CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Sport

"Heartride returns, longer, higher, harder!"

(8 posts)
  • Started 12 years ago by chdot
  • Latest reply from recombodna

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  1. chdot
    Admin

    "

    For 2012 heartride is offering the stunning 60 and 30 mile on road routes and also a new 90 mile sportive not for the fainthearted! In addition the 2 off road options at the famous 7 Stanes site at Kirroughtree offer some of Scotland best off road cycling.

    Get outside, feel the fresh air on your face and take on a challenge that suits you. Click on below routes for more information and to register: -

    30 mile On-Road - Demi Sportive
    60 mile On-Road - Sportive
    90 mile On-Road - Sportive, not for the fainthearted

    Red Route Off-Road - the Twister, a 17k Difficult rated loop
    Black Route Off-Road - Black Craigs, a Grade: Black, Severe 31k

    Whichever distance you tackle, let’s have fun, get fit and save lives together!
    By taking part in a British Heart Foundation event you’ll be sure to have fun and get yourself fitter but with the money you raise you’ll also help to save lives. We can only continue our vital work with your help. Register today and join us in the fight against heart disease.

    "

    http://www.bhf.org.uk/get-involved/events/view-event.aspx?ps=1001391

    Posted 12 years ago #

  2. Dave
    Member

    You could cut out the middleman by riding an audax, raising the same sponsorship money but also donate the huge difference in entry fees to BHF. An extra £25 per participant would probably be pretty useful at the front end.

    (You'd also potentially raise more sponsorship money because an audax would be longer - either ~65 miles for a BP, or ~130 for a 200km brevet. But I digress...)

    Posted 12 years ago #

  3. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    There does seem to be a fascination with organised charity events like this at the moment. I guess there are a LOT of people who wouldn't actually do it, or raise any money at all, if it was left to individuals to do things on their own.

    From that perspective I can see the point in the events. It just gets a bit tiring when you have lots of active friends and there's always at least one who is doing something that requires sponsoring.

    Admin fees will always make these events less efficient - but by the same token, look at something like Pedal for Scotland, with thousands riding it. Take that even away and how many are going to go out and actually ride, for charity, of their own accord? An extra £25 per person is definitely a bonus, but if only half the people (optimistic) do something themselves, and the average raised per person in profit in the organised event is more than £25, then the charity is no better off.

    Personally I'd go the audax-raising-money-myself-route too though. Although another aspect, have Joe Public got so used to 'event raisers' that they think someone doing something personally is for 'fun' and therefore not a 'challenge' and so they won't give you money?

    I'm talking myself round in circles here. All I know is I'm not good at, nor like, getting sponsorship - I'd rather, and do, have some direct debits set up to various charities directly.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  4. SRD
    Moderator

    Yup. Sister of a dear friend of mine who died much too young of skin cancer is doing one, and I have given (more than my usual token amount). But as she says, the ride is the reward, it's the fundraising that is a challenge.

    (of course in Canada, there is also an incentive to give in that you can write off donations against your tax)

    Posted 12 years ago #

  5. Roibeard
    Member

    Perhaps the better option is the Bethany Sportive - the charity organising the event themselves and making a profit on the entry fee. (Although I know entrants have the option of being sponsored too.)

    This way, you can enjoy an organised, supported ride, with warm and fuzzies about the profits going to charity rather than some events company.

    That said, perhaps most organised rides are non-profit affairs?

    Robert

    Posted 12 years ago #

  6. Dave
    Member

    Even if they were, the cost of putting on a big charity event is always going to be a lot higher.

    I'm not arguing against the existence of organised charity events, just pointing out that if you pay £30 to enter an event and raise £50 in sponsorship that it's worth considering paying £5 to enter an equivalent event and give £75 instead.

    If you're not the sort to ride an audax instead of a sportive, then the charity would lose out if you did nothing and I can't argue that you should just go for it!

    Posted 12 years ago #

  7. Nelly
    Member

    Dave, agree your basic premise, although I still do the odd charity ride each year - probably out of habit rather than anything really altruistic.

    However I do get annoyed that much of the money gets sucked into admin costs - And its not as if (etape caledonia aside) any are closed road.

    We much prefer to go somewhere overnight (pitlochry for example) and map out a ride that may include some of the etape elements - but without a few thousand people blocking the path to my post ride pint.....

    Posted 12 years ago #

  8. recombodna
    Member

    I did the heart ride last year and it was massively under attended.I didn't raise any money and really enjoyed the ride.I can see the point Dave is making and sort of agree. I know the people that are organizing the event and this year I'm probably gonna do the 90 miler. I guess the point is to try and get people who wouldn't normally ride such distances to have a go and feel a sense of achievement. But as a fundraiser I think there are just too many of these rides these days.....

    Posted 12 years ago #

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