Money

Why is this ride so expensive?

I’m glad you asked!

Two reasons:

1. We are greedy pigs.

2. Here’s roughly where some of the ride fees go:

Buses: $11,000

Charitable Donations: $10,000

Insurance (mandatory) - $4,000

Labor: $20,000

(yes, we have lots of great volunteers, but crew such as truck drivers and security guards get paid).

Massage Post-Ride: $6,500

Pie: $1,750

Police Coverage & Permit Fees: $8,000

Rented Trucks: $15,000

Rest Stop Food: $25,000

Portable Toilets: $9,000

Post-Ride Meal: $25,000

Shower truck - $6,000

Train Tickets: $4,687

Note that while some of those prices change with the size of the ride, a lot of items cost the same no matter how many cyclists  we have.

Not so long ago we had close to 3,000 cyclists, which of course meant that those fixed expenses were split by, well, 3,000 people.

Now we are restricted by some of the towns we pedal through to half that count, but those fixed expenses stay the same.

We talked a LOT about whether to make the ride less expensive by cutting way back on service, and we just decided that’s not what you want. (I hope we’re right!)

OK? OK!

Glen