Collin Classic, McKinney, TX

June 11, 2011

Excellent organization with this ride. Pre-registration, parking, start, and police support were all first class. Did one of the shorter routes so didn't use a rest stop. Be back next year!!

Changing the route in 2010 going south was a good idea except for the narrow downtown streets - this section needs to be rerouted. The change of the route off of fm 2933 onto the chip and seal roads was a terrible idea. Until the route got back on cr500, the back road were heavy chip seal littered with gravel with a lot of tight and blind turns. Mike needs to work on improving the road choices

Rode the Collin Classic today. The routes, volunteers, parking, etc. were great. I have two reasons I'll probably not go back for a while; the "Pedalers Party" was water, PB&J and a Popsicle. The ending made the Head for the Hills ride in Cedar Hill (for those that haven't been, go, you'll thank me) look like the Ritz Carlton vs. the Collin Comfort Inn. With all the restaurants in McKinney you can't con someone in to providing decent, even if it's small, food of some type, REALLY? The second issue is and it's a deal breaker for me, if you want me to drive more than 15 minutes from my house to your ride, provide for showers. This just makes sense for the local businesses, I'm not going to go sit down for a meal or stop to shop until I've gotten cleaned up. Kudos to the Allen 24 Hour Fitness for allowing my wife, who's not a member, to go in and shower while I did. P.S. the Hill Challenge was supposed to be towards the end according to the CC website, it wasn't, the was no signage, hence when I saw the "bumps" in the road I avoided them, not knowing what they were. I was actually really look forward to that part so I was very disappointed.

I rode the 100K route (61 miles). Love the new course! Interesting tour of historic downtown McKinney, nice rolling terrain, very little chip seal, and very little on freeway access roads--had no idea it was so pretty in this area. Other pros: very safe start (nice, wide road to head out on), traffic controlled by cops at every main intersection and through McKinney, and rest stops (3 and 5) had everything, even cool wet rags! My only real complaint is the need for the separate waiver. I arrived with my registration form filled out, but had to wait in a line for the waiver. This waiver information can be put on the registration form and save us all that hassle. With the large crowds it is advisable to get there an hour early if you are going to register that morning. I got there 45 minutes prior and was scrambling. (Cars are already backed up to the freeway at this time). I prefer the outside tent to the cafeteria of year's past--but with the heat the only thing that I found desirable to eat were the popsicles. Thanks for a great ride and see you next year!

DISAPOINTED that I chose this ride instead of Dublin, Texas for the DR. PEPPER ride or driving to Arkansas for a different ride. I Rode the 100 mile route. What? 100 mile route! They did not offer a 100 mile route you say, they only had a 76 mile. There was exactly ONE sign that said 76 mile loop and it was painted on the road. We turned right at that sign and did another 20 miles courtesy of Bikin Mike. The Signage was poor and ridiculous. I do not mind doing 100 mile routes at all I just do not like that helpless empty feeling of being lost and not seeing anyone for 20 miles. They had one year to prepare for it and difficult to understand how they could mess it up so bad with the experience that Bikin Mike has doing these. No food at the end and we finished before 2 pm. Not even PB&J sandwiches. Rest stops was the only bright spot, well stocked.

Thought the ride this year was great. Great route, very good rest stops, well organized. I look forward to doing it again next year.

Great well organized ride, only one little bit rough section of Chip Seal that i noticed, generally smooth pavement overall, lots of nice rolling hills and scenery. I rode the 52 and stopped at two of the rest stops that were well stocked and full of nice happy people..thank you....lots of parking, easy registration and easy start. Had a great ride...tkyu

I participated in the Collin Classic yesterday. I'd like to extend my congratulations to who ever was in charge of the event – yours was the only contact info I could find on the website. Mike, if you are not the correct person, could you please pass this email onto the correct person? Thank you!
I am a runner, and new to biking. This was my first bike 'non-race'. (odd concept coming from the running world). I was overwhelmed and amazed at what a fine event it was. First of all, I didn't expect much for $30. That equals a cheap running race, so I was expecting bare minimum. I couldn't believe the number of volunteers, police officers, routes, and participants. And everything went so smoothly! I found my fellow bikers to be so kind and helpful to a newbee like me. (I didn't know where to put the race number sticker – bike or helmet?!?) The water stops were more than water stops – they were full out parties! How fun! I had no idea that this world of biking existed. I am so glad to have found it, and to add it to my list of hobbies.
Thank you for a well organized and safe race. I had a blast and will be back next year.

