When will my event be posted?

Very good question! The short answer is "We don't know!"  Ok, we'll try to give you a better answer than that. First of all, we can't guarantee any event will ever get listed. We do as many as we can as fast as we can. Sometimes we simply run out of time before the event gets posted.  Also it is vary rare to have an event posted in less than 10 days.

There are a number of factors that determine the time it takes to post an event. First we determine if it will get posted at all. About 20% of the events we receive are rejected. Click here for reasons why we reject some events.

After we determine if we will post the event we send the event to our editors. Our editors edit events as quickly as possible but if your event was submitted with less than 10 days before the event starts our editors will only look at the event if they have time. Generally an event submitted to us with less than 10 days to the start date will not be posted. It's not that we don't want to post it but we simply may not have time.

Please note: Some people like to submit their event over and over, thinking that will make it get posted faster. The opposite is true. Each time they submit, their event goes to the end of the line.   

Once our editors begin working on an event we can encounter a number or other things that cause delays. 

• Incomplete information: We won't post an event unless we know where and when it starts. That only makes since. If you want people go to your event be sure to tell us when and where. Give us an address if possible. Other acceptable locations would be the name of a business, a park, or well known building. If you just give us the name of a town we won't post it until we have a more specific location. If you want to tell us "downtown" we again wont post it until we have a specific location.  Tell us what time it starts. If you don't tell us the time how will people know when to be there.  Even if you event is more than one day it's important to know when it opens on the first day.  This helps people plan on when to arrive. 

• No details: Don't tell us to go to the website to get the information. Give us the details. If you happen to forget something, and you have a website listed, we will usually check the website to get it. However, if it appears you made no attempt go provide the information we won't go looking for it. In other words, if we realize you can make a mistake and we'll try to help you out. If it appears you want us to find the info on our own, it most likely won't happen.

• Wrong details: If you event has a number of various events be sure to give us details on the motorcycle events. For example if you are putting on a rally and you tell us all about the bands and only mention the motorcycle events we may hold off posting the event until we get more information on the motorcycle events. Remember we are interested in the motorcycle events.

• Event is submitted too many times:  Lets think about this one. If we get behind it seems everyone wants to re-submit their event. When an event is re-submitted we have to compare two (or more) listings and determine which one is correct and the most accurate. Doing that takes time. The result is that your event is delayed much more. The more you re-submit, the more it is delayed. Events that are submitted more than once usually take three to four times longer to get posted on the web. Even if your event has passed completely through the editors and is ready to post it goes back and starts over if you re-submit. 
  Don't confuse this with correcting an error. On our form we tell you that if you make a mistake you can go back and correct it. If you do this immediately the two listings will go through together and it is very easy to choose the correct one. Just don't wait hours or days to make your correction.

• We can't read it: Use proper English, punctuation, grammar, and capitalization. The more we have to re-write the longer it takes. If you choose not to use punctuation we can't always determine what you are trying to say. If you have something that you really want to stand out, don't  write it in capital letters. We almost always delete information written in caps. Nobody's perfect in writing this stuff. But try to use the rules you learn in grammar school. Nobody's perfect and that is why we have editors. We try to correct errors and make it easy to read. Were not perfect either. Many errors get through anyway.

If the information is incomplete we try to contact the submitter to get correct information. Once the information is complete we pass the information on to actually be posted on the web. Events are posted as quickly as possible although there is no formal order in which they are entered. Usually when a state (or country) page is edited we post all events available for that page. The is the quickest way to post as many events as possible. The bad part about doing it this way is that some events never seem to be at the right place at the right time. As a result they seem to take forever. Also even if your event has passed through the editors and you get impatient and re-submit your event then goes back to the editors causing big delays. 

My event was never posted. Why?

If your event was submitted to us within 10 days of the start of the event it most likely will not get posted. Quite simply, it generally takes at least 10 days to process the information. We try to be as fast as possible but even ten days is a difficult goal to reach. We are working on new software and a new system that will speed this up considerably but it isn't in place yet.

There are also a huge number of reasons we may reject an event. In some cases it's very obvious why it will be rejected. Other events we have a difficult time deciding to accept or reject the event:  Below are our guidelines. We've broken them up into various categories so you can see how we make our decisions. These guidelines aren't perfect and were always revising them. There are always events that aren't specified in the information below so we have to make a judgment call. 

