Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Amen Barbara,

All cost are increasing. For a ride there are cost fixed associated with 
permit fees, campground rental, supplies and a base number of vets. 
These cost are the same independent if one person or 100 people show up! 
The fixed cost are by far the largest cost and they are significant. 
There there are incremental cost, more people mean more vets, more 
people means more food (if food is provided), more people means more 
supplies. More people means more competition awards, etc.

A ride manager has a delicate balance. They have to budget on having the 
fixed cost payed my some base number of people. If they close 100 people 
and 50 show up the rest come out of the ride managers pocket. All RM's I 
know try to keep the fees as low as possible. The only way you can do 
that is to take the proceeds from the good years and roll them over to 
pay for the bad years. For example if you base you fix cost payback at 
75 people and 100 show up but the next year only 50 show up - you will 
come out even over two years.

The real issue is over the past 10 years - cost of everything have gone 
up more than incomes. Ride managers are only responding to the cost they 
face.

Truman

Barbara McCrary wrote:
> For the ride manager, prices have gone up, too. Were it not for my 
> persuading the State Park system that the work we do to clear trails 
> in the park (they cannot afford to do it), is worth the permit fee 
> just to pass through the park within less than a 24-hour span, we 
> would be paying $450 for that. The cost of trophies has gone up, the 
> cost of rider fees to AERC has gone up, and in CA, the cost of the 
> mandatory drug-testing fee is $5 per rider, and the technician doesn't 
> even come to our ride to collect samples. Vet fees are up, and we 
> can't even pay what they lose in income during the 48 hours they spend 
> at our ride. Please do have the educating experience of organizing and 
> managing a ride before you fret about the ride fees. I think your eyes 
> will be opened wide to what it costs the ride manager to put on a 
> ride. And that doesn't even begin to cover the hours and hours of 
> paperwork, trail prep, flagging, etc.
>
> Barbara McCrary
> Ride Mgr., Swanton Pacific 75/100
> "The Most Beautiful Trail in the World"
>
> Just to remind all that Swanton Pacific has been cancelled for 2007 
> because the ride managers have an exciting travel opportunity they 
> could not pass up. More about that...later.


--

“Since when have we Americans been expected to bow submissively to 
authority and speak with awe and reverence to those who represent us?” 
Justice William O. Douglas


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