Route Sheets

[DrMekon]

Maybe this makes me a bit nerdy but I always take the route sheet sent as a starter for ten.  I figure that if I get lost then it is me in the pickle and no one else.  Hence, I map the route on the web (mapmyride, etc.) using the route sheet and then pull up google maps in street view to view the junctions that I am unsure about (also gives a chance to check signage, etc.).

Yes, it is all a faff and it does take an hour but I end up with a clear view of the route, a good soft copy of the route sheet (with personal annotations) that I can print out (and laminate) to stick in my map holder.  It also gives me some degree of confidence so that I can enjoy the ride on the day.  If/when I encounter a problem with the route sheet doing all of this I contact the organiser and point this out as soon as possible, as I have done previously.

Having said all that, I still reserve the right to do a wrong 'un 

I still find it baffling when folks turn up without even the default route sheet.  I have now seen this on 3 audaxes this summer and the response always seems to be "yeah, I will follow someone who knows their way", baffling, truly baffling.

+1 to all that. My first calendar event was the Mildenhall '330'. However, by plotting a route I saw the errors and got 10km closer to its putative distance.

[arabella]

+1 to all that. My first calendar event was the Mildenhall '330'. However, by plotting a route I saw the errors and got 10km closer to its putative distance.

I suspect the main problem on that ride was expectation vs. reality.  If he'd said route distance = X but nominal distance = Y then we'd have expected it to be longer than anticpated etc.

[Pingu]

Just do audaxes in Scotland.

[MSeries]

Why is this in the up coming events calendar ?

[border-rider]

Why is this in the up coming events calendar ?

Mystery to me as well, but once it's in it's very hard to remove.  I suppose the OP linked it by accident. It'll be passed by the end of today so I'd not worry too much about it.

[Marmitegeoff]

When I was organising some rides I used a GPS for the distances between instructions.  Then checking them a week later they could be as much as 1k out.  I did a bit of research and the distances are affected by the position of the satalites at any particular time.  I then stopped being quite so pedantic about distances, so long as it was about right say + - .2k.

I starting organising after saying at 1 ride (where the instructions were a solid block of text) that I could do better and was told to prove it.  Thanks Dave.

Geoff

[MSeries]

Having just done a popular Audax, I found that the route sheet was the worst one yet.
No, not the route; on the contrary, it was a well planned & justified route, & well upto expectations. It was the turns & distances that were in doubt, almost from the start.
At one point it says take a 2nd R after a specified place name, yet it really meant a 1st R since all & sundry were going up there anyway. Distances to the turns were all falling short between 0.7 & 0.9 kms & that was near the start in an early stage. Later, things only got worse when, at an instruction to "continue around" 1 km to Control, when in-fact it was well over 2.8 kms (i.e. around 3.0) kms!! Not exactly what you'd expect when you'd be looking for something of say, + or - 0.1 km ("around"). So from the return leg to this same point now gave "around" 5 kms extra. So one had to read + 5 kms on all turns from now on. It didn't stop there though, since for all the paper-carrying afficionados there was a deceptive & final twist in this final leg. A sign had blown down or been knocked down & as I anticipated there was a turn at that junction, but didn't stop to check the fallen sign. Now this lesson could've saved me an extra 15-20mins & 4kms more, to add onto the already tiresome calculation of + 5 kms. When confronting the rather "Blase" Controller/Organiser with all this, well then all that he could utter was "well it takes a lot of time to do these route-sheets! Well, why the heck did you bother to do it wrong in the first place for all of us to follow!? I thought it was my wheel diameter that gave me doubts but after checking the track it made upon one revolution then that ruled that out.
 I strongly believe until proven wrong, that most controllers don't check out the actual turns & write them down, but commit to memory which is folly on their part. So it might take a might bit more time than just riding the route & enjoying the scenery, but for one & for all why cann't "they" get it spot on for all who'll follow their routes & avoid many dismayed riders, most not voicing their ride so as "not-to-rock-the-boat", & it'll be alright until next time. No it won't! The same mistakes are there & glaringly stare out at you each time the same ride is done. Real actions & not just words are called for now.