• Poker Runs (including dice runs, trivia runs, scavenger hunts and similar contest type runs) are posted on the site as long as there is a set starting point and time. The run must be made on a motorcycle. "Poker walks" are not posted.
• Motorcycle Rides are posted as long as it is an organized ride. It must have a specified starting location and begin at a specific time. A ride may have multiple starting locations but they must be specified. In other words "start at your home" is not acceptable.
• Motorcycle Shows are posted providing they have a formal entry procedure and a formal judging procedure. The show must be competitive. Awards must be presented to the winners. The awards must be thoughtful and legitimate. There must be a set time for entry and a set time for judging to be complete. Bikes parked in front of a bar or restaurant is not a bike show. Events designed where people get together to look at each others bike is not a bike show  no matter how many bikes are parked there.
• Swap Meets are listed as long as the meet has competition. It can be restricted to brand or category. For example you can have a swap meet for antique bikes where vendors of parts for new bikes are not allowed. We do not post meets where it is designed to promote one particular business by restricting activities of another. We do not post a swap meet if it appears that there will not be competition due to distance or location.  We will not post a swap meet that takes place at a motorcycle dealer or motorcycle parts store. The open competition applies to motorcycles, motorcycle parts, motorcycle clothing and similar motorcycle items. Non motorcycle vendors such as beer and food sales is not required to have compaction. 
• Bike Nights (including biker dinners, biker breakfasts and other similar activities) are not accepted on our site. There are some exceptions. It may meet one of the categories by having one or more of the accepted activities  listed on this page. 
• Blessing of the Bikes are not accepted on our site. There are some exceptions. It may meet one of the categories by having one or more of the accepted activities  listed on this page.
• Concerts are not accepted on our site. There are some exceptions. It may meet one of the categories by having one or more of the accepted activities  listed on this page.
• Tattoo shows or contests are not accepted on our site. There are some exceptions. It may meet one of the categories by having one or more of the accepted activities listed on this page. 
• Open House and Dealer Parties are not posted. These are usually promotional activates. Most business parties of open houses have food, bands, or other entertainment but they generally do not include any activity where participants actually use their motorcycle. As any event there are exceptions where the event meets some other accepted criteria.
• Block Parties and other parties are not posted.  There are some exceptions. It may meet one of the categories by having one or more of the accepted activities  listed on this page.
• Raffles are currently not posted in our events section. We have a separate section for motorcycle raffles. Please go to http://www.lets-ride.com/winmotorcycle/index.htm to view existing raffles of go to http://www.lets-ride.com/winmotorcycle/submit.htm to submit your motorcycle raffle. We only post motorcycle raffles. Raffles for other items will not be accepted. 

Note:  For our website a motorcycle is any vehicle legally registered as a motorcycle. This can include Trikes and mopeds. 

My event meets the requirements you requested but was still not posted! Why?

We decide if your event should be posted based on the information you provide us. When you provide information keep the guidelines above in mind. If you tell us about all the bands playing and you mention bike games you may find we are questioning you about the games. We may decide not to post the event without the bike game information.  On the other hand if you tell us about the bike games and you mention the concert you event is much more likely to be posted without question. We used bike games in this example but it applies to other motorcycle activity also. Our website will always focus on the motorcycle activity. From our point of view, other activities are ok but are not the important part. In short, tell us the information we need. If you think we should be able to read your mind you have the wrong website, try http://expage.com/mindreaders. 

I want everyone to know about my event! How do I make my event show up in all states?

That's easy.  You have an official start point in every state! Each start point must have an exact location and starting time. (Did I say that's easy?) I have never seen an organized event so big that it starts in every state! Quite often there are different "legs" of the same that start in different states or there are different places where a person can join a ride already in progress. To have these listed on our site you must specify each location and time. Another thing! Don't make up fake start points. You'll only look like an ass when people can't find your registration table. Another thing, we may choose not to list your event in future years. Be truthful. If your event isn't good enough to be successful on it's own merits, you won't help yourself by lying!

When I submitted my event I wrote the real important stuff in capital letters. Why didn't it show up on your website?

We will answer that one with another question!  What part of "do not write in all capital letters or it will be deleted" did you not understand?