2023 Tour of Sufferlandria (ToS)

[Rupert.H]

Happy to share some more info here:

The Tour 2023

As a few of you may have seen, we sent out a save the date for the upcoming tour running from Sunday March 12 and finishing on Saturday March 18. Just like in previous years, the Tour’s primary focus is to raise funds and awareness for the Davis Phinney Foundation and its programs to help those affected by Parkinson’s Disease whose patrons are Davis Phinney and Connie Carpenter. Participants have raised over one and a half million dollars since the first Tour began in 2013. [unnamed (3)] St…

[leebo]

I got an email advertising some cheap little blue pills and asking me to wire $5000 to a prince in Nigeria in return for $6 million. Is that the same one? Do I click the link?

[jmckenzieKOS]

Coach, I was in the first ToS and last year’s may be my last. More to come.

[Mark_j_mcnally]

I’m hoping the dates will change as March 12-18 is right over school March break when ours and many other families are travelling/unavailable to participate.

[alopezor]

I hope they keep the March date. This would be my first tour but I’m running a marathon in mid-February. Some recovery and then full in for the tour!

[Glen.Coutts]

Definitely click that link!

[CPT_A]

@jmckenzieKOS

Coach, I was in the first ToS and last year’s may be my last. More to come.

Well there’s a cliffhanger…

[CPT_A]

@Glen.Coutts

Definitely click that link!

[jmckenzieKOS]

ToS didn’t help my level of fitness last year nor any of the other years after I had major surgery. I am working this year to return to that level.

[Critmark]

@Mark_j_mcnally

I’m hoping the dates will change as March 12-18

@alopezor

I hope they keep the March date

I have a 10K seven days after end of ToS 2023. Not the greatest timing but it is what it is. I will do both even if they overlapped. But at least I am in town.

[Rupert.H]

The Tour 2023

Thanks for all the comments coming in about the Tour so far and it is so great that we still have so much enthusiasm around the Tour! I realise a lot of you may not know much about me so here is some background and intro. I rode my first tour in 2016 leading our community in a Sufferlandrian Embassy in Leeds. I joined The Sufferfest after that in 2017 as customer service minion. Since then I have been a Sufferlandrian and Wahooligan riding the Tour each year and I have been race director for th…

[jmckenzieKOS]

Something that needs to be explained in detail is why ‘Sufferlandria’ was dropped. I’ve been here since the first ToS and am finding that ‘suddenly’ dropping the name is leaving a lot of us with a bad taste. I know that Wahoo rebranded The Sufferfest to SYSTM in keeping with their branding types. Also, keep in mind, many of us out here were here WAY before you.

[Heretic]

I do not know if it is a bad taste, but it is not quite the same.

[CPT_A]

@Heretic

I do not know if it is a bad taste, but it is not quite the same.

Bad taste for what it portends, maybe.

[Glen.Coutts]

I think the best we’re gonna get at this point is:

the Sufferfest became part of the Wahoo family and as a result of this, evolution and adaptation is natural and we look for ways to get more and more people into the Tour and raising as much as we can for the Davis Phinney Foundation.

[moose]

I don’t think you’ll get more people in by removing the personality of the TOS, what made it special and memorable, vs the tons of other “virtual tours”, including even on the Phiney foundation website…

[Glen.Coutts]

The 11th Annual Tour of “redacted”. Do YOU have what it takes?*

*participation requires users to sign a waiver absolving Wahoo Fitness Corporation of any and all liability for perpetuity (or as long as it takes to finish the 1 minute effort in Full Frontal ™️ whichever is longer). Ride at your own risk. Survival not guaranteed.

[BertieBoy]

@jmckenzieKOS

Something that needs to be explained in detail is why ‘Sufferlandria’ was dropped.

I think the issue is that any new users will here “the tour” and think “oh cool, multistage event” akin to the tour which must not be named. If you use the traditional ToS marketing splash you risk confusing systm users and reducing participation in an amazing event.

Hopefully the organising committee retain the spirit of challenge, the pursuit of pain and provide an announcement which unveils the land of GvA. The uncomfortable know two things well: 1) It’s the ToS 2) If you try hard enough your sufferlandrian passport hits the bucket halfway through violator.

[CPT_A]

@BertieBoy

If you use the traditional ToS marketing splash you risk confusing systm users and reducing participation in an amazing event.

As opposed to alienating legacy users who likely raise a LOT more money per capita…and reducing participation in an amazing event.

[Sir_Brian_M]

Just looking at some event names in the US that I’ve done:
Horribly Hilly Hundreds
Michigan Mountain Mayhem
Blood Sweat and Tears
RAW (Ride Across Wisconsin)

The name of these events is what drew me to them, along with thousands of other riders.

I’m just hoping the name is all that has been tamed. They really need to get a good name for the event, “The Tour 2023” is meaningless and thus completion brings no bragging rights!

I rode “event name here” should invoke awe in all who hear it. It has to sound like an achievement and I rode “The Tour 2023” doesn’t do it. How will I get anyone to donate?

My frenemies love donating so that I will hurt myself on my bike!