Popularity Kills: My Excuses for Canceling the Battenkill Alternative Ride

I owe my readership an apology.

My last post intimated that I was organizing a challenging bicycle ride for April 10th of 2010, the same day as Battenkill. In fact I was.

While I was investigating routes and formats, I was inundated with positive responses. Friends as far-flung as Tennessee (isn’t that where you are now Zach?) planned on traveling to Cambridge to participate. Normally, positive responses are a good thing. In this case it was not. Given the sheer number of riders who are ready to drop Battenkill and come do a gentlemen’s race, the event has to be cancelled for a number of reasons.

1. This is impossible to do safely. I don’t see how we can responsibly have a 50+ person ride on local roads without marshals (see below). Sure we could do it, but it is a recipe for disaster. Can you imagine the chaos at the townlines and on the KOM’s?

2. This was not going to be a race. It was going to be a giant loop. So we can’t act like a race and have rolling enclosures, marshals, etc.

3. Since it is not a race, I hadn’t planned on charging anyone beyond a few dollars to cover a couple of neutral rest stops/feedzones stocked with tools, tubes, food and drinks. As such, this ride had no budget (see insurance below).

4. Insurance. I would never invite strangers on an organized ride without insuring the ride. People who I don’t know have contacted me about the ride, which began to make me think about liability. As structured, this ride is uninsurable at a reasonable rate.

5. I am comfortable with how most of my friends and teammates ride bicycles; I became concerned when strangers indicated that they were planning on doing “my” ride. We all know what sketchy riding looks like and how dangerous it can be. How would I ever screen these people out when I don’t even know half the potential riders? And what about riders who can’t handle the distance or the pace? Can we really have a “no drop” ride with dozens of competitive cyclists across multiple categories? Are we to abandon the unfit out in central Mass and hope that they get home OK?

So, if you are a reader of mine and had planned on doing this ride, I apologize. I am not up to the task of organizing it.

If you want to take up the reins and organize a ride, I’ll be happy to post it here. Otherwise, you should contact your teammates and friends and organize a barnburner of your own for April 10th.

BTW, be sure to check the comments sections of the previous two posts about Battenkill (here and here), there have been a few interesting developments in the last few days.