Deloitte Ride Across Britain ( 2011 - ongoing )

[mashino]

I did the ride last year and have joined the forum just express my opinions of the event in response to the negative comment here.

To start, I am not a sudo professional cyclist. I commute 20 miles per day to work (when not raining) but fancied the end to end as a personal challenge off the back of watching the Beijing games. I had never cycled more than 20 miles before signing up to the event, therefore my expectations and needs from the event are likely to be very different from a lot of people.

The positives (for me, may not be to everyone's taste)
All food was supplied (and it was fantastic)
Route was very well signposted - all I had to do was wake up, eat and ride
Threshold Sports (who organised the event) were fantastic. They were approachable throughout the build up and event and addressed any concerns/mistakes they made immediately.
The group of six that I rode with raised more than £10,000 for Paralympics GB (after entry costs which we funded). There is no way that we would have been able to raise this amount of money without the ride.
Through Deloitte's involvement with Paralympics GB, several Paralympians did the ride. This gave me the opportunity to meet Sarah Storey in camp (google her - she is the most incredible athlete I know) and witness the stagging ability that each Paralympian has. They are astonishing athletes and brilliant people. Riding with them (or watching them zoom past) was a privillige that will live long in the memory.
I chose not to indulge (mainly because i was knackered), but there was beer available at virtually every camp. The line on intoxicants does not refer to the enjoyment of an evening beverage.

The negatives
It is a lot of money to enter. However, I would not want to carry kit with me so I would have had to pay for the cost of running a support car with me. The nine day ride was also perfect as it meant that I only needed to use six days holiday.



I would have been very unlikely to attempt an end to end on my own. Doing it in a mass participation event was perfect for what I wanted - a personal challenge, and the ability to raise a phenominal amount of money to assist disabled athletes to compete at their home Paralympics.

I've been there, worn the t-shirt and loved every minute of it. If it wasn't for a new arrival I would be doing it again. At £200 per day it is not cheap but, as my luggage was transported, the camp site set up for me, the route taken car of, all the food I could eat was supplied for free I thought it was great value. I had a great time and I would heartily recommend it to anybody who was able to afford it.

[flowera]

I did the ride last year and have posted about it on here. I am considering doing it again this year.

I came down with the bug that felled many of the riders last year, lost a day of riding so I have unfinished business... as does my mate who also lost a day towards the end. The problem is, it is now very expensive. Things which were free last year are now also extra (massage, nutrition)... but the latest price does include bike transport at both ends. All-in I'd say it will cost me another £600+ extra this year. Even if I hadn't fallen ill I'd still think about doing it again, as I enjoyed it so much.

However, as I've posted before, it is a tough event - but note that they've shortened the route a little and taken out some of the gratuitous climbing - all in response to feedback from last year's riders. It is not the event for someone who wants to have a laid back 'holiday' with time to stop and enjoy the view. You will tackle many major hills/mountains between JOG and LE (although they've removed the Long Mynd for 2011) and the route does seem to go out of its way to avoid the flat boring bits.

I'd agree with the comments of the other rider above, if you want a well organised and fully supported personal challenge (and have the budget) then you should consider it.

Alan.

[nicktuppen]

Hi guys,

I came across this discussion and wanted to answer some of the questions about the ride. To be clear, I work for the event and am not here posting as an imaginary ex-rider or anything like that. The reason for starting the ride two years ago was that we wanted to get as many people doing the epic end to end ride as was possible. All of us her love cycling and getting out into beautiful scenery and wanted more people to be able to do it with us. There were lots of riders who were more than happy doing the end to end in small groups, over two weeks and arranging everything off their own backs. However, we found there were even more people who really wanted to undertake the challenge but didn't have the time or inclination to arrange themselves.

We then set out to build a ride package for those people. We found that lots of people were worried they couldn't complete it so we designed 11 month tailored training plans for them dependent of their level of fitness to get them in shape. Added into this we arranged training rides where they could be coached by experts like Andy Cook on group riding skills and refine their preparation. Then we supported the on the end of the phone line for the run up to the ride so all 600 of them could contact us at any time with any question they had.

Then on the ride itself we found that lots of people prefer riding in a group. Slogging through mile after mile on your own is not nearly as much fun as finding a group at your level and riding in a peloton suited to your pace. A mix of training in advance of the ride and chaperone riders on the course means over the course of the ride we find friendships forged across all ages and levels which helps get people through the experience with broad smiles despite the challenge of over 100 miles a day.

For those who pay the money and come on the ride they always leave telling us how great value they felt it was. You don't have to put your hand in your pocket for 9 days despite all your sports nutrition, all food on the road and in base camps, massages and medical support, mechanical support both in base camps on on the route, chaperone riders and signed routes, accommodation in both tents and universities, live event tracking and so on and so on. I won't go into the full list as if people want to know they can find out more on the new website which is launching in 2 weeks time and on www.rideacrossbritain.com.

