[c0braje7]

Overall the ride was good and being from San Diego (the Tour De Sewer was in LA) I was surprised to see all of the riders and perfect bike paths along the washes. With that being said I need to get something off my chest...

I started riding a few years back and the one thing I have continued to notice at the majority of organzied rides (not just Tour De Sewer) is two issues...

1. Lack of proper or easily visable route arrows- I bascially plan on riding extra "lost" miles each ride. (Local rides I could understand the "ride the route before hand") but I drove to LA for the ride and it wasn't an option.
2. Anti-Climatic finishes- I'm not looking for a sprint finish or anything like that. These are "rides" not races, but some of those people including me a few years back are damn proud of their first 15, 30, 50, 62, etc... ride. When they finish there isn't anyone cheering, clapping, or anything. I am not sure exactly what would make me happy with this situation, it just seems very anti-climatic.

I know bike riding is about personal acomplishments and knowing you did it is what it's about but sometimes after a long hard ride someone just saying "good job" makes it worth it.

 

[stihl]

What can you say, it's LA.

 

[Lifelover]

2. Anti-Climatic finishes- I'm not looking for a sprint finish or anything like that. These are "rides" not races, but some of those people including me a few years back are damn proud of their first 15, 30, 50, 62, etc... ride. When they finish there isn't anyone cheering, clapping, or anything. I am not sure exactly what would make me happy with this situation, it just seems very anti-climatic.

How many times have you hung out at the finish line in a ride that you didn't do or even after you completed yours to clap and cheer?

Do you expect them to pay people to applaud you as you cross the line?

 

[stihl]

To be fair, some rides actually have people line up at the finish line and cheer. One of the rides that come to mind is Solvang Century in Solvang, CA.

 

[Kerry Irons]

Count 'em

To be fair, some rides actually have people line up at the finish line and cheer. One of the rides that come to mind is Solvang Century in Solvang, CA.

I've heard of this for some charity rides, like MS-150s, but for general century rides, I would say that it is EXTREMELY rare. It is, after all, just a T-shirt ride. Would you volunteer to cheer strangers at the finish? People would be straggling in over several hours, and this would add quite a bit to the volunteer work load.

Regarding the OP's complaint about route markings, some local jurisdictions get their undies in a bunch about anybody painting marks on their pavement. I have no idea if this is an issue for this particular ride, but I've heard stories of cops harassing the people who are out painting the day before a ride. The cops often can't cite any ordinance against painting, but they're pretty sure that it's illegal. Also, on some routes, painting would be a lot of work because there are a lot of turns, and I suspect this might be the case for a ride near LA.

 

[c0braje7]

I don't really expect anything, that is the point I guess. I don't expect anything and well, there usually isn't anything.
I don't know the logistics of organizing a ride so I don't want to get myself in over my head complaining about it too much if you know what I mean. But I have been to some rides here in San Diego that have had great finishes! Announcers that are calling out names based on numbers, people handing out the freebies at the finish line, etc...
So to answer your question, "Do I expect someone to wait for me and clap?" No I don't and that is exactly why it is that much better when someone does!

The other thing I have noticed is that runners organized events have far more fan faire then bike rides. Is that tied to the whole "America doesn't reognize bike riding as a sport" thing?

 

[The Walrus]

If you need the finish line gratification, do the L.A. Marathon Bike Tour next year; there's always a good-sized crowd of people cheering, sometimes bands or taiko drummers, and there's that wonderfully cheesy finisher's medal that's passed out to all the participants. It's always just barely 21 miles or so, but it's great to ride around that much of L.A. without having to worry about auto traffic.

 

[c0braje7]

Good point Kerry. Like I said in the Topic Line "Slight Rant"...

I hear ya on this one. I have always been much more of a rider and much less of a worker. Maybe that is why the bigger rides get bigger though, they generally have great SAG support, and enough sponsors to fill a goodies bag and a half.

 

[c0braje7]

Hehe, no worries. It really is less about me, My wife is generally sitting around in a beach chair giving me enough support at the finish line.

The real point I was trying to get across is the first timers, you know the ones that haven't ever done a certain mileage before. For those people it just sucks.