who chose to donate their entry fee to the RL charity.
To a point, I understand the point about not trying to raise money doing something you enjoy doing anyway, but one the other hand there are many people who raise money year after year running marathon after marathon, so I am not sure on that one.
My current thinking is not to push fundraising on my friends and family but just to point them to a preferred charity if they want to make a donation anyway.
I did wonder
Because I didn’t get in, obviously
Whatever. Why are your knickers so bent out of shape ?
These aren’t typically non-cyclists trying to raise money and awareness for a charity that means something to them though - it’s people who want to ride to Box Hill like in the olympics on closed roads, didn’t win one of the artificially limited ballot places and then got strong armed into riding it for a charity. Which charity? Marie Curie? Sure, why not
You can overthink sponsorship... I have no problem with giving a bit of cash to friends who are raising funds and awareness about a cause close to their heart.
I remember how I felt after doing my first 100 miler many moons ago when I was getting into the sport. I've never felt so physically drained in my life. 100 miles or even 50 miles is a big deal when you aren't used to it.
I would never have the gall to ask everyone I know to donate in order for me to do something I want to do anyway. 100 mile bike ride you say? Don’t you do that most weeks anyway? Oh this one’s supposed to be different, is it?
I think it has to be a genuine challenge of the "oh fuck what have I signed up for" type. One that requires training and even then you might not make it - like a running marathon, or a full iron-man, or a 100-miler if you've not done one before.
I did RL46 a couple of years ago and it never crossed my mind to do that for charity - it was a stretch for me but something I'd done before. Now I've signed up to do a 100-miler (not RL) I am doing it for charity as I'm genuinely not sure I'll be able to complete it and will need the motivation. Longest ride to date is 60 miles so some serious training is required.
If you can do 60 miles, doing 100 should not be an issue.
I'm currently sat here with a sponsor form for a charity bike ride on my desk, wondering whether to pass it around. the office. Yes, I can comfortably do the distance - in fact, to make it more interesting I am nearly doubling it by cycling to the start and home again, so there is an element of "where's the challenge".
I tend to think the challenge here is actually raising awareness of a (IMO) worthy charity.
Another colleague is running his umpteenth marathon for a cancer charity and I'll give him a donation - another colleague is in training for the LEJOG for another charity, which is a "proper" challenge with a genuine chance of failure, but I think he's looking at doing that over nearly 2 weeks with a couple of rest days, so you could argue that's also a bit on the "comfortable" side, so where do you draw the line on what is "worthy" of sponsorship?
The truly ludicrous thing about this situation is that the charities end up having to run "Sale" events to offload their unfilled places as the event approaches. I've done the Etape and Ride London for £99 with no fundraising commitment, both booked with one of the mega-charities, close to the event.
Local charities can be supported while enjoying a nice bike ride by entering one of the smaller sportives. There are tons of them.
That does sound like it's taking the pee. Just do the jump in the UK and save everyone £1800 or something.
I notice the payment date for Ride London was extended this year too - so maybe they're struggling to get the money in for the balloted places. I know a few couples where they've both applied and the wives have got in thru the ballot and the husbands not. So they've both pulled out.
It's quite annoying, and you get some brilliant con artists taking self-entitled liberties.
Facebook request from a (now former) friend to support her charity sacrifice for the homeless. Ahhh that's sweet, she's a nice girl with her own 3 bedroom home, £30k a year job, wanting to ut something back. Read 'her story' and it's a bungee jump or skydive or something at the Grand Canyon - every penny she raises over £2,000 goes direct to the charity and she's putting the first £200 in herself. Brilliant so we get to pay £1,800 towards your holiday and if loads of people contribute then a homeless person may get a blanket. F**k right off!
There is a ballot for smaller charities to apply for places separately from the individual ballot. The charities that get charity ballot places can then 'sell' them on to individuals in exchange for fundraising commitments. This is why they tend require a people to raise a minimum amount so they don't end up making a loss on the place(s) they buy.
The big charities can get so many places because they are prepared to pay a lot for them in sponsorship deals with the organisers. They have the larger budgets to invest in fundraising so can invest more upfront, smaller charities likely won't have a lot of capital. This is why the minimum fundraising committments tend to be higher for the larger charities.
Ultimately a charity is run as a business aiming to make a return on an investment. It's just what they do with their 'profit' that makes them different.
Not sure about Ride London, but I know at some events the charities pay the organisers for places.
With 4 months to go they are really just into selling season for the charity places. Gets the newer riders who say' I fancy x event, Oh it is sold out, but there is a charit place'.