Hurry! 5 more weeks to Century Ride. Closing date 20th July 2010. Stand a chance of winning lucky draws worth thousand of ringgit! 
Full trial 160 km Century Ride on 18th July, Sunday @7.00am, Bukit Kinding Resort (Car support n Refreshment provided). All are welcome!!

Goodies for Century Ride Participants

LE VELO Mr Voon (R) handing over Head Scarf, Sun Shield Sleeves Protector  to Century Ride Organising Chairman, Mr Earnest Balasingam. (L) 

Option for goodies head scrarf or sleeves Protector on first come first serve basic.

Event Embroidery T Shirts free for all CR participants

Smart Embroidery T shirts for Women (S, M, L, XL) from Brooks, Interlock Combed Cotton (RM49.90), available in Pink, Blue and Orange.

Smart  Men's  Embroidery Lacoste Event T-shirts from Brooks  (S, M, L, XL) RM49.90, Available in Black, Red and Green

ORGANISING CHAIRMAN - ERNEST BALASINGAM

Dear Friends of Cycling,



We are 53 days away from the 4th edition of the Century Ride 2010. Some of you have already expressed you intention of participating in the event ( which we thank you for).


Unlike the previous years, this years event has been riddle with controversy over a mere RM 10-00 in increase in entry fees. A certain quarter of the cycling community in Ipoh has been advocating thru their blog on FaceBook that they intend to stage a boycott and to the extent an overzealous few(of this dissenting group) have even suggested an undermining this event on 1st August.


As the Organising Chairman for this years event, I wish to reassure you that this event will proceed on 1st August which will be bigger and better from the previous years as the committee are working towards bringing you that little " extras" which were missing from previous years event.
It is extremely sad that this dissenting group do not see the big picture. Ultimately every race has it pros & cons and their action is seen as a direct hit on all race organisers in the country and also the other stake holders of this event ( namely state government & sponsors)If we are condone to this then very soon we have no races to attend. As a good friend put it " it is the organisers prerogative to determine the entry fee and it is our prerogative to decide if we want to participate"


My view is that we are paying RM 1.00 for every mile. For that RM 1.00 we make a a new friend along the way or find out something about ourselves when we are "suffering" under the heat of the day. To me these are the intangibles which this ride offers which far exceeds the goodie bags and the finishers T-shirts.


Some of you are individuals whom I stood at the starting line of our first triathlon on Gurney drive, Penang in 1988 and some of you I have come to know more recently. I hope & pray that this event will build upon our friendships with other riders ( hopefully for the next 20 years!)


To steal the phase from Lance Armstrong, this event is "It is not about the bike" but rather our commitment to our personal goals and the legacy we choose to leave behind...


See You At The Starting Line......


Ernest Balasingam
Organising Chairman




Q & A


Question from Jeffrey Chean


Is it really necessary to have super good goodies or prizes or lucki draws to promote the event or sport which in turns raise the cost for cyclist to join?
Do you have much trouble getting support from sponsors?
Maybe I can help to chip in some contacts for sponsors... How much have KRI club subsidied for each participant? Would like to know the figure so I can most probably help to get you some extra sponsors.



From :Jeffrey Chean
Thanks for the explaination on the century ride's cost.



It's clear and crisp....


