Not justifying anything - just putting into context previous comments - they are totally different rides/style of events. I'm not at all asserting that FNRttC isn't a great ride - as are others such as Dulwich Dynamo. They are perhaps aimed at different markets - you guys see such stuff as superfluous, we see it as a comprehensive, well organised event - and not simply a ride? Not everyone partakes in sportivesregularly and for many this will be their first foray into such rides and we have an obligation to deliver a fuller expereince - we see our challenges as much more of an "event" rather than a "registration and ride" - it's just a difference in opinion!
Hope the weather is good for FNRttC!
you've no idea, have you?
If you can get enough mugs to pay £89 for the same level of service they'd get on the Martlets FNRttC, which includes support vehicles, mechanics, insurance, toilets, refreshments at the midway point (within the price), a control room staffed by people who know their stuff, bike transfer if needed, medical help at the tail end, free t-shirt, medal, bar at the end with both brown and yellow beer, not to mention personal help with training, free Dr. Bike sessions, discounts at shops and embedded marshals with upward of a thousand night rides between them and so on and so forth. all well and good - but you're going to have to put up with a bit of mickey-taking from now until the 9th September
it's not a different market - it's a different way of doing things. The Martlets FNRttC could not be run without the sixty or so volunteers who turn out on the night - doing anything from serving sandwiches to standing at a junction for anything up to four hours. The extraordinary thing is that in this instance the volunteers often have the kind of expertise that isn't available elsewhere - at any price.
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