I completed the 76 miles in 5 hours. At first I did not think I was going to make it the 'cutoff' point for the 76 miles BUT I got there at 1130am and had plenty time to get finish. It was a great ride with great support. Please thank all the rest stop support people.

I wanted to say how AWESOME the ride was , I was so impressed with the amount of patrol to keep the riders safe !! Great Job on organization for the ride !!

FYI - the a McKinney PD officer noticed a young driver operating his vehicle in such a manner as to be threatening to the cyclists.
Said motorist was pulled over, ticketed, vehicle was towed and he was instructed to walk home.
He was also told if he had been 17 years old he would have been arrested and put in jail.
Thanks for riding with us.
mike

I enjoyed the ride very much, I rode with my PBA club members and we had a ball, all the rest stops were great and of course the PBA rest stop excelled.
There was some chip seal but that's to be expected right, try find a 70+ mile route with no chip seal in Texas, I have only one contention. We were a group of 16 reasonably experienced cyclists and we all could have easily made the full distance however as it was the longest ride for some of our members we stopped at all rest stops and timed ourselves to reach the cut off point which we did 20 minutes early, Why oh why was the road closed early? I can tell you it was very disappointing for us especially as we could have picked up the pace and made it earlier!
Otherwise a great event, everyone from Bikin' Mike, the volunteers and all the law enforcement were awesome to deal with, I only saw one ambulance out there taking a scratched up rider away which is remarkable considering how many people there was out there.
Looking forward to next year and Mike, please don't let them talk you into closing early, we wanna ride the whole event. Thank you for an awesome day on the bike.

June 12, 2010

I rode the Collin Classic this weekend, and completed the 60 mile route. It was a tough ride, with plenty of challenge for everyone. It had some challenging hills, wind, and oh yes: A HEAT INDEX THAT WOULD STOP A TRUCK. I think the volunteers and organizers did a good job. The rest stops were well stocked, the routes were well marked, and the food at the end was very good. I think if it were not for the heat, this would have been a perfect day. Nice job, folks!

Great ride! Organization was great. Special thanks to all the volunteers that worked so hard to pull off this event. I did the 60 mile, which was 57 according to my computer. Didn't use and rest stops so can't comment on those. Parking and preregistration were handled well. Signage was excellent with volunteers at just about every intersection. Lots of police support too. It was hilly and windy this year but I'll be back.

Great ride! Organization was great. Special thanks to all the volunteers that worked so hard to pull off this event. I did the 60 mile, which was 57 according to my computer. Didn't use and rest stops so can't comment on those. Parking and preregistration were handled well. Signage was excellent with volunteers at just about every intersection. Lots of police support too. It was hilly and windy this year but I'll be back.

This event continues to get better each year. I love the added portion of tracking through Downtown McKinney through the first 6 miles of the ride. The chip seal which really beat me up the last couple of years has smoothed out significantly creating a truly enjoyable ride. I believe all of the returning cyclist were very cautious early on considering the number of incidents early in the ride of 2009. I didn’t see any wrecks or even close calls this year. All rest stops are well stocked with friendly volunteers and the finish of the ride keeps you honest with a moderate elevation incline. I would recommend this ride to anyone looking to add a date to your cycling calendar for 2011.

Just a note about how much I enjoyed the 2010 Collin Cty. Classic. The new route through Downtown McKinney was great. Having the populous stop and cheer made you feel like a Tour Rider without the 30mph pace. I rode the 39mile loop. The rest stop, a few miles after the 1827 turn, was brilliance. This ride just keeps getting better every year...........! ,BK