Reply to Jeffrey
Dear Jeffrey,
Thanks for your feedback. In reply to your question: "Is it really necessary to have super good goodies or prizes or lucky draws to promote the event or sport?" no, of course it is not necessary to include such items. However, the cost of these items have not been factored into the registration fees i.e. these are sponsored itmes that cost nothing to the organiser nor the participant. In other words, excluding these itmes (goodie bags and lucky draw prizes) will not bring down the cost of the fees.
We include them simply to make the event more attractive to our participants. Imagine if you were the grand prize winner of last year's Century Ride - you would be going home with a Campagnolo component parts worth RM 3,000! and a Techner Full Carbon Frame worth RM10,000!!! Now, wouldn't that be a treat! And all at no extra cost to you!!
So what does your RM100 fee go to pay for? The fees cover such items as:
1. Trophies - outstanding quality, and we give 28 trophies to participants in all   categories.
2. Finishing medals - again, of the highest quality (not some cheap plastic alternative).
3. Lunch - buffet style with more than enough food for hungry athletes (which is A LOT of food).
4. Water at  4 water stations at the 100 mile route.
5. Crew - the ratio is one "helper" or crew to every three cyclists (that's a lot!); and we actually pay our crew as it is a lot of hard work to stand in the hot sun for up to ten hours! No one in their right minds would do it for free and we don't expect them to. That is why we do not call them "volunteers" but paid crew members.
We are very proud of our crew, they work hard, are committed to making the event a success, and do all they can to ensure that their jobs are done well. If we fall short, we ask for your understanding; we do try our utmost best.
6. " Timing Chips" to ensure finishing timing is professionally done and correct. This is the new addition this year and it costs us a lot which is one of the reasons we had no choice but to raise our fees. Last year the timing was all manually done which may not be 100% accurate due to human error etc.
7. T-shirts for participants - every participant gets one and again these are good quality t-shirts, not your local pasar malam variety.
8. Police - we actually have to pay the police, Bomba, traffic police and other Government departments involved for them to help us out on a Sunday. Last year, almost 50 police escorts were on hand.
We cannot take our hard working civil service for granted even if some participants take us, the organisers, for granted.
9. Administration and paperwork - all those entry forms, artwork and printing, publicity material, registration work, computer admin, sending out receipts, and other logistics that you do not see, but that is involved in organising any event. (If you have ever organised anything in your life, you will have a vague idea of what we mean.)
10. Location set up such as First Aid tent, Drink Stations, Finishing Arch and Road sign boards. These are just a few of the items that the registration fees cover. The list goes on and on. The only people who are doing everything for free and getting no monetary compensation for all the hard work and efforts are the organsing committee behind the event. We are not complaining - we do it voluntarily and happily for the sheer (insane) passion of it all - but it is when people complain unfairly and without any basis against us, instead, that we feel we need to speak out and explain the facts as they are.
Every organiser faces a thankless task because no one seems to appreciate the hard work, the blood, sweat and tears. All that we, organisers of Century Ride, ask for in return is some kind understanding (not even appreciation) that we do try our hardest to make Century Ride a wonderful experience for every participant, we do it for nothing, and we are, at the end of the day, only human, with faults and mistakes, although none deliberate.
We are often reminded that Century Ride is not something that we have to organise. We do it for the love of the sport and of promoting the unique Century Ride to fellow cyclists everywhere. At the end of the day, if the number of unhappy cyclsits outnumber the number of happy ones, there will no longer be another Century Ride. And that will be a sad day indeed for cycling and for Perak.
What a shame.
So Jeffrey, if you have some contacts for sponsors, by all means get in touch with us. Your gesture is greatly appreciated. How much we have to subsidise per particpant depends on the number of participants we have. As we have explained, the more the participants, the more we subsidise.
I hope your questions have been asnwered.
Best regards,
Organising Committee Century Ride Malaysia 2010

LASTEST NEWS :

Handing over of Grand Lucky Draw prize, Campagnolo Sharmal Ultra Wheels, retail price RM6,000 by Mr Humphrey Lim, Director of Guan Chow Sdn Bhd (R) to Mr Ernest Balasingam, Organising Chairman of CR (L)
GREAT NEWS for all participates!          
Campagnolo Shamal Ultra Wheels (Limited Edition)for Lucky draw!
•Weights : Front Clincher 605gm , Rear Clincher 790gm
•Gold Anodised finish
•16 spokes front , 21 spokes rear
•Alu/carbon hub
Read more: http://www.roadcyclinguk.com/reviews/wheels/wheels/campagnolo-shamal-ultra-wheels/review/60442.html#ixzz0qUwJrkSs

TIMING CHIP SYSTEM FOR RIDERS !

Champion Chip Sports Terms & Conditions :
After the race kindly return this chip to excange for finishing medals
Failing to return the chip participants will be charged RM50.00 per chip or will be black listed from future event under Timing Chip System !
Thank you !




