>So, why isn't the "World"
Championship for Endurance being held, say, in the Sierras, or Oregon, or the
Big Horn Mountains? When (if ever) was the "World"
Championship held in the USA? Curious (and uninformed, as
usual.)
In answer to the first
question--because it takes a dedicated group of people in the local area with a
lot of financial backing to get it done. I chaired the OC for the Pan-Am
near Bend, Oregon in 1997--we trimmed the heck out of previous budgets for
Pan-Ams and put ours on in the black for "only" about $100,000. Less than
a quarter of that comes in as entry fees--the rest has to be raised through
donations, unless you have someone with "deep pockets" willing to underwrite the
event. Also, this ride consumed the better part of 2 years of my life, and
a great deal of time of a lot of other dedicated volunteers as well. To
put on a WEC--just raise the budget, get a bigger area to hold it, more
volunteers, more time, etc....
In answer to the second
question--the USA hosted the WEC in 1996 in Kansas, and back in the '80's it was
on Front Royal, Virginia, and I believe once in California as well.
(Someone else can speak more accurately to the earlier two events than I
can.)
