ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
Banjo just PMd me to ask about tips for organising forum rides and I thought it would make a good subject for a thread.
I've organised a lot of forum rides now so I have developed my own system which seems to work because old faces keep turning up for more, and I get a steady stream of newcomers. So, if you fancy organising your own ride and would like a few tips, read on. (If you don't or wouldn't, don't!
)
The first thing to say is that there might be some legal ramifications if someone gets hurt on a ride organised by you. I don't know what the legal situation is if no money changes hands. I'd like to think that the law is sensible enough to treat a forum ride the same as a bunch of mates meeting up for a ride, but perhaps a ride organiser has some legal responsibility for the safety of the other riders. I worried about it the first few times, and then stopped worrying.
If it really bothers you, then perhaps it would be better to leave ride organisation to someone else. If it worries you slightly, then include a disclaimer at the beginning of the first post of each ride thread that you start. "It is your responsibility to make sure that your bicycle is in safe working order. Riding in a group is a potentially hazardous activity and you recognise this and accept the risk of doing so. By taking part in this ride you agree that you will not take legal action against the ride organiser or other riders if an accident occurs on the ride." That kind of thing. It might not stand up in court, but it might give you some peace of mind!
The first thing to decide is what kind of ride you want it to be. You can't have a ride which is hard enough to appeal to Cat 2 racers as a training ride, and also to people who want to potter round a few villages and call in at the local pencil museum cafe for coffee and cake!
I tend to plan my forum rides around my level of fitness. Obviously I don't plan super-hard rides that I'm not fit enough to complete. I haven't organised any easy rides yet but I'm thinking of organising some one day to appeal to less fit forum members who do fancy pottering around a few villages. The only trouble is that I'm surrounded by big hills so easy routes away from busy roads are hard to find!
I think most forum rides tend not to be super-hard because the kind of rider who would want one of those is probably already an active member of a cycling club. I aim my rides at people who want fairly challenging social rides in nice countryside.
I've found Sundays tend to attract more riders than Saturdays. It's best to try and avoid clashing with local sportives and audaxes if you can.
I'm not fit enough to ride fast on my hilly routes so I always emphasise that to encourage other slow coaches to turn out, and to let faster riders know what to expect.
We did end up splitting into two groups after 60 miles last Sunday because the faster riders didn't have lights and wanted to crack on, but on shorter rides we always stick together.
Some riders have had bad experiences on competitive club rides and get really worried about being dropped. I always make a point of saying that the average speed on my rides is that of the slowest rider. Fast climbers are free to test themselves on climbs but they have to wait at the summits for everyone to catch up.
45-55 miles seems to be about right for a challenging hilly forum ride. That's hard enough to be satisfying for most of the fitter riders, who often clock up extra miles to and from ride 'HQ', manageable for less fit riders such as me, and really hard, but still doable for many riders who haven't quite managed that kind of ride before. It's very pleasing to see the look on their faces when they get to the end of the ride. (A strange combination of 'Thank God that is over!' and 'Wow- I did it!')
I also arrange hilly rides of 30-40 miles for people who fancy something a bit easier.
Generally, people like at least one good cafe stop. On a 50 mile ride, I'd try and plan it to be after about 30 miles. If you are on a one-stop strategy, if you can possibly help it don't make it before the halfway point - it's not good for the head!
If the ride is significantly longer, perhaps have a shorter stop at the 1/3 point and a longer one after 2/3 of the total distance.
Try and make the start of the ride somewhere where people can park cheaply, and preferably where they have a choice of coming in by train. Remember that Sunday rail timetables are often limited so plan your start time to fit in with the trains. Link to a map showing where to meet up. It's good if there are shops, toilets and a cafe near the meeting place in case anybody arrives early and needs them. In fact, be aware of the potential need for shops and toilets on the ride and try and go through a few villages which have them!
Put your routes up online for people to look at. I use Bikely, but any of the online mapping sites will do as long as they are free to use. Make sure that the site allows the route to be exported as a GPX file for people to load onto their GPS units if they have them.
If your route is hilly, it's nice to mention what kind of hills to expect, especially any significantly steep climbs or descents.
I do my level best to avoid big towns and busy roads. If you can't, at least make sure that you avoid dangerous roads.
