Bike Events struggling?
Discussion
Just looking at the Bike Events website and it looks like the London-Cambridge is cancelled this year.
Rightly or wrongly I tended to view this as their flagship - I first did this one more than 25 years ago (although then I think it was organised directly by WWF-UK) and since then have done it many times.
I did notice that last year’s event seemed a bit low key. The ride was a bit shorter, start was in a different place and nothing much was happening in some of the villages that normally set up cake stalls etc. along the route, but I thought they were probably just working their way back into it following covid.
Later in the year they cancelled the Suffolk Coast 100 at fairly short notice. We did it anyway on the same day, following the same route.
Is this organisation having some problems? It would be a shame if this is the case. These sort of easy going supported events must introduce a lot of people to ‘long’ cycle rides, and the money raised for charitable causes must be significant.
Any observations or insights anyone?
Rightly or wrongly I tended to view this as their flagship - I first did this one more than 25 years ago (although then I think it was organised directly by WWF-UK) and since then have done it many times.
I did notice that last year’s event seemed a bit low key. The ride was a bit shorter, start was in a different place and nothing much was happening in some of the villages that normally set up cake stalls etc. along the route, but I thought they were probably just working their way back into it following covid.
Later in the year they cancelled the Suffolk Coast 100 at fairly short notice. We did it anyway on the same day, following the same route.
Is this organisation having some problems? It would be a shame if this is the case. These sort of easy going supported events must introduce a lot of people to ‘long’ cycle rides, and the money raised for charitable causes must be significant.
Any observations or insights anyone?
same with racing, fields are much smaller. i think:
the wiggo 2012 generation are now all getting married and having kids
it’s expensive, £80 for a BC license, then £20 an entry
post covid people are working harder,
races are getting harder, and people having a go and getting spat means they are not coming back
the wiggo 2012 generation are now all getting married and having kids
it’s expensive, £80 for a BC license, then £20 an entry
post covid people are working harder,
races are getting harder, and people having a go and getting spat means they are not coming back
I entered a crit the other week.
£20 to enter, £10 because I'm not a member of BC.
Got a puncture after 10 minutes and that was that.
I won't do one again, and that's if you can navigate the BC website to actually find one.
As someone who is quite happy to give up on encountering a bit of resistance, BC certainly provide more than enough.
£20 to enter, £10 because I'm not a member of BC.
Got a puncture after 10 minutes and that was that.
I won't do one again, and that's if you can navigate the BC website to actually find one.
As someone who is quite happy to give up on encountering a bit of resistance, BC certainly provide more than enough.
Remember that 'Bike events' are not just crits and Sportives.
Not the same in MTB at all. Some of the decent stuff you have to get your tickets like a One Direction concert, finger on the trigger with your phone, laptop and ipad all on the website as the tickets go live!
I've been in the waiting list for a few events this year.
Not the same in MTB at all. Some of the decent stuff you have to get your tickets like a One Direction concert, finger on the trigger with your phone, laptop and ipad all on the website as the tickets go live!
I've been in the waiting list for a few events this year.
z4RRSchris said:
same with racing, fields are much smaller. i think:
the wiggo 2012 generation are now all getting married and having kids
it’s expensive, £80 for a BC license, then £20 an entry
post covid people are working harder,
races are getting harder, and people having a go and getting spat means they are not coming back
Feels like we could do with a 5th category, which should also help bump the standards over time. the wiggo 2012 generation are now all getting married and having kids
it’s expensive, £80 for a BC license, then £20 an entry
post covid people are working harder,
races are getting harder, and people having a go and getting spat means they are not coming back
Masters racing seems to be bucking the trend, with fields getting bigger and ridiculously strong. The remains of the 2012 generation!
It took me a few years before I could be bothered to negotiate all the barriers to starting racing. BC don't make it easy.
BC are not really helping organisers. Both the regional and national vets road races are not running this season ... I know there would be a decent take up of both events. The nationals or Divs struggled for numbers at the weekend. In previous years, both vets races have been released with little notice and are in the depth of summer ... people will have organised holidays etc. Also, the regional vets has been run in conjunction with the juniors which has made racing pretty savage and has put some people off.
Some riders just haven't returned after covid which I can understand. You have to commit time and energy to racing. Our local crit series is doing ok ... the 3/4 race seems to get a consistent 25 ish riders whilst the E/1/2/3 around 15 of us. £80 to enter a series of 10 races and £1000 for the winner at the end of the season with money down to 15th, it adds a bit of competition ... and a chance to get your entry fee back at least!
But it doesn't look particularly good for the long term health of the sport I must say.
