CmdrBiggles wrote: ↑Mon Jun 24, 2024 4:53 pm
I doubt there will be record-breaking crowds lining up for this Spring's events.
I'm out of what I originally had intended to participate in come October 4th: the
Around the Bay in a Day, 175km option. At $190, I cannot justify such an extravagance — it is, always has been and always will be, very, very expensive, for what it is — a ride!
Never mind the uber-pricey Great Victorian Bike Ride. Fancy advertising lingo and slogans and promises wash over all of these events with unabashed vigour. I'll pass.
I'll do my own solo
Around the Bay in a Day, cheerfully paying for the ferry over to Sorrento, staying at one of my niece's homes in Melbourne at the end (probably Exhibition Street), and a $5.00 V/Line shuttle home the next day. Cheap and cheerful!
I've never been on a Great Victorian Big Ride and I believe that the one this year was to commemorate the 40th anniversary of such rides.
I think there's only 2 of these big rides now in existence, the Victorian and Queensland big rides as the NSW Big ride was canned over 15 years ago now.
Even though the average cost per person is around $1200, they do give you the option of 3,5 and 9 days and you pay pro-rata depending on how long you'll be there.
It's not cheap but it's not expensive either, when you consider what's involved in the organising of such an event, the cost of Police to protect the riders for the entire 9 days, Ambulances on site, the cost of food as the price covers most of the 3 meals per day, the entertainment must be paid for, the trucks that have the toilets and showers in them, the sag wagon bus to pick up tired riders and bikes, insurances and yes I guess some have to be paid for work but there are many volunteers as well. Costs are enormous and I think there's a proportion that goes to charity as well.
I went on the 2005 Kosziusko to Kiama big ride and it was fantastic although sadly the first year in the History of the big ride that a young lady lost control of her bike riding down from the start point down the mountains and hit a tree, she passed away that night in Hospital. However despite that, the rest of the ride went great, about 1200 riders.
It's a major logistic exercise so yeah with the costs everywhere that have skyrocketed, it's hard to keep the costs affordable.
Just a 5 day trip from my place in Albury to Sydney, Hotel stay, food costs and any incidentals for 2 people ends up costing well over $1,000 and that's not counting the medical appointments we need to go to while we are up there. We probably have 1 luxury meal in a Japanese restaurant and because we know the area well, we know where the cheaper eateries are......
Many people would pay $1500 plus for airfares to go on holidays before anything else is taken in consideration like food or accommodation so I think a 9 day ride and camp is pretty reasonable for $1200. I've only ever done one big ride only because i've been a shiftworker and not being able to get the time off plus I find that it was a bit hard getting your bike to and from the event as they never start/finish in the same spot.
The Day ride you mentioned is a charity ride yeah? I guess some monies from the ride have to be donated otherwise why bother holding it. I guess there's a lot of cost associated with that as well, but we all know that everyone is struggling and it's times like now when events like these struggle as well.