If you haven't ridden the entire route before, check it against OS maps. Online mapping sites often show ancient rights of way as roads! If you don't have the paper maps, you can view them online at MultiMap.
Oh - one thing I haven't succeeded at is attracting many female CycleChat members to my rides so I'd particularly like advice on how to achieve that. I know that there are far more men on this site than women, but I'm sure that the women are under-represented.
I know that the severity of my rides may be a factor (PS sorry for any offence that remark might have caused!), and a natural hesitation about riding off into the middle of nowhere with a bunch of male strangers could also be a worry, but I think if you asked the women who have been on my rides how they were treated, they'd say that their ride partners were 'perfect gentlemen' and we all had a good laugh together.
I have had over 50 CycleChat members turn out on my rides and I haven't met anyone I don't like yet so I'd say - get stuck in and try and organise your own rides!
Okay, that's all I can think of for now. Any other suggestions for would-be forum ride planners?
----+++++ New suggestions added below #1 +++++----
(Actually - this not just about planning a ride, it is also about what to do when you are out on one!)
The first post about the ride is where people should go to read the details so keep it up to date. I've tried doing it post-by-post and people do not repeatedly read all the way through the thread and will just keep asking the same questions. (They are probably busy with real life or something!) If the answer is in the first post, tell them to read the first post. If it isn't - add it to the first post and then tell them to go there!
Maintain a couple of lists in the first post - those definitely coming on the ride and those who might be coming.
You may be asked to exchange phone numbers with riders. Decide if you want to do that. Exchange numbers by PM not in the ride thread (unless you want every internet weirdo to know your mobile number!)
Think about bailout options. The weather may turn horrible. Some riders may run out of energy or have mechanical problems. Try and allow for a shortcut back if possible, or perhaps access to a useful railway station. (I had to catch a train back from Blackpool on one forum ride when my back wheel got buggered.)
You might like to consider a ride with 2 or even 3 loops from the start point with a cafe stop at the end of each loop. That gives riders the option of starting with you and riding 1, 2 or all 3 loops.
Encourage suggestions about your route and be flexible. (Ajay pointed out that Bonds of Elswick were situated close to my recent century route so I redirected it to put an ice cream stop in after 25 miles!)
Take photos on the ride and write a nice ride report afterwards including the pictures. Other riders will read that and see what a nice bunch of people you ride with and want to join you for the next ride.
Don't start all your rides from the same place. You will eventually start repeating all your favourite routes. Some of mine start from Hebden Bridge, some from Whalley, and I have a couple of other ideas too. Variety is fun. Moving the start point 20 or 30 miles also brings you into a new 'catchment area'.
Seek out nice scenery or places of historical interest.
Once you get beyond 8 or 9 riders, keeping track of them on the road gets harder. Ideally you'd have at least 2 riders who know the route or who have it loaded into their GPS units. Get one to ride at the front of the group and one at the back.
Make it clear that each rider should be responsible for their own bike and repairs. By all means help out, but people turning up without spares or tools is a pain!
Unless you particularly want to organise a forum chain-gang ride (in which case you should say so), it should be absolutely forbidden for people to go to the front and deliberately blow people away. That is not what I call a sociable forum ride. It will probably happen by accident, just call 'em back, or if it is you doing it - slow down!
If you have a long descent and your next turn is anywhere other than at the bottom - tell everybody before you begin to descend! You don't want people having to climb back up the hill because they went a mile past the junction! Ideally, you'd descend in front of everyone else and show them the way, but that depends on the descending prowess of those taking part.
----+++++ New suggestions added below #2 +++++----
Try and say hello to everyone on the ride but make a special point of introducing yourself to newcomers. I always feel a bit awkward standing around talking in the car park at the start so I tend to arrive pretty close to the start time. I really ought to get there earlier but I'm very sluggish in the morning. I'm never fully awake until we have been riding for an hour or so.
Check the forum thread for messages just before you set off. And check your phonen if you've given your number out. If you have given your number, have your phone switched on and with you!
Take a list of who is coming so you don't accidentally set off without someone.
Some people will turn up unannounced so try not to leave much before the official starting time. Rammylad surprised us on the last forum ride but he got to the start in good time. Crimmey turned up for a ride in 2009 just as we were leaving the car park! After that, I emphasised that last-minute riders would be wise to arrive early to make sure they didn't miss us.
