diphthong

^sounds like a ride up hwy 39 to dawson summit would settle everything. if it's on a mon or tues, count me in. having ridden multiple times with JimmyNH and Tycho Brahe
and totally abused/discarded by both, my money is on them.

pretty good chance i'll be with the bike in the santa ynez valley/solvang century area in the next month and a half. will be looking to hit the refugio rd climb from the northern dirt side and/or
fig mtn. may slide over west and finally do the jalama beach ride and snarf a jalama beach burger.

Manny66 

Settle what? That You and your buddy condone and support STEALING from Organizations that put on Cycling Events for Charity , and your bitter because SCORR finally had enough and is trying to stop people like You??

diphthong

^so no ride up hwy 39 to dawson saddle? pity.

diphthong

maybe all the respondents in the thread can meet up at some point during the solvang century. a pirates and paid or cops and robbers kinda thingy. fun!

JimmyNH

Look Manny66, nobody here condones and supports stealing. We just say that your definition of "stealing" is pathetic. Let me try to put it in a way you might understand. You started this tread about a month before the event when it was only about 50% full (i.e. not selling very well, as of today they still have 734 open spots). You seem to be very knowledgeable about organizing bike rides (as it is evident from your previous posts). You rate the event as "fantastic" (I wouldn't give it more than "meh"). You vigorously defend the "Wall of Shame" (which everybody else here seems to disapprove). Given all of the above, I reckon you are one of the organizers and therefore a freeloader, because you use this forum to advertise your event for free, while all the other advertisers have to pay for their ads to be published. Or are you? I'll give you a clue - innocent until proven guilty.

As for stopping "people like us" - I think we all specifically mentioned that we've never joined intentionally an organized ride without paying. If we listen to you, we might think that there are thousands of "bandits" on the road. Well, looking at the "wall" again, I see only 4 for 2017 (one of them wears a SCOR jersey, looks like they framed their own guy) and 120+ pictures for 2018 (most of them duplicated or triplicated, so I reckon not more than 40-50 different people). What's the big fuss about - 50 more bicycles on the road? Close the road for cars, then I'll agree with you on your definition of "bandit rider".

JimmyNH

I'm in ooga-booga! And on your side of course!
Naaah, the drive there sucks and the weather this time of the year is so unpredictable, it doesn't worth the effort.

Manny66 

I have Zero connection to this Event, so You are way off on your assumption as to the "Free Advertising" claim.

Your other assumption that I "Vigorously defend the Wall of Shame" is also Wrong, I merely pointed out that its a Free Country and if your on a Public Road your fair game to be photographed and used on a web site wether you approve of it or not. You can go back and Re-Read my post. Feel free to Quote me where I mentioned the "Thousands" of Bandit Riders"

Lastly , I personally know a few friends/riders that have told me They will NOT be going to this Event this year as opposed to other years simply because of the exposure of the Bandit Riders(which They were), so the Organizers tactics of exposing Freeloaders is Working.

Stealing is Stealing , wether you agree with it or not is irrelevant to me.

Manny66 

BTW, as of a few minutes ago ,,500 Entries left,,Check Your Facts.

TakingMyTime

I'm not sure about now, but years ago it would sell out all the time. I remember entertaining the idea of riding it again and there were no slots left open for the 100 miler. If I'm not mistaken the reason for the shorter rides was in response to the cap set on the 100 miler. Breaking down the ride into different lengths probably helped with the manageability of the event. It could also be that I will not usually sign up for an organized ride until the last minute. I usually don't know what I want to to 2 days from now let alone signing up months in advance.

Cyclist0108

If you are walking down the street and I take a photo of you and post it on the internet, unambiguously labeling you as a "thief", I will have set myself up for a libel lawsuit unless I have compelling proof to back up my accusation.

BTW: you're

2seven0

I think you guys need to read the verbage a little closer- it states that security will be AT THE SAG STOPS to confirm you have a wristband and RFID tag to enter. It doesn't appear to me that anyone who happens to be out on the roads used during the ride will be tagged as "bandits". If the latter is the case I agree that it's totally out of line. I plan to talk to an event organizer when we check in to confirm the exact policy re. this issue and inform him/her of the concerns raised here.
Will post results of the discussion after the ride.
West

Manny66 

Your astute attention to grammar is obvious that you are a person that dutifully pays his entrance Fees to Charitible cycling Events and not a "Thief",so you shouldnt be so concerned by a random statement on the Internet.

