Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle 2018

Roger Hassenforder

DeepBlue wrote: »

I think there was something like 1400 volunteers on the day. If you paid them for their time it would cost a hell of a lot more. Besides it's a good idea to give some recognition to the volunteers who will then be back next year. It's quite easy to take volunteers for granted and then you wonder why they don't return.
I wouldn't really have a problem with them getting a few drinks and a bite to eat for their efforts.

But is it not all about the charity...?

I volunteer on the Cork Marathon precisely because of the benifet I get from other volunteers on such mass events.
Never asked for, nor expected a thing. I always thought a lot of the volunteers were beneficiaries of the event- it was in their interest to "volunteer"...

500 gobs wouldnt be long adding up to the price of a minibus...

TGD

CramCycle wrote: »

MOD VOICE: Get a reliable and verifiable source before accusing anyone on here about scamming or dodgy dealings. Any questions, via PM.

Thanks Mod for taking action on this particular vitriol directed at the Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle and the serious but unfounded insinuations about the character and motivations of good and well-meaning community volunteers that run it.

If the poster is reading, he/she has options other than Boards to bring accusations to: e.g. the Gardai, the Charities Regulator, and the Director of Corporate Enforcement.

The event and the organizers seem to come under quite a bit of criticism from certain quarters and, while fair and balanced criticism is good, some can be quite nasty. The type of vindictiveness in this post was just an extreme just part of this.

The event is is run by a Board of Directors (bound by the conditions of the Companies Act) and an organizing committee: all well-known and respected people in the community. They are supported by hundreds of volunteers (up to 1,500 on the day alone). To suggest that all of these are all colluding in some kind of scam, or that their operation is in some way shady, or that they have some 'selfish' motivation, is just 'beyond the beyonds' (even though some other posters have come close to these accusations).

I help the event myself in a small way and can be a pretty cynical guy at times: if I though there was anything shady or disrespect to cyclists involved I'd be first out of the traps to expose and criticise it. I know many of those deeply involved in it and I trust and respect them.

Any charity or cycling volunteer will know that running events and raising funds is hard enough at the best of time, but to be the subject of this type of unfair criticism just sucks the energy out of people. It’s no wonder that so many just walk away.

Yes, of course things could be done differently - as in any event - and positive criticism and suggestions are valuable. The event been going on for 35 years and it's just a huge community carnival (the fact that Kerry closes down the busiest tourist route in the country at the height of the season shows the attitude towards it). In contract to these types of posts, full of toxic begrudgery, it is an event characterized by joy, positivity, generosity and good-will.

And, while it is expensive, you know exactly where your money is going if you decide to do it.

Olsky

Although my previous post has been taken down and was perhaps ill advised and I have nothing but admiration for the volunteers on the ground that devote their time I don't believe I made any claims of malpractice or said anything that wasn't broadly factual. It was motivated by annoyance at being constantly lectured about charidee.

I don't believe either that questioning how such massive sums of money are distributed or spent is unreasonable.

However the statement below which was issued by the organisers in 2016 in response to growing criticism from cyclists might give some indication as to why there has been such a collapse in interest in doing the Ring of Kerry cycle in only two short years.

“We have received a lot of feedback regarding the ‘price’, or ‘cost’, ‘admission charge’ or ‘fee’ for our charity event. The Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle imposes none of these –monies given by you to the Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle are donations.



Many of the first people who tried to register for 2015’s cycle were unable to get a place..

This was due to unprecedented demand for places .........which caused the registration system to crash.

To avoid this issue happening again.....We decided upon a lottery that would be run over 6 weeks

The non-refundable donation was put in place to prevent people trying to gain unfair advantage by entering the lottery multiple times.

The €10 of those who are unsuccessful will be donated to the charities.

.....to protect the charities, those cycling with a charity are asked to fundraise a minimum of €170.

The Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle is run by a group of people .....who share the one collective goal – to raise as much money as possible for the people of Kerry.

We would like to re-iterate that all decisions made by the committee are made with the intention of maximising the funds that are raised”

http://www.the42.ie/ring-of-kerry-charity-cycle-criticism-statement-2572502-Jan2016/

Roger Hassenforder

It's a great day, I really enjoyed the times I have done it. I may do it again, but not for more than €50. It's plenty.

But let's be under no illusions, its aim is to raise as much cash as possible from cyclists.
Demand exploded, they exploited it and sought to extract as much as they could from their customers, rather distastefully with the lottery yoke, and overall not a good business model IMO.

Demand may soon collapse as people tick it off a bucket list or perceive they have been ripped off enough.

Olsky

Roger Hassenforder wrote: »

It's a great day, I really enjoyed the times I have done it. I may do it again, but not for more than €50. It's plenty.

But let's be under no illusions, its aim is to raise as much cash as possible from cyclists.
Demand exploded, they exploited it and sought to extract as much as they could from their customers.

It is a great day. I too have done it many times and enjoyed it. And the volunteers have added to it.

However the feeling that it is all about the money and how much the cute Kerry hoores can squeeze out of you leaves a bad taste.
Some things should be about more than money.

