- This topic has 26 replies, 24 voices, and was last updated 10 years, 4 months ago by
Jem PT.
-
CreatorTopic
-
February 10, 2016 at 12:04 pm #25353
Dr Livingstone
Does anyone know the real nature of the Ride London Ballot? I’m asking because I have been unsuccessful again – not a surprise as the are 100K entries for 20K places ( of which I think 5K are charity places). The real surprise stories are the people who seem to get entries every year – how does that happen?
Before you reply withe the standard “it’s a ballot, that’s the luck of the draw” consider the odds, if getting a place is 1 in 5, ten getting a place 4 years in a row is getting towards unrealistically small
-
CreatorTopic
-
AuthorReplies
-
I got rejected last year but
I got rejected last year but did it through a charity. Got rejected this year, but can’t do it anyway.
It is a great day, but Tour of Cambridge is also good, so any rejects should go for that. I know of one female who has had offers three years in a row and another female who has had three rejections in a row, so sex isn’t the only factor.
Anonymous
DaveT wrote:
DaveT wrote:Standard refusal again for me, standard acceptance again this year for the girlfriend.THIS is the reason.
25k places. 5k charity and VIP/celeb places are taken.
80k applications for 20k pleb places. Probably at least 70k / 10k male/female split.
In previous years RL have confirmed that they draw male and female separately. Clearly not all females get a place, so it’s not 1:1, maybe 2:1 or 3:1 M/F.
If we assume 3:1, that means 15k out of 70k male places (24%), 5k out of 10k female (66%).
Given these assumptions, after four years:
Chance of getting in all four times is 24.3% ^ 4 = 0.3%.
Change of not getting in at all is 75.7% ^ 4 = 32.8%. So you’re unlucky, but not as unlucky as you think.
graybags
That year was pretty special,
That year was pretty special, my socks are still drying out !
CXR94Di2
If you have never done it
If you have never done it before and keep getting rejected, sign upto a charity, raise a few hundred quid and have great day. I have done it once, I raised money, far more than required, it was quite easy, family friends, work pals etc.
I will always have the memories of the 2014 Storm, drains popping up, raging floods that covered your feet in water, whizzing out of London full of enthusiasm and the ride back into London, oh and the medal 😀
Bigpikle
Perhaps the real reason for
Perhaps the real reason for the questions and desire to increase the number of applications, is to be able to sell your data afterwards? A few questions means people can be better segmented and targeted by advertisers and perhaps makes the data more valuable?
I may just be cynical and totally wrong here, but does the T&C’s of the application specifically say they dont sell on your data? Just wondering…
Judge dreadful
It’s my second acceptance in
It’s my second acceptance in a row.
I enjoyed it last year, and that’s from someone who rarely does Sportives. I hope the weather holds out again this year, as that did help.
Judge dreadful
Simontuck wrote:The Tour of Cambridge is a much better event (so far because it hasn’t reached critical mass and is harder to get to I guess). You can enter without having to wait several months to find out if you’re in or out. You can get to the front of the line if you want to get an earlier start time (it doesn’t start until midday anyway so no 4am wake up calls!!). I got my second rejection magazine in a row, I didn’t even open the envelope, a complete waste of paper. Last year I did it anyway because I managed to find someone who had ‘won’ a place and then couldn’t go. It was fun, and I would like to do it again, but I won’t lose much sleep over it. I also know people who have managed to win a place every year so far, and others who have entered and not won a place every year so far. There’s no consistency, and no fairness. It’s rubbish and people have started trying to cheat the system by entering multiple times under different names. I believe they’ve tried to prevent men entering as women now, but I don’t know if it worked!! Why should I raise £750 to ride on closed roads? If charities are lowering it to £400 odd then it shows you that maybe we need to just one year stop going to the charities and they’ll have to lower their greedy expectations, or work to be a bit more respectable, or just drop out and leave more places for the ballot- some of the charities are a bit of a joke too aren’t they? It worked for football supporters?Pantster
rejected this year. Done the
rejected this year. Done the previous 3 but one of them was a guaranteed entry from a wattbike purchase.