Manny66 

I agree , certain people are blowing this way out of proportion. An "accidental intrusion" onto the Event route does not merit a "shaming" ,but chances of someone riding a cycling Event Route exactly turn for turn and for the same many miles , are very very rare. If Non Paying riders were not a major monetray and logistical Issue to the Event organizers this Bandit Rider exposure would never have been initiated in the first place .

Its all very simple and easily explainable, some people just choose to stomp their feet and throw a tantrum when they can't buck the system any longer.

Cyclist0108

That is totally reasonable. What might not be is shown in the previously-posted link of shame:
Take a look. These aren't people without a wristband at the beer tent.

bikeme

Wow, this topic's thread went Sideways (get my area movie reference, lol?). Anyway, I happily paid and am going. I haven't done a century in years (mostly a mtb-er) so I'm cramming in some road miles.

JimmyNH

That will be great (talk to the organizers and let us know). I did read the part about the security at the SAGs. That's not the issue. It's the part that "anyone who happens to be out on the roads used during the ride" being tagged as "bandit". Look at the "wall" again - there are no pictures of guys snacking at the SAG stops or taking a dump in their portapotties or drinking free beer at the end. You might also want to ask them if they paid for the pictures posted on that wall. PhotoCrazy charges $25 per picture, so that's about $3000 they paid to build that web page. And that doesn't take into account the time that some poor bastard spent to thoroughly examine 3000+ photos for the presence of a wristband, and then pluck out those that didn't have one.

diphthong

none of the routes i viewed for the 2020 versions of the solvang experience are technical routewise. it's not like trying to cycle through the lake arrowhead area, or irvine,
or just north of dtown la for that matter without guidance/map capabilities, etc. just not that many paved thru roads in the santa ynez valley hence the suggested paid
vibe/experience/appeal. i suppose cyclists that usually ride the area or are vacationing in the area that don't fill the event coffers are either encouraged to take the day off,
ride elsewhere or be potentially subjected to the wall of shame because some greedy human insisted. yes. i am stomping my feet and throwing a tantrum as postulated and,
perhaps, even encouraged.

curious as to how many other cycling events have their own particular wall of shame? is this (hopefully) an outlier or a harbinger of upgrades to come?
asking as a thieving supporter of stealing from charitable organizations engaged in said charitable cycling events. i haz a full sched and need to flesh it out.

Manny66 

This is all very easy to remedy, YOU guys can contact the Solvang Event Organizers personally and let them know that you're "emotionally distressed" by the Bandit Rider exposure on their web site and voice your displeasure,or you can continue to come on Bike Forums and continually whine and cry about it.

Your solution is just a quick Email or MSG away.

Have a Great Day and get those Miles in.

diphthong

i'm mostly emotionally distressed by the event not having a booze cruise as it were. i mean, they're passing by some world-class wineries enroute.
do your flattish 25, 50, 75, century routes. whatever. it's not like they're climbing fig mtn or refugio. but the 35-45 mile booze cruise route is an untapped market segment
in the area. pretty sure they've got it covered in napa. when in wine country...

JimmyNH

Nobody is emotionally distressed or offended by that wall. We merely say that it sucks. And if I happen to ride in that area during the event, sure as hell I'm not going to change my riding plans.

Manny66 

BTW, make sure and contact the Solvang Event organizers and cry over there as much as your crying here.

StanSeven

Ok, how about letting go of this? It’s not that big a deal to be arguing this much. For those that ride, enjoy the event

JimmyNH

Geez, sorry, I forgot we are supposed to discuss only "big deals" on this forum. No wonder people don't post much here anymore.

diphthong

thank you. should be interesting and/or informative.

Siu Blue Wind

Considering you're posting quite a bit on this thread alone, proves different.

I'm sorry that you are unhappy here.

Please leave this thread.