The ALS Association

2023 Ride to Defeat ALS: Massachusetts Survey

Date	User Response
09/19/2023	User Provided No Response
09/19/2023	All riders could start at 8:00 the roads would be less busy. If there are rail trail options rather than busy roads that would be great. Pre ride safety reminders, Be polite and ALWAYS say, "On your left !" as you pass other riders." ALWAYS!!! Never pass a rider on the right.
09/19/2023	Pre-event, there was minimal communication until day before, so more info on the routes, timing etc would be appreciated a little earlier Regarding rest stops on the 100K route, there should be a stop somewhere around Carlisle/Concord as the distance between the 2nd and 3rd stop is too long. Road signage was great at the beginning of the ride, but was missing once we got on the Bruce Freeman trail until back in Concord!! Thank goodness some people that we were with had GPS!
09/19/2023	User Provided No Response
09/19/2023	That last rest stop for the 100km is only 8-9 m from the end, could probably get rid of it. o have it in Concord Center somewhere.
09/19/2023	The best parts of the route are side roads where we can ride next to someone else. Rest stops were good but didn't know locations ahead of time. That was likely communicated but I personally didn't see it.
09/19/2023	Enjoyed the ride Collaborating with others Hearing all the inspirational stories
09/18/2023	User Provided No Response
09/19/2023	Signage needs more details...more signs along the way...even if going straight. At some intersections it was not well marked for the 25 miles route.
09/29/2023	As a triathlete and duathlete, I made the ALS Ride my first fund raising event ever. My experience was very positive, so I will likely be back again next year. With that being said, the route was good but the left-hand turns across traffic were very scary, especially with no police present to control traffic. Next, I live in Burlington and rarely bike on Route 2A since it is filled with pot holes and has a small shoulder to ride on. In addition, cars are whizzing by at 40 - 45 mph. Late in a ride all of these factors make the route quite treacherous. Lastly, the road in Wayland or there abouts that had a recurrence of speed bumps should really be avoided.
09/19/2023	Was a wonderful day for a wonderful event. Signage was good for the 50 mile route. Appreciated getting the Jersey's the day of so I could wear them (loved the design!!!) Some constructive criticism. There was confusion at the second (?) rest stop at school. Need signs to where the ports potties were. Some riders went to the sports field ones and they were dirty and without toilet paper. The 3rd rest stop was not signed well. Riders rode towards the red tents where there were fly shots. If that rest stop had a tent and a sign with direction to go to the left that would be helpful. This stop also ran out of jelly and almost ran out of bread and peanut butter. They got creative and put bananas and peanut butter on half slides of bread. Which was good! Another did not have enough cups. Those riders with camelback water packs wanted to drink from a cup. Rest of us just added to water bottles. They also had difficulty putting the Gatorade powder in the gallon jugs because they did not have a funnel The last rest stip was up hill to get into and not safe as multiple riders came in and struggled to get up hill. Please put the start line at the top of the hill. It is very difficult /awkward and not safe to have a bunch of riders together to start going up hill. Remind riders before they leave that they should ride back along the left side of the ride with the cones. I rode before and knew but was not very clear to others. Most signs had the yellow,/orange circle but seems tan out. Almost missed turn because couldn't read the grey tape. Please starti the 50 mile group at 7:30. We are not as fast as expected and with rest stops There were a bunch of us who arrived about 12:15 If we started earlier we would have been there for the entire presentations. There also wasn't a photographer when we arrived eveni if just staff with a cell phone would be nice to have photos.The beer truck gave nice choices. Not a fan of the bagged lunches - so much waste. And we got in late so I don't know how long they were all sitting out which worried me with pasta salad and chicken salad with mayo. Bar-b-que is more fun. "Ice cream" was good. We rode with a friend of a friend who registered by himself. He said it would have been nice to have some sort of site or information about single riders so they can ride with someone and not be out all by themselves. We were connected through another cycling friend. I missed last years ride due to an injury but it seems like there were fewer riders. Our group only had 2 when we had a dozen in past rides. There were family commitments, etc that kept folks from attending. I use ride with GPS so downloaded but friend had difficulty downloading. We did the NEPR on Sept 9. They had the routes with ride with gps, Strava etc. you might take a look at their web site for ideas.
10/24/2023	I believe we may have over committed on food and jerseys which most likely had a negative impact on cost. We also have lots of room for improvement in pre-ride organization and communication.
09/21/2023	Road signage was much better than last year.I was glad because the ride with GPS was non-functional.
09/26/2023	The last rest stop was missing someone on hand to help riders with mechanical issues. It would be great to have a volunteer with some experience and an air pump available.
09/20/2023	Suggestions: 1) allow packet pick-up the night before the event. 2) make sure the 100 Km route has signs throughout the route. 3) better spacing of rest stops, esp. the 3rd rest stop on the 100 Km route (it is too close to the finish and should be about mile 45. 4). Vary the snacks a little; provide some higher energy snacks at the last rest stop (trail mix,, power bars, etc).
09/26/2023	We had to detour due to a road blockage and missed the rest stop. It also added 6 additional miles to our route.
09/19/2023	User Provided No Response
09/19/2023	The Route Signage this year was better than I've ever seen previously. However, there was a long stretch where signs were missing and my group did end up getting a little lost. Specifically, there was no signage when you are supposed to exit the bike path onto High Street. There was also no signage for the next several turns after this point, but they did re-appear eventually once we got closer to Concord. I really like to avoid having my phone mounted on the handle bars as this is really bad for the sensors on the phone. As such, I rely heavily on this signage for key turns along the route. Overall, really appreciate the improvements made to signage this year but do think there is room for additional improvements.