2013 Ride 2 Riverstone event - May 5th

[RobK]

The Ride 2 Riverstone event is happening this year on Sunday May 5th. We've changed the routes slightly from previous years.
There are 4 distances - nominally 30, 50, 80 & 100km, although the 100 is a bit over at around 105km.
The 100km ride starts at 7.30am, the 80km starts at 8:00, and the two shorter routes start at 8:30am. The main climb in the route is along McClymonts Rd. The 80km route does the climb once, while the 100km does it twice. The shorter routes are spared
We hope to have all riders off the routes and back in Rivo for a fabulous sit-down lunch by 12:30pm.
Free entry for those helping to put out signs around the route the day before the ride.

See http://www.ride2riverstone.com.au for full details and to access the online registration.

- Rob

[RobK]

Latest Updates:

• Paralympian Cyclist Jayme Richardson is the patron of the event.
• In addition to the raffle, there will be several fantastic items auctioned off at the after-ride lunch.
• Check out the R2R Facebook Page - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ride-2-Riverstone/328340410619863.

[RobK]

We're trying to get 15 people together (5 teams of 3 people) on Sat 4th May to help put out signs for the event. Free ride entry (including lunch after the ride) for those who can help. If interested, register for the ride and nominate as Sign Crew volunteer.

[RobK]

I've started a 'Rivo Ride Car Pooling' thread on Sydney Cyclist. If you can offer or would like a lift to the event, please post a message there (or I can on your behalf it you're not a member and don't want to join!). There's trackwork happening between Strathfield & Parramatta, so getting to Rivo from the eastern half of Sydney may be a little more challenging than ideal.

[RobK]

Only a week to go until the ride! If there are still any people that would like to volunteer to help put up signage next Saturday (May 4th), then please register. We've had a good response this year, but a few extras would still help. For those who can help, there is free entry to ride and lunch on Sunday the 5th. Other volunteers on the Sunday are also needed.

We've done away with the minimum riding age of 14. Now children under 16 can take part as long as they're under direct supervision of an adult.

The MyCause fundraising event is up, and we've taken a few tentative steps into the twitter-sphere as well.

We will have some gear from MonkeySee available to buy - All profits are going to the ALCCRF.

[Hergest]

Well that was an interesting but surprisingly short Sunday morning ride. I had planned to do the 80km route so i followed the signs for 80km until i got to a rest point where there was a table set up on a cycleway and the only sign was for the 30km and 50km which was straight ahead. The consensus amongst the volunteers was that 80km and 100km went down the cycleway on the right. So down the cycleway i went following the arrows which lead to the back of Rouse Hill park and 15 minutes later after doing 52 kilometres i'm back in Riverstone all on my lonesome at 9-45. I didn't bother waiting for lunch so i came home. Nice ride but i would have preferred to have done my chosen distance. Perhaps i missed something bleedingly obvious?

Lovely morning for it though.

[biker jk]

Well that was an interesting but surprisingly short Sunday morning ride. I had planned to do the 80km route so i followed the signs for 80km until i got to a rest point where there was a table set up on a cycleway and the only sign was for the 30km and 50km which was straight ahead. The consensus amongst the volunteers was that 80km and 100km went down the cycleway on the right. So down the cycleway i went following the arrows which lead to the back of Rouse Hill park and 15 minutes later after doing 52 kilometres i'm back in Riverstone all on my lonesome at 9-45. I didn't bother waiting for lunch so i came home. Nice ride but i would have preferred to have done my chosen distance. Perhaps i missed something bleedingly obvious?

Lovely morning for it though.

I had a look at the map and there was a section which needed to be done twice and another section where you do it in both directions so perhaps you missed one of these? I didn't do the ride but have heard that the organisation isn't great.

