Charity LeJoG without compulsory helmets?

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millimole
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Charity LeJoG without compulsory helmets?

Post by millimole »

My son is trying to persuade me to do LeJoG with him and his wife next year (presumably while my wife looks after their children!).
They have no strong feelings about helmets, but in 50 years of cycling I've worn one on two short rides - and am not going to start wearing one now for all sorts of reasons which I'm not intending to rehash now.

All of the charity rides he has looked at have compulsory helmet requirements. I can't be bothered to trawl through what seem to be the huge number of organisations that seem to offer this as a charity challenge ride, after all it's his project.
His preferred charity areas are vaguely - 'gut health', mental health, police & victim support, arthritis - but he seems to be prepared to consider almost anything.
He'd prefer a supported ride, rather than a DIY - he hasn't inherited his father's blind faith in something turning up at the last minute!

Does the gallery know of any charity organisers without the compulsory helmet requirement?

Happy for this to be moved to the LeJog forum - but I thought here might be best for starters.
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Mick F
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Re: Charity LeJoG without compulsory helmets?

Post by Mick F »

If he wants a "supported ride" all he needs to do is organise the support.
Get a few riders together and a support team behind them.
Van and driver to take your stuff, camping and B+B's and YHA's, and then to drive you all back from JOG.

Get sponsorship for your favourite charity.
You never know, one of your sponsors may provide you with a van.

Sod the helmets! :D
Keep away from the "organised" rides and the routes they want.
Do it yourself and save a fortune ................ and don't be forced to wear a helmet.
Mick F. Cornwall
roubaixtuesday
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Re: Charity LeJoG without compulsory helmets?

Post by roubaixtuesday »

Just turn up on day one with one, then either clip it to your rack or 'lose' it.

It'll be fine
Nigel
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Re: Charity LeJoG without compulsory helmets?

Post by Nigel »

As alternative to DIY, just book on any tour which provides transport/support/accommodation. You pay the company for its services. That's pretty much how most "charity" distance rides work - a significant chunk of money goes for the transport/support/accommodation.

Then separate to paying for the transport/support/accommodation, you can raise money for any charity, and donate that as a one-off.
millimole
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Re: Charity LeJoG without compulsory helmets?

Post by millimole »

Thanks for those thoughts - keep 'em coming.

When my son and his wife did a charity Vietnam & Cambodia ride it was one of these where they had to raise £n to cover the transport & accommodation - they like me, don't like this model, so paid for these aspects themselves - Nigel's approach seems to mirror this.
Another route coming out of these ideas might be to do a relay where we hire a van and each drive it one day in three, so although none of us would ride the whole route, it would be completed as a team effort.
Leicester; Riding my Hetchins since 1971; Day rides on my Dawes; Going to the shops on a Decathlon Hoprider
tatanab
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Re: Charity LeJoG without compulsory helmets?

Post by tatanab »

Organise your own charity collection and use a supported organised trip https://www.bikeadventures.co.uk/

From their FAQs
A cycling helmet is not compulsory on Bike Adventures trips (except where required by the laws of that country), however we do recommend that you wear one as an added safety precaution.
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Cunobelin
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Re: Charity LeJoG without compulsory helmets?

Post by Cunobelin »

I got involved with a "Charity Ride" once....

I was working with the local Council on Agenda 21, so the had got my name. I was happy at first to advise, and give links.

Then I became concerned.

Their "costs" which were being deducted prior to any charity donation. included

Hore of a large camper van for "rest stops"
Support van
4 or 5-star hotel accommodation for the 6 riders and the "crew" of 5
6 new fully equipped top of the range touring bikes
Daily expenses to cover meals and sundries

At this point, I simply expressed my concerns and withdrew. As far as I am aware it never took off, but I was appalled at this concept of a charity ride
millimole
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Re: Charity LeJoG without compulsory helmets?

Post by millimole »

Cunobelin wrote:I got involved with a "Charity Ride" once....

snip

At this point, I simply expressed my concerns and withdrew. As far as I am aware it never took off, but I was appalled at this concept of a charity ride


Unfortunately this is relatively common AFAIUI in the world of 'charity' expeditions (aka 'challenges')
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RickH
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Re: Charity LeJoG without compulsory helmets?

Post by RickH »

When I did LEJOG with Bike Adventures, I was just doing it for the "fun" of it. There were, I think, 22 of us riding and it was probably about a 50:50 split between those raising money for charity & those just having a cycling trip.