Some riders just haven't returned after covid which I can understand. You have to commit time and energy to racing. Our local crit series is doing ok ... the 3/4 race seems to get a consistent 25 ish riders whilst the E/1/2/3 around 15 of us. £80 to enter a series of 10 races and £1000 for the winner at the end of the season with money down to 15th, it adds a bit of competition ... and a chance to get your entry fee back at least!
But it doesn't look particularly good for the long term health of the sport I must say.
that said, i raced a 3/4 on the weekend, which had a 2/3/4 and a womens 2/3/4 on the same day. was over 150 riders entered, and about the same watching.
So if you get it right, its works. Maybe the events struggling are run by the older crowd?
engage with cycling community
promote it well, on social etc
good prizes
don't make it impossible to find photos
input results to BC straight away
things for spectators to do.
So if you get it right, its works. Maybe the events struggling are run by the older crowd?
engage with cycling community
promote it well, on social etc
good prizes
don't make it impossible to find photos
input results to BC straight away
things for spectators to do.
z4RRSchris said:
that said, i raced a 3/4 on the weekend, which had a 2/3/4 and a womens 2/3/4 on the same day. was over 150 riders entered, and about the same watching.
So if you get it right, its works. Maybe the events struggling are run by the older crowd?
engage with cycling community
promote it well, on social etc
good prizes
don't make it impossible to find photos
input results to BC straight away
things for spectators to do.
These seem to be the more successful events ... its circuit racing and not on the road, which seems like the way we're heading. 5 or 6 years ago, I would do maybe 15 races a season, all road races, maybe 1 town centre crit. This season its probably 15 circuit races and 2-3 road races! I think its just becoming harder with more red tape to organise a road event and I know lots of riders who only want to race on the road and have no interest in modern circuits.So if you get it right, its works. Maybe the events struggling are run by the older crowd?
engage with cycling community
promote it well, on social etc
good prizes
don't make it impossible to find photos
input results to BC straight away
things for spectators to do.
Some of the popular mountain bike races are full and still in demand from what I can see but they are definitely the races that are more of an event like Ard Rock etc. I think its probably natural progression for the sport. Cycling had a massive swell post 2012 which some of it has been great but the majority of people it has attracted in my eyes is the utter whoppers who've come from the world of golf and cycling was the new thing to wax all your money on that have probably started to find something new to get involved with. And I think this period also bred the militant cyclist which is why we now have this war between cyclists and motorists, I swear it never used to exist.
JEA1K said:
BC are not really helping organisers...
Our club used to run a road race on a road circuit, but the organiser gave up at short notice a few years ago, so we switched to promoting a crit. at Hillngdon instead. It's probably <5% of the total effort required to do a Hillingdon event, compared to an actual road event. I'm not even sure that you can make the budget for a club road event add up any more without sponsorship (or just accept that you'll make a decent loss on it).
I also don't see much from BC about sorting this all out...
Numbers down nationally for time trials, national championships seem to be down on rider, and certainly locally we are.A lot of events cancelled due to lack of entries plus the increasing headache for organisers trying to get marshals/helpers. Lots of clashing events with 2020/21 events being rescheduled.
It's a perfect storm of increased living/fuel costs, lots of other things going on post COVID , busier roads putting riders off (that's if you can put on events without traffic lights appearing on the course).
It was also suggested to me that some riders had big years in 2020/21 furlough, working from home, no social events/holidays so loads of time to train and put in great rides, now we are back to normal less time to train, less incentive to race.
It's a perfect storm of increased living/fuel costs, lots of other things going on post COVID , busier roads putting riders off (that's if you can put on events without traffic lights appearing on the course).
It was also suggested to me that some riders had big years in 2020/21 furlough, working from home, no social events/holidays so loads of time to train and put in great rides, now we are back to normal less time to train, less incentive to race.
Daveyraveygravey said:
daydotz said:
Rule Britainna at goodwood has been cancelled as well
...Eroica...
Back on topic... I think this is largely a roadie phenomenon. MTB events appear to be going from strength to strength.
The s
t attitude of UK drivers towards cyclists seems to be driving roadies off road. I was nearly knocked off last Friday on a roundabout as the driver pulled onto the RAB in front of me. First time on a road in a couple of years and I'd cycled 1 mile max on road as I was coming back from an xc loop. The road bike can stay covered on dust... It's just not worth the risk for the reward. 
) but I would guess its more prevalent in older riders than younger. Masters in Downhill has the same problem, not from doping but it was more stacked with ex Elites than seniors. I was hoping to move into some more chilled racing and on the first outing had my ass handed to me. Ah well.... Vets from next year, and I have been eyeing up downhill bikes again.
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