24Hr racing advice

ozzybmx

taking a shit with my boobs out
FFS. Really? WTF?

Someone on FB suggested a club take over the event. Seems they won't do any worse.
Could only be AMBC with insurance and stuff but the timing would have to be Event Strategies with the foam transponders attached to the back of plates.

Cant see anyone taking it over as some of the races struggle for organisers and vollies as it is. Then there's lighting, toilets, DJ's, food trucks, village setup, tents, sponsors, prizes etc... its a big undertaking each year.

I agree that it was piss poor to just cancel it, they knew days before that it was coming to crunch time, they should have put out a warning saying that it was on the cusp of cancellation if entries did not increase significantly in the following 3-5 days.
 

Cardy George

Piercing rural members since 1981
Politely passed my thoughts on to Bike SA. Received a response in minutes from the CEO.

Pity it was a slightly amended automated response that one of my fellow club members also received that responded to exactly zero of what I said, and in fact thanked me for suggestions I didn't make.

6 weeks in and I'm betting he's wishing he could go back to the SANFL scene
 

beeb

Dr. Beebenson, PhD HA, ST, Offset (hons)
Politely passed my thoughts on to Bike SA. Received a response in minutes from the CEO.

Pity it was a slightly amended automated response that one of my fellow club members also received that responded to exactly zero of what I said, and in fact thanked me for suggestions I didn't make.

6 weeks in and I'm betting he's wishing he could go back to the SANFL scene
Thank you for your suggestions [Insert username here]. Along the lines of several other complaints we will shortly be removing @Cardy George from our member database. We hope this will bring about a more enjoyable atmosphere for you and the broader community of our forum in future.

:p
 

Cardy George

Piercing rural members since 1981
Within 10 minutes of calling Old Mate out with a follow up email I've received another response stating it wasn't automated and he'll call me shortly. Sure enough 20 mins later and my phone is ringing.

He started off with the same spiel as what was in the email and on the FB post. Yep, that's cool mate, and I understand as I help run a club, but the way you guys handled it was exceptionally poor. He did agree there are many lessons to be learnt from this debacle. And that mountain bikers are indeed a passionate bunch. And the respone has been quite overwhelming. And maybe they should've been giving the event the attention it really deserved. And no, barely a month is not long enough for people to enter. And he's been in the job for 5 minutes, it's quite the baptism of fire.

He asked if I still wanted to tell them to shove it. Yes, but I'll grant a stay of execution though. I'll give him credit for facing a clearly very angry customer head on.
 

ozzybmx

taking a shit with my boobs out
he's been in the job for 5 minutes, it's quite the baptism of fire.
There is a shit load of SA event experience already there and you'd have thought with his managerial exp (with hopefully corona stuff) he'd have relied on the knowledge of his crew and they would work out why people were holding back.

The guy(s) that run, organise and put on the event every year are legendary and I would nearly say he has made this knee jerk as a business $$$ decision being a noob.

I'll be fukt why they didn't give a 5 day cancellation warning with full refund. Not as if everyone is going to be quarantined all at once on the race weekend.

Unless he's a fuckwit and they want him to fail.
 

Ackland

chats d'élevage
I call BS on their email response.
On Wednesday last week, their e-news used the headline "entries flooding in for the dirty weekend"... 2 days later they pull the plug.
New CE has essentially admitted to being an administrator with no understanding of the target market or the event and has clearly not taken any advice from his own staff.

I actually think the damage control email reeks of pr and takes no real ownership of the issue.

Any decent event company could easily slide in and take the event if they saw value.

Hidden Vale 24 had plenty of interest so there's plenty who want to do it.
 

Cardy George

Piercing rural members since 1981
The guy(s) that run, organise and put on the event every year are legendary and I would nearly say he has made this knee jerk as a business $$$ decision being a noob.
Reckon you're on to it. Chat centered on break even numbers, suppliers stipulating commitment dates etc etc. He let slip that Forestry SA have inadvertently added about $7k to the costs.
 

rockmoose

his flabber is totally gastered
Reckon you're on to it. Chat centered on break even numbers, suppliers stipulating commitment dates etc etc. He let slip that Forestry SA have inadvertently added about $7k to the costs.
Penny pinching would be understandable, if it was a level playing field. But since they're happy to pour bucket loads of cash into the bottomless pit of road and track, it just doesn't stand up to inspection.
 

Ackland

chats d'élevage
Penny pinching would be understandable, if it was a level playing field. But since they're happy to pour bucket loads of cash into the bottomless pit of road and track, it just doesn't stand up to inspection.
Not sure bike SA do track events...
They've tried stepping on the toes of Bike Melrose with a Southern Flinders gravel event though
 

shiny

Go-go-gadget-wrist-thingy
Could only be AMBC with insurance and stuff but the timing would have to be Event Strategies with the foam transponders attached to the back of plates.

Cant see anyone taking it over as some of the races struggle for organisers and vollies as it is. Then there's lighting, toilets, DJ's, food trucks, village setup, tents, sponsors, prizes etc... its a big undertaking each year.

I agree that it was piss poor to just cancel it, they knew days before that it was coming to crunch time, they should have put out a warning saying that it was on the cusp of cancellation if entries did not increase significantly in the following 3-5 days.
Foam backed transponders, no more peg collecting at the back of the course?

Every year I say I will sign up again but fitness is always lacking, the short notice and lack of details around if you have COVID and refund details and I will aim for next year.
 

Cardy George

Piercing rural members since 1981
Penny pinching would be understandable, if it was a level playing field. But since they're happy to pour bucket loads of cash into the bottomless pit of road and track, it just doesn't stand up to inspection.
No track as far as I can see, but Mr Ceo stated in his first Bike SA release that they are committed to helping commuters, recreational and touring cyclists. It seems they've forgotten mountain biking is a thing that many people do.
 

Ackland

chats d'élevage
Foam backed transponders, no more peg collecting at the back of the course?

Every year I say I will sign up again but fitness is always lacking, the short notice and lack of details around if you have COVID and refund details and I will aim for next year.
They haven't had the peg for 5+ years
 

ozzybmx

taking a shit with my boobs out
Ha. There you go. Thinking about it I still had my old bike I raced on so probably close to 10 years. :oops:
Event Strategies has a great timing system, foam strip transponders on your plate and additional receiver/reader at the trig point and fairy forest to save picking up pegs :)
 

slowmick

38-39"
I think you'll find that the mission statement if Bike SA isn't that much different to Bicycle Network in Victoria. In the same way they probably use events to raise funds to achieve their mission statement and keep them going. Your mate Brett may have hit the panic button to save the event from depleting the coffers.
Mountain bikers provide money and headaches. You need a lot of one to put up with the other.
 

Cardy George

Piercing rural members since 1981
Entries are open. Let's see if it actually happens.


Announcement email came with a heart-felt plea from my mate Brett to enter early.
 
Top