Incidentally, I don't know about other setups but, Bike Adventures trips are (or were - I last did a trip with them in 2012) a bit like back to back Audaxes - you are given the route & it is up to you to follow it (or not as I did, deliberately, a few times for particular reasons). There was someone riding at the back on the route & a vehicle if needed (get bike to repair, give unwell rider a lift &/or take them for medical treatment). You could ride by yourself or with a group of others. I mostly rode with a small group but sometimes decided I wanted time to myself & rode alone.

If you didn't want to organise everything yourself but didn't want to be part of another ride they will also do the organising for your own LEJOG (among a number of other trips).

Edited to add: they didn't seem to have any rules on helmets when I did their trips.
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PH
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Re: Charity LeJoG without compulsory helmets?

Post by PH »

tatanab wrote:Organise your own charity collection and use a supported organised trip https://www.bikeadventures.co.uk/


I agree, though the first place I'd look might be CTC Holidays, they seem to have offered a wide range from very leisurely tours to quite challenging timetables.
On a personal level, I'd be more likely to donate to someone's fundraising effort if it was clear the holiday and the charity were completely separate.
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The utility cyclist
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Re: Charity LeJoG without compulsory helmets?

Post by The utility cyclist »

Mick F wrote:If he wants a "supported ride" all he needs to do is organise the support.
Get a few riders together and a support team behind them.
Van and driver to take your stuff, camping and B+B's and YHA's, and then to drive you all back from JOG.

Get sponsorship for your favourite charity.
You never know, one of your sponsors may provide you with a van.

Sod the helmets! :D
Keep away from the "organised" rides and the routes they want.
Do it yourself and save a fortune ................ and don't be forced to wear a helmet.

I agree, organising your own is more work but you can mould it to exactly what you want and over whatever timescale you need and have flexibility within that. It could also ultimately put more money directly to a charity, indeed the OP can then divvy the monies up between a few causes instead of just one.

I supported, though not for charity, a mate and four of his buddies doing RAID Alpine, given the distances just to get there and distinct terrain for almost all the route it was challenging/tiring doing it on my own but it was a journey I was glad to have being involved in.

We discussed the options, they booked the travel, organised a vehicle, booked hotels/Shuttle/Drinks (as they can be more expensive in France and I think they wanted plenty on board just in case). I did a bit of legwork into places to shop/where to eat, get fuel (and when) for the van and how we deal with emergencies + bike and van breakdown scenarios. We had drinks and food chatting about it beforehand so was good to meet up with new people with a like for cycling.
My return for supporting them was free drinks, meals and board throughout, plus the experience, it was well worth it.

If the terrain had been, shall we say less undulating and narrow, a motor home for 6 and binning off the hotels completely could have been a consideration, it resolves so many issues in terms of accommodation, being able to be be the hotel precisely where you are so a bad day doesn't mean having to press on to make it and avoiding booking problems, not finishing the journey and losing deposits, not having to find somewhere to eat etc, but does have a few downsides as well.
Is the increase in hire cost (circa £1300 for two weeks in September for a 2x2+3) + fuel, insurances, cost of hiring someone if you don't have a family member or friend to do the support. etc, offset by not paying out for separate accommodation/meals.

There's far more control in DIY support including the important aspect of not having to wear a plastic hat aspect, there's also far more flexibility as well.
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philg
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Re: Charity LeJoG without compulsory helmets?

Post by philg »

roubaixtuesday wrote:Just turn up on day one with one, then either clip it to your rack or 'lose' it.

It'll be fine

I tend to agree - it's probably just a tick-box requirement for the organisers to satisfy their insurers arbitrary tick-box requirement.

I doubt anyone cares or can be bothered with policing it.

Might be an issue perhaps in the unlikely event of an accident?
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The utility cyclist
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Re: Charity LeJoG without compulsory helmets?

Post by The utility cyclist »

philg wrote:
roubaixtuesday wrote:Just turn up on day one with one, then either clip it to your rack or 'lose' it.

It'll be fine

I tend to agree - it's probably just a tick-box requirement for the organisers to satisfy their insurers arbitrary tick-box requirement.

I doubt anyone cares or can be bothered with policing it.

Might be an issue perhaps in the unlikely event of an accident?

Charity rides don't cover you for 'accidents' in any case do they, I've seen many wordings on various rides that say they aren't liable should you crash, no mention of the helmet they previously stated you needed, their insurance is basically worthless yet is included in the money grab, sorry, costs that divert away from the cause, it's another reason not to go through an 'organised' ride.
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