Ring of Kerry cycle 2019

banjobongo

Im thinking of doing this event next year. I checked out their website but there are no details on the two questions I have so Im hoping somebody on this forum can help?

1/I understand each person entering the event needs to raise funds for a chosen charity. What is the amount of funds you need to raise per person?
2/I would be hoping to do this with my son, who will be 16 yrs old, is there a minimum age you need to be?

On a different note, I have type 1 diabetes, has anybody else done this event with type 1 diabetes?

(Some background info on myself = mid 50s, pretty fit, exercise every day, between gym and swimming and usually do around 1 cycle per week all year around usually 20 - 30K but regularly do 50 - 60K and I have often done a few 80 - 100K cycles before....)

Boscoirl

You can raise money for a charity if you wish, but you can just sign up for the cycle for €100

gypsy79

It is a joke. You will both fly it. It is a pretty easy cycle full of people not prepared. You will spend the day overtaking people

magentur

Remember when this was the most popular and prestigious cycling event in the country by far
Then the cute kerry hoores got greedy. Very greedy.



Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle statement in full
We at the Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle would like to address some of the feedback that we have received in relation to the registration process for this year’s cycle.

To address your feedback:

Lottery System:
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 – over 9,000 people applied for 5,000 places on the morning that registration opened which caused the registration system to crash.

To avoid this issue happening again and to ensure the fairest system possible for registration, we decided upon a lottery that would be run over 6 weeks, giving people ample time to register.

Registration for the lottery is still open (by following this link) and will remain so until open until 23.00 on Sunday, January 31st, 2016.



‘Price’; ‘Cost’; ‘Admission Charge’; ‘Fee’:
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

Like any charity event, there are running costs

These include insurance, medical expenses, water, health and safety equipment and more.

€10 Non-Refundable Minimum Donation:
This non-refundable donation was put in place to prevent people trying to gain unfair advantage by entering the lottery multiple times. Anyone who secures a place on the Cycle will have this €10 minimum donation taken off their registration fee. The €10 of those who are unsuccessful will be donated to the charities.

Questions on the lottery registration process in relation to the number of previous Ring of Kerry Charity Cycles taken part in and how much money you plan to raise:

These questions are purely for research purposes. Our aim is to collect as much data as possible about the cyclists who take part in the event to help us improve our fundraising efforts and ensure the future of this charity event.



€170 minimum commitment to sign up with a charity:
At time of writing, more than 10% of all people who registered to cycle with a charity in last year’s cycle haven’t returned their agreed sponsorship.

To ensure this doesn’t happen again and to protect the charities, those cycling with a charity are asked to fundraise a minimum of €170.

The reason for this figure is that this was the average amount raised by fundraisers who cycled with a charity in 2015’s event.



‘The Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle has become a small business’:
The Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle is run by a group of people who are passionate about the event and who share the one collective goal – to raise as much money as possible for the people of Kerry.

All are volunteers and all give up endless hours for over 6 months of the year to ensure our fundraising event is as beneficial as it can be for both the fundraisers and the charities.


The ROK Charity Cycle is often compared to other sportives but we are exclusively a fundraising cycle and not a sportive.

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 to support local charities in Kerry. These funds are vital to the work these charities carry out and without your support, many of the charities that the cycle supports would no longer be in operation. All decisions made are compliant with the charity regulator.

The charity places are also filling up fast. Anyone who wishes to go this route and make the extra commitment to raise upwards of €170 can find the list of charity contact on RingOfKerryCycle.ie.

Finally we would like to remind people that Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle is volunteer run event that allows fundraisers to raise money for worthwhile charities, they just happen to do it while cycling one of the greatest cycling routes in the world!

The Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle Committee

saccades

It is the easiest 170km I have ever done, not much climbing and lovely smooth roads.

There are loads of stop points and shops etc so you will be well able to keep well stocked to ensure you don't go hypo.

Enjoy it, some ace views, a great descent on a closed road and loads of chat. At 16 I would have been able for it.

Mor1987

Hi,

A friend and I signed up to complete The Ring of Kerry 2019 Charity cycle but unfortunately we are unable to attend due to personal reasons. We are looking to off load our tickets for face value. If you are interested please leave a comment and I will contact you.

Thanks
Mor1987

Cona

Mor1987 wrote: »

Hi,

A friend and I signed up to complete The Ring of Kerry 2019 Charity cycle but unfortunately we are unable to attend due to personal reasons. We are looking to off load our tickets for face value. If you are interested please leave a comment and I will contact you.

Thanks
Mor1987

Just an FYI - Its not a sold out event and will most likely not be. You will probably have more luck trying to offload the tickets at a discount.

Welshkev

banjobongo wrote: »

Im thinking of doing this event next year. I checked out their website but there are no details on the two questions I have so Im hoping somebody on this forum can help?

