I intended to take part in the Hamburg ride on Sunday.
Anyone wishing to take part in this otherwise great cause should however be warned.
To get info on the ride closest to you, you must register for it first.
After registering, you will automatically become a fund raiser; whether you like it or not.
I only wanted to make a donation; which I did, and take part in the ride; that's all.
I didn't intend becoming a fund-raiser. I like to donate to certain charities like: Devon Air Ambulance, cancer research, disabled children etc. But I don't like to be obliged to raising funds without being informed beforehand. The DGR web-site is misleading. I prefer to make these decisions personally.
On top of this, planning a ride to start at 10am is too early. They make no provision for people who live far away, instead they suggest you plan your own ride. Didn't want to become a ride organiser either.
To take part in the Hamburg ride, which is the closest one to me, I would have to leave home at 6.30am in the morning... (it's over 200km away)... sorry, for a ride that is just 2 hours long, no.
And I could only receive this info after registering!
I contacted the Australian DGR organisers and asked them to erase my account. They thanked me for the dapper donation and said that they would archive my account in case I want to take part next year! No thank you.
Now don't get me wrong, I think the idea is great; and they've already raised a lot of money, but I think the organisation of the thing is silly. I think a ride like this should start no earlier than 1pm. This would give many more participants the chance to get there if they live farther away, and it should be more like 3-4 hours to make it worthwhile. But this is just a suggestion, and my personal opinion. I don't want to organise my own ride. Did enough of this in my MC days in the 80's.:wink2:
And automatically becoming a fund-raiser after registering without knowing or wanting to is a no go.
So I wish all of you who are partaking in this, a wonderful day, and lots of sponsors!!
Cheers! mike
P.S. My suggestion to the DGR... take a look at the many biker charity fund raising events that go on in the UK; for example BMAD (Bikers make a difference), these events really set an example.
