Loop the Lake ride today

Comment

Comment by Kathleen Wallington on March 21, 2010 at 2:10pm

Commenting about punctures is not a criticism of the event, but simply pointing out what one has observed. After any ride, or event of any kind, people are going to discuss likes and dislikes, this is not to say they didn't think it was well organised nor that they won't return next year. It is only with feedback that organises know how they can improve things for the following year and keep people coming back. I have done 8 NSW Big Rides (no longer in existence), 8 Gong rides, 10 Cycle Sydney, 2 Gear up Girls and never had a puncture. I have been riding since 1997 (I hope I haven't spoken too soon). I too have never seen so much glass or people with punctures. I am certainly glad I decided to give my bike a clean today, because after getting all the mud off the tires, what should I find, but some pretty good sized pieces of glass. It is certainly a great ride and well organised, I am just glad I took my hybrid.

Comment by Nigel on March 15, 2010 at 11:45pm

Hey Si, enjoyed the ride despite the wet start, fortunately no punctures in the group of 8 I rode with though the amount of glass was much more than previous years and the road resealing didnt help.Personally find the GONG ride harder with the number of riders you cant always keep your line so lose pace on the hills easily and the little hill after the Seacliff bridge always takes you by surprise.

Comment by Super Si on March 15, 2010 at 9:17pm

John H - re: "given there were nearly 3 thousand riders, the percentages weren't that high". I just felt the number of upside down bikes was noticable, compared to other organised rides I've taken part in. That said, I wouldn't have missed the day for a King's ransom. Despite our little group of three experiencing two punctures and our mate CJ's dodgy derailleur/exploding chain, it was a fantastic ride. If only the local council could back up the sterling effort of the Rotary Club and the other volunteers. I also got a flyer for the R2R.

Comment by Al on March 15, 2010 at 7:49pm

John H - having scanned the comments re: LtL on this post and the event post, I don't think any are trying to be critical of the organisational skills & efforts of the Rotary or the event managers themselves. Most, including my own comments, are directed at the council (LMCC) who clearly make little or no effort to help a worthy cause & an event that generates quite a bit of money for the local economy. Being a former resident of LM area (Dudley) I know from experience how useless they are. My puncture during LtL was caused by glass, one of my riding buddies had a glass puncture too. Hopefully one year LMCC will assist by sweeping at least the SW & SE areas around LM. I did get a flyer from Rob at the end, looking forward to R2R & best of luck with the organisation - a great effort & a great cause!!

Comment by John H on March 15, 2010 at 7:17pm

I too rode LtL yesterday. There were a numbe rof punctures, but given there were nearly 3 thousand riders, the percentages weren't that high. It is not glass alone that causes the problem. Quite often, the fine wire plies from truck tires that have blown out are the cause & these are almost impossible to sweep from the roads. Three of us who are involved in the planning for the fortcoming Ride to Riverstone Festival also met with the chief organiser for LTL. You should have a chat & see what goes on behind the scenes before offering too much criticism.
Many punctures occurred on some of the suburban streets as well, so the Highway was not the sole contributor.
I also didn't recognise too many SC contributors at the ride. I was easilly recognised by the Broken Hill Jersey & Rob K was very busy at the start/ finish site handing out R2R Festival Flyers. ( Excellent work Rob, thanks for the effort you put in.)

Comment by Kathleen Wallington on March 15, 2010 at 6:14pm

I would say, to me at least, the Sydney to Gong is a harder ride, except with Loop the Lake we seemed to be riding with more traffic around us, and yes I agree, there was alot of glass in the cycling lanes. It would not hurt the council, knowing this event is going to be run, to have a clean up prior to the day. Otherwise I had a great time and hope to return next year.

Comment by Dabba on March 15, 2010 at 3:10pm

Following your comments below, I sent this off today to the organisers -

"I am a cyclist who rides the Pacific Highway between Belmont and Blue Haven 2-3 times a week.

Following, I think, the last 3 events I have raised the amount of glass on the road shoulders as an issue for discussion at your post event briefing. So, I suspect that this is the fourth time that I’ve raised it. I do not ride LtL for a number of reasons, but I really do want to see it prosper. Here are a couple of comments regarding the state of the road shoulders

“Was a great day was very happy to be running 32s as it seems as not very many of the roadies escaped without punctures”

“I've never seen so many punctures on an organised ride.”

“re: the condition of the roads and cycle lanes, the south west & south east areas around the Lake are obviously in need of road sweeping & repairs - Lake Macq council should spring into action!”

These are comments from 3 cyclists from Sydney who came up for the event. As yet I’ve not spoken to any locals who did it. However, it is really disappointing that either your organisation or LMCC or RTA cannot get their acts together to fix this situation. All that is needed is for a cyclist to ride the route with a gps in the week leading up to the event and mark the location of the problem glassed areas. Then, utilising the info from the gps, LMCC or RTA could send a truck out to fix it – over and done in next to no time and people are not turned off by the perennial and increasing number of punctures on the route. In a worst case scenario, if a cyclist had 2 tyres shredded, they could be up for a couple of hundred dollars to replace them, which would make them think twice about coming back. Surely return visits is what it’s all about!

I believe that RTA has a policy/budget to sweep all roads at least once a year. You might be able to utilise this info. At this stage, I’ve had little success!

Good luck with next year, and I hope that this will trigger some action to remedy the glass problems for all future events."

This was the response that I received shortly after

"Thanks for your positive and constructive comments. I travelled the route at least 5 times leading up to the event and once again on Thursday identifying the areas of concern. The only chance I have of getting the road swept is to go out and get a sponsor to fund it.

That is on my list for next year!

I applied for a grant from LMCC and was refused because the event is self sustainable! I paid the $3,577.00 for Park Fees, Witches Hats and so on! We were required to lodge a $1,000.00 bond for park keys.

That shows how much assistance we receive from LMCC!

But I will persist!"

Comment by Al on March 14, 2010 at 8:48pm

Super Si, I agree, it was a fantastic day. Looked like it was going to be very damp but ended up being a beautiful day. Having done the 'Gong ride and now LtL, I do think LtL is harder mainly because the road terrain is very inconsistent and challenging in parts. The hills, although not as long or hard as RNP in the 'Gong ride, are quite frequent in parts of LtL, so it was more challenging than I anticipated. Also agree, re: the condition of the roads and cycle lanes, the south west & south east areas around the Lake are obviously in need of road sweeping & repairs - Lake Macq council should spring into action!

Comment by Super Si on March 14, 2010 at 7:53pm

Stuart, you said it "as not very many of the roadies escaped without punctures". I've never seen so many punctures on an organised ride. Dabba commented on this forum last week " In the past I have suggested to the organisers that they try to get the shoulder lanes swept before the event, but they are either unable to do so or just ignore the recommendation! As Nigel says, bring patches and spare tubes along with tough tyres."

http://www.sydneycyclist.com/events/loop-the-lake

I loved the ride but it would be great if they could sweep the route.

Comment by stuart matheson on March 14, 2010 at 7:42pm

post loop the lake
Was a great day was very happy to be running 32s as it seems as not very many of the roadies escaped without punctures, was a little dissapointed as I did not manage to spot any other ss riders.