1/I understand each person entering the event needs to raise funds for a chosen charity. What is the amount of funds you need to raise per person?
2/I would be hoping to do this with my son, who will be 16 yrs old, is there a minimum age you need to be?

On a different note, I have type 1 diabetes, has anybody else done this event with type 1 diabetes?

(Some background info on myself = mid 50s, pretty fit, exercise every day, between gym and swimming and usually do around 1 cycle per week all year around usually 20 - 30K but regularly do 50 - 60K and I have often done a few 80 - 100K cycles before....)

I have type 1 diabetes and have done this, as well as longer cycles. Obviously I can't give any medical advice and as I'm sure you're seeing, there's no 'one size fits all' approach, but taking in around 30-60 grams of carbs per hour usually keeps me within range. Something like Lucozade sport in your bottle helps with this too.
Funnily, it's the only time I've ever had to do this, but at one of the food stops there was a medical area and they had a glucose testing machine there and offered to check my bloods there. These days with CGM's it's not such an issue.

Feel free to PM me if you want any more info or advise though, I'm more than happy to chat through with you my experience's of managing my diabetes with cycling, and I have a fair bit at this point!

heraldo

Mor1987 wrote: »

Hi,

A friend and I signed up to complete The Ring of Kerry 2019 Charity cycle but unfortunately we are unable to attend due to personal reasons. We are looking to off load our tickets for face value. If you are interested please leave a comment and I will contact you.

Thanks
Mor1987

I'm interested in your ROK entries if you want to drop me a PM?

heraldo

Anyone have a spare entry they're not using for this? I know two lads who don't have an entry but would like to do it this year.

TigerTim

Entries still open till midnight tonight. Check the FB page

If you're still interested in taking part in the Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle next Saturday July 6th, register your interest on the link below before Midnight on MONDAY 1st July, as this will be your final opportunity to take part before the main event��*♂️��*♂️ #ROKCC

https://endurancecui.active.com/new/events/62831153/forms?_p=6753814882645335

T.

Eamonnator

TigerTim wrote: »

Entries still open till midnight tonight. Check the FB page

If you're still interested in taking part in the Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle next Saturday July 6th, register your interest on the link below before Midnight on MONDAY 1st July, as this will be your final opportunity to take part before the main event��*♂️��*♂️ #ROKCC

https://endurancecui.active.com/new/events/62831153/forms?_p=6753814882645335

T.

I tried to enter, but the site just puts me on a waiting list.

boege

Did this three years in a row but just cant justify the €100 this year. I know two lads in my office thinking the same and bumped into another lad in work today who said the same thing.

Number were way down last year, under 7,000 I suspect, possibly even lower. Girls at desk were too embarrassed to tell me numbers. I booked one week before last year and my number was in the 7,000's but I saw a list that had big gaps in the numbers.

Heard it was booked out this year, so added my name onto the waiting list - pretty quickly got an email that i got a place. Have had further emails offers to sign up including a VIP offer???

On a once off basis it is maybe worth €100 but on a repeat basis its an expensive day out. Good buzz at the finish and great feeling of accomplishment.

I think it is now priced itself out of the market for many, compared to other sportives - and I know all the arguments about it being a fundraiser. I think i it was €50/60 myself and the three other lads in work would have done it.

Weltsmertz

This event is now dying and they only have themselves to blame. Total disrespect for cyclists with the constant refrain that it is all about squeezing as much as possible out of them for the people of Kerry. Lotteries with non refundable entry fees, €170 min "charity" fee when the event was popular
This year closing date for entries was 10thJune yet numbers are so low they are still trying to find more entants. And lying again. A constant habit of the committee. Saying it is sold out at the same time they are desperately trying to get more people to sign up. Low numbers now and bad feeling from scams of previous years means the buzz is gone.

mpg67

Has anyone a spare entry for the ROK? i know its last minute but worth a shot.

DeepBlue

mpg67 wrote: »

Has anyone a spare entry for the ROK? i know its last minute but worth a shot.

There's a couple up on donedeal for €80 - https://www.donedeal.ie/all?words=Ring%20of%20kerry&campaign=14.

07Lapierre

Check Adverts:

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?goto=newpost&t=2057993412

keane2097

Has anybody seen where/if they have posted info about parking arrangements for this year?

Or even anyone tell me where the car parks were the last few years?

TigerTim

Some info here today.

https://www.radiokerry.ie/parking-arrangements-put-place-evening-ahead-ring-kerry-charity-cycle/

T.

