The Ontario Ride to Conquer Cancer

gregsd · Newbie

2012 was Great... but a couple of things...

SSMRides · Member

We also had a great ride, 5th year for our team, my 4th ride.

We did the Niagara and did enjoy it, however you could certainly feel the difference between starting with 4000 other riders, and starting with 700 other riders.

What I did notice the most was the 'boredom' (for the lack of a better word) of SOME of the crew - from road crew sitting in their cars or under trees 20 feet from the intersection to pit crews lounging about on chairs or huddled together under tents with little interest in the riders. I stress, this was some and certainly not all, but enough that it was noticed and felt by riders. We had first year riders with us and we kept saying, this is not how it normally is. I realize the weather this weekend was not the greatest, but as riders, the enthusiasm of the crew really does help get you thru....and I have to say it was lacking this year. We even went thru a crazy turn/intersection...with the police office sleeping in his car.

We were back of the pack riders due to a string of bad luck (lengthy bike repairs, couple of spills, flat tire, etc) and there were not as many riders on our route so I understand that it was probably hard on the crew to stay upbeat, however that is part of what they are there for. I crew the Weekend to End Womens Cancers, spending 10-12 hours on my bike riding very slow to provide support for the walkers....but I know that along with that support comes energy and encouragement.

Maybe with the route needing so much extra support this year there were a lot of new crew but whatever it was, I certainly felt that SOME crew did not want to be there.

All that aside, our team did great and we enjoyed ourselves. The organization of this event is HUGE and for the most part, done fantastic. There will always be improvements but kudos to the ride coaches!

RSinfield · Veteran Member

this was my third year riding and we decided to switch it up a bit and ride from Niagara. Our group was one of the faster ones and we ended up riding with the spidertech boys for most of the morning. At 80 k we noticed that one of our group was missing so we slowed to allow him to catch back on. At this point we'd lost the group and slowed to 30kph while our friend recovered. At 85k i hit a wet painted line on the road and went down hard.

i knew my collar bone was broken and i was done for the weekend. one of our group called the emergency number on our bracelet to get me and my bike to camp. i laid on the side of the road bloody, broken, and in the beginning stage of hypothermia. After laying there for 30 minutes one my friend called the number again and was told they were trying to find a sag wagon to come get me and my bike. After 40 minutes of waiting two wonderful ladies (not part of the ride) stopped and took me and my bike the last 15k to camp. The nurses at camp were awesome and got me warmed up and a friend came to take me to the hospital shortly thereafter.

This ride was barely supported! I did not see a single support vehicle during the ride. Cops hid from the rain in their cars and did not control the intersections they were assigned to. i don't mind unsupported rides, but had i known i was on my own i wouldn't have wasted my time waiting for help that wasn't coming and called family to come get me and my bike.

mmgirl · Veteran Member

wow :(

I like the idea of two starting points as the Toronto start is so crowded and takes two hours to get to Mississauga. But I think the ride should put limits on the number who can sign up in Toronto, and if you sign up later and it is full you should start in Niagara. We decided if we do the ride next year (my husband is bike tech volunteer) we want to do the Toronto finish line (he may volunteer as a driver bike tech van) I know the ride wants to grow each year, but there is a limit in my mind of how many people can be on the road at the same time and make the experience a good one.

we also noticed the either arrogance or ignorance of some riders not respecting they were riding on a road with cars! You can not ride 4 wide! Also disrespect for some of the pit stops (crowding etc)

Didn't notice a problem with alcohol at camp, but we stay at mcmaster and are in bed by 10! (last shuttle leaves camp before 9)

All in all we had a great ride, and this was our 2nd year doing the ride. I would like to try the 100mile route one year, but I don't think I could get back on the bike the next day, lol.

dgoldman · Member

Agreed, mmgirl and gregsd!

While most things were super or much improved, like the luggage handling, food distribution at lunch times, and the bus transport back to Toronto, the lack of safety consciousness among larger groups of riders and surprisingly those who seem to do a lot of team riding, was scary and inconsiderate of not only drivers but a lot of other riders. The worst I've seen in 5 years.

A number of times these testoterone crazed phalanxes passed me without any warning, and too close for comfort, as I ambled along usually a metre or less from the gravel.

