How much do people dislike Info controls ?

[Greenbank]

I've never had any problems working out where info controls are likely to be when plotting out a route based on the routesheet. Even if the routesheet distances get out of sync with what online mapping tool is saying for the current distance it doesn't matter much as the distance from the previous turning/instruction is still easily seen if you use the right plotting tools.

Maybe I've just been lucky with the quality of the routesheets I've experienced.

The canny organiser will pick info questions with answers that differ from what is currently visible on Google Streetview.

[Philip Whiteman]

As I was riding along routechecking yesterday I came across what I thought was ideal, in a location about which there could be no confusion - & with three different options.

At <named place> what is the name of the pub?     (it's The <namedplace> Arms)
At <named place> what colour is the phone box opposite pub?
At <named place> there is a red public what opposite pub?  (it has an unmissable vintage sign that tells you "Public Telephone")

And then I remembered the above restrictions from the colour-blind.
[/back to the drawing board]

The questions above do sound too much like dead give aways but there are occasions when there are simply no alternative or more sensible audax control questions.  I recall something rather like this;

132.2  TL into 'New Mill Lane'. no sp
INFO CONTROL QUESTION: At 132.2 What is the name of the lane you have turned into?

This was the only possible question given that there absolutely no other features at the junction, not even a telegraph pole.  The only option which would have been too far fetched would have been; "What type of hedgerow borders the junction?".

How about "Colour of red telephone box on right"?

[Greenbank]

Number of telephone boxes on right?

(I think it was the Victor Ludorum 100 I rode with mattc in 2007 [although I think he was DIYing it into a 200] where all of the info question answers were "1".)

[BlackSheep]

Number of telephone boxes on right?

(I think it was the Victor Ludorum 100 I rode with mattc in 2007 [although I think he was DIYing it into a 200] where all of the info question answers were "1".)

And that's about as much fun as an organiser gets on an event when it comes to info controls. A little harmless mind games with the riders. The late Graham "The Hills" Mills did tje same eith post boxes, EIIR being the answer. I've done the same with village speed limits, sure - they're likely to be 30, but there are plenty with 20, and I was surprised once to see a little hamlet have a limit of 50, the next hamlet a mile further on with exactly the same road conditions was 30. Clearly the people with influence lived there.

[jelhinks]

I used to hate info controls. Often spent ages trying to find them. Often failed.
Then I discovered that getting them wrong seemed acceptable .
Scribbling illegible nonsense worked too so no longer hate them.
Will always prefer audaxes without info controls tho

[Bikeabilityman]

I think they add interest/an excuse for a stop, apart from in my early days on 300's spent looking in the pitch black.

[arabella]

I think they add interest/an excuse for a stop, apart from in my early days on 300's spent looking in the pitch black.

which reminds me of the other thing:
pls to write instructions that still make sense in the dark - relying on being able to see 10' to the right or whatever is no good if it's dark and I am using a route sheet.
eg R on LH bend imm L rather than SO @ stg junction ('cos I can't see it's a junction, but I can keep an eye out for a LH bend)
eg R in <town> shortly after <pub> $ <othertown> rather than only R $ <othertown> (so I can look out for them)

[Ian H]

A couple of years ago I achieved my ambition of running a full set of events with no infos at all.  The old Glastonbury 100 miler had two, which was an irritation, but its replacement, the Combwich Century, has none.

[Redlight]

And that's about as much fun as an organiser gets on an event when it comes to info controls. A little harmless mind games with the riders.

I recall a 100 somewhere on which every info control was a pub name and all the pubs had the same name

(I also recall that to be the most interesting part of the ride)

[Delph Cyclist]

The late Graham "The Hills" Mills did the same with post boxes, EIIR being the answer.

Not always.  Graham knew some old post boxes.  And they are going to have to be upgraded in the not too distant future.  CIIIR, or more likely GVIIR.   

[Jon+1bike]

 ???Personally, as have mental issues; I find infos' difficult but understand the purpose, would just like, location, questions as accurate & simple as possible. 
Although managed so far, as always take photo' and organisers always help me. So Thanks again, organisers 
"How many levels in brick wall, on right at junction" was hardest.
Photo' showed it had been plastered!

[BlackSheep]

And that's about as much fun as an organiser gets on an event when it comes to info controls. A little harmless mind games with the riders.

