Looking for input on creating an annual community ride/event for girls and women

[Catrin]

Our problem wasnt markings getting paved over, but spray painted over by vandals

[azfiddle]

The whole concept of the painted streets is still a bit foreign - and eye-opening. My experiences with organized rides include two big local rides: El Tour de Tucson and Tour of the Tucson Mountains, which are big enough to have police at intersections, and the rides put on by a couple of Tucson organizations- GABA (Greater Arizona Bicycling Association) which uses the roadside signs. When we get to the point of deciding the route, that might help us figure out if we need to paint streets.

[shootingstar]

Painting streets seems like a huge effort ..for 1 ride.

I've never seen a bike ride in the cities where I've lived, with painted streets just for the event. And I've lived near cycling areas where certain roads get closed off for major rides..and runs.

[OakLeaf]

Every ride in our area marks the routes. And the one I did in Texas, too. How else can you let the riders know where the route goes? Not everyone has GPS, people can't be constantly checking paper maps, and it's pretty easy for someone to miss a turn and get off track if they have to check their map at every intersection.

Only the biggest rides have enough riders that there is a constant stream of riders and all you need to do is follow the person ahead of you ... unless you're the lead rider, which is not a problem I've ever had - but how do you show the lead rider where to go? And when I say "enough riders," I'm talking over 3,000 on *each* route, which obviously is not something the OP wants to attempt her first year out. Anything smaller you're going to have lags where groups of riders and single riders are separated far enough that they can't see the next group, and need to find their own guidance. And the big ones still mark their routes - even TOSRV!

[shootingstar]

I see signage posted and use of volunteers at various points, Oak. I've been on local self-guided rides myself on streets and path combination.

Most interestingly, in large guided rides for over 100 riders or more, I see high school students or older, usually paired in 2's at various points. (I know in some schools it goes towards their volunteer work efforts..especially for established non-profits.)

Use of spray on paint is incredibly rare. Just not a common practice in our neck of the woods: not surprising since municipalities have to deal with rules etc. and if some routes run through lovely looking neighbourhoods...near where I've lived, the routes do go through expensive areas.

[OakLeaf]

Well, as far as places where the authorities ask for no paint, the substitute is signage. Your comment had to do with the amount of person-hours it takes to mark the routes by whatever means, and as I said before, planting signs saves a *little* time, but not very much. Signs are really easy for riders to miss, since they're clear over to the side, so they're definitely a second-best solution.

[goldfinch]

All the rides I have been on have used paint except for one. My most recent ride was a four day tour. Apparently parts of the route were popular for cycling events so there were other people's markings on the road. Our ride organizers knew that and used a different color plus the event name (BAAM) painted as well as the arrows.

The route was well marked, with the arrows both ahead of time and at the turns. Also, I understand that there were "missed turn" markings after the actual turn location.

The one ride that did not have road paint used signs. It was very, very hard to follow the course and many people made wrong turns.