On 2016-04-21 04:38, John B. wrote:
On Wed, 20 Apr 2016 19:21:18 -0700 (PDT), jbeattie
wrote:

On Wednesday, April 20, 2016 at 5:55:26 PM UTC-7, John B. wrote:
On Wed, 20 Apr 2016 15:01:41 -0700, sms
wrote:

I was at the Sea Otter Classic last Saturday and visited a booth of a
California cycling magazine which had information on a bunch of upcoming
century rides.

I looked at the one for my old bicycle club, where in the 1980's we
argued about raising the entry cost to $12 from $10 (or maybe it was $8
to $10). Our century was never intended to be a fund-raiser, so we set
the price to just break even.

I saw that the registration for that ride is now $80 ($70 for early
registration) and that a tee shirt is another $20.

Are there enough people paying $70-100 to ride on public roads to keep
all these century rides in business?

Of course the smartest cyclist guys of all time were the ones that began
the Cinderalla Classic http://www.valleyspokesmen.org/cinderellaclassic

I also notice that the clubs no longer require or perform any bicycle
inspections. Way too much liability if they allow an unsafe bicycle on
the ride. At least that ride is a slightly more reasonable $58.

??? Californians have to pay to ride 100 miles ??? On a public highway
???

A new tax system perhaps?

Sure it's dopey, but if you get the right ride -- something epic and well done -- it's worth it. Some of the rides cater to foodies and are just an excuse to eat and drink, which certainly sells tickets.

-- Jay Beattie.

One can't just get on the bike and ride off into the sunset?


I had my weekly "half-century" yesterday, along with a pint of Kaffir
Leaf Saison at one of my watering holes and then had the "bike growler"
filled with that as well. Entry fee: Zero. $20 plus tip got me five
pints of excellent brewsky (four of which my wife and I drank in the
evening at home, not during the ride). With my bike and outfit they
probably wouldn't have let me on a fancy organized ride anyhow.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/