Other things to look at for improvement would include: the ongoing cleanliness of the campsite toilets and especially the lack of toilet paper; having chicken at both lunch and dinner Day 1; the unappetizing scrambled eggs at Sunday breakfast.

spark_biker · Newbie

This was my first year riding and maybe I'm blind to "How it used to be" . But I was rather impressed with the ENTIRE weekend.

Nothing, and I hope everyone can calmly agree, is perfect.

Some of my thoughts on the topics at hand already discussed here:

Beer:
It AMAZED me that one of the HOTTEST topics on this discussion forum prior to the ride was about it. Is that why we are riding? For two beers?
Someone on here suggested using hand sanitizer to remove marks on your bracelet so they couldn't count how many you got. Someone else made the obvious clear, use something permanent, which they were completely set up for, hole punchers sat at EVERY single Keg station. Didn't see them being used.

Why steam whistle didn't limit intake is a good question. Maybe someone from the Liquor control board should be asking them?

We are all adults, we can ALL choose how much we want to drink, any night. Who's to say she was puking because of liquor? Maybe the chicken did it? ;)

Ride Safety:
Leaving Toronto I was impressed on how many intersections the police and the ride crew were blocking for the "mass exodus" of over 4000 riders. The same did not apply when we entered into Hamilton and were much more spread out. Going up through the mountains in the last 15-20km NONE of the intersections were patrolled by ANYONE.

I didn't notice ANY of the RTCC crew staff at ANY POINT not paying FULL attention to our safety at ANY time. I thanked every single one I passed, verbally or by means of a hand gesture.

There was one nice big hill after our lunch stop , kinda lost where it/I was due to the POURING rain. It dropped pretty fast and had a sharp turn at the bottom before there was a nice little climb. I witnessed two people in front of me dump their bikes due to the slick conditions under them. As I slowed to ensure they were OK someone passed and had the words of wisdom "guess you shouldn't go so fast if you don't know the roads". C'mon was that REALLY necessary?!

I saw one of the riders later at a rest stop. He kept going. Kudos to him.

Hind site tells me that, "RTCC Crew" knowing the conditions of the roads Saturday, despite how many signs they put up to notify us of a road conditions and hazards, should have possibly had someone re-post themselves at the top of THAT hill. It was steep. Wet. and Curved. Accidents waiting to happen.

I noticed on Sunday there were a couple places that had "extreme" turns or gravel conditions that the RTCC Crew was announcing to us as we approached and had painted orange guidance lines on the road to keep us from hitting the pavement. I appreciated it ! Thank you !

I did see FAR more support vehicles on Sunday heading to Niagara then I did Saturday.

LIFE safety:

In response to an earlier post. My opinion to ANYONE if you are EVER injured in such a manor that you are bleeding, and you KNOW you have a broken bone. Please call 911 FIRST. Call the support line after and inform them of the situation.

To MY knowledge, rider medical support is there to provide BASIC medical support, maybe they should change it to "first aid responders"? Provide some simple bandages, Ice, etc.

Rider Courtesy:

I've done a few charity rides over the past few years. This being by far the longest...and probably the one with the most "more advanced" riders... I've also had a drivers license for over 15 years, i know i'm old..ha. That being said;

Everyone drives in the fast lane.

It seems that NOBODY in Ontario can follow the two simplest rules of our roads whether it be biking, walking or driving:

"Right of Way" and "Keep Right, Except to Pass"

If you ever drive in the USA you'll notice signs that ENFORCE this. They will ACTUALLY give you a ticket for driving in the left lane if the right lane is open.

Don't even get me started on passing over a white solid line. No you cannot pass on them. Even if they are white !

Food:

There was definitely enough! Every rest stop was FULLY stocked!

Sure the eggs were disgusting and the french toast was hard as a rock , (or at least my piece was) ...But I wasn't expecting a gourmet omelet station for 4852 riders...Maybe next year they can get a culinary school to have a few classes of student donate their time and we can get some fancy meals going.

I think if there was an option to "upgrade and preselect your food" from a menu for a small fee it would would go over very well with the riders.

Overall:

I'll be back next year. I've already convinced 3 friends to join me.

