I look forward to the
Maywood Earth Ride all year and yesterday it was on another beautiful September day like every other year I've done it. It was much windier that usual, and usually it is windy. Flags were straight out on their poles so riding South into the wind was challenging.
The first year I did this ride (2004) I did the 25 mile route and it felt like I finished before I was even started. Last year I did the 50 mile route and it was more challenging than I anticipated. As it turned out the route wasn't just more of the same but instead it included a stretch of road that goes up and down and over some steep hills like a roller coaster. The loop back was on different roads but the hills were similar. Because I had no idea it would be like that, my pacing was all messed up and so I was pretty well tapped out by the 35 mile mark. It didn't help either that I had skipped the first rest area and the chance to eat something there or that I had, had the flu earlier in that week.
This year I chose the 25 mile route when I registered. I later thought that maybe I would finish the 25 miles and then start from the beginning again and take the shortest route, the 12 mile route. Then Friday night before the ride I decided it would be better to take the 50 mile route and cut if off and back over to the 25 mile route which would give me at least something more than 25 but yet still be less than 50 which I didn't think I wanted to do. I even had it all planned out where I was going to cut over. Yesterday around the time I got to the first rest stop I had pretty much decided to scrap that idea and just do the entire 50 mile route. It was a challenge I just couldn't pass up.
This years ride went entirely different from last years. The route was pretty much the same but since I was familiar with it I paced myself better and finished strong. I was worn down by the end but I never felt completely tapped out the whole time. I felt like a million bucks at the end. I think next year I'll either take it at a quicker pace or do the 65 mile route. That's 364 days away and counting.
At the Maywood Earth Ride I was the winner of a pair of cycling gloves from Bike'n Ski. I never won a door prize anywhere before where the odds were so slim so I thought that it was pretty cool no matter what it was. I went to the information desk to pick them up but they only had medium and small sizes. The Maywood volunteer kindly wrote down directions for me to get to the Bike'n Ski shop which was right there in downtown Sheboygan so I could exchange the pair they gave me for a large. This is where the experience goes south. On the drive over I contemplated whether or not this was just a clever scheme to get me in the store. I had dismissed the idea but when I first got there the guy was already helping some other people so if that was their plan it was working so far. I am afterall in the market for a new bike and I've also been considering a new helmet. I browsed the store and eventually found the gloves. They didn't 
appear to have any large on the rack but I figured I'd wait and see what the guy said. Soon he was free and I explained the situation. He walked over to the same rack as I had and made the same discovery. The first solution was for me to come back when they had some available but I explained that that wouldn't be practical since I don't live in the area. It's probably a good and hour and 15 minute drive one way for me. There were some other gloves on the same rack that were the same brand but a different style. They did have large ones there and so I suggested that since they didn't have the others I would be willing to take one of those and just pay any difference in cash. He said, "No I can't do that. It's a donation and donations don't work that way". Can you believe that? I mean I believe one should be happy with what you have. A gift is a gift, and a prize is a prize, but the fact is it's not at all a prize for me if it doesn't fit me. I'd understand his position if say for example I had won a 19" TV or something and I just didn't like it or have a use for it. Then I came in and said what I would really like to do is exchange for this 27" TV....pay the difference etc. Now that would take balls. But this is entirely different. We're not talking about something that I didn't like or isn't what I wanted. I'm not unhappy winning gloves. I'm not unhappy with the particular brand or style of them but the issue is their size. If you're going to give away something like gloves where the fit of them is a rather critical element at least have all sizes available. At the very least be willing to work something out if the sizes available don't fit the winner. What do they do when they give away a bike? This isn't rocket science. Isn't part of the purpose of being a ride sponsor and donating door prizes to promote the business? That was working until I started talking to the guy that was working there that day. They got the right idea being sponsors and donating door prizes but their customer service sure sucks. Needless to say they lost any business that I might have given them. I left unhappy and not feeling much like a winner at all. I'd advise against shopping there. Buy your bikes and gear where they care about making customers happy.
