...of other rides like Eroica?

[speedsixdave]

A small gang of us have just returned from Eroica Limburg, a couple of weeks after doing the Eroica Britannia for the second time. I know there is some divided opinion about these events on this forum and elsewhere (sorry Pete75!) but we have thoroughly enjoyed attending and riding them and they seem to appeal to the fairly broad range of keen-ness amongst my kith and kin in a way that some other events do not.

We're idly chatting now about what to do next year. Does anyone on this forum have experience of other Eroicae around the world, or of similar events?

Things we like:
1. Scenic rides of varying degrees of length/toughness (the short ride at Limburg was 60km which is a bit hardcore for non-cyclists. The 100km was good though. Conversely the UK 25km was a bit lightweight.)
2. Riding old bikes (although I do find the strict Eroica rules a little short-sighted and proscriptive)
3. Looking at other people's old bikes (so just going out on our own is less fun)
4. A bit of a festival (Britannia great for this, Limburg not so good)
5. Some surprise booze and interesting food stops (points for Limburg here)
6. Decent weather (well, you can dream!)

Things we don't like so much:
1. The off-road component. (I know this is a fundamental tenet of Eroica but we find they can be rather wearing. Limburg's wet, clayey, gritty, slippy farm tracks lost their novelty value quite fast. Last year's wet Monsal Trail etc in Derbyshire was much less bad though.)
2. Heavy rain all day (It was a long, wet, puncture-filled day in Limburg. But there's not much you can do about that, except choose better tyres and ride a bike with mudguards!)

Any suggestions out there? Thanks in advance, Dave.

[tatanab]

Anjou Velo Vintage http://www.anjou-velo-vintage.com/en

[speedsixdave]

Thanks tatanab, that one looks fantastic. Two days of rides too!

[nirakaro]

At the risk of being called pedantic (just a little…), your plural eroicae is a Latin construction: Latin would be heroica, pluralized to heroicae. Eroica I think is Italian, and would I imagine pluralize to eroiche. You're welcome.

[delilah]

Retro Ronde in Belgium
http://www.retroronde.be/en/145-home
Didn't run this year but back for June 2018 well worth the trip over

[speedsixdave]

At the risk of being called pedantic (just a little…), your plural eroicae is a Latin construction: Latin would be heroica, pluralized to heroicae. Eroica I think is Italian, and would I imagine pluralize to eroiche. You're welcome.

And I thank you for it, nirakaro!

[speedsixdave]

Retro Ronde in Belgium
http://www.retroronde.be/en/145-home
Didn't run this year but back for June 2018 well worth the trip over

Very nice, Delilah, although I'm not sure my wife would thank me for chasing her up the Paterberg et al!

Have you ridden the Retro Ronde?

[pete75]

Three Counties L'Eroica starts from Salcey forest near Northampton run in early June viewtopic.php?f=9&t=114837&p=1132033&hilit=salcey#p1132033 .

[delilah]

Retro Ronde in Belgium
http://www.retroronde.be/en/145-home
Didn't run this year but back for June 2018 well worth the trip over

Very nice, Delilah, although I'm not sure my wife would thank me for chasing her up the Paterberg et al!

Have you ridden the Retro Ronde?

Yes I've ridden it three times. Its every bit as good as the Eroica in Tuscany but a lot more friendly and for us in the north a lot easier logistically to get to. You could go for a few days riding and visit Ghent or Bruges and ride from there. If you've never ridden in Belgium I can thoroughly recommend it.
There's also this ride in the Lakes . You've missed this years but its on every year.
https://retrorendezvous.co.uk/

[speedsixdave]

Three Counties L'Eroica starts from Salcey forest near Northampton run in early June viewtopic.php?f=9&t=114837&p=1132033&hilit=salcey#p1132033 .

Thanks Pete. Nice and close too, will definitely look this one out for next year. 100km is a nice day out for the bikies but might be taxing for our WAGs.

[pete75]

100km is a nice day out for the bikies but might be taxing for our WAGs.

I bet Charlie Burton never said anything like that

[drossall]

The Amersham Classic is this weekend, and part of a festival.

[9494arnold]

Join the Veteran Cycle Club there's a plethera of rides for all categories of machine most weekends .

(I've looked at the variopus Eroica events and they do seem a tad expensive to me although I have heard good reports)

[pga]

I took over the organisation of the <Milton Keynes CTC Three Counties L'Eroica several years ago. In spite of designing the ride exactly as sought our entries have grown less and less over the years in spite of informing local cycling clubs, newspapers and other media, putting up posters in the area and the like. Entry fee is only £5 which goes 100 per cent to the CTC Cyclists Defence Fund and Willen Hospice. Vintage bikes and modern ones are equally welcome. Meanwhile we we see similar events run for profit with costly entry fees seemingly attracting big fields.

Once upon a time we thought we knew what cyclists were looking for. I am not so sure we do today. I would appreciate any comments. At least if I organise a club run next year at least I will be able to go on it rather than spend the day organising a ride for others.

[millimole]

I took over the organisation of the <Milton Keynes CTC Three Counties L'Eroica several years ago. In spite of designing the ride exactly as sought our entries have grown less and less over the years in spite of informing local cycling clubs, newspapers and other media, putting up posters in the area and the like. Entry fee is only £5 which goes 100 per cent to the CTC Cyclists Defence Fund and Willen Hospice. Vintage bikes and modern ones are equally welcome. Meanwhile we we see similar events run for profit with costly entry fees seemingly attracting big fields.

Once upon a time we thought we knew what cyclists were looking for. I am not so sure we do today. I would appreciate any comments. At least if I organise a club run next year at least I will be able to go on it rather than spend the day organising a ride for others.

I'm a member of The Veteran Cycle Club and I don't recall seeing your ride advertised in News & Views - so that's one point: you are missing a big potentially large number of interested riders.
Secondly you say "Vintage bikes and modern ones are equally welcome" : so how is this any different from any other charity ride? What's the Unique Selling Proposition?
There is a marketing tenet that says something along the lines of 'if it's cheap, people think it's cheap'. People are paying £25 to enter rides because they perceive they are getting £25's worth of ride, but you are 'only' offering a £5 ride ( I know, I know- it's bonkers, but it's true!). Consider charging £10 but offering a souvenir tee-shirt that cost you £3; or charge £15 with a tee shirt and a village hall tea at the end of the ride - you could still make perhaps an extra £5 profit for the charities, and it would be thought of a splendid value by the 'Eroica crowd'.
[Almost as an aside, I took my Hetchins to The Great Penny Farthing Race event in Shropshire, on the same weekend as Eroica Brittania- this was a free event, all participants got free lunch, ice cream, a tee shirt and a medal. This was run as a publicity 'stunt' for the venue - but thoroughly enjoyed by the riders, the public and the organisers. The venue got its publicity, we got our fun!]


You can easlily remove the Tapatalk spam using settings on YOUR phone