Re: RC: Re: Ride Fees

[CMKSAGEHIL@aol.com]

In a message dated Fri, 9 Feb 2001 12:01:12 PM Eastern Standard Time, "BE" <betndez@budget.net> writes:

<< Personally I resent a   mandatory meal charge being added to my ride entry. I've found at several   West Region rides that my ride entry would not be accepted unless I paid an   additional meal charge for a meal that I knew I could not eat.    >>       

Betty, I'm with you.  I hate to pay for a huge banquet that I may not be able to eat, depending on my distance, etc.  I've also worked with caterers at rides where we HAVE done sit-down dinners, and have been able to give them a head count 24 hours or so before, so a phone call late Friday afternoon was sufficient to firm up a head count.  (And you're right--even without pre-entries, we usually have an idea within 10% or so of how many riders we will have, so they already have a pretty good idea as well.)  And our Sunday morning fruit-and-bagel feeds that we used to put on at awards for our 100-milers were inexpensive as well, and well-liked--and we could call in as late as Saturday mid-morning with the number of trays we needed for those.  Then it was just a matter of sending someone to the store at 6 a.m. on Sunday morning to pick up the fresh deli trays.  As for ride vets--numbers of vets are often as much determined by geography as by rider numbers, so we usually had to ha!
ve them hired anyway--and if you
 have an idea within 10% or so of how many riders you will have, you should already know how many vets you need.  Any experienced ride manager in your area should be able to help estimate rider numbers, if you are doing a first-time ride.  Just my personal experience, but pre-ride I am too busy with trail, etc. to even THINK about processing entries.  I'd much rather have a sharp ride secretary on tap on Friday at the ride site, all the rider info printed up and ready to hand out, etc.   Just all what you're used to, I guess...

Heidi