I recall a 100 somewhere on which every info control was a pub name and all the pubs had the same name

(I also recall that to be the most interesting part of the ride)

 

[Philip Whiteman]

And that's about as much fun as an organiser gets on an event when it comes to info controls. A little harmless mind games with the riders.

I recall a 100 somewhere on which every info control was a pub name and all the pubs had the same name

(I also recall that to be the most interesting part of the ride)

Was it the Bull's Head by any chance?


 

[Martin]

Does anyone know how to modify GPS files to generate alerts when the info control is reached?

Yes.

of course eventually route sheets won't exist when everyone has GPS, a means of indicating infos will then be required

I disagree -- for warnings on the route, from a legalistic position, the routesheet is just brilliant and GPS is unreliable enough in the general sense to be completely discounted.  So I believe orgs will still be required to write and distribute routesheets for a long time to come.

when I said eventually I was talking about the far future where it's not worth the bother as nobody needs the paper route sheet any more. A bit like a train timetable; or even a public phonebox

If my routes all had pubs as infos a good lazy question for all of them would be "has the pub closed down" 

[Cudzoziemiec]

If my routes all had pubs as infos a good lazy question for all of them would be "has the pub closed down" 

To which the correct answer might be "It was closing when I left." 

[Martin]

If my routes all had pubs as infos a good lazy question for all of them would be "has the pub closed down" 

To which the correct answer might be "It was closing when I left." 

or even, has it turned into an Asian restaurant / Tesco Express / Co op or McDonalds?

(on a tangent is the Sun in the Sands roundabout the only one that still has a pub of the same name on it?)

[telstarbox]

You've got the Royal Standard just up the road if that counts as a roundabout (I'd call it a gyratory personally).

[telstarbox]

A mildly controversial info control today - "name the species of bird" on a sign but not everyone knew it! I played it safe via a quick sketch of the sign in the relevant box.

[grams]

Yeah, I definitely started wondering whether by bird recognition skills would be up to snuff when I read that question!

[Flatlander]

A mildly controversial info control today - "name the species of bird" on a sign but not everyone knew it! I played it safe via a quick sketch of the sign in the relevant box.

It was quite obvious though. What "colours is the bird on the sign?" whould have beed a fairer question. Googling the "Great Sampford village sign" gives the image so not a particulary effective control so perhaps an approach for GPS users without waypoints is just to get the answers for the infos at the HQ before departure then forget about them.

I don't really see the choice for organisers. They don't wat to encourage riders to us DCs in-case theres an accident and with few exceptions it's hard to verify AAA points without fine grained controls. It would be fixed with mandatory routes. with the threat of a secret control.

I don't really have problems with infos and would rather those than a forced Cafe stop every 20km. A country Cafe stop where bike security isn't an issue every 50 or so km is welcome. I did have a problem last year where the Cafe control was incredibly busy and had no way of generating a reseipt though. Ideally a control will either be free(in a town), manned or provided with stickers.

[Pingu]

Or just do audaxen where there aren't many roads 

[telstarbox]

It was fine, no problem with info controls anyway - they add a bit of variety

[Ian H]

Perhaps the question would be better phrased as: how many controls are acceptable on an event; given that infos are often interspersed between reasonably spaced 'proper' controls. 

For me, one info after (say) 10k is okay; a number of them suggests the organiser should perhaps go back to the drawing-board.

[citoyen]

For me, one info after (say) 10k is okay; a number of them suggests the organiser should perhaps go back to the drawing-board.

I agree with this. As I said earlier:

I've abandoned many routes at the early planning stage because they would require too many info controls (in my opinion).

It's down to individual organisers to weigh it up and make a decision.

It was quite obvious though. What "colours is the bird on the sign?" whould have beed a fairer question. Googling the "Great Sampford village sign" gives the image

It's a rubbish info question. The answer cannot be deduced from the evidence of the sign and relies on external (a posteriori) knowledge (unlike eg the date on the sign).

Asking for the colour is potentially unfair on some riders for reasons already discussed.

[Whitedown Man]

One of my funniest Audax experiences was a bunch of middle-aged blokes (myself definitely included in this description) standing in the street arguing over whether a wall was “pale pink” or “off white”.