Get it sorted then. Contact the organiser and offer to help him fix it. Or dispense with your bike computer and don't get hung up on the numbers, jsut ride.

[JJ]

. So really I ought to put my money where my mouth is

I reckon all those folk who complain & crticise the efforts of volunteers should do likewise.

+1

[Martin]

. So really I ought to put my money where my mouth is

I reckon all those folk who complain & crticise the efforts of volunteers should do likewise.

+1

+2

with the advent of teh interwebs route sheets are now one of the major challenges to an organiser. Due to a combination of wood rot vandals and plonker drivers the signposts on my events change from one month to the next but there's always the temptation to bung last year's out prior to the final ride round (not least because most route sheets also include vital stuff like where the bloody hell is the start, and also serve as confirmation that the rider's entry has been received) usually the week before; and once it's gone out you don't want to end up with multiple versions.

[olly]

Has the original poster considered that aggressive and abusive behaviour by riders and somewhat less than positive messages might just result in volunteer organisers who put in a lot of their own time, being unwilling to do so in future, resulting in the loss of such events?

[Philip Whiteman]

Has the original poster considered that aggressive and abusive behaviour by riders and somewhat less than positive messages might just result in volunteer organisers who put in a lot of their own time, being unwilling to do so in future, resulting in the loss of such events?

I would say "no".  Anybody who was to create an unjustified stink at a Beacon event would be instructed to bugger off, their Brevet Card ripped up and a sharp boot up the back side.  Constructive feedback and politely identified corrections would result in a big thank you, possibly a tea cake and if resembling Victoria Pendleton, a big kiss. 

[Wobbly]

Has the original poster considered that aggressive and abusive behaviour by riders and somewhat less than positive messages might just result in volunteer organisers who put in a lot of their own time, being unwilling to do so in future, resulting in the loss of such events?

Does this happen much? I mean aggressive / abusive behaviour by riders. I can't say I've ever witnessed it.

[Somnolent]

Has the original poster considered that aggressive and abusive behaviour by riders and somewhat less than positive messages might just result in volunteer organisers who put in a lot of their own time, being unwilling to do so in future, resulting in the loss of such events?

I would say "no".  Anybody who was to create an unjustified stink at a Beacon event would be instructed to bugger off, their Brevet Card ripped up and a sharp boot up the back side.  Constructive feedback and politely identified corrections would result in a big thank you, possibly a tea cake and if resembling Victoria Pendleton, a big kiss.

If she comes to your events.... I am too !

[Ian H]

A teacake resembling Victoria Pendleton? Gosh!

[Jaded]

Just do audaxes in Scotland.

The Jaded NW Highland 200km (one way)

Depart Ullapool north
TR Ledmore jnct sp Lairg 25.2km
TL Lairg sp Durness 68.1km
TR Laxford Bridge sp Durness 128.3km
At Durness carry on until Tongue 158.7km
Finish Control: Tongue 207km

OK, I simplified the bit around Lairg.

[Marmitegeoff]

Has the original poster considered that aggressive and abusive behaviour by riders and somewhat less than positive messages might just result in volunteer organisers who put in a lot of their own time, being unwilling to do so in future, resulting in the loss of such events?

Does this happen much? I mean aggressive / abusive behaviour by riders. I can't say I've ever witnessed it.

Yes in 10 years of organising I have probably had 7 or 8 tirades, the worst was the idiot who complained when I would not tell him his placing, he threanted to "punch my lights out" me and never wanted to see me again. If he saw me in the street he would do it.  I then had several silent phone calls in the early hours of the morning.  May be no connection, but had none since.

Geoff

[Philip Whiteman]

Does this happen much? I mean aggressive / abusive behaviour by riders. I can't say I've ever witnessed it.

It happened twice at a friend's event over two different years. Both individuals came from the same club, which says a lot about the club.

1.  Mr X was dropped by his fellow club mates when he stopped for a comfort break.  Mr X then feels it necessary to complain to the organiser by suggesting that the audax was a shambles due to riders treating it as race and that everyone should ride as a group.  The organiser sends a stiff response and   Mr X consequently withdraws the complaint and apologises. 