For reference 94% of all riders who have set off have crossed the finish line despite the demanding schedule and over £766k has been raised for ParalympicsGB in just 2 years and the same amount again for other charities. We are investing large sums of money to get this off the ground and the price is not reflective of excessive profit margins, but rather the amount of work we out into making it what we think is one of the best cycling experiences you will have in the UK. We take care of everything to the finest detail. Some people find the terms and conditions tight, but when you read them carefully you will see that they are all there to ensure we give people the best experience possible.

Having done a lot of self-supported touring myself throughout the UK, the Himalayas, from Mexico to Vancouver on a tandem and back home from Istanbul I love the steady pace and exploration of that style of trip. However, having joined the final two days of Deloitte RAB this year and witnessed the incredible atmosphere and camaraderie, the amount of support you get from the organisers and the buzz of riding with 600 others I can thoroughly recommend it. The only downside of working for the event is not being able to do the whole thing.

Hope that answers some of the questions. Like I said, we know it's not for everyone but those who decide to sign up always come back saying what an incredible experience they've had and that's what keeps us motivated to improve it each year.

Oh and one more thing... there is plenty of beer on site despite what you may read from the Ts and Cs.

Any questions people have give us a ring or email us at info@rideacrossbritain.com and we'd be happy to chat. We are just out there trying to make a great event and getting as many people to complete an amazing challenge as we can each year.

[uphillbothways]

Horizon suggested I contribute to this thread. I think the late, great Sheldon Brown said it better than I can:

In the past few years, there has been a proliferation of pledge rides or "bike-a-thons," in which cyclists help to raise money for charitable causes by asking their friends and neighbors to contribute a small sum for each mile they ride in an organized event.

Conventional wisdom is that this is a win-win situation, encouraging cycling while simultaneously raising money for worthy causes.

I would submit that this conventional wisdom is wrong, that these pledge rides are bad for cycling, and that they should not be encouraged by the League.

"Bike-a-thons" grew out of "walk-a-thons." The idea of walk-a-thons is that the participants demonstrate their concern for the selected cause by undergoing the painful ordeal of a long walk, with the understanding that each mile they walk will enlarge the contribution given by the donors who they have signed up. The donors, in turn, get to feel that their contribution has been "earned" by the suffering of the participant who has sacrificed time and comfort for the sake of the cause.

The problem with translating the "walk-a-thon" into the "bike-a-thon" is the application of the concepts of "sacrifice" and "suffering" from walking to cycling. Cycling shouldn't be seen as a painful ordeal; cycling is fun! Could you imagine a "Cine-thon" where participants asked for pledges based on how many movies they watched? How about an "Ice-Cream-a-thon," in which people would give contributions based on how many ice cream cones you ate?

Altough "thons" do get people out on their bikes, and maybe even bring some people into cycling in a serious way, I believe that they send a message that cycling is a painful, unpleasant chore that you should do because it is good for you, or because it benefits some charitable organization.

The people who run most "thons" are good people, with good intentions. However, they have an agenda which does not necessarily include promotion of bicycling. While their use of bicyclists may promote a noble cause, the end does not justify the means.

It's great that you're raising money for a good cause, but I think you're doing no good for cycling. In the broader context of mass-participation cycling, this trend is corrosive.

Traditionally, an aspiring tourist would start out on little solo jaunts around their area, then join a club on a Sunday run. As part of a community of cyclists they learn road sense, navigation, maintenance and all the little skills that make independent touring possible. Club runs, audaxes and rallies form part of a century-old culture that fosters independence and self-reliance. Novices become regulars, regulars become ride leaders and so the tradition continues.

The charity ride and sportive trend undermines all that. Words like "epic ride" and "personal challenge" propagate the idea that long-distance cycling is an exceptional feat of endurance, when it's really a quite ordinary pursuit. Support cars and marshals quietly teach the idea that riding cross-country is a logistical challenge requiring substantial backup, rather than something that's quite simple if you have a map, a multitool and the skills to use them. People are dropped in at the deep end with a grand, energy-sapping ride, diminishing the opportunity to slowly build the skills and confidence needed to tour independently. If nothing else, the cost of rides like these is borderline lunacy, rendering what is arguably the most democratic of pursuits a middle-class luxury.

Speaking personally, touring is the closest I've ever come to a spiritual epiphany. Alone in the middle of France, utterly lost and feeling utterly out of my depth, I realised that the distinction between "lost" and "not lost" no longer meant anything to me. I knew which way was west. I had enough food to sustain me for four days. I knew that the Atlantic ocean was no more than three days away. At that moment, I was enlightened. That in my opinion is the true gift of cycling; Organised endurance rides serve to obfuscate that by framing cycling as a feat of endurance rather than a simple act of travel.

[stewartpratt]

I think the late, great Sheldon Brown said it better than I can:

The people who run most "thons" are good people, with good intentions. However, they have an agenda which does not necessarily include promotion of bicycling.

Is everything that people do involving bicycles obliged to include the promotion of bicycling?

[horizon]

I think the late, great Sheldon Brown said it better than I can:

The people who run most "thons" are good people, with good intentions. However, they have an agenda which does not necessarily include promotion of bicycling.

Is everything that people do involving bicycles obliged to include the promotion of bicycling?

No, and it's a fair point. But if the resources and publicity available to event promoters went so far as to skew the public perception of cycling, then those who care about cycling may allowably be concerned.

