Tour De Cure

[pandeia]

Hi :)

Is anyone on the forums participating in Tour De Cure this year? If so, I would love any advice/input that would be useful since this will be my first time.... I don't own a bike so I'll be training at the gym. Really, any info would be appreciated. Even memories of participating in a Tour De Cure event would be great, I just want to know what it's like...

Thanks in advance :o

[Gordonm]

I rode in one 2 years ago. The ride was fine as I ride all the time so it was just another ride in a day with other people. The one I did was horribly run though. I won't go into details but I vowed to not ride in it again because it was so poorly run. I did hear they have a new person in charge of the one here locally so I may try it again next year. You will need a bike though. :D

[pandeia]

I rode in one 2 years ago. The ride was fine as I ride all the time so it was just another ride in a day with other people. The one I did was horribly run though. I won't go into details but I vowed to not ride in it again because it was so poorly run. I did hear they have a new person in charge of the one here locally so I may try it again next year. You will need a bike though. :D

that's too bad, I'm sorry to hear that! If you do decide to do one again, let's hope your experience will be better :)
and I know, I gotta get a bike somehow... I guess I'll just keep having to donate plasma in order to afford one while I'm still in college! :D

[cwathne]

rode in the Redmond, Wa tour de cure a few months ago (100miles)

I had a great time, and the ride was very well supported. There were rest stops every 15-20 miles that were packed with all kinds of food/drinks; clif bars, different fruits, cold water/gatoraid/ nuun tabs, energy gels....and more. I would fill my jersey pockets at every stop :)

[Ronin]

Hi Pandeia!

Charity rides vary greatly, largely dependent on the local sponsors and how much they are willing to put into making the event user friendly.

Personally, I've been offended by a lot of charitable organizations that have the attitude that because I ride a bicycle I owe them money.

My personal preference is for single day events with a reasonable set participation fee which does not require me to get my friends and neighbors to make a donation because I'm riding my bicycle.

I've also found more than a few of these organizations use the sponsor list to both solicit more donations as well as selling that list to other organizations looking for willing contributors.

That being said, I have heard from people participating in well run rides that have had positive outcomes.

Until the ADA (or any parent organization that uses this method) sets some hard guidlines any Tour-de-Cure is going to be at the mercy of the local organizers and the actual events will be uneven at best.

[pandeia]

Until the ADA (or any parent organization that uses this method) sets some hard guidlines any Tour-de-Cure is going to be at the mercy of the local organizers and the actual events will be uneven at best.

Interesting. Perhaps I'll train for a Tour De Cure that is a few years down the line. Who knows, maybe it'll be run by people who are willing to organize the charity event more efficiently in a few years! ;) I've been getting this same feedback on another website for diabetics so I really am questioning what I should do about this conundrum. Thank you for your input :)

[Ronin]

Hi Pandeia!

One other suggestion: before you sign up for any one of these events, call the organization (in this case the ADA) and request a copy of the latest IRS-990 (if you ask for one they are required to provide it under the law).

This is a one page summary of the income versus outlay of the "charitable" organization. Some charities have very good ratio's of dollars in to dollars out for the purpose of the organization. Others can be as low as 10% actually going for the intended purpose.

I have not done this for the ADA but have used this as my decision maker for other charity requests. I have been disappointed more times than I have been pleased at the results. There are a lot of "charities" that have high "administrative costs" (read cushy salaries for the owners of the charities) with the minimum going to the cause. There are a few that do put the money given into the cause with minimal overhead. Oh yes, and if they won't provide the IRS-990 I write them off my list.