Re: LD Rule change--Long (and intense!)

[jlong@mti.net (Joe Long)]

On Thu, 17 Sep 1998 09:22:22 EDT, CMKSAGEHIL@aol.com wrote:

>Excellent letter.  I would also add that since the Board started on its
>mission to raise fees and make more things mandatory, our membership has
>fallen dramatically.  Perhaps a case of killing the goose that laid the golden
>egg?  

I think the move to charge the $10 non-member fee to LD riders is a
terrible idea.  If a non-member fee is charged to LD riders, it should
be no more than $5.  After all, the ride entry fees are less for the
short rides, why should the AERC fee not be?

No one has ever done a study on the probable effects of a fee increase
before the AERC raised them.  I've been fearing for a long time that
the AERC was raising its fees above the point of diminishing returns.
It looks like that's exactly what happened.  Now they're trying to
make up the shortfall on the backs of those riders who get the least
from AERC -- the non-member LD riders.

I've been planning on managing a ride in Colorado next summer, but
without LD riders I can't make expenses.  I may have to wait and see
how this plays out before committing myself.

-- 

Joe Long
jlong@mti.net
Business Page  http://www.mti.net
Personal Page  http://www.rnbw.com