gore bike wear road sportive. ruthin, 19/9

[bonj2]

http://www.gorebikewearsportives.com/ruthin.php

anyone doing this or could be tempted to?

 

[Tynan]

but its in Wales?

 

[bonj2]

course it's in wales. Where else do you want it to be?
Wales has some of the best hills in the uk.

 

[PaulB]

I did this last year and was quite disappointed with the organisation but someone on here reckoned they've pulled their socks up. That being the case, I'd like to go and do the route again as (apart from the howling wind on the day) it was superb countryside and marvelous scenery.

 

[Scoosh]

I did this last year and was quite disappointed with the organisation but someone on here reckoned they've pulled their socks up.

From my reading of the Gore site about their sportives, it seems that the local 'man on the ground' is the organiser, so it might depend on whether HE has got his act together. Certainly, the Selkirk event was well run and excellent signage but still howling wind

 

[PaulB]

From my reading of the Gore site about their sportives, it seems that the local 'man on the ground' is the organiser, so it might depend on whether HE has got his act together. Certainly, the Selkirk event was well run and excellent signage but still howling wind

I know for a fact he's responded to some criticism of the original Ruthin course by re-routing it the first section to Denbigh along a quieter parallel(ish) road as suggested by a lot of the riders. That being the case, I reckon he might have learned a bit more as well and encouraged by that, I'm going to give it another go. As I wrote previously, the course was very pleasant indeed.

 

[bonj2]

what was badly organised about it last year Paul?

 

[PaulB]

what was badly organised about it last year Paul?

I just got the strong impression they were mainly focussed on the following day's MTB event and kind of threw the sportive in as an afterthought. They got the distances completely wrong. It was advertised as 100 miles or 100 kilometres but in reality, IIRC the short route was about 44 miles and the long one just over 70! That's some seriously misleading advertising right there! The signage was very poor and a big group of us were on a road that turned into what seemed to be a farm track (good quality but grass down the centre!) for several miles and big doubts crept in due to there being no signs at all on that stretch. In the event, it was the right road and had the advantage of being quiet but even so, it caused a few problems and some were convinced it was wrong and turned back. Also, the road from Ruthin to Denbigh, the main one, was very busy but they didn't think to utilise the much quieter parallel road. They've done so this time but taken together, all these things just made you think they hadn't really considered the roadies' needs.

 

[bonj2]

I just got the strong impression they were mainly focussed on the following day's MTB event and kind of threw the sportive in as an afterthought. They got the distances completely wrong. It was advertised as 100 miles or 100 kilometres but in reality, IIRC the short route was about 44 miles and the long one just over 70! That's some seriously misleading advertising right there! The signage was very poor and a big group of us were on a road that turned into what seemed to be a farm track (good quality but grass down the centre!) for several miles and big doubts crept in due to there being no signs at all on that stretch. In the event, it was the right road and had the advantage of being quiet but even so, it caused a few problems and some were convinced it was wrong and turned back. Also, the road from Ruthin to Denbigh, the main one, was very busy but they didn't think to utilise the much quieter parallel road. They've done so this time but taken together, all these things just made you think they hadn't really considered the roadies' needs.

hmm...
a lot of roads do have grass down the centre, that are still valid roads...
probably some in most counties, especially wales. Was it wrong?

But i'm sceptical of anything which "isn't the main act" so to speak, the great notts bike ride was a bit like that - more a family ride with a sportive tacked on, not really considered the needs of roadies like a proper road sportive.


I'm going to try it but if it's badly organised i shall make my displeasure known.

 

[PaulB]

I'm going to try it but if it's badly organised i shall make my displeasure known.

I did last year and contacted the organisers (which was quite easy as I used to be a Gore Associate and knew the guy responsible) and they did get back to me promising they'd taken what I'd written on board. We'll see what happens this time but as I've written, have no concerns about the scenic beauty of the route. It's a real cracker.

 

[bonj2]

I did last year and contacted the organisers (which was quite easy as I used to be a Gore Associate and knew the guy responsible) and they did get back to me promising they'd taken what I'd written on board. We'll see what happens this time but as I've written, have no concerns about the scenic beauty of the route. It's a real cracker.

cool looking forward to it, hopefully see you there