(Note: my comments in posts above may have seemed critical of the RAB pe se, so I retracted them.)

[The Mechanic]

I am doing a supported end to end in May next year. It costs a bit but the main reason is that:

a) I prefer not to cycle on my own although I do a lot of that on audaxes
b) I don't have the time to organise it myself

The route, accommodation and lunch are provided by the organisers as is transport of luggage. The route is not signed, there are no motorcycle outriders nor is there a corporate sponsor. I could get the route from the CTC, get my PA to book the B&Bs for me and train tickets and save a probable 50% of the cost but I don't know anyone who would be able to do it with me so would be on my own for two weeks. Not my idea of fun. This way I get to ride a lighter bike with no luggage, have plenty of time to admire the scenery and lots of company on the ride and in the evenings. I might even be able to persuade 'er indoors to let me buy that Ti bike I have been lusting over especially for this ride.

I am, however, considering opening a Just Giving account and asking for donations to one or two worthwhile charities but rest assured that 100% of the money raised would go to the charities. I am paying the whole of the cost of the ride.

[Vorpal]

Another hjacked thread. I think there might be another thread or two on this forum about the evils of riding bikes for charity.

I'm going to disagree with the great Sheldon Brown.

A challenge is different for everyone. Many people find a walk or ride of five miles to be a challenge. Others have to go hundreds of miles to challenge themsleves. And while many charity rides are challenges for some of the participants, I don't know that they are or should be "a painful ordeal".

While it would border on the ridiculous for me to ride 10 miles for charity, it would be a huge and rewarding challenge for my five-year-old, who's only ever ridden her own bike about 5 miles at the most.

While I have mixed feeling about how some charity organisations manage some rides, and there are a number of aspects of this sort of thing that I disagree with (I don't use the on-line companies that manage donations, for example, because they deduct or add on 5 - 10 % for their own costs), I have done charity rides. In fact, I used to manage a company-sponsored team that did charity rides. Some riders raised funds, and some didn't. We or the company paid for all of the entry fees and costs associated with riding.
Some were challenges and some were just a day out with friends.

The rides we did were quite reasonable in both the entry fees and the level of support. Support for most was a signed route, feeding stations, a first aider or two, and some mechanically competent volunteers driving the route with tools and a trailer to transport bicycles, if necessary. Ones with overnights were usually in minimalist facilities, but good and plentiful food. I wouldn't have considered signing the team up for ride with an £1800 fee; neither the company nor the riders would have agreed to that kind of money (but I don't have a problem with anyone paying it).

I felt that the charity rides played a significant role in getting people out on bikes who might not otherwise have done so. And because they provide support (mechanical help, food, etc.) some people who might be worried about their ability to deal with 25 miles of cycling on their own become willing to try it. Because they know that someone will help if anything goes wrong. Then, when it doesn't, and it doesn't again, they try it on their own.

A number of people who rode with the team I managed were not regular cyclists when they started out doing charity rides, but became regular cyclists over the years that I ran the team. A few of the people were already regular cyclists & a few only ever did the charity rides. But I counted the folks who began with us as occasional cyclists and became keen cyclists as the real success, and well worth the time I invested.

[johncharles]

I'd want more than a tent to sleep in if I was paying that amount of money.

[cmlstratton]

The 2012 Ride is going to stop @ Uni campuses (inc BATH) en-route for some of the stops!!

[patpalloon]

I'd want more than a tent to sleep in if I was paying that amount of money.

You do get food poisoning thrown in free of charge

[wirral_cyclist]

I'd want more than a tent to sleep in if I was paying that amount of money.

You do get food poisoning thrown in free of charge

Must be quite a feat to poison that many people in one go

I thought the terms and conditions forbade the mention of this
What is shocking is trying to hide facts about shortcomings

[Paulatic]

This ride has just been through my area again. Already I've had a belly full of adverse comments about cyclists. Last year the local paper had letters from "disgruntled " about cyclists behaviour following their ride through the area.
Three years ago I, and traffic behind me, was stuck behind a large platoon of them for 2 1/2 miles.
If they leave this trail of hostility the length of the country they are not doing local cyclists any favours.

[rareposter]

This ride has just been through my area again. Already I've had a belly full of adverse comments about cyclists. Last year the local paper had letters from "disgruntled " about cyclists behaviour following their ride through the area.
Three years ago I, and traffic behind me, was stuck behind a large platoon of them for 2 1/2 miles.
If they leave this trail of hostility the length of the country they are not doing local cyclists any favours.

Every day, I and similar road users are held up by large platoons of motorists driving slowly, clogging the roads, drivers throwing litter out of their vehicles and talking on mobile phones. If they carry on like this they'll give local drivers a bad name.
See how that works?

[ambodach]

Paulatic is right. They leave a trail of hostility from the non cycling( not necessarily anti cycling yet) general public. Ranting about the evils of motorists does not help. Adding 3 hours on to a journey which would take just over 2 does not win friends and influence people. Transport operators in Fort William tried to have a dialogue with the organisers but basically got 2 fingers raised in their direction.