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Rapha Manchester to London Challenge 7th Sept
The Manchester to London Challenge
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Raphas Manchester to London Challenge is a unique one-day event travelling through the heart of the UK. Setting off at dawn from Manchester Velodrome, each rider will attempt to complete the 220-mile parcours before midnight, arriving at the Lee Valley VeloPark on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London. A tough day out for even the most seasoned sportive riders, this will be a celebration of British cycling and culture.
Held on Sunday the 7th September, the route will travel along quiet roads through the Peak District, the Midlands, the Chiltern Hills and across to east London. There will be four feed stops along the route, positioned in quintessentially British villages serving local fare. There will also be roaming mechanical support, but self-sufficiency will be key.
After the success of the Bordeaux-Paris Challenge in 2013, the aim again is to raise money for Ambitious about Autism. Autism is a lifelong developmental disability which affects 1 in 100 people and the charity is one close to Rapha CEO and founder Simon Mottram, whose son Oscar has autism.
link
Raphas Manchester to London Challenge is a unique one-day event travelling through the heart of the UK. Setting off at dawn from Manchester Velodrome, each rider will attempt to complete the 220-mile parcours before midnight, arriving at the Lee Valley VeloPark on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London. A tough day out for even the most seasoned sportive riders, this will be a celebration of British cycling and culture.
Held on Sunday the 7th September, the route will travel along quiet roads through the Peak District, the Midlands, the Chiltern Hills and across to east London. There will be four feed stops along the route, positioned in quintessentially British villages serving local fare. There will also be roaming mechanical support, but self-sufficiency will be key.
After the success of the Bordeaux-Paris Challenge in 2013, the aim again is to raise money for Ambitious about Autism. Autism is a lifelong developmental disability which affects 1 in 100 people and the charity is one close to Rapha CEO and founder Simon Mottram, whose son Oscar has autism.
Comments
iain
http://www.aukweb.net/events/detail/14-933/
Mcr - Peaks - Nottingham - Rutland - Grafham Water - Ashwell.
Realistically tho, this would be next year for me. It would be like tapping out an 'easy' 70 miles after doing the Chiltern 100. Doable to make lastys at the three tuns. But needs a bit of training.
Besides... aye, Wells-next-the-Sea 123m ride Friday 5th Sept. Even cheaper than an audax. And you get a badge!
You could go easy and start/end at Geoff's bit next year, Mcr-Geoff's is [a hilly!] 99 miles. Making it Three Days du Godschalk...
Good one to kick around on Club pub night this.
Shaun....£895? I only found an entry fee for the manchester to London ride of £150. Still a lot but guess the aim is to raise loads for the charity.
AND YOU GET A FREE BADGE
The levels of donation requested for such as this ride and the Ride London 100 does make it difficult for those other than the well off (or those with well-off friends and relatives) to participate.
I'm not sure it's about greed of the organising executive, though a small no of companies seem to be taking control of more and more events each year however it's all the more reason to join a local cycling club that has rides throughout the year for all abilities eh?
London to Paris 24 hour in 3 weeks is £1000 min raised for sponsorship and to be fair I think it keeps people who enter commited as opposed to flippant entrants creating work for organisers.
The comment about how much finds it way to charity, I am not sure and I think many sportives at the moment take the mick, given boom in popularity.
However given Simon from Raphas son has autism and the charity is in aid of autism of would of though rapha's contribution will be sizeable but if in doubt ask as you have a right as a funraiser to ask and even dare I say it involve yourself further in charity and see where your money gets spent.
It's a lot of money for anyone but I truly believe a little sacrifice is good for the soul once in a while
:)
There are too many middle men jumping on our sport to make money out of the growing popularity of cycling.
14 local farmers up here in Teesdale recently organised a ride for their 4 chosen charities. None of them were in any way as fit as any of our club riders. Some hadn't ridden for 30 years. They all did some training and rode 150 miles over 3 days. They had a lot of fun coast to coast and raised £14,000 for good causes.
I would far rather see that sort of charity ride and am happy to support. The ride was hard for these guys and the effort was rewarded. They made just over £1000 each but ALL the money went to the charities. None to any management company. No feed stops except where they had lunch and stopped over. No closed roads and nothing to upset locals with large numbers of undisciplined riders.
Just the sort of thing CCA could organise for itself. Added bonus of riding with friends, but you'd have to do more than 50 miles a day :-)
However, to be fair to Rapha, they make it very clear on the details that the £150 is the cost for the event. The £750 is for charity and 100% of it will go to the charity? Rapha chose to set this event up with this in mind and they are entitled to do so.I think it is quite different to ride London for example, where charities are buying places and then selling them, which I personally consider to be very wrong and totally against the principles of amateur sport.
Alistair
Have to say that a lot of the fund-raising tactics that the big charities now use, I find too pushy and yes, from the outside they seem to have lost touch with what charity is about. All the charities have to generate an income though, else they go bust, just like any other 'business'... and underneath all the money-making machinery, there are still people who care, volunteers who give up their time and people on the receiving end of the good cause who appreciate everything that's done to help them
I think we just have to vote with our £s. (Suspect there will be fewer Ride London places being sold through charities this year, because a lot of them didn't sell last year.) For me, that means supporting smaller charities that are a bit gentler. And of course, I'll carry on having 'lively' debates with business-orientated people who work in the big charities, whenever I get the chance
Still wonder though Alistair...how many riders are likely to raise this and do the event?
I would be genuinely interested in the actual costs associated with organising such an event. There must be a break even figure once all overheads are taken in to account.
Raising the £750 is the tough one... More of a challenge than riding the distance. Maybe riding it naked may help?
Probably not!