AUK Event Logistics was Re: AUK AGM

[jsabine]

until you arrive you have no idea what sort of clientele you'll meet.

I've been to the Hollies. I've got a damn good idea what to expect from fellow customers ...

[BlackSheep]

These ones that complain about the weather - surely they're either having a general whinge not necessarily specifically at the organiser, or they're being tongue in cheek - or are there some that actually try and blame you for the weather having not been to their liking?

Hi Ben.

We all like to have a complain about the weather - it's a national past time. My reference in "You will be personally responsible for everything outside your control, such as weather," was borne out of an entrant deciding the  day before that they didn't like the past and predicted weather, so declared they weren't going to ride, asked for a refund. Then when the entry conditions were given, they promptly did a payment reversal.

[phil d]

One thing that has been largely overlooked (there was a slightly oblique reference somewhere above) is that a new organiser is not normally permitted to start with an event longer than 200km.  So overnight accommodation will not be an issue. 

And to "alphapete" I would add that organising a 200 is a piece of cake compared with running an LEL control!

[citoyen]

A few thoughts from someone who was a first time organiser last year...

• If you're intending to run an event in 2019, you should have already started planning it by now. Don't underestimate the time it takes to pull everything together.

• Start by fine-tuning the route. That is always the most important element, whether it's an X-rated or full TLC event or anything in between. I based my event on a tried-and-tested route, then tinkered with it to make sure I had a good choice of potential control locations at suitable intervals. Only then did I start the application process to become an organiser. Even then, I spent a fair bit of time on further fine tuning and test riding.

• Consider using a commercial venue as the start/finish and asking them to provide the catering. This is what I did and it worked really well. We agreed a menu for food at the finish to be supplied at a set price per head, which I factored into the entry fee to make planning easier and to avoid any complications with having to take payments on the day. They only charged me for the number of people who had food at the finish, and they invoiced me after the event, so I wasn't required to pay anything up front for food. All they required was an estimate of the number of riders a few days in advance so they could be sure they had enough food in. Commercial venues won't necessarily have the same problem dealing with surplus food as individual organisers.

• Costs may well be lower than you expect. I made some over-estimates due to inexperience and ultimately ended up with a surplus (which I donated to charity). My entry fee was perhaps above average for a 200 but it didn't seem to put anyone off entering. I'm running the event again this year and have kept the entry fee the same but will use my experience to hopefully spend it more wisely and spread it further. Last year, I used commercial controls; I will probably do the same again this year but hopefully will be able to rope in some volunteers to sit and stamp cards so riders aren't required to get receipts. It might be easier to persuade people to help when I know I can afford to be reasonably generous with covering their expenses.

• I did consider hiring a village hall for one of the controls but ultimately decided against. The cost wasn't the issue - it would have been less than £50 for the hall hire - but organising a hall control is a lot of extra work. Assuming you'll be busy overseeing the finish, you'll also need a trustworthy lieutenant to run the control for you on the day.

• For your first time, set a lower limit on the number of places. I reckon my ride has the capacity for more riders to take part but I was wary of over-stretching myself. I can increase it for future events. Also set a closing date for entries and enforce it strictly - I had a couple of late requests but I turned them down. It was hard to do, because I wanted to be as accommodating as possible, but allowing late entries, or entry on the line, can make planning more complicated. Also bear in mind that you will have at least 10% DNS.

• Bananas are cheap and easy to buy in bulk. I thought I would have to order them in specially but my local Tesco was able to supply an 18kg box of bananas with no notice. Whether you actually need that many bananas is another matter...

[alfapete]

A few thoughts from someone who was a first time organiser last year...

Thanks for those comments, Citoyen, very helpful.
I have a planned route and am intending to spend this year on repeated forays to refine it and to research control locations. The biggest known unknown is how many riders to expect, and restricting numbers seems a sensible idea to begin with - what was your limit?

[psyclist]

A few thoughts from someone who was a first time organiser last year...