I'm not sure if ANYONE from the RTCC staff reads these posts. But I hope they do, and I hope they take EVERYTHING that is said here, by others and myself as CONSTRUCTIVE criticism. We all want the same things in the end, a successful event from every angle.

I speak for myself and I'm sure many of others when I say;

Thank you for EVERYTHING.

Nothing is perfect. But this was pretty damn close!

sitn2low · Veteran Member

Thank you for EVERYTHING.

Nothing is perfect. But this was pretty damn close!

^^^^^THIS!!!!

Great weekend.... 'Nuff said!

Great job by volunteers, and crew... your support of us riders WAS WELL noticed and appreciated!! KUDOS to the entire weekend

8toes · Member

I heartily agree with the previous 2 posts. I have no complaints with the crew or volunteers. I felt very well taken care of and EVERYONE I met was wonderful. Some of the riders were a bit aggressive. I was pretty much one ofr the middle ability riders and there were times I could not get to the right with all of the hammerheads passing me on the right. This was a bit annoying, but surely, no fault of the organizers.

Overall, I have never had so much fun hurting myself (I am still very sore) and everyone I met felt like long time friends.

To the crew, volunteers and lawe enforcement....WE COULD NOT HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU!!

THANK YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH!!!

Brian J.

MysteryBee · Senior Member

2012 was my fourth year participating in the Ride and my second as a team captain. For the past two years, I'd ridden the mile course and had heard the horror stories about the crowds on the km route. This year, I did the km route and I have nothing bad to say. The volunteers and crew were omnipresent and enthusiastic. The police were on the spot when they were needed. The medical crews were visible and kept busy.

People participating in this event have fallen into a bad habit of coming to rely heavily on the volunteers to bail them out of situations. On day 1 it was wet & slippery. On day 2 it was hot and humid. In both cases, we came across a large number of people who had succumbed to the conditions. Either they rode too fast and wiped out on day 1, or they failed to hydrate and fell to heat stroke on day 2. Medical teams were running around constantly picking up these people off the roadside and trying to lend them aid. (As an aside, it is entirely possible that heat stroke could induce dizziness and vomiting... there are other things besides alcohol that can make people sick)

Short summary: There's 900 volunteers for almost 5000 riders. If you thought the Ride was poorly supported or staffed, consider for a moment the dozens of people you saw lining the sides of the road waiting for assistance. The crew were busting their humps for us. Don't make the mistake of thinking otherwise.

One final thought... overpumped tires + very hot day + 100 km of bumps, dips and cracks = blowout. I can't believe how many flats I saw this weekend! DO NOT overpump your tires! Besides, softer tires means a softer ride.

Moo!

Geoff
Team Cowabunga Captain

smerker · Member

Hello Spark Biker and others. Yes we do read these posts. Thanks for all your comments. These comments are really helpful as we continue to improve the Ride experience. It's hard to meet every need of all 4852 bike riders, but i think our logistics team did a pretty good job overall. If you (or anyone else on these message boards) wants to call and chat or send me an email directly, i'd love to hear from you.

- Steve Merker (steve.merker@pmhf.ca) 416.946.2072

I head up the Ride on behalf of Princess Margaret (was also the MC Saturday night in case you were at Camp ceremonies)

PS - every large bike ride in the world has a problem with speedy bike riders who think they own the road AND with newbies who don't have the experience with large group rides (ride like a squirrel, fail to communicate, ride in the middle etc...) We try our best to educate all participants so that everyone has a better ride experience. This is an ongoing battle. We employ safety videos, training rides, manuels, website info, calls and more...but there's always a few who do their own thing if you know what i mean.

bubbastruts · Member

Steve,

Glad to hear you read the boards!

A few of my comments:

Organization was great, opening ceremonies, despite a few technical glitches were great. We were out of the gate quick, and escaped the city fast.
Police and volunteer support was amazing over most of the ride.
I rode through a few major intersections with no support, and found a few police in there cars guarding dead-end farm roads on both days. A little better allocation of resources might help.
On Saturday, there were some really amazing volunteers on Toronto - Hamilton 160km, in the rain working really hard and smiling, and there were some that couldn't have cared less, but this is only human.
On Sunday I found all the rest stops on the way to Niagara really well staffed.

