preferred-google-button
log in
register

Ride London Ballot

  • Creator
    Topic
  • 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 

  • Creator
    Topic
Viewing 11 replies - 16 through 26 (of 26 total)
1 2
  • Author
    Replies
  • February 11, 2016 at 8:25 am #866701
    0
    pruaga

    3rd rejection in a row for me
    3rd rejection in a row for me. I’d predicted a time of 6 hours, not sure where on a bell curve this would put me.

    The fact that there are lots of people getting rejected every year while others get accepted every year suggests there is more to it then just a lucky dip.

    Maybe a successful entry should prevent entering the next year and a no show should be a lifetime ban. Let fresh people have priority then repeat entrants make up the numbers.

    February 11, 2016 at 12:36 am #866699
    0
    wycombewheeler

    There is also the velothon
    There is also the velothon for closed ride riding.

    Personally I think they should exclude everyone who rode last year, or just didn’t show.

    I got a place this year, denied last year. I won’t enter next year. Others should have a chance.

    February 10, 2016 at 11:02 pm #866697
    0
    average_joe

    It’s a shame for people who

    It’s a shame for people who really want to do RL, but there are other closed road events out there.  I did the Tour of Cambridge Gand Fondo last year, it had a fantastic atmosphere with people in the villages cheering us on and kids asking for high fives.  Plus you have the chance to quailfy for the amateur world champs (although they’re in Australia this year)

    http://www.tourofcambridge.com/Tour_of_Cambridge_Gran_Fondo.php

    I’m doing it again this year, plus I’m also doing the Tour of the Borders up in Scotland.

    http://tourotheborders.com/

     

    February 10, 2016 at 8:33 pm #866695
    0
    DaveT

    Standard refusal again for me
    Standard refusal again for me, standard acceptance again this year for the girlfriend.

    I’m not committed enough to cycling to go for the sex change, so I’ll just do something more local instead.

    February 10, 2016 at 7:48 pm #866693
    0
    Simon E

    Bit of a waste of time

    Wouldn’t waste my energy speculating TBH, put it into something positive.

    Our club received an email from Nightingale Hospice last month saying they had 20 places. You have to commit to raising £500 but get a jersey, fundraising support etc.

    “Every penny raised by those riding with one of our guaranteed places will fund end of life care for patients across North East Wales.”

    http://www.nightingalehouse.co.uk/event/ridelondon-surrey-100/

    That’s surely a good reason to go for it if you really want to do the event. The feedback from Leviathan and many others suggest it’s one of the best sportive experiences you can hope for in the UK.

     

    February 10, 2016 at 7:16 pm #866691
    0
    Leviathan

    PS. my profile pic is at the

    PS. my profile pic is at the end of the 2013 event in front of Buckingham Palace wearing GB olympic kit off ebay from the year before. I watched the mens road race at home on the TV in 2012, then one year later I was charging down the same course with people cheering me/us through central London. It’s the closest I will ever get to being in the Olympics (sorry.)

    February 10, 2016 at 7:10 pm #866689
    0
    Leviathan

    Sorry to rub it in, but I now

    Sorry to rub it in, but I now have my acceptance mag. 3/4 times successful in the ballot. I did loose out last year; and I am coming down from Manchester. Perhaps there is a bias against just all “local” types. I really hope you find a way to do it. You’ve never heard these words together before… Putney High Street is amazing!

    February 10, 2016 at 6:40 pm #866687
    0
    arfa

    I believe that the key factor
    I believe that the key factor is forecast time and they want to include a fair cut of ech range of times. So, think of a “normal distribution bell curve”, the most likely reply will surround the average (or mean) and therefore a lower probability of success. In a nutshell, either go very fast or very slow…….

    February 10, 2016 at 5:24 pm #866685
    0
    Anthony.C

    Get a guaranteed charity

    Get a guaranteed charity place if you really want to do it, some of them  ask you to raise as little as 400 quid.

    February 10, 2016 at 5:15 pm #866683
    0
    oceandweller

    The ballot entry form seems

    The ballot entry form seems to imply the ballot is loaded. It asks about other events including previous RL100s, club membership(s), etc., all of which is pointless if it’s a straight 1-chance-in-5 ballot. If it’s loaded then having form from the RL100 would increase the odds of getting a place in future. That said, a friend of mine who got a place on the 2nd RL100 hasn’t won a place since.

    Incidentally, is it only me or have others found the rejection letter (my 3rd) rather offensive? It talks about the ballot being oversubscribed as if it was somehow a complete surprise, when the whole thing has been **arranged** to be oversubscribed. Last year they closed the ballot after 80k entries, this year they upped that to 100k. Presumably they’ll accept 120k entries next year & so on, until the ballot only closes if the entire country enters.  🙁

    The whole ballot concept is totally unfair anyway but I’ll keep on applying. I’m 66 now & I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be capable of doing a 100 miles, but however much I dislike the ballot system I’d really, really like to do the RL100 once while I still can. It’s the closed roads. My Sunday morning training rides are always  hampered by stopping for lights, major roads, white vans turning etc. & I’d like to know what I could do if I wasn’t constantly slowing down for traffic. Ho-hum, probably never find out though.  🙁

    February 10, 2016 at 4:54 pm #866681
    0
    sergius

    4th time unlucky for me

    4th time unlucky for me (probably just as well as we’d arranged to go to disneyland without checking the dates and I get back the day before!)

  • Author
    Replies
Viewing 11 replies - 16 through 26 (of 26 total)
1 2
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.