2.  Mr Y uses pratnav to find the GHQ,  probably input the wrong code and became lost. He arrives 15 minutes after the start time. None of his club mates have waited.  Mr Y hurls offensive abuse with four lettered words at the car park marshals before wheel spinning at speed out of the said car park.  Mrs Y then sends abusive e-mail to the organiser and suggests that Mr Y came home distressed and that the organiser was solely responsible for destroying her peaceful day.  Mrs Y continued by suggesting that the organiser was totally incompetent and that the entry fee was a waste of money.   None of the other 400 entrants had the same pratnav problems as Mr Y.   

Mr Y's name is located on my blacklist and any entry form received shall be returned forthwith. I will not be spending any of my time dealing with such nonsense.

3.  I received a rather bizarre and abusive e-mail about my route cards prior to my last event.   Apparently I was being unpatriotic for not using miles.   It must have been a hoax.

Yes in 10 years of organising I have probably had 7 or 8 tirades, the worst was the idiot who complained when I would not tell him his placing, he threanted to "punch my lights out" me and never wanted to see me again. If he saw me in the street he would do it.  I then had several silent phone calls in the early hours of the morning.  May be no connection, but had none since.

Geoff

Hmmmmm. I would be curious to know if the individual was located to the south of you in a conurbation situated between Birmingham and Coventry.

[mattc]

Mrs Y then sends abusive e-mail to the organiser and suggest that Mr Y came home distressed and that the organiser was solely responsible for destroying her peaceful day.

Hilarious !

[YahudaMoon]

This is my fave thread at the moment

[BlackSheep]

This is my fave thread at the moment

+1 

On a serious note. Over the past eight years as an organiser, the abuse has risen quite steadily.

Not exactly abuse - but in an abusive situation, but the best statement I had the pleasure of witnessing was, "Cycling Auk events has nothing to do with riding a bike".

I'm still trying to work it out.

[DanialW]

If this is the Hathersage organiser, then I find the OP's ranty rant somewhat hard to believe. This organiser's routesheets are so good, and so clear, I've used them as the template for my own routesheets since I started organising.

In my experience, one's GPS or odometer always ends up out of synch with a routesheet, but I've found two ways to solve this, for Peak District hilly 100s, I favour the Don Black/Sheila Simpson distance-free routesheet. Bliss.

For any other event, I've simply stopped using any sort of odometer or GPS. I keep my Garmin in my bag, just in case I get lost and need a map, but it no longer sits on my handlebars. Also, bliss! I know what 1/2/5/10km rides like, and so should you, Mr ranty OP.

[Martin]

I haven't ridden with a route sheet on my handelbars for a couple of years now; I usually have the paper one in my back pocket. For my 200 event It's possible to copy-paste the whole route sheet into a turn by turn text file even through it's printed in the normal 4 block to a sheet of A4 format. This can be downloaded to my Philips mp3 player which has a text reader function. If it could be stored on the garmin this would be even better.

[Ray 6701]

Mr Ranty 

[Peter]

I hope this OP doesn't lead to any organiser thinking "paperless" is the way to go.  I think routesheets are great for their variety and from an archive point of view.  One of the great pleasures of Audax to me is sitting down with the sheet beforehand and working out on the maps where I'm going to go.  Certainly, I've found the occasional error but I've never had anything but courtesy from organisers when I have pointed these out.  Anyway, they are nothing like as numerous as the errors I manage to make while riding with perfectly blameless routesheets.

Earlier this year, I tried to update the original sheet for a very popular ride, which still mentions landmarks that were burned down by the Vikings.  It's not any easy job:  I've been round it 3 times now, and I'm still not sure of everything.

Strictly speaking, all we need is the controls;  the rest is up to us.  The routesheet is a big help but we are supposed to be self-sufficient.  Carry a map.

As for the bloke who threatened violence when an organiser refused to tell him his "place", the correct answer is, "x hours behind Bob Johnson and Andy Clarkson".  (X will be large.)

[DanialW]

I hope this OP doesn't lead to any organiser thinking "paperless" is the way to go.

I doubt they will. Routesheets are too popular; they're part of the whole audax thing.

I don't even look at them on a map; I just stick them on my handlebar and off I go. All part of the adventure.