Rolling Hills Bike Rally   McKinney, TX

April 23, 2006

The bad: they did not expect the many race-day registrations that showed up, and ran out of t-shirts, race numbers and blank registration forms. They were somewhat disorganized, started the ride late, and the times between the staggered starts were too long. They were saying they didn't want to overload the first rest stop; if that is what you are worried about, double up the volunteers and supplies on the first stop - also, most riders who have the guns and gas to ride 65 or 100 miles don't need the first rest stop. Post-ride pizza was cold, though they did have a microwave. Looked like they did not have enough volunteers, overall.
The good: when they ran out of stuff, they dropped the registration to $20. "Rest stops", though very basic, were manned by very friendly volunteers. Oranges were sweet and good. Plenty of gatorade at the stops I visited. Plenty of vehicle parking. Everyone involved with trying to organize this ride was working hard and were obviously trying to run it right. The fact that the fell a little short should not dissuade anyone from doing this ride, it's going to get better each year. They had people signing in with address and t-short preference to mail them out, and when I forgot to list my size, they called me that night to ask! These are people committed to hosting a good benefit ride. Still learning, but I have to give a B, because where they lacked in some areas, they made up for in attitude and friendliness. You could tell they were a little overwhelmed, and No Sweat Racing was sweating a little bit, hahaha. But they were trying hard, and that goes a long way. I don't expect perfection: I expect people to try hard, and to show that they are trying. For that, you gotta give 'em some props. If they are still handling it like this 5 years from now, that's another story, but I know they will get better. Besides, it's a benefit ride, not a sanctioned race.
The ride: I only did the 45 - decent amount of climbing (1500 ft). We had a nasty headwind or a crosswind for a lot of the ride, but the short section that had the tailwind was also the sweetest section of road - we were rolling along in Zone 1 at 25 mph! Didn't last long enough, but it was fun while it lasted. Too much chip seal, and the roads were pretty darn rough. Very fatiguing, but still a good training ride. Get used to the chip-seal, it's the new reality of riding in Texas, and it will simply make you appreciate those smooth sections. Lots of good riders out there having a good ride, and I plan on being one of them again next year. It's nice to have a Sunday rally. Gotta give it two thumbs up overall, as I know that the few mistakes they made will be corrected as time goes on.

Rolling hills was a blast.
I had not done a rally in over 20 years and forgot what I was missing.
About the only bely ache i would have is the chip seal but hey thats what I get for riding an aluminium bike lOL.
Mary hats off to you for you very sweet attitiude and hard work i will return again next year.
Thx.
Dmoe

Had a good turn out, they did not expect the number of people to show, so there was not enough registration forms/shirts/numbers for walk up registers. (Where did all the $20 go?)
Did the 65 mile ride, was a good ride out to Pilot Point and back. The “Rolling Hills Rally” lived up to its name for Texas which was great, having a route that found the only true “North Texas” hills. The wind and the rough roads was not in any ones favor the last 20 miles. Wind is great, builds the body and mind although rough roads that beat you down, now that’s is some which can be skipped.
Not sure if I will do this ride again, not because of the wind but the roads. I know this is not under the control of the organizers of the rally although if there was alternative routes to add the hills and the mileage, it would make it a repeat rally for this rider.

Good-
1. Really nice shirt (odd plus but after the Edgewater laughable shirt, this was genuinely nice)
2. Good organization, great volunteers and friendly aid stations
3. Challenging route- not kidding when they say Hills!
4. Scenic- saw chickens, cows, bulls, goats, bunches of birds, flowers..lots of nature!
5. SAG/Support- Coolest thing was the RD giving out a cell phone help number. Did not have to use, but was an awesome idea!
6. Pizza at end was nice- microwave was a plus.
Bad-
1. Course needs more markings- several times I saw groups go down different roads. Even with the map, nobody was sure they were not lost. Add markings along route to confirm you are still on the right path.
2. Roads- not much you can do, but the chip seal was HORRIBLE. I normally do not complain about this, but Chip seal combined with pot holes, and two inch wide cracks in the road created dangerous conditions. It got to the point where I preferred going up hills because I felt safer than bouncing over chip seal and dodging holes on descents.
3. Food at rest station- add some cut up carbs (granola, power bars, etc), oranges and bananas were nice, but carbs are essential.
4. Sunday- the reason I like cycling is that most events are on Saturday. I am sure this had to do with city, etc.
Overall-
Likely would not come back next year. This is a nice scenic ride, if you do not mind rattling over chip seal. Good way to get a long training ride in, but do not anticipate much in the way of support (bring your own nutrition).

Nice little rally--staffed with enthusiastic volunteers. I did the 65 mile route. The chipseal has already been noted. (Wonder why the roughest stuff was always INTO the headwind?) I was doing this to train for the MS150, so I didn't mind--I want to be prepared for anything. The rest stops had oranges, bananas, and yummy bagels. They did run out of things later on, but they tried so darn hard I didn't mind. This does prove the importance of preregistering--so they can plan to have adequate supplies on hand. That will be my New Years resolution (four months into the new year)--to always preregister for bike rallys. I've done this rally before and will do it again.