TGD

Weltsmertz wrote: »

This event is now dying and they only have themselves to blame. Total disrespect for cyclists with the constant refrain that it is all about squeezing as much as possible out of them for the people of Kerry. Lotteries with non refundable entry fees, €170 min "charity" fee when the event was popular
This year closing date for entries was 10thJune yet numbers are so low they are still trying to find more entants. And lying again. A constant habit of the committee. Saying it is sold out at the same time they are desperately trying to get more people to sign up. Low numbers now and bad feeling from scams of previous years means the buzz is gone.

Where did the organizers say that it was sold out? It's a serious think to call volunteers like this habitual liars, so I hope you can back this up.

binnox

mpg67 wrote: »

Has anyone a spare entry for the ROK? i know its last minute but worth a shot.

1 ticket available. Will take 75.

Thanks
Binnox

useeme

.

Weltsmertz

TGD wrote: »

Where did the organizers say that it was sold out? It's a serious think to call volunteers like this habitual liars, so I hope you can back this up.

Where did I say that the organizers said it was sold out? I didn't.
Up till 10th June they were saying that registration would close at 8pm on June 10th.
However since then they have been heavily pushing people to "express an interest" and "join the waitlist"
So there repeated statements that registrations would only be accepted up till 10thJune were a blatent lie. Pure and simple.
I only used it as an example of the way the committee has operated for many years. Wouldn't believe a thing they say.
P.s. in previous years they charged people €10 to enter a lottery. Then told them all the places were gone and their lottery fee would not be refunded.
Then began trying to persuade the lottery losers to buy €170 premium places that were not available to those entering the lottery.

07Lapierre

Heading down to Killarney tomorrow....weather forecast looks good! Should be a good weekend. Hope everyone who's doing the ROK enjoys the day and the beers after!

TGD

Weltsmertz wrote: »

Where did I say that the organizers said it was sold out? I didn't....
.

"Saying it is sold out at the same time they are desperately trying to get more people to sign up.."

Weltsmertz

TGD wrote: »

Where did the organizers say that it was sold out? It's a serious think to call volunteers like this habitual liars, so I hope you can back this up.

Ok. Apologies. Shouldn't have said that

TGD

Weltsmertz wrote: »

Ok. Apologies. Shouldn't have said that

Fair play.
Meanwhile, as I write this, there’s a bunch of volunteers and local chefs at Killarney racecourse making 20,000 sandwiches. That’s just part of the army of volunteers and the community effort that try to give the participants the very best experience and the least they deserve is not to be unjustly maligned.

Weltsmertz

TGD wrote: »

Fair play.
Meanwhile, as I write this, there’s a bunch of volunteers and local chefs at Killarney racecourse making 20,000 sandwiches. That’s just part of the army of volunteers and the community effort that try to give the participants the very best experience and the least they deserve is not to be unjustly maligned.

To be clear my issue is only with the antics of the committee over the years and their "it's all about the money_ ethos.
I have total appreciation for the commendable work done by the volunteers.

DeepBlue

Perfect day for it today.

Seadin

It's alot quieter today than any other years i did it. You would know the numbers were down. Probably safer though in the long run. It went out of control with numbers few years ago.

Newtown90

First time doing the it yesterday.

Really enjoyable day on closed roads.

Very comfortable on the roads besides one or two lunatics thinking they were on the TDF.

The feed stations were exceptional in Cahersiveen and Kenmare - so much effort put in to set this up.

Great day out and I hope the charitys made plenty.

Well done all.

PukkaStukka

Am curious to know from anyone who did the ROK yesterday what the numbers partaking were like? Last time I did it was 2015/2016 and the numbers then were IMO excessive and the whole experience very unpleasant. Has it improved since?

DeepBlue

Have been doing it each year since 2014. This year was noticeably quieter. On previous years you could easily get "boxed in" on the inside but there was less chance of that this year.
There was still a constant stream of cyclists and you'd never be on the road on your own but there was more space.
We didn't get any rain this year - the first time in 9 ROKs for me not to get at least one brief shower. Weather was perfect really.

Seadin

PukkaStukka wrote: »

Am curious to know from anyone who did the ROK yesterday what the numbers partaking were like? Last time I did it was 2015/2016 and the numbers then were IMO excessive and the whole experience very unpleasant. Has it improved since?

I say approx 6000-7000 cyclists for 2019. In 2015 /2016 there would have close to 12000 cyclists. There were a continuous line of cyclists on the road all the way around the ring back then. This year there was plenty of gaps and alot safer i must say. Like every year there are always a few idiots descending off molls gap at crazy speeds. Dont know what can be done to stop that as its unsafe with other cyclists using the road as well.

moggie123

Really enjoyable day ,really well organised and a great atmosphere.Did it five years ago and does seem to be fewer people. However a great event Everyone with me enjoyed it too.

07Lapierre

A great day and yes, definitely less participants this year. BUT, IMO it made the event better in that the roads were not congested like they have been in previous years. A great atmosphere at the Start/finish area and also in Cahirciveen and Kenmare food stops. The volunteers were brilliant!

