Most of the rides I've done have used painted signs, as have the rides that I've actually led, but I will say that there are better and worse markings, too. I did a ride in a Ohio a few years ago called the Great Ghost Ride Ramble. That year, they used these cute little ghosts as the ,arkings. You turned based on the direction the ghoast was painted. Yeah....no. You couldn't really see the ghost's orientation until you were right on top of it. Plus, they were so small that it was easy for them to get covered up by fallen leaves. It was a cluster. Everyone got off the route except those pretty familiar with it from past years.

Last year, I did the Horsey Hundred for about the seventh or eighth time. They used color coded markings this time. They worked okay, so long as you remembered what color you were supposed to follow, which some people didn't. And since it's a two-day ride, it was easy to get the colors you were following for each of the days confused. In years past, they used the route length and arrows to mark the route, but even then, they neglect to put road markings anywhere other than directly at the intersection. I realize it's a lot of work to put a ride like that on (multiple route lengths over two days), but I think it pays off in the end to over, rather than under, mark a route.