As to rider etiquette and safety, I was a safety rider, but no one knew what the green helmet meant. Riders kept asking me. I would point out an issue and get a look like "what do you know". Maybe having the helmet covers printed with "safety rider" or some variation would help.

Dinner on Saturday was ok. Given they were feeding 4800+ people over 3 or 4 hours, darn good job. Maybe a little more pasta for the carbs?
Breakfast was pretty bad. The french toast was awful, the eggs were awful, the sausage was awful. If that's the best they can do then stick to a continental offering.

I was lucky enough to attend both finish lines, I finished in Niagara and was back in Toronto while riders were still coming in. I found Toronto slightly depressing. In Niagara we had yoga with the falls behind us, crowds lining the finish line, a real spirit of the event. In Toronto, riding into the middle of the parking lot it seemed empty of atmosphere. I'm not sure what can be done about this.
The food at the finish line was pretty bad. I would suggest that they could set up a grill and actually grill the food before serving it. It can still be pre-cooked, but the grill would add a bunch. The salad selection wasn't great, and there was nothing else. Maybe some cookies, or chips? Or even, once again pasta for the carbs!

Bus service back to Toronto was great, although our driver got lost leaving Niagara and had to stop to ask directions at a hotel, and then didn't know where to go when he got to the CNE grounds. Other passengers were giving directions. Maybe GO can educate the drivers with a map and list of directions while they are waiting for riders? Maybe RTCC could prepare a cheatsheet for the drivers so they know where to go. The bus then let us off in the far corner of the parking lot, and we had to lug our bags quite a way to our cars. When we were sore and stiff, this was not a nice addition. In 2011, the bus let us off right beside bike pick up, which was great.

On the whole, it was an amazing experience, and I can't wait for 2013! I'm already 25% of my way to my min. donations and looking forward to riding again!

See you next year everyone!

Andrew

spark_biker · Newbie

smerker wrote:
Hello Spark Biker and others. Yes we do read these posts. Thanks for all your comments. These comments are really helpful as we continue to improve the Ride experience. It's hard to meet every need of all 4852 bike riders, but i think our logistics team did a pretty good job overall. If you (or anyone else on these message boards) wants to call and chat or send me an email directly, i'd love to hear from you.
- Steve Merker (steve.merker@pmhf.ca) 416.946.2072
I head up the Ride on behalf of Princess Margaret (was also the MC Saturday night in case you were at Camp ceremonies)
PS - every large bike ride in the world has a problem with speedy bike riders who think they own the road AND with newbies who don't have the experience with large group rides (ride like a squirrel, fail to communicate, ride in the middle etc...) We try our best to educate all participants so that everyone has a better ride experience. This is an ongoing battle. We employ safety videos, training rides, manuels, website info, calls and more...but there's always a few who do their own thing if you know what i mean.

Steve, I assumed you lurked inthe background and did read these posts, it would be kinda foolish not to ;)

I think they, you and everyone did an outstanding job!

The 18 million dollars speaks for itself. Thats mind boggling !

It is IMPOSSSIBLE to evenly please more than 2 people, let alone 4852 riders of all different ages, skill levels etc.

Can't wait for next year !

Wrilly · Member

The GO Transit drivers are a bit out of their comfort zone having to drive right into the heart of the tourist section of the falls so I thank anyone who was on any bus that had some direction issues for their patience :) What a lot of people don't know is that Niagara has 'no bus' zones. Similar to that of most cities where trucks over a certain size cannot use some roads, in Niagara buses are not allowed on a lot of roads due to multiple factors. This creates a bit of nightmare for any bus driver trying to make it back and forth from the finish line to the highway.

Something I would like to ask of everyone for next year. When there is a 20 tonne bus crawling behind you that is trying to pass you safely, please move into a single file line (how you are supposed to be riding anyway) and allow the bus to pass. The average bus is roughly 8 feet wide so it needs all of the space it can get. We have been lucky enough to have very patient, safe drivers for this event each year, however they are on the move because they have a job to do (helping your fellow riders) so please be courteous. Although really in truth that should apply for any motor vehicle you come across. We all have to SHARE THE ROAD. Thanks :)