Ride london failed again

I thought this was a little early for the commiserations magazine. They are just plugging the charity spots/scarcity. Diamonds are just shiny rocks, unless there are a lot of people who want them and we think they are rare. There are other events like the Dunwich Dynamo.

Just turn up and start the route at 5am before the event officially begins but after the roads have all been closed.

I wish they gave you an option to refuse the annual glossy rejection comic when you register, I'd rather maximise the net carbon offsetting by cycling without clearing another hectare of rainforest

I've entered 6 times, been rejected 6 times. Have tried everything - joined BC, volunteered as a marshal, donated my entry, none of it helped. I thought my age (70) might get me preferential treatment but it didn't.

I believe the ballot itself *is* kind of random but I'm also sure it's flawed. For one thing, it's far too big. Keeping it open until they have 80k applications is simply brain dead. With about 25k places on offer there's maybe 12k or 15k places filled thru the ballot. That means even if it's truly random your odds are only 15% or so. Judging from hearsay there does seem to be preferential treatment for women, ethnic minorities, various handicaps (but not my arthritis, damn!) & the dead good etc which skews the odds. All in all, I'd guess an ordinary WMAM entrant doesn't have even 1 chance in 10.

The Cape Argus in Cape Town does it better. Members of the Pedal Power Association (sort of a local equivalent of CTC) get preferential entries, entry to the ballot is only open for a few weeks & they don't overload with charity places that don't all get filled. My impression is that ordinary riders (viz. not members of any in group) have about a 50-50 chance in the ballot & I think the organisers guarantee a place to anyone who gets repeated rejections (but don't quote me on that). Plus, FWIW the Argus is much more fun than RideLondon, tho it does work out a bit more expensive if you live in the UK. As ever, the more bread you have the less shit you have to eat...

I tried and got in for the first time.

I am going through the overseas ballot though, which is probably another type of random.

Looking forward to cycle in London again, the last time was for Dunwich Dynamo 2013.

I hope the weather is kind.

I've done it three times, enjoyed the first two but last year was crap. Ended up stuck behind one of the big crashes and after that the roads were far too busy to make it enjoyable. Now I don't live in the U.K. I will not be doing it again.

Regarding charities, if I remember right they have to pay a couple of hundred pounds a place so it's no wonder they want a good amount back from riders who take up those places.

Gave up after 5 years of trying - the spam was too much.

Hey Bob

Yes, I'm the same failed each year but thanks to Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation I've had a charity place the last 3 years. This year though I won't be taking part as it's difficult to ask the same people over and over to sponsor something I do most weekends. It's a shame as it's a fantastic event and I'd love to be part of it, I'm just unlucky in ballots along with all the others, still, lucky number 6 right. 

Applied every year and finally got in this year  

They used to have a slightly bigger explaination in the FAQ about how the ballot is run.  It's not 'random' in the sense of all the names get put into a big hat and the 'winners' are drawn out because they pool people into different bands based on gender and predicted finish time, then do drawings from that to get a mix of people to make it easier logistically at the finish.

As someone has said above, you don't want to be in the middle of the bell-shaped-curve as these are the biggest buckets with the lowest chances of being picked.

In five times out of five , although one of those was a club place through BC, but bizzarely this year I got two mags, congratulations and commiserations, which leads one to believe that the ballot process is not exactly robust !

I have done it 3 times now, once through the ballot and twice for charity, I didn't get on  again this year which is a relief, really, becaust the logistics are a pain in the arse.  Anyway, not all charities are asking for 1200 quid from the start, I only had to raise 400, you just have to look through the long charity list to find them. I raised the money by selling unwanted cycling gear on forums and being paid via donation, it worked quite well.  

Last year, having failed to get in the ballot I was receiving multiple emails from charities saying 'free sign up to ridelondon'. As it got closer to the event the minimum fund raise amount gradually dropped down from £1200 to £600 the week before the ride.

It just feels wrong that people can't get places in the ballot due to the volume of charity/corporate places which it appears proably don't get fully taken up. There's no way I'm going to ask people to sponsor me to that level for something for my personal enjoyment and it rankled me to the point I wasn't going to apply this year having applied every year and failed to get in every time. Against my better judgement I did apply once more.

Saw the magazine in the plastic on the doormat yesterday and immediately cursed the corporate sell out that is ridelondon, then I opened it and found an acceptance letter, but still I hate the system. Especially as one year I 'donated' my entry and received a crap top, I wonder how many people do that hoping it makes a difference.

For those who seem to be serially let down by the application process and want to maximise their chances of a place, have a think about your estimated time and then look here,

http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Bell+distribution

In simple terms, the closer your estimated time to the average time, the greater the likelihood of rejection on a truly random basis (as there's numerically more people in your cohort).
Or in other words, estimate a really fast time (and get fit) or a really slow time. Good luck next time

3rd year of trying! 3rd time of failing! Have a mate who has got a place 4 times in the last 4 years!? Go figure! Will not be trying again! Didn't even open the magazine. That went straight in the bin! Don't need the pressure of a charity place with a sponsorship target so will do my own thing here in Ireland this year! 

After being refused a number of times, then getting in last year and not being able to do it due to family holiday commitments, I deferred to this year. Realised again that we're going to be on holiday that week, so didn't bother taking up the deferred option. I've done 80+ miles of the route from and to Hammersmith and Putney a number of times over the years (not on the day), but am still intrigued to see what kind of time i could manage on closed roads. Maybe next year...

I also feel strange about asking people to sponsor me to do something that that I want to do for my own personal enjoyment, and think that it would be good if there was a way to prioritise the riders who have applied and been unlucky a number of times.

Zero for three for me and annoyed once again by the waste of energy, time and money just to be told 'no, but hey you can still ride for free by asking your friends, family and work to pay for your hobby!' It's the cynical side of me which 'resents' these charities getting funds from normal folk, knowing they will be spending so much money on 'fundraising' like this.. makes me raise the age old question of how much from every pound actually goes to those in need..

I have absolutely nothing to contribute on Ride London, but a few people struggling with statistics and probability here might want to google 'insensitivity to sample size'.

http://singletrackworld.com/columns/2016/10/11-ways-to-annoy-an-event-or...

I'll just leave this here for the "I'm not paying to ride roads I can do for free" crowd.

I'm in. I'm riding it for charity.

As this year is 20 years since my dad died of a heart attack I'm raising money for the British Heart Foundation.

I'd ask for people to sponsorship on here but it would probably elicit unwanted responses.

100% for Ride London for me, I've missed out on every one so far.

The ballot system is completely random. I know this, because I've got in for the previous 3 years, and in one of those years, I got both magazines, so I simultaneously got in, and didn't get in.. I got the commiserations magazine this year, I've done it a few times before, so I'm not that bothered. The riding standards were so poor last year, I'm counting my blessings that I made it round in one piece, to be fair.