We are pleased to announce that for the first time in the history of Century Ride, we are introducing Timing Chip System to record our Riders cycling time for the Century! We are impressed with the system, we hope you will get a more accurate timing for your Ride this year!

Greetings from Century Ride Malaysia Team 2010!


We understand that there have been some concerns about the registration fees for Century Ride 2010 being "too expensive", and would like to reassure all participants that, compared with Century Ride and other similar long distance events organised outside Malaysia, Century Ride Malaysia fees are still one of the cheapest, if not the cheapest, anywhere in the world.

As you may be aware, no club or society makes money from organising races. A 100 mile long event like Century Ride Malaysia is particularly expensive to organise, e.g. it involves many volunteers (we pay all our volunteers) over the entire distance, plus we endeavour to organise a quality (safe, enjoyable) event, with special designed trophies, finishing medals, premium t-shirts, buffet lunch and fantastic lucky draw prizes . Sports events are usually heavily sponsored hence the fees are greatly subsidised already. With the registration fee of RM100 per participant, Kelab Roadrunners Club (KRI) would still be making a loss on Century Ride, if we did not have sponsors.

Hence, the more participants there are, the more funds KRI actually has to use to subsidise the event (and the more money we "rugi"!). However, KRI is a not-for-profit club; it is not driven by profit. What drives KRI to organise Century Ride year after year, in spite of the blood, sweat and tears (and subsidies!), is the sheer passion for the beloved sport of cycling (we have done so for more than 20 years in running!). Nothing gives the organisers more joy than to see the sport grow in popularity, and Century Ride grow to become one of the largest, most recognisable cycling marathon in our region, (Century Ride has also been featured in a leading Thai cyling magazine!).

Unfortunately, in order to keep the event within our budget, we are not able to take in more than 600 participants this year, on a first come first served basis. (Otherwise the club will really "rugi" besar!) Already, we have 85 entries received so far from Singapore participants, who all think the fees are reasonable. We sent the entry forms over as soon as they were out last week and they were well received . It's great to see such fantastic sporting spirit and strong support from our neighbours across the causeway. =) It saddens us when our own people complain that we are too expensive.

The primary objective of organising Century Ride is thus to promote cycling in Perak in a big way, and to promote Perak as the popular cycling destination in Malaysia. We are very proud that this is the fourth year in a row that KRI is organising the event, and Century Ride remains the only event of its kind in Malaysia. We have also received confirmation from Perak State Government pledging their full support for this event.

Last year, the fee was RM90 and there was NOT ONE complaint that it was too expensive, especially for what you get in return. Century Ride is a quality event. We want all participants to enjoy the event. This year, we have invested even more into the event (e.g. timing chips to determine timing at finishing etc), but have tried our best to keep the fees as low as possible. Participating in an equivalent event in Singapore, not to mention Australia and overseas, would cost twice as much!

What good is it to pay RM50 fees to participate in an event that leaves much to be desired? (By the way, if you are a KRI member the fees are further subsidised to RM60; you can still join the club and pay members' fees if you do so by a certain date.)

If you have ever taken part in Century Ride Malaysia, you will know what we mean. If you have never experienced our event, we ask you not to take our word for it. Join us and find out for yourself!

We promise you will agree that RM100 to take part in an event of premium quality such as Century Ride 2010, is but a very small price to pay for an experience that will keep you coming back for MORE!

Hope this email answers any doubts you may have had, and please help us by forwarding this email to all fellow cyclists so that people know where we are coming from. We are not a club without integrity. We will persevere to keep fees as low as possible WITHOUT SACRIFICING ON QUALITY, so people can
continue to support Century Ride in the years to come! Remember, Century Ride is for YOU, the avid cyclist. Without your support, we may as well stop organising the event. It's very discouraging to the team when people misunderstand us or think that we are getting "greedy" with the fees. They couldn't be more wrong, as any organiser can tell you.

Jom, kami pergi Century Ride 2010!

You can always write back if you have any other queries or concerns. Looking forward to seeing you and your friends soon... =)

Best wishes,

From the Century Ride Malaysia Team

PS) Sign up early to avoid disappointment! ;)