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I'm not afraid of asking for help - I got sponsors and observers on board for my LEJOG attempt a couple of years ago.
There's enough to worry about and plan without me having to deal with sending out requests for sponsorship letters and wondering if I'll get any help, etc. That's why I've put LEJOG on hold until someone else steps in and manages it. I'm not doing it again unless someone else sorts out all the other people that need to be involved. You can't organise AND ride - I tried and had a meltdown.
There's logistical issues with sponsorship as well. If it's equipment sponsorship, say a bike, then I ask around and someone says 'yes, we'd love you to ride our bike'. Great, but then what? If it's a large company, it might take them a month or more for the various departments to approve it and then actually get me the bike. That's a month I should've been riding and tweaking.
If I use a sponsors kit and then find something much better, I can't just drop their stuff and use the better option.
Anyway, racing as a "Privateer" is better than saying "Sponsored by..." in a self-supported bikepacking race. It's like riding fixed and passing people riding gears ;)
hippy-
racing as a "Privateer"
Racing as a privateer mean you get to shout "Arrrrrrr!!!" and dress up as a pirate.
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Fair. Your lunacy is playing slight part in this approach ;) But you get my point.
If I was in your shoes (probably not midfoot) I'd favour a little admin over self-sponsoring. You might even be able to take time off work without having to sacrifice mortgage payments with sponsorship.
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You can't organise AND ride - I tried and had a meltdown.
If anyone wants convincing of this, read Hutch's hour book.
NotThamesWater
amey
Sanddancer
Just read your approach on sponsorship and I disagree.
As an introvert myself I totally agree on what you and @skinny say. Plus sponsorships are two way exchanges.
Given what you are capable I think you should push a little outside your mental comfort zone to ask for sponsorship. I mainly say that because it aches me how the interweb 'teams' and 'athletes' get away with it and I think you deserve better.
If you need any help (visual, as I am a crayons kind of guy) I will.
It is mainly content creation (jesus wept buzzword etc) and you have to be a bit of an open book. You can be clever about it.