TGD

Olsky wrote: »

Although my previous post has been taken down and was perhaps ill advised and I have nothing but admiration for the volunteers on the ground that devote their time I don't believe I made any claims of malpractice or said anything that wasn't broadly factual. It was motivated by annoyance at being constantly lectured about charidee.

I don't believe either that questioning how such massive sums of money are distributed or spent is unreasonable.

However the statement below which was issued by the organisers in 2016 in response to growing criticism from cyclists might give some indication as to why there has been such a collapse in interest in doing the Ring of Kerry cycle in only two short years.

“We have received a lot of feedback regarding the ‘price’, or ‘cost’, ‘admission charge’ or ‘fee’ for our charity event. The Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle imposes none of these –monies given by you to the Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle are donations.



Many of the first people who tried to register for 2015’s cycle were unable to get a place..

This was due to unprecedented demand for places .........which caused the registration system to crash.

To avoid this issue happening again.....We decided upon a lottery that would be run over 6 weeks

The non-refundable donation was put in place to prevent people trying to gain unfair advantage by entering the lottery multiple times.

The €10 of those who are unsuccessful will be donated to the charities.

.....to protect the charities, those cycling with a charity are asked to fundraise a minimum of €170.

The Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle is run by a group of people .....who share the one collective goal – to raise as much money as possible for the people of Kerry.

We would like to re-iterate that all decisions made by the committee are made with the intention of maximising the funds that are raised”

http://www.the42.ie/ring-of-kerry-charity-cycle-criticism-statement-2572502-Jan2016/

That was 2015. Get over it and move on.

Olsky

TGD wrote: »

That was 2015. Get over it and move on.

Issue is that the mindset and attitude from the organisers remains the same. That the purpose and reason for the cycle is to raise money.
That is what has turned cyclists against the event in their thousands.

James 007

Olsky wrote: »

............ and how much the cute Kerry hoores can squeeze out of you leaves a bad taste........

Its amazing how narrow minded irish people become when they feel things aren't going their way,anything to deflect away from the conversation, its a matter of a persons choice. I choose to do it this year and didn't do it last year, did it two of the previous years. My brother complains about the €100, but would spend it in cigarettes/drink in probably less than a month. Enjoyed the day out, will do it again. Was with a friend and completed it in 6.5 hours at an average of 27km/hr (not including 1/2 hour first stop and 2 15min stops sneem/kenmare). I think it is a great event and would love to see more and more events across the country. Irish people are pushing to being more healthy and I think thats a great thing.

PeadarCo

James 007 wrote:

Its amazing how narrow minded irish people become when they feel things aren't going their way,anything to deflect away from the conversation, its a matter of a persons choice. I choose to do it this year and didn't do it last year, did it two of the previous years. My brother complains about the €100, but would spend it in cigarettes/drink in probably less than a month. Enjoyed the day out, will do it again. Was with a friend and completed it in 6.5 hours at an average of 27km/hr (not including 1/2 hour first stop and 2 15min stops sneem/kenmare). I think it is a great event and would love to see more and more events across the country. Irish people are pushing to being more healthy and I think thats a great thing.

There are loads of events like this around the country that raise money for charity. During the summer there is at least a one or two on every weekend. Most you don't hear about because they don't have the resources the ROK has. Nearly all of them are less than half the price of the ROK. That's part of the reason people have stopped doing it. Why spend a 100 euro when you can do a similar event for between 20-40 euro. A lot of these events also give proceeds to charity and in most cases run by volunteers.

The ROK does get is share of complaints that's part and parcel of being such a well known and arguably loved event.

Olsky

Three short years ago the Ring of Kerry filled its maximum capacity of 12,000 more or less immediately. It was without question the most important and admired cycle event in the country.

A few short years later the numbers of cyclists that still want to do it have fallen dramatically at the same time as the popularity of similar events like the Ring of Beara have grown to where they are at full capacity within a day or two of places being released.

More importantly there is now a lot of ill will and bad feeling amongst cyclists towards it. There are many cyclists who state that they are no longer doing it "out of principle"

In my opinion responsibility for all this is fully and almost solely with the organisers. Maybe a bit of self examanation wouldn't go astraym

Brendan Hennessy

Hi all, hope this write-up by OldVelos about ROK '18 puts some smiles back on faces!

"One year ago, a cracked cycling unit was convicted in Kerry by a military court for a crime against the Carbonistas regime. These men bicycled the Ring of Kerry on high nellies and escaped the Kingdom to the underground. Today, still wanted by the “com-mit-tee”, they survive as wheels of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire… the iAn-Team."

Full write up with pics on

http://www.oldvelos.com/i-love-it-when-a-plan-comes-together/

Brendan

TGD

Brendan Hennessy wrote: »

Hi all, hope this write-up by OldVelos about ROK '18 puts some smiles back on faces!

"One year ago, a cracked cycling unit was convicted in Kerry by a military court for a crime against the Carbonistas regime. These men bicycled the Ring of Kerry on high nellies and escaped the Kingdom to the underground. Today, still wanted by the “com-mit-tee”, they survive as wheels of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire… the iAn-Team."

