Freewheel Festival

[emmelinemay]

I've just had the last email update from the freewheel people, and the site says that you need to bring your bib thing in order to ride.

However. Most of the packs only got posted today o_O

I rang up to ask, and they said if you don't have it, you need to take a print out of your original confirmation email to ride. There don't seem to be any official confirmation emails however, just irritating HTML emails with your name dropped in.¹

However, i am wondering, how are they going to 'police' this? I mean, it's a public route, right? If you just turned up along the route, rather than one of their 'hubs', are they going to turn you away?

I'm trying to reserve judgement until the day, but the organisation of the whole thing has seemed pretty weird. Also, what is it with the awful 1920s newspaper copy themed emails and website?

Anyway. It's lucky I rang to check, if they were to turn me away due to their inability to post out the packs (i'm told the bibs are ridiculous) then i would be fucking FURIOUS.

[1] - I rang them again...
This of course means that if you hate the bib, or you can't get it over your head, just print off an email and say you didn't get it ;)

Comments

[emmelinemay.livejournal.com]

I've just rang again to ask which email i should print off.

First of all she said the first one (which just says 'click here to confirm') and after i questioned that she said 'any post registration email will do'.

When I mentioned that i found the faux-20s newspaper copy styles of the emails irritating, she said 'well, that's your opinion, and it is the overall style of the day'.

When I asked about the route, and whether they'd turn people away who aren't signed up, she said there won't be any barriers, so of course the public can still use the route, but that they are discouraging people from turning up on the day.

She said at one point 'of course, all riders will be wearing their bibs' to which i replied 'except those like me who haven't received them. Should we pin our confirmation emails to our t-shirts?' She said 'that's up to you madam.'

I do think it's a bit odd that they only sent the last of the packs out today, when the festival is Sunday, given the general state of the royal mail. o_O

[arachne.livejournal.com]

The mail I got said that you should print off your registration mail and they'll swap it for a bib at the hub. They also explained why some of the packs got sent out late.

[emmelinemay.livejournal.com]

i got that email just now - but it was sent a significant amount of time after i called, and they said nothing about exchanging it for a bib. Personally, from the way she spoke to me, i get the impression this is all a bit of a last minute patch-up job.

[arachne.livejournal.com]

Aah, that mail was the first I noticed of some of the packs going out late. I got mine a couple of weeks ago - hooray for bibishness (or something).

I refuse to bling my bike though ;)

[emmelinemay.livejournal.com]

As far as I can tell, this email arrived at 10pm. If i hadn't rung up, I'd have been buggered, as I don't have a printer.

I think I might email them actually.

[arachne.livejournal.com]

Mine arrived earlier - I'm actually wondering now if the mail was sent to people in order of registration, so the people who got their packs and didn't need the info got the mails in office hours... wouldn't surprise me.

Wondering now what you thought of the event itself - I'll be reviewing it over on goths_on_bikes if you're interested :)

[emmelinemay.livejournal.com]

parts of it were very enjoyable, parts were unnecessarily irritating and stressful.

I plan to write them an email with my list of improvements!

[arachne.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's the gist of how I felt - I'll also be mailing - not expecting a response though (they never did reply to my mail about their anti-lycra stance, or G's mail asking for promotional material for his workplace)

[emmelinemay.livejournal.com]

They didn't reply to my email pointing out that some of their links went to the wrong place, or my query about what happens i you have no printer.

However, I plan to email *and* write *and* fax.

Am writing review on my LJ now!

[medusa-nw.livejournal.com]

well, that's me buggered if it doesn't arrive tomorrow (which I'm sure it won't knowing Royal Mail), I don't have a printer at home. :-(

[medusa-nw.livejournal.com]

Also, I can't see the point of the fancy dress thing if we all have to wear a bib!

[emmelinemay.livejournal.com]

i did wonder about what happened if you didn't have a printer. You should call to ask!

[emmelinemay.livejournal.com]

i shall bring a pair of scissors so we can customise them ;)

[miss-soap.livejournal.com]

If you just turned up along the route, rather than one of their 'hubs', are they going to turn you away?

When I signed up the site suggested I not join a hub since we lived so close to the route, but just join the main route. I haven't yet received the latest email.

[jaketherat.livejournal.com]

Gaw, that is an absolutely horrific website. It looks and reads like an exercise in horrifying tweeness.

I was reading somewhere about freewheel being an attempt to sanitize the critical mass concept. Bit of a rabid "der stayt, it upprezzez meeee!" kind of tone, but nevertheless you have to wonder...

[emmelinemay.livejournal.com]

i know. i hate looking at the site, and i hate having to print out the email!

It's the way the government would treat us all in a totalitarian state when we're all pacified by mood altering drugs.

Or the way i talk to a 4 year old with special needs.

[crazymeandave.livejournal.com]

paying to ride on the streets of london.

they'll start charging us for air next.

[emmelinemay.livejournal.com]

You didn't have to pay, it was completely free to sign up - that's why they can't really turn anyone away.

'No, you can't ride on a public path, you aren't wearing a hideous synthetic shiny tunic that doesn't fit and will make you sweat'.

[fluffydave.livejournal.com]

Yeah I just noticed that in my email too. It's silly, the bib thing is pretty atrocious and I'll be cycling in on my own more direct route meeting up with Nick.

I might print out the email and just stick the bib in a bag or something. Thanks for getting wound up by the idiocy so that I don't have to suffer :)

[emmelinemay.livejournal.com]

I was thinking of you when i wrote that ;)

yeah, just print out the email and say you didn't get the bib in time.

[yaruar.livejournal.com]

i haven't picked up my bib from the post office.. maybe i should turn it into a hat so i don't get burned!