I've organised a lot of forum rides now so I have developed my own system which seems to work because old faces keep turning up for more, and I get a steady stream of newcomers. So, if you fancy organising your own ride and would like a few tips, read on. (If you don't or wouldn't, don't!
)The first thing to say is that there might be some legal ramifications if someone gets hurt on a ride organised by you. I don't know what the legal situation is if no money changes hands. I'd like to think that the law is sensible enough to treat a forum ride the same as a bunch of mates meeting up for a ride, but perhaps a ride organiser has some legal responsibility for the safety of the other riders. I worried about it the first few times, and then stopped worrying.
If it really bothers you, then perhaps it would be better to leave ride organisation to someone else. If it worries you slightly, then include a disclaimer at the beginning of the first post of each ride thread that you start. "It is your responsibility to make sure that your bicycle is in safe working order. Riding in a group is a potentially hazardous activity and you recognise this and accept the risk of doing so. By taking part in this ride you agree that you will not take legal action against the ride organiser or other riders if an accident occurs on the ride." That kind of thing. It might not stand up in court, but it might give you some peace of mind!
The first thing to decide is what kind of ride you want it to be. You can't have a ride which is hard enough to appeal to Cat 2 racers as a training ride, and also to people who want to potter round a few villages and call in at the local pencil museum cafe for coffee and cake!
I tend to plan my forum rides around my level of fitness. Obviously I don't plan super-hard rides that I'm not fit enough to complete. I haven't organised any easy rides yet but I'm thinking of organising some one day to appeal to less fit forum members who do fancy pottering around a few villages. The only trouble is that I'm surrounded by big hills so easy routes away from busy roads are hard to find!
I think most forum rides tend not to be super-hard because the kind of rider who would want one of those is probably already an active member of a cycling club. I aim my rides at people who want fairly challenging social rides in nice countryside.
I've found Sundays tend to attract more riders than Saturdays. It's best to try and avoid clashing with local sportives and audaxes if you can.
I'm not fit enough to ride fast on my hilly routes so I always emphasise that to encourage other slow coaches to turn out, and to let faster riders know what to expect.
We did end up splitting into two groups after 60 miles last Sunday because the faster riders didn't have lights and wanted to crack on, but on shorter rides we always stick together.
Some riders have had bad experiences on competitive club rides and get really worried about being dropped. I always make a point of saying that the average speed on my rides is that of the slowest rider. Fast climbers are free to test themselves on climbs but they have to wait at the summits for everyone to catch up.
45-55 miles seems to be about right for a challenging hilly forum ride. That's hard enough to be satisfying for most of the fitter riders, who often clock up extra miles to and from ride 'HQ', manageable for less fit riders such as me, and really hard, but still doable for many riders who haven't quite managed that kind of ride before. It's very pleasing to see the look on their faces when they get to the end of the ride. (A strange combination of 'Thank God that is over!' and 'Wow- I did it!'
)I also arrange hilly rides of 30-40 miles for people who fancy something a bit easier.
Generally, people like at least one good cafe stop. On a 50 mile ride, I'd try and plan it to be after about 30 miles. If you are on a one-stop strategy, if you can possibly help it don't make it before the halfway point - it's not good for the head!
If the ride is significantly longer, perhaps have a shorter stop at the 1/3 point and a longer one after 2/3 of the total distance.
Try and make the start of the ride somewhere where people can park cheaply, and preferably where they have a choice of coming in by train. Remember that Sunday rail timetables are often limited so plan your start time to fit in with the trains. Link to a map showing where to meet up. It's good if there are shops, toilets and a cafe near the meeting place in case anybody arrives early and needs them. In fact, be aware of the potential need for shops and toilets on the ride and try and go through a few villages which have them!
Put your routes up online for people to look at. I use Bikely, but any of the online mapping sites will do as long as they are free to use. Make sure that the site allows the route to be exported as a GPX file for people to load onto their GPS units if they have them.
If your route is hilly, it's nice to mention what kind of hills to expect, especially any significantly steep climbs or descents.
I do my level best to avoid big towns and busy roads. If you can't, at least make sure that you avoid dangerous roads.
If you haven't ridden the entire route before, check it against OS maps. Online mapping sites often show ancient rights of way as roads! If you don't have the paper maps, you can view them online at MultiMap.