Well glad to hear and read that others felt the way we did!!!! Ride organizers really need to get out their bikes and ride some of the roads that they expect us to ride and things might change....the chip n seal was terrible and very dangerous with the large crackers with also lots of flat tires and people pulling into laneways along the way to shake off the discomfort from the chip n seal...this was the worst that we've ridden on ever...the pizza at the end seemed like a 2nd thought, no music or thank yous as we pulled in to the finish...rest stops were pleasant and helpful, like the idea of 2 different shirts to choose from, some rest stops were over 10 miles apart and with the roads they need to be closer together...the scenery was beautiful and the hills great but again the ROADS!!!! This could be a great ride if you could find alternative roads with as good scenery...also loved the idea of giving our phone # if you needed help that was a great idea more rides should practice this...Under the current ride routes we will not ride this again next year unless there is huge road route changes...

May 15, 2005

Overall a pleasant ride using the old Collin county classic route - light turn out due to the MS150 approx 250 riders. Stiff north wind made the ride a challenge. volunteers were friendly - the one rest stop the I stopped at was very friendly.

May 16, 2004

Signage was good but minimal. If it was 5 miles between turns, it was 5 miles between signs. On the 50 mile route after the 50-62 mile split the route wandered thru town then north with any number of possible turnoffs. But not one sign that you were on the right route. Few if any Sag wagons.

A very nice Sunday rally using the Collin county classic Route. The roads through out the ride were in very good condition. Most of the rest stops had plenty of water and Gatorade bananas, oranges in spite of the larger than expected turn out. Hooters chicken wings at the end served by two hooter girls. Overall, this is a welcome Sunday Rally.

This was a great rally with some very nice roads to explore. Plenty of hills, some small towns and not too much chip/seal. Rest stops were well run and stocked with plenty to keep us going. One bit of advice would be to put up a route sign after the rest stop. After I  fall down, pass out, come two, eat 3 bananas, etc, I usually can't remember which bike is mine, let alone which way to go. But a big thanks to the organizers, I think this was well run.

Second year for this rally and it really back slid. The organizers ignored all advice from last year and set a whole new standard for greed and laziness. $30 day of fee bought: no cups at the rest stops ("all cyclists carry bottles, don't they?"), no port-o-lets at most rest stops or the start (and just one small bathroom inside the building near the start), longer route rest stops out of Gatorade (only one jug per stop for the whole ride), zero traffic control, some parking lot chaos due the youth park's desire to keep riders' cars and horse show cars separated (but no one directing traffic as cars entered, just someone asking random people walking in the parking lot if they could move their cars as they walked to registration). As a veteran of 30-40 rallies over the last 3-4 years, this ranks in the bottom couple of rallies attended. They need to make major changes if they ever want to draw more than a few riders (particularly since they are just plagiarizing the much more premier Collin Classic routes). It would be worth the month to just wait for the Collin Classic instead. Anyway, I hope the leukemia folks got the money and not some profiteering middle man or paid event organizer. For reference, most rallies charge $25 day of, with some at $20 day of. Only a few fairly deluxe rallies charge $30, and they provide the level of service to match the higher price.

I am so sad to read that someone thinks the RD's of this rally are greedy and lazy. As one of the three RD's for the Rolling Hills Bike Rally I want you to know that is not the case. We worked for 6 months on the rally to raise money for a charity. 100% of all money raised went to charity. We wanted to provide an event that would offer a safe and well supported ride for those who wanted to ride on a Sunday. We were astonished to see that our entrants went from 141 last year to 351 this year! One of the main reasons we raised our rally day registration was to make sure we would have enough support (and t-shirts) for everyone and to encourage people to sign up early so we could make that happen. But...we hear ya! And we want to be around for a long time. We will lower our entry fees next year, we will add port o potties (at the beginning and more along the route), we will add cups and jugs for Gatorade along the route, we will add mile markers along the route (in addition to the current signage), we will add more food at the after party and make sure it is available to those who are on the long route, we will even mile mark the road for those who want to run after the event and add a water stop for you too (we saw you doing bricks!) and we will make sure that all entrants get a t-shirt! All those things are possible and will be done. Most importantly, we will continue to offer great volunteer support, SAG assistance and a ride that continues to raise money for local charities.

May 18, 2003

Terrific ride, with excellent staff at the rest stops. This ride left out of the Collin County Youth Facility like last year's Collin Classic, and seemed to use many of the same roads. And the roads were, in general, very smooth with only a short section of the dreaded Chip-Seal on the 45 mile (actually 46+ miles) route. The hills were minor until we passed the second rest stop at 24 miles, then there were some nice inclines for the rest of the ride. I believe this may have been the first year for the ride, and there was little in the way of publicity for it, so there were only 150-160 riders. The small number of riders and the greater average ability level resulted in a fast field with little traffic. The organizers supplied bagels, fruit, and rolls at the start, and added chicken wings from Hooters at the end. All in all, we had a great time on a great ride. We'll definitely be back again next year.

This is an awesome alternative to the "Shiver Me Timbers Rally" held on the same week-end in Dallas. It was a GREAT DAY. Love the course (Collin Classic). The roads are in great shape, and with it being on Sunday, very little traffic. We had one harrowing experience with a charging pit bull who rammed into one of us, damaging a wheel, but luckily didn't take anyone down. Our group seriously bonded from the experience. No complaints. I hope to see this rally grow and continue to provide North Dallas with a rally deserving of our money and participation.