Having ridden Citoyen's first event last year, I was very impressed by how the event was run. The additional features of starting/finishing at a brewery and having a masseur on hand were excellent touches.

[frankly frankie]

The biggest known unknown is how many riders to expect, and restricting numbers seems a sensible idea to begin with - what was your limit?

Also bear in mind that you will have at least 10% DNS.

In other words, if you think you can handle a field of 50 riders, set your entry limit to 55. (And don't run a 'waiting list')
Cynical - moi?

[Manotea]

The biggest known unknown is how many riders to expect, and restricting numbers seems a sensible idea to begin with - what was your limit?

Also bear in mind that you will have at least 10% DNS.

In other words, if you think you can handle a field of 50 riders, set your entry limit to 55. (And don't run a 'waiting list')
Cynical - moi?

And 10% will DNF so make it 60...

But consider where the bottle necks are. Unless you specifically want to limit entries, 50 as a limit is actually quite small, especially for events during the time of the year when you can reasonably expect it to be vaguely warm and dry, i.e., riders will not be huddling inside controls to escape the weather.

The immediate bottleneck is at the start, handing out Brevet cards and/or vittals.

Assuming an indoors start, lay out labelled cards on a table and riders will help themselves.

If it's a village hall, recruit 1 or two helpers to dish out hot drinks from the early arrivals... you'll not be short of volunteers. Paper plates and cups eliminate washing up. Lay out whatever breakfast fare you fancy (biscuits, toast, jam, whatev.) and those who want will help themselves.  On the road and at the arrivee, riders arrive over a period and arrangements for looking after 50 will generally equally serve 100.

Whats the point of this? Well, roughly 70% of all events in 2017 had <50 riders, and 90% had less than 100, and those with more were mostly club/ctc supported 100km BPs.

So any concerns new organisers might have about being inundated with entries are simply misplaced.

Think Bigly

[citoyen]

I have a planned route and am intending to spend this year on repeated forays to refine it and to research control locations. The biggest known unknown is how many riders to expect, and restricting numbers seems a sensible idea to begin with - what was your limit?

My limit was 100, but as Manotea suggests, the risk of a new event being inundated is quite small - certain events might get a big uptake but not the average 200. I set a limit more for peace of mind than practical necessity. Closing entries a week before was probably of more practical benefit to me than the actual limit on numbers.

In other words, if you think you can handle a field of 50 riders, set your entry limit to 55. (And don't run a 'waiting list')
Cynical - moi?

Sounds sensible rather than cynical. More experienced organisers may not have any difficulty being flexible with numbers and taking entries on the line or running waiting lists, but I wanted one less thing to worry about. I'm sure you get a feel for these things the more you do them.

The additional features of starting/finishing at a brewery and having a masseur on hand were excellent touches.

I'd forgotten about the masseur. That came about because one of the riders was a sports therapist and he suggested it so I thought, why not? I was surprised how popular she was.

[Ivan]

But bear in mind that restricting numbers leaves you more exposed to the issue of ride-alongs, as some people when unable to enter the event will try and tag along anyway with their (entered) mates. Had this on the first edition of the Shark when I panicked slightly about running out of the 120 brevets I had printed and closed the list 12 hours early. This is the advantage of not pre-labelling the cards as you can then oversell them slightly.

[Ian H]

Cards are cheap, so I always order more than sufficient. 

Regarding TLC, I route my events to control at places where there are opportunities for food and drink, and perhaps sleep. 

[Philip Whiteman]

Volunteers capable of organising village hall controls in terms of logistics, arranging catering and collecting keys, etc, would always be welcomed. 

Lack of the above is the principle reason I stick with open controls, as cafes are too small for many of my events.

[alwyn]

Now that LEL is over, and my next event isn't until June 2019, I'm more than willing to run staffed controls for organisers seeking to run full-service events. I usually scratch cook so I can pull together a decent spread for relatively little cash.

Message me on here if you think I can be useful.