Oh - one thing I haven't succeeded at is attracting many female CycleChat members to my rides so I'd particularly like advice on how to achieve that. I know that there are far more men on this site than women, but I'm sure that the women are under-represented.
I know that the severity of my rides may be a factor (PS sorry for any offence that remark might have caused!), and a natural hesitation about riding off into the middle of nowhere with a bunch of male strangers could also be a worry, but I think if you asked the women who have been on my rides how they were treated, they'd say that their ride partners were 'perfect gentlemen' and we all had a good laugh together.
I have had over 50 CycleChat members turn out on my rides and I haven't met anyone I don't like yet so I'd say - get stuck in and try and organise your own rides!
Okay, that's all I can think of for now. Any other suggestions for would-be forum ride planners?
----+++++ New suggestions added below #1 +++++----
(Actually - this not just about planning a ride, it is also about what to do when you are out on one!)
The first post about the ride is where people should go to read the details so keep it up to date. I've tried doing it post-by-post and people do not repeatedly read all the way through the thread and will just keep asking the same questions. (They are probably busy with real life or something!) If the answer is in the first post, tell them to read the first post. If it isn't - add it to the first post and then tell them to go there!
Maintain a couple of lists in the first post - those definitely coming on the ride and those who might be coming.
You may be asked to exchange phone numbers with riders. Decide if you want to do that. Exchange numbers by PM not in the ride thread (unless you want every internet weirdo to know your mobile number!)
Think about bailout options. The weather may turn horrible. Some riders may run out of energy or have mechanical problems. Try and allow for a shortcut back if possible, or perhaps access to a useful railway station. (I had to catch a train back from Blackpool on one forum ride when my back wheel got buggered.)
You might like to consider a ride with 2 or even 3 loops from the start point with a cafe stop at the end of each loop. That gives riders the option of starting with you and riding 1, 2 or all 3 loops.
Encourage suggestions about your route and be flexible. (Ajay pointed out that Bonds of Elswick were situated close to my recent century route so I redirected it to put an ice cream stop in after 25 miles!)
Take photos on the ride and write a nice ride report afterwards including the pictures. Other riders will read that and see what a nice bunch of people you ride with and want to join you for the next ride.
Don't start all your rides from the same place. You will eventually start repeating all your favourite routes. Some of mine start from Hebden Bridge, some from Whalley, and I have a couple of other ideas too. Variety is fun. Moving the start point 20 or 30 miles also brings you into a new 'catchment area'.
Seek out nice scenery or places of historical interest.
Once you get beyond 8 or 9 riders, keeping track of them on the road gets harder. Ideally you'd have at least 2 riders who know the route or who have it loaded into their GPS units. Get one to ride at the front of the group and one at the back.
Make it clear that each rider should be responsible for their own bike and repairs. By all means help out, but people turning up without spares or tools is a pain!
Unless you particularly want to organise a forum chain-gang ride (in which case you should say so), it should be absolutely forbidden for people to go to the front and deliberately blow people away. That is not what I call a sociable forum ride. It will probably happen by accident, just call 'em back, or if it is you doing it - slow down!
If you have a long descent and your next turn is anywhere other than at the bottom - tell everybody before you begin to descend! You don't want people having to climb back up the hill because they went a mile past the junction! Ideally, you'd descend in front of everyone else and show them the way, but that depends on the descending prowess of those taking part.
----+++++ New suggestions added below #2 +++++----
Try and say hello to everyone on the ride but make a special point of introducing yourself to newcomers. I always feel a bit awkward standing around talking in the car park at the start so I tend to arrive pretty close to the start time. I really ought to get there earlier but I'm very sluggish in the morning. I'm never fully awake until we have been riding for an hour or so.
Check the forum thread for messages just before you set off. And check your phonen if you've given your number out. If you have given your number, have your phone switched on and with you!
Take a list of who is coming so you don't accidentally set off without someone.
Some people will turn up unannounced so try not to leave much before the official starting time. Rammylad surprised us on the last forum ride but he got to the start in good time. Crimmey turned up for a ride in 2009 just as we were leaving the car park! After that, I emphasised that last-minute riders would be wise to arrive early to make sure they didn't miss us.