[RobK]

Hi Hergest,

Sorry the ride was shorter than expected for you.
I think you missed one of the turns (which a number of riders earlier on did). It was the intersection of Annangrove & Edwards, where the traffic controllers were stationed. You should've turned right, but instead i think you went straight through.
There was a sign there, but probably not obvious enough. (It was new signage for this year, and I'd done the first design draft. By the time the final artwork was done and the signs were printed, the writing was smaller and had changed colour from what I'd originally planned). The completed signs were delivered too late to make significant changes to.
I'd also printed 'Route Divergence Ahead' signs to warn riders that a split in the routes was coming up. Again the sign was there, but had been blown by the wind the previous evening so it was facing the wrong way. I'd missed seeing it when I went around the route earlier in the morning. That was corrected after I'd been alerted to the issues - which was after you'd gone through.
Yes we did have issues, I'm the first to admit it. The majority stem from a lack of volunteers - We needed about double the number that we had on the day. I think there needs to be a dedicated volunteer on every change of direction. (I know from volunteering on BNSW events that even when you have large directional signage, a fair proportion of riders don't see it and rely on the vols for direction. Last year I had one rider on a BNSW event complain that they missed a turn because they were no vols there. I went back to check and the vol was there but may have been temporarily distracted, but there was also a huge arrow pointing the correct way....)
It's incredibly frustrating for a few of us on the committee who've spent hundred of hours organisisng the event to be let down on the day by not having enough people on the ground. (A couple of us on the committee are not members of the Lions club, but are local cyclists who want to see the event work).
We're always willing to have more helpers/vols either before or on the day. The trouble is, the best helpers/vols are cyclists, but they're the ones who want to take part in the ride on the day.
I'm hopeful that with a few new people that have joined the committee in the last few weeks that we might be able to start addressing these issues for next year.

I'm hoping now to get back on the bike instead of spending hours in front of the computer planning for other people's rides

- Rob

[Hergest]

I was more bemused than anything when i got back into town and saw i'd only done 52 kilometres. Those 52 were really good though and it gave me a chance to ride where i wouldn't normally go. I particularly loved those 2 steep drops and climbs, the one rest stop was perfectly placed at the top of the first climb , i reckon the apple and cup of gatorade i had helped me up the second climb

I appreciate the amount of work that goes into organising something like this and can only imagine the many hours it must take up of your time. I shall be back next year and hopefully go the right way all the way.

[Joe H]

I was lucky enough to do the 80 km route and was one of the early group who missed the right hand turn so I added a bit rather subtracted from the total distance. Constructive recommendations are great as they help make future events better, but in my case, I printed off the ride map and had it with me so I have no one to blame but myself. I like that four different distance groups shared portions of the route. It was nice to see everything from the fast carbon fiber guys to the parents with kids. I chatted with one of the local volunteers who had been up since 4:00 that morning. I was stunned that while I was chatting with him, and he's wearing a bright fluro vest, next to a big arrow sign showing a turn, next to the volunteer's personal ute, that a rider complained that the volunteer didn't call out "turn left here" early enough. It was towards the end of the route so I guess the fellow was tired and failed to see all of riders ahead of him turn left. In any case, I enjoyed the ride and was glad for a close-to-Sydney ride that didn't require huge amounts of pre-ride fund raising. Just a fair entry fee, good parking and a well selected set of roads. Good on the organizers and volunteers for a great job. Any niggles about signs or hills or whatnot are all easily placed into the sphere of individual rider's personal responsibility. Thanks again for a great morning.

[mlinoz]

Totally agree with Joe H - did the 50km with my wife and a friend and it was great. Second year we have done this and I have to say that this year was even better than last year (although the 50km felt significantly less hilly than last year's 60km). Will certainly be back in 2014. Thanks to all involved in organising a great event!

[RobK]

A big thanks from the organisers to everyone that took part in the Ride 2 Rivo last weekend. The weather was close to perfect for the 400+ riders that took part.

We had mixed reports about the signage this year - Some reporting that it was fine, while others were saying it was hard to see and that they missed some turns. Hopefully with more volunteers out on the course and larger signage for next year this issue will be minimised. We'll be going through all the comments in the written surveys and those left on-line over the next few weeks, to work out what worked and what didn't, so we can make next year's event even better.

There's an article about the ride in the Rouse Hill - Stanhope Gardens Times, with a number of photos.

There have also been a number of albums uploaded to the Ride 2 Rivo Facebook page (including a few blank photos).

If you'd like to be a part of the event next year, mark Sunday May 4th 2014 in your calendars, and I hope to see as many as can make it then.

Please also drop me an email ( [email protected] ) if you'd like to help out with the event either before-hand or on the day next year. I know cyclists want to ride, but they also make some of the best volunteers as they understand the event from a cyclists' perspective.

- Rob