June 13, 2009

I was really pleased with the way our volunteer leadership team and volunteer crew members responded to the challenges of the day. With the high heat, high humidity and low wind levels – we knew we were in for a hot day. We upped the ice order to 4 tons and reminded the crew that we had 2 thoughts for the day.
1) Slow down – you move too fast. Heat is an energy drain.
2) When things go wrong, don’t go with them.
As the morning unfolded, we had some inexperienced and/or aggressive riders causing others to crash and medical transports that got it started. Then as the heat of the day developed, riders who had underestimated the effects of the heat were quickly pulling over and calling for a SAG. The numbers began to build very quickly.
In an average year, we experience a 1% to 2% transport rate for SAG support. For us, that means 24 to 48 cyclists. Yesterday, according to our COMM Team, we had well over 125 transports when they quit counting – a 5% transport rate. Our system was quickly overwhelmed/backlogged – but the volunteers kept their cool and just went to work identifying where the people were and scheduled them for a pick up as soon as they had a crew available. Admittedly, it took a while. For some people, who evidently think that calling a SAG is like calling a taxi – it must have been extremely frustrating. Some riders got so tired of waiting that they ended up riding in to the finish – while others berated the volunteers at the Break Points because a SAG had not gotten there yet.
Anybody who is ever unhappy with an event of mine should complain to me or yell at me. It is not the fault of the volunteer at the break point or driving the truck. My email address is mike@BikinMike.com and yes, I can read yelling.
We’ll study the event, talk about the issues, meet with City and County officials and work to improve our plans and support structure. I work year round on the Collin Classic. No matter what we do to prepare and set it up, it takes all of us working together to make it a safe and enjoyable for all.
Many of the volunteers who were out there yesterday supporting you are fellow cyclists. They gave up their chance to ride yesterday to be there to take care of you. While many of the volunteers at the event were participating in our “Work and Ride Free” program (we have comped more than $8000 in registration fees since we began this program), others were just ordinary people who want to be a part of an activity that is serving and improving our community. They are doing the best they can with what we gave them to work with.
While I study the patterns and work to put the best possible structure in place to serve the volunteers who will make the event happen, I must confess that the patterns are always moving and changing. Producing cycling events is like building a jigsaw puzzle with pieces made of water. Everything is always changing and many factors are unpredictable (like the recent Bike MS rides in Houston and Dallas). All I can promise to our participants is that we will do everything we can to provide a good ride opportunity for them to enjoy – and hope that they have a good ride.
What happens on the route, for the most part, is up to the 2500 people sitting in the saddle. We hope that they had a good ride experience with us.
Bikin’ Mike
On behalf of the 200 volunteers at large including
AND
Our Break Point Teams
DORBA/Dirt Divas
TXTough
Godwin Ronquillo
Plano Bicycle Association
Raintree Pediatrics
Power FM
AND
The Team Bikin’ Leadership Team
Mikalan Cawley & Kathy Kilpatrick – Volunteer Coordinators
Fred Miller & Paul Breitzman – Route Coordinators
Jan Roewe & Laura Schulte – Registration Coordinators
Nancy King & Jeanie Brazelton – Data Entry Coordinators
Kevin Colbeck & Walt Robertson – SAG Coordinators
Tony Campbell & Chad Stetzl – HAMM NET/ Communications Coordinators
Stephen Bell – Start Staging
Lisa Bell – Cafeteria
Frank Cortese – Set Up & Take Down Coordinator

My husband, Jim, and I got up early to go work registration at the middle school this year. We were so pleased with the set up and the way the cyclists were moved through the lines quickly. Lots of port a potties were available and in a location that made it easy to get to. When the ride started we were finished with our duties and got our bikes ready to do the ride. Thanks to Mike for letting us ride free when volunteering.
We had fun watching the families with small children do the four mile route and we said encouraging things to the children as we passed. The roads were really pleasant as we chose to do the 34 mile course. There was some chipseal but it was worn down so not unpleasant, and some mild rolling hills also. The rest stops were well stocked and I enjoyed the choices of snacks. Ice cold drinks were a pleasure to find as the heat of the day was rising mile after mile.
Lots of mechanical support was available as we saw vans go by and witnessed them helping to change people's flat tires. We helped one fellow whose spare tube had a problem so we gave him one and before we knew it a SAG driver came by with a floor pump for him, what service!
The volunteers, the roads and nice scenery, the camaraderie all combined to make this a very fun event for us. I give this ride a big thumbs up. Thanks to all who made it happen, and to Mike Keel for his hard work as director!
Now, for my concerns...
My only real complaint has to do with the lack of cyclist to cyclist communication. Only four people said "On your left" the whole ride, hundreds came by without a single word. When did we lose our concern and courteous behavior? And pointing obstacles out on the roadway was seldom done. I would like to see less headphones also, we said "On your left" to a rider who could not hear us. And the fellow following us while talking on the cell phone as he held it to his ear was a bit annoying and uncaring. We took the speed up as we thought it best for our own safety. I wish these folks would take a Traffic Skills 101 class from BikeDFW! Cheers,
Gail P. Spann Texas Ambassador for the League of American Bicyclists LCI # 1900

This was once again a well organized ride with great routes (at least the 55 mile one) with rolling hills and very challenging weather (HOT and HUMID).
Great job by all the volunteers and police en route.
The only comment for improvement would be regarding Rest Stop #2, where the well intended volunteers insisted on filling up the water bottles as opposed to setting up the station for riders to do so themselves (as is customary). This caused HUGE lines that left riders waiting upwards of 20 minutes to be able to refill water… (ouch)