Full write up with pics on

http://www.oldvelos.com/i-love-it-when-a-plan-comes-together/

Brendan

Next year Brendan: new tyres and brake blocks and we'll be grand.
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Brendan Hennessy

"Next year Brendan: new tyres and brake blocks and we'll be grand."

Grand TGD, I'd wager you'd get around on that alright - but possibly start 'proofiding' that saddle - take it from buttocks of experience!

DeepBlue

This year's photos are up - https://killarneycameraclub.ie/2018/07/26/ring-of-kerry-2018/

soghluaiste

Partly inspired by my own experience of the ROK this year and also the controversy on here about the high registration fee etc. I've written a blog post with three ideas for fundraising for charity cycling which I hope some people might find interesting/useful. It'd be great to hear other people's ideas too... the link to my blog is here (hopefully it works!) https://diarmaidmacm.ie/fundraising-for-charity-cycling-3-ideas/

Magnatu

Significant drop in amount made in this years cycle.

Amount down by €625,425 since 2015 despite entry fee being the highest ever.
Reflection of the collapse in numbers participating.

funnights74

I half expected that. They totally screwed people over. The roads this year were practically empty compared to a few years ago, the cycling clubs were non existant, a few years ago they were everywhere I thought it made for a better cycle. More room, less foodstop hassle. I wonder will they drop the entry fee next year?. Let's see how the committee react to this.

Atom Ant

I do not feel sorry for the committee and from what I hear the locals are none to pleased either. If they lost that income directly imagine the loss of revenue to the local community bar resuarants hotels etc. They might split the entry fee to a basic charge and optional charity contritution or better still the reverse given that always use the charities as an excuse for the high entry fees. They seem to forget they serve at our pleasure...looooool

DeepBlue

Magnatu wrote: »

Significant drop in amount made in this years cycle.

Amount down by €625,425 since 2015 despite entry fee being the highest ever.
Reflection of the collapse in numbers participating.

They collected €1,265,375 which is still €1,265,375 more than would have been collected for charity if they didn't have the ROK.

Atom Ant wrote: »

I do not feel sorry for the committee and from what I hear the locals are none to pleased either. If they lost that income directly imagine the loss of revenue to the local community bar resuarants hotels etc.

What do local pubs, restaurants and hotels have to complain about? Surely if the ROK wasn't running they wouldn't pick up any extra business from it.

Wildly Boaring

DeepBlue wrote: »

They collected €1,265,375 which is still €1,265,375 more than would have been collected for charity if they didn't have the ROK.


What do local pubs, restaurants and hotels have to complain about? Surely if the ROK wasn't running they wouldn't pick up any extra business from it.

Ah you don't go to killarney much do you?

These boys have something substantial on every weekend. They'd replace it in a flash with something to draw in the crowds. It's the middle or tourist season too

DeepBlue

Wildly Boaring wrote: »

Ah you don't go to killarney much do you?

These boys have something substantial on every weekend. They'd replace it in a flash with something to draw in the crowds. It's the middle or tourist season too

I don't think they get a bump of an additional 7 or 8 thousand or whatever it is people every weekend.

Wildly Boaring

DeepBlue wrote: »

I don't think they get a bump of an additional 7 or 8 thousand or whatever it is people every weekend.

It isn't though.
They close the ring if Kerry for a day essentially

Also all the cyclists book well in advance and all accommodation in killarney is gone for the weekend.

Weekly bookings usually sat to sat. So lot of houses empty for 10 days or so. Hence the nice high price for the weekend accom

It's the pubs and restaurants complaining.

These boys will moan about anything.

ballyharpat

I'm from Killarney, it's a better week when the Ring of kerry is not on, we get better spenders, the numbers are up all week, instead of just the weekend, similar happens in the early bank holiday weekends, we are quieter on a Monday/Tuesday before a bank holiday, than on a regular week, then bombarded on the weekend, it's chaos for locals, and for tourists etc. This year thankfully we didnt have the munster final or the regatta on the same weekend, so we were still packed, but not so much that it wasnt enjoyable.
This is killarney, our tourist season runs from march to November, and even December is busy and still buzzing since Christmas in Killarney started.

Magnatu

ballyharpat wrote: »

I'm from Killarney, it's a better week when the Ring of kerry is not on, we get better spenders, the numbers are up all week, i.

Think that is largely true. Every time I have gone out in Killarney during Ring of Kerry weekend it has been mostly non cyclists out and about. Cyclists are usually knackered after the cycle and have been fed enough during the day. They either stay away from town or go for one or two pints. So the decline of the ROK is not really of much concern to pub and restaurant owners in Killarney.

Macy0161

DeepBlue wrote: »

They collected €1,265,375 which is still €1,265,375 more than would have been collected for charity if they didn't have the ROK.

Is that the amount collected or the amount actually distributed to charity?

Magnatu

Macy0161 wrote: »

Is that the amount collected or the amount actually distributed to charity?

Amount collected. Before the committees substantial "administration expenses" are paid. And of course all of the charities have their own administration expenses for the money they get.

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