So I guess all you are quibbling about is the distance of the event?
I'm quibbling about the encouragement. There will undoubtably be night riding. It gets colder and the weather is more dangerous at night.
Yes, it's a hobby. I don;t see what point that tries to make. Is it that we shouldn't push our limits or be audacious?
We shouldn't expect other people to look after our foolishness. If you set out doing something reckless (Park Rash in the snow, just as an actual; this happened ferinstance) and something goes tits up, it's society as a whole, the NHS in particular who picks up the pieces. I think it's selfish.
If the weather is beyond the limits of myself or my equipment (I don't have studded tyres for ice) I won't ride. I've booked hotels in advance for a December 1000 and not even turned up at the start because of the risk of ice and lost all my hotel booking money. The audax minimum speed solves a lot of problems of risk. If it's that hazardous, you'll be too slow for the time limit. That applies to sleepiness as well.
Which is fine for one person to make that choice, but putting on an event and not cancelling because WEATHER (the Snowcovered Dean, for example) is an encouragement for people to take risks which are for their own enjoyment but cost society as a whole.
One reason I like the idea of this event is that I can d a good winter ride in company for a change. It'll be more fun and it means we can look out for each other, not like when I do solo winter permanents, which is what I'd do if I don;t ride this event.
all of which is fair enough. But what about others who don't have your experience and judgement and go out anyway?
I'd be more concerned about drunk drivers than weather and that is as much of a problem in summer holiday months.
I've never been hit by a drunk driver but I've assisted riders to ambulances thanks to ice. I've come off (on my way to work, on hobby rides) several times. You can see why I view one as more likely than the other. One is preventable by your own actions- stay off the roads if the weather is unsuitable- the other is not- who knows when the next DD will strike. Winter is a lot more predictable- it's always a possibility, even a probability in December.
So ban all events in winter? Less experienced riders tend to do more night riding on 200s in December. The weather can often be better at night than it is in the day. Wind is almost always lighter at night.
There's risk involved in anything, so I guess what you're saying is that the risk is too great, so can you tell us all what the risk is compared to other hobbies, activities and so on and what exactly the acceptable limit is?
Inexperienced riders gain experience by doing stuff. At least on an organised event, more experienced riders could tell others if it looked like a bad idea to carry on. I found out by going off on my own.
Ice is the biggest thing to worry about regarding weather, unless you have the right tyres. I think that everyone knows the risks of ice. Was the snowcovered Dean in Spring? Maybe we should ban events that aren't in summer? Heat can also be very dangerous though...
My motives for not taking chances are a whole lot more selfish than my motives for doing the ride because it could wipe out several months riding and broken bones aren't fun.
Drunk drivers are prevalent in summer holidays and over the Christmas period. Weather is much more variable but the forecasts are good.
I've always been an advocate of winter perms and have encouraged others to join me. I have always had it mind that I would only encourage those who I knew would be OK and could get out of trouble and if anyone asked to ride with me who i thought would get in trouble, I'd discourage them.
But after several years I found that I never needed to discourage anyone. If anything I've reassured people that we'd be OK and shown them the plans if the weather turned or we got too tired. It's just too daunting to take on lightly. I've had people full of bravado saying they'd do winter rides with me but when the reality dawns on them of how hard it will be, they don't turn up.
You also get very miserable before you get in real danger. Add to that, the weather etc will slow you right down, which makes carrying on futile for finishing the event in time and getting to a hotel is the only logical thing to do (and you'd probably sell your mother's soul to get out of the cold!)