I rode the 34 (Mr. Garmin said 31 – oh well!) and my wife did the 22. Other than the brief section of the Texas standard chip and seal – gee, nothing new about that – this was a nice challenge on a high humidity day. Reading Bikin’ Mikes review only reminds me that far too many forget hydration and turn macho for the wrong reasons. I was also glad that despite the number of riders the incidents on the road seemed to be manageable with the most serious about 4 miles into the ride. Most riders were quite conscientious of signals and sounding intentions. Additionally, the support and visibility of the various members of law enforcement added significantly to the day’s event. The fajitas definitely hit the spot at the end of the day! Thank you for an enjoyable morning.

Our group did the 55 mile route. Parking and race day registration was uneventful. Got a T shirt ok. Staging of the different ride distances seemed to go smoothly. Loved the National Anthem singer. The course had police at all intersections and volunteers at all potentially dangerous spots, like rail road tracks. The roads were in decent shape, with one stretch of well worn chip seal heading into Melissa. The rest stops were many, well spaced out, and all had enough supplies to handle the cyclists properly. (But there were lines to get fluids at the 25 mile rest stop from what I hear). After the ride there was plenty of food and water available, along with a great indoor venue to hang out in. (Restrooms and showers included). For food they even had a vegetarian (breakfast burrito with egg) option. This place is easy to find and is close to home. I'll be back next year!

Big thanks to Mike and all of his volunteers for another great ride this year. I'll echo what Mike said in that the wrecks were caused by some over-aggressive riding and lack of attention. Thanks to the person who rode back and warned oncoming riders that someone was down. It did get quite hot, which I figured would hamper some riders as just a week ago we had cooler temps and much less humid air. The rest stops I dropped off at (#3 & #5) were very well run and stocked with plenty of food/drink. Shade was available as well as chairs, kids with water guns, etc.
I think I have heard Mike clearly state that this route is most difficult towards the end. The hardest stretch was coming out of Blue Ridge to Princeton and on the road in to New Hope. Rolling hills, south winds, and heat were doing a number on folks. However, the rest stops and post ride is set up very well to replenish riders. The tacos were very good (choice of beef, chicken, egg) and cold water hit the spot. For $25 a rider (pre-registered) and 1/2 price for the kids, this is a very well planned event. The chip sealed roads on the route have weathered down fairly well and volunteers get better and better every year. I think next year I might push my oldest kid to do the 15 mile route as it seems to have very good support and traffic control.

Good ride, I had easy in and easy out for parking, but was there early, did see some back up a bit later. I liked the 55 mile route it was very pretty, the chip n'seal was bad though but you can't do much about that in Collin County, the traffic patrol was excellent. I ended up with 53 miles on the 55 mile route, but no big deal. I stopped at rest stop #5 and it was great, everyone was very friendly, plenty of snacks/drinks to choose from. The food at the end was excellent! I didn't see any crashes or any aggressive riders causing crashes? I did see a few inexperienced riders nearly cause a few accidents but that is to be expected as accidents do happen when many cyclist are on the road.

On a positive note, the route was good. Had it not been for the heat and chip sealed roads. On the negative side: There were LOTS of chip sealed roads. I would say at least 50% of the 55 mile route (which was really only 53 miles!) was chip sealed. I wasn't very impressed with the rest stops either – really long lines and NO ICE. I think it was the 3rd aid station, I stood in line behind about 40 people (3 lines) to get water and sports drink. The showers in the high school must have moderated temperatures, because I could not get cold or hot water, just medium, and as hot as I was, all I wanted at that point was a cold shower. None of the routes were as long as they were advertised as. The 55 miler was only 53, 47 was only 43, 34 was 31, and so on. After 5 minutes and no movement, decided to just get back on the bike without refilling. I seriously doubt I would do this one again.

Still one of the best rides in the area, but this year was not as enjoyable as past years. For whatever reason, Collin County road crews decided to chip seal a lot of the great pavement that previously existed. The result, a lot more numbness and nowhere near the amount of miles of smooth roads as there's been in the past. Aside from that, everything was well organized. Good rest stops. Good traffic control at intersections. All routes were well marked.

I rode the collin classic/Mckinney 6/13/09 for the first time.
I thought it was a delightful ride, I knew that it would be hot and did the 47 mile ride and I finished just the way I wanted…hot, but hydrated.
The scenery was great and every rest stop was wonderful…thanks for the popsicles at rest stop #4 (I think) that “hit the spot”. Cant wait to do it again next year.