Today was the first "official" day of the Santana Big River Rally in cold and blustery Memphis. As a member of the local riding club I was asked to help out while the rally was here in town which I gladly did. What a great chance to see lots of eye candy and meet some truly neat folks. Yesterday I took a couple of teams that were in town from Seattle on a 30 mile loop around the city. It was sunny but a tad chilly. We all had a fun day just tooling around and soaking in the sights. If you look through the picture page (Link on the bottom) you will see the 2 teams in front of a Yellow house. That was the house they used in themovie The Firm as Tom Cruise's home. After that little attraction we stopped at a Natural Food store so they could stock up on provisions. Then it was back to the hotel so they could get some rest before the real riding began.
Today we woke to sun and cold. The 88 teams left the Peabody Hotel and first visited Sun Studios then off to Graceland. This was the first time a bicycle has ridden through the gates of Graceland since Elvis lived there. After a tour of the Home and museum ..etc... we were all treated to a BBQ lunch by Corky's. Some of the best BBQ in town. Then it was off for a 20 mile loop that ended up on the Delta Queen Paddle Boat. The teams will spend five more days floating down the Mississippi River and riding from various ports during there cruise. Click the link below for a few pics. I am tired and off to bed...:)
What's the average daily cost per team for this tour? I know if varies by shipboard accommodations, but did you pick up on an average for the seven day event?
garysol1
What's the average daily cost per team for this tour? I know if varies by shipboard accommodations, but did you pick up on an average for the seven day event?
I am not sure the exact cost but I do think it was pretty heavy. Guess you get what you pay for and from what I saw this event is first class all the way. I can only imagine the cost to completely charter a historic steamwheeler for a week.
Hermes
Here is a link to the article in our club newsletter.
Very nice article. When we were on the Sonoma tour with Santana last year, Bill McCready was describing the Memphis trip on the boat. I think it was a great idea and we would have liked to go. We were already doing the Santana Tuscany tour this year and we were out of vacation time. I am glad it is a success.
Hermes
What's the average daily cost per team for this tour? I know if varies by shipboard accommodations, but did you pick up on an average for the seven day event?
Jan is responsible for Santana tours and I am sure that she will be happy to provide that information if you contact her by email or phone.
zonatandem
Santana states that chartering the Delta Queen for the tour was a half-million dollar deal.
Sort of puts the price in the $5,000+ range + a bit of 'profit' for the organizers.
By contrast, we've done many tandem rallies/week long rours for w-a-y much less than that, and still had a great tiime TWOgether!
garysol1
By contrast, we've done many tandem rallies/week long rours for w-a-y much less than that, and still had a great tiime TWOgether!
Apples and oranges. This tour is a very unique experience. I am not saying any more or any less fun than any other rallies but I will say that it has to rank up there as one of the most unique and challenging for the organizers as any rally ever. Heck, on the first day the participants got a tour of sun studio's, got to ride into Graceland, had a catered lunch then after the ride got treated to a wine and cheese tasting party then a gourmet dinner before retiring to the state rooms.......and this was only day one!!
zonatandem
Apples and oranges? Yes, we agree.
Santana puts on no-expense held back tours. Helped organize the rides on their first ever tandem tour in Tucson April 22-25, 1985. Registration for the 3 day event then was $399 with various extra daily charge$ + hotel. Deluxe? Definitely.
Like comparing the dude from Microsoft that paid $25 million to ride into space to going for an airplane ride. Both flying, but at different $$$ levels.
Rode our tandem today . . . fun!
Hermes
Apples and oranges. This tour is a very unique experience. I am not saying any more or any less fun than any other rallies but I will say that it has to rank up there as one of the most unique and challenging for the organizers as any rally ever. Heck, on the first day the participants got a tour of sun studio's, got to ride into Graceland, had a catered lunch then after the ride got treated to a wine and cheese tasting party then a gourmet dinner before retiring to the state rooms.......and this was only day one!!
Bill and Jan do an excellent job at creating value by adding unique features that would be difficult to do on your own. That was true in the wine country Sonoma tour we did last fall. We had special tours of wineries, special wines, routes of varying difficulty and arrangements that made the trip special. It is why we are on Santana's Tuscany trip this year.
In comparing any commercial product or service, one must compare value propositions with respect to competition within a class. We compare Santana to Butterfield for price, destination, accommodation, convenience, length of trip, route, uniqueness and etc.:)
garysol1
Rode our tandem today . . . fun!
Mounted ANOTHER saddle for the stoker today :) but had to ride my single. Stoker at work :(