It really is a great event and other events could learn a lot from how this event is run.

CorkCBR6

First time in a cycle like this, really enjoyed it.

Volunteers were absolutely brilliant.

Bike repair stands, first aid stands, food and water stands dotted around the Ring. Recover vehicles constantly doing laps and checking everyone was okay.

One of the best organised events I've ever come across!

TGD

banjobongo wrote: »

Im thinking of doing this event next year. I checked out their website but there are no details on the two questions I have so Im hoping somebody on this forum can help?

1/I understand each person entering the event needs to raise funds for a chosen charity. What is the amount of funds you need to raise per person?
2/I would be hoping to do this with my son, who will be 16 yrs old, is there a minimum age you need to be?

On a different note, I have type 1 diabetes, has anybody else done this event with type 1 diabetes?

(Some background info on myself = mid 50s, pretty fit, exercise every day, between gym and swimming and usually do around 1 cycle per week all year around usually 20 - 30K but regularly do 50 - 60K and I have often done a few 80 - 100K cycles before....)

If comparison is of any use to you in deciding if you would be able to do it: my wife and her cycling gang are all in their 50s and 60s and one is over 70. Some have their various health issues, replaced hip, etc.

Their way of doing is typical of the approach by a large cohort of locals over the past 30 years. They don't take themselves too seriously as cyclist, do 'a bit of training' - less than you - and thouroughly enjoy the challenge and their day out.

However, they do go easy and make a long day of it, take regular stops and enjoy the company and craic. This particurlar gang averaged nearly 20kph this year but were out for 12 hrs. They were on the road by 6AM and there's a steady stream of cyclists from 5AM. This also is part of the local way of approaching it (they would also have a strong affinity with the benificiary charities and 'visitors' or younger riders perhaps might not buy into the atmosphere in the same way or see the same 'value' from the entry fee).

So, like any event, how you can last will depend on your speed, relative to your fitness and the distance. Take it easy and you'd be fine with your general level of fitness.

You'd probably get medical adivce on the diabetes but there is very good medical support at the event. I attended a number of organizational meetings two years ago and can't remember the exact numbers, but I think there were two medical stations, staffed by pretty qualified people - including doctors etc - and around 10 first-aid points. There were also a large number of ambulances at various points. So, you should have good medical support if necessary.

There's a also a good number of mobile and fixed repair stations.

As reported, the numbers are down to around 6,000 this year and, given the cost and the decline in sportive numbers generally, it may not get much beyond that. I think it's capped at 7,000 now anyway. (update - I see here .. that there are three medical posts and other such info).

It also says that "all participants must be over the age of 18".

Eamonnator

TGD wrote: »

Some have their various health issues, replaced hip, etc.

I had a hip replaced almost 10 years ago.
Thats when it stopped being a health issue.

Brendan Hennessy

Seadin wrote: »

It's alot quieter today than any other years i did it. You would know the numbers were down. Probably safer though in the long run. It went out of control with numbers few years ago.

Sorry to miss you on the road, but saw a lot of Sliabh Luachra jerseys!

Eamonnator

Brendan Hennessy wrote: »

Sorry to miss you on the road, but saw a lot of Sliabh Luachra jerseys!

So, what did you do it on this year?

Brendan Hennessy

Gus Farrell's (RIP) 1930's High Nelly. Sure once you're up on it you're halfway there?

Will you make the Vintage Classic?

Brendan

Eamonnator

Afraid not.
My (bike's) inferiority complex has gotten worse.

fryup

i've never done the ROK..i have done the Tour de Burren and i found that tough going is the ROK tougher?

07Lapierre

fryup wrote: »

i've never done the ROK..i have done the Tour de Burren and i found that tough going is the ROK tougher?

See post #38... The ROK is not a tough route. Just do it at your own pace and you'll be fine.

heraldo

Have done the ROK a few times now and whilst I have been critical of the organisers in the past, this is a completely different beast of an event. It's very well run, has brilliant support in place and the feed stations are second to none. Saturday was perfect weather wise and conditions could not have been better.
It's hard not to appreciate the work put into it from all the volunteers, charities, gardai, medical help and support crews. Whilst it's one of the more expensive events it's worth the money for the support and the vastly different experience to any of the other cycle sportives.
Though numbers might have been down, many of the (more serious) cycle clubs will focus on other events and shun this event..... probably no bad thing.
I hope the numbers attending remain static from this year on and it has continued success.

Brendan Hennessy

Folks here's OldVelos curtain closer on ROK 2019. Hope you enjoy it and that it brings back happy memories

http://www.oldvelos.com/if-strava-measured-incredulity-wed-be-right-at-the-top/

straighttohell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/110023406#Comment_110023406

How very true, magentur