An Addiscombe Sportive?

[mrP(Boonen)VT]

If there were to be an ACC event with money going to cover the costs of the ride to Paris, then I take it I could sign up for the ride and get my costs paid as well, as I wanted to do it, but was put off by raising that much, and having to pay in advance.

I'm afraid I support the views expressed that a sportive would be good for the club (Huw suggested it some time ago) but not for those means.

Adam, what is wrong with TSN?

[Dombo]

I'm with Andrew and MrP(Boonen)T on this.

By all means do a self-funded ride and raise money for charity - given the amazement of non-cycling colleagues at my prowess when I cycle 20 miles into the office we could all probably raise charity sponsorship for the Saturday CRs!

[huw williams]

I've been looking into this quite closely and am still keen on the idea.
Although nothing has been decided yet here are a few initial thoughts which it wouldn't be bad for the membership to consider and offer their input

So far I've looked at possible locations for starting huts, courses, level of police involvement, insurance, medical cover, entry procedures sponsorship etc

2 options exist

1) An ACC reliability trial where you charge a small fee and let people find their own way round a pre determined course (a-la Sydenham, Old Ports) provide tea/cakes at the start finish

2) An ACC sportive where you charge a bigger fee and provide full signage, marshalls at major junctions, feed stations etc

Courses - As ACC would be the organisers I think its important that the course take in some of our most used routes. Obviously we wouldn't want to set a large number of riders off from the Coulsdon area due to the amount of traffic before getting into the lanes.

The best I can come up with so far is the village hall at Walton Heath for a start venue - head straight down Box Hill into the lanes around Brockham then do the club run route to Charlwood via partridge then back up to Rusper over to Ockley and into the Surrey Hills for the big stuff - Last climb Box Hill, then back along the usual return route to Walton

Another possibility is the football club at the top of Chipstead which is just above Coulsdon South - straight down into Redhill join the club run route, do the above, then finish by turning right at the little roundabout on Chipstead valley and climb back up to the top

Cost - depends on how big we want to make it, but the sportive set don't mind paying upwards of £20 as long as they get a memorable course with good signage and marshalling to make the ride memorable.

With a club the size of ours we could easily provide that and I have no problem with the event being a big money spinner for the club provided we put on a great event. What we do with the money would be up to the comittee/membership but in my opinion it should go back into the event or benefit everyone (subsidised club dinner? Shares in Beer Circus???) or profits after the event could be handed over to local charities

Sponsorship - I've got a well known local cycling magazine interested in publicising it and one of the UKs foremost sports nutrition companies lined up to provide nutrition for the feed stations in the form of drinks and energy bars

Numbers - Good publicity through CW and Londoncyclesport.com, big catchment area of local clubs etc. There isn't a 'real' london Sportive as such, the closest is the Falling Leaves a ride which is too late in the year, not very well signposted, not very well marshalled and starts and ends on very traffic infested roads - yet they still get hundreds of riders - we could get a load more I'm sure.

Set a realistic target (750 paying riders at £20 per head = £15,000) and that would be at the cheap end of the sportive entry fee scale. We could put on a pretty good event for that

Staff - we've got enough members in the club to make it work and I'd envisage (gasp) paying all members who volunteer to work on the day out of the entry fee

The ACC spin - every event should have an original angle. Our strength is in looking after large groups of riders and I don't see why we shouldn't extend that into a sportive - to that end I'd like to offer an extension of the club run system as an option. A dedicated VC/VCs taking groups round the course at a pre determined speed - for example George's group could say they're going to lead a fast group round the course in under 6 hours John C could say he's going to take a less experienced group round a shorter course in 5 hours and a couple of dedicated groups in between. For riders not sure about what they're taking on, this could be quite attractive and I'm surprised that sportive organisers haven't used local clubs in this manner in their events to date

So there's a few initial ideas to chew on. Can we make it happen?

All feedback appreciated...

[kieran]

Huw, how many marshals would be needed? It seems to me that despite our size the club often has problems getting enough marshals together for smaller events and many of our regulars might want to do the sportive themselves?

[Snoop Doug]

Some great ideas here Huw I'd certainly be willing to get involved in making this happen.

I particularly like the idea about putting some of the profit back into a local charity. I think socially that's a good thing for the club to do and I think it would generate some more positive PR.

Your last point fits the club ethos tighter than a neoprene glove

I'm in.

Snoop

[huw williams]

[quote="kieran"]Huw, how many marshals would be needed? It seems to me that despite our size the club often has problems getting enough marshals together for smaller events and many of our regulars might want to do the sportive themselves?

[Snoop Doug]

Kieran - good point.

We passed an amend to Rule 12 at the last AGM which now obliges all racing members to marshal/support a minimum of 2 events every season. All non racing members (people who do the club run or other ACC organised events) are obliged to do a minimum of one event each season.

Given that we have a growing number of racers (all disciplines) and we frequently get around 100 on the club run - I think we're going to be OK this year....the bad news is I'm responsible for keeping this ticking over.

You all know what a pain in the ar5e I don't mind being when it comes to encouraging, cajoling and nagging on stuff like this - so let's all do our bit and make events like this, and the others in our calendar, even better than before!

[huw williams]

[quote="Snoop Doug"]Some great ideas here Huw I'd certainly be willing to get involved in making this happen.

I particularly like the idea about putting some of the profit back into a local charity. I think socially that's a good thing for the club to do and I think it would generate some more positive PR.

Your last point fits the club ethos tighter than a neoprene glove

I'm in.

Snoop

[Andrew G]

[quote="huw williams"]As we're in Croydon maybe we should approach kebab shops

[Richard (Apples)]

[quote]A dedicated VC/VCs taking groups round the course at a pre determined speed - for example George's group could say they're going to lead a fast group round the course in under 6 hours John C could say he's going to take a less experienced group round a shorter course in 5 hours and a couple of dedicated groups in between. For riders not sure about what they're taking on, this could be quite attractive and I'm surprised that sportive organisers haven't used local clubs in this manner in their events to date

[Jon C C on a Bianchi]

This sounds really cool.

I've just paid £25 for the Southern Sportive. I did it last year. One of the best I've done. IMO an excellent event, interesting, varied route, decent climbs (which is crucial) over the South Downs, and well organised. Really good signage - three routes/distance options, feed stations (well you got a banana an an energy drink). Electronic timer chips. Photographers.

I can't remember seeing many stewards!

I want to help but I'd also want to ride it!!!

Jon

[Snoop Doug]

[quote="huw williams"]I'm not usually keen on giving a load of profit to local charities (unless its the inmates of Croydon animal samaritans) but I know of old that if you mention the C word, a lot of good comes of it - For example I organised a charidee ride in north london a while back and the local supermarkets Tescos and sainsburys gave us tons of free food for the riders - they were falling over each other to out-do the other guy

As we're in Croydon maybe we should approach kebab shops

[Rob C]

[quote="Snoop Doug"]
We passed an amend to Rule 12 at the last AGM which now obliges all racing members to marshal/support a minimum of 2 events every season. All non racing members (people who do the club run or other ACC organised events) are obliged to do a minimum of one event each season.

[Mike I]

I think it is quite difficult to justify using funds raised from one event so a small number of members can use them to enter another one. If I were proposing it, I would expect to have to provide a pretty robust business case for the arrangement. I am not sure I would be able to do that. Is the charity going to do better out of it?

As for the wider idea of an ACC sportive, why not? Adopt the good points from others - attractive route, well signed / marshalled, well-stocked feed stations with minimal queues, electronic timing, target times, certificates and/or prizes and a smooth registration system.

And then we need to find something to make it stand out from the many others now available. The idea of groups being led by club members is a great one - I've done a couple of sportives where some local knowledge would have been helpful.

It occurs to me as well that a fair number of members might be able to offer accommodation - to add to the friendly 'club' feel of such an event. Having stayed at hotels without porridge (yes, I did the Dragon Ride on 3 Shredded Wheat!), I would certainly find the idea of staying with a cycling household pretty attractive.

And if we're going to get supermarkets involved, can't we persuade Waitrose to join in the bun fight ?

[kieran]

What, Croydon has a Waitrose!! And don't forget the event T-shirt or better still optional cycling jersey (for a bit extra cash)

How about sign-on the day before AND in the morning.

whilst the idea of VCs leading people around the course is a good idea - it needs careful thinking. Many sportive riders may not be used to riding in bunches (many are non club members), also groups could get large and wouldn't be too safe, would need to limit numbers - potentially add into the registration form - i.e. tick box if wish to join "17mph group lead by ACC VC" and when places filled up (10-15 riders per VC?) inform them if succesful or not.

Certificates are a good idea but I would keep away from prizes as would seem to be turning it into a 'race'.

Remember that the start & stop place will need lots of parking spaces nearby. Somewhere with showers and changing room, lots of toilets would be nice. Any (private, council, school) sport centres that could be used?


PS RobC I would guess racing (& TT) members are required to do more as they actually benefit from others marshalling the events they do.