What annoys me is the guaranteed place if you pull out due sickness. I believe there was a lot of this with the biblically wet RL, lots deciding a probably dry ride the following year would be better. For every person who has one of these places one cant get a place the following year
Rapha Nadal
I’m not sure there’s too much
I’m not sure there’s too much that influences the descision. My first ride was via a charity place & I got in via the ballot both last year and this year. I’ve never ridden any of the event listed on the application and my times have varied wildly – a little over 4 hours on my first attempt, 7 for my 2nd due to crippling cramp! It really is luck of the draw.
I wonder if you get as shirty if you don’t hit the lottery jackpot each week!?
Leviathan
Simontuck,
Simontuck,
Here is Vsauce to help you with randomness
What you describe is exactly random. Keep trying, the only thing that is certain is if you don’t enter the ballot you won’t win a spot.
d_jp
I had three rejections
I had three rejections previously (although I rode the storm event in 2014 for charity… so still not done the 100 😉 ) & then got an acceptance this year . My wife didn’t get in so being female doesn’t necessarily equate to more likely to get a place. So the only thing common seems to be the random nature of it 🙂
Simontuck
The Tour of Cambridge is a
The Tour of Cambridge is a much better event (so far because it hasn’t reached critical mass and is harder to get to I guess). You can enter without having to wait several months to find out if you’re in or out. You can get to the front of the line if you want to get an earlier start time (it doesn’t start until midday anyway so no 4am wake up calls!!). I got my second rejection magazine in a row, I didn’t even open the envelope, a complete waste of paper. Last year I did it anyway because I managed to find someone who had ‘won’ a place and then couldn’t go. It was fun, and I would like to do it again, but I won’t lose much sleep over it. I also know people who have managed to win a place every year so far, and others who have entered and not won a place every year so far. There’s no consistency, and no fairness. It’s rubbish and people have started trying to cheat the system by entering multiple times under different names. I believe they’ve tried to prevent men entering as women now, but I don’t know if it worked!! Why should I raise £750 to ride on closed roads? If charities are lowering it to £400 odd then it shows you that maybe we need to just one year stop going to the charities and they’ll have to lower their greedy expectations, or work to be a bit more respectable, or just drop out and leave more places for the ballot- some of the charities are a bit of a joke too aren’t they? It worked for football supporters?
What Mid Life Crisis
first acceptance in four
first acceptance in four attempts – will be my fourth ride. Previous three, signed up for charity place. Signed up this year with Richard House – a children’s hospice. They ask for £300 min fundraising. I will still fundraise for them, but I will give back their place so they can get another rider. It’s a great charity, and £300 is at the lower end of the spectrum. Echo the sentiment re the event – riding out through the centre of London and the return is amazing on the closed roads, the support is as close as I will ever get to riding in front of a crowd, and even the hurricane in 2014 couldn’t spoil the day.
usedtobefaster
3rd time unlucky for me, got
3rd time unlucky for me, got in for the 2nd year when we had the tail end of the hurricane and the organisers cut the course so I really feel I have unfinished business with this event.
As the OP says I know rider that have got an entry every year, and sorry but I don’t believe that’s down to luck, more like they’ve worked out what to write in the application, I’d love to see the details of the picking algorithm.
I think a rule change is needed such as if a rider got an entry the previous year they can’t enter the current years, or if you’ve had 3 rejections in a row your get an automatic place on the next one (I think this is how the London Marathon works)
Just glad I’m riding the Velothon which is a better course anyway 🙂
Wookie
IT IS A LUCKY DIP you could
IT IS A LUCKY DIP you could be rejected year after year or accepted year after year. Please stop whining. So you didn’t get a place boo hoo ah poor diddums.
-
AuthorReplies
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.