Great Lakes - Bike Ride vs. Costs

I am signed up for three rides this year that I will have to stay at a hotel prior to the ride. Is the cost of gas starting change peoples minds of this. Is it worth the total cost. The cost of a hotel in a small town where there is limited amount of rooms which drives up the cost of a room. :mad:Gas at four dollars a gallon. Then to take off of work for a Saturday ride to get into town at a decent time or the day after a Sunday ride to recover and drive back home. So is the cost of gas staring to change the minds of some of the riders about what rides they really want to do and what they can do.

Not me.

Gas is going to have go >$10/gal before it could start thinking about affecting my race schedule. And that's almost every weekend.

Not a huge factor. It may change what vehicle I use, but I will still be driviing to the events I want to go to.

I don't do enough out of town rides where I HAVE to stay overnight. The cost of gas does hurt a little, but only when I have to drive more than 100 miles for a ride. I usually just leave super early (3am or so). My trick to overnight stays is to make it a psuedo family affair...RAIN IS a family event :D, and the Dairyland Dare isn't too far from the Dells so we're just making a weekend of it. I would have done the same for HHH, but the wifey already had other plans (which works for me too!;)) I've never regretted spending money on gas, hotels, or my time because I've always had a blast!

The cost of gas has no effect on my ride selections. I have 20 planned rides on my calendar this year.

Yes, the price weighs on my mind, but not riding in cool places with cool people weighs even heavier.

Carpooling has been in use for a few of us. Psimet and I carpool to the Tuesday night ride when we can, even though it's only a 15 minute trip down the interstate. And the ride up to Cross Plains was a blast trying to figure out all the strange and wonderful GPS gadgets in the new minivan.

In a few cases, though, I have skipped driving to rides, like the Saturday morning Village Pedaler ride because I have done that route many times. Plus, I can get up and get a longer ride in just by riding from my house at an earlier time.

Gas costs suck, for sure. But letting them paralyze you from the things you love to do is even worse.

So is the cost of gas staring to change the minds of some of the riders about what rides they really want to do and what they can do.

Yes. I am doing fewer supported/organized rides this year than last. Most of my organized rides are at least 60 miles away. And for the club rides, I limit myself to rides where I can ride my bike to the start (<15 miles). Not to be rude, but if you read all the fun activities that many of the folks on this forum are doing, and the bikes and gear they are buying, you would think that they have an unlimited supply of $$. That being said, you shouldn't keep yourself from having a good time once in a while, and you have to look at your own finances to determine what you can afford. Certainly the carpool strategy is the best possible strategy - have some fun on the way, and save $$ on gas too.

Edit: Specific to the HHH, well that is a challenge ride, different from your run of the mill organized rides. Challenge rides are a different animal all together and should be one of the rides that you definitely DO (if you are in to that, of course), and the run of the mill rides that perhaps you've done in the past would go off the schedule.

Not to be rude, but if you read all the fun activities that many of the folks on this forum are doing, and the bikes and gear they are buying, you would think that they have an unlimited supply of $$.

:roflmao2:

We do talk a lot, don't we? If only I could spend like I wanted to on cycling! I need need need so much stuff! If only I had the schwag, I'd kick so much butt! Assos bibs, a new custom Titanium Lynskey, Zipps, etc., etc....

But, alas, sacrifices are being made by many folks in other aspects of life so they can continue to pursue their passion for cycling. This is one of the reasons that the BFNIC rides have been so much fun. Sure they are unsupported, but the atmosphere is such that they just can't be missed. Plus, as Crystal pointed out, the lack of entry fee helps to offset the price of getting there. For those of us in flatlandia, getting to places with some hills and little traffic is a major highlight, so the sacrifices don't seem so extreme.

It's all about priorities! And post ride coffee. And beer. Especially the beer. :D

Luckily my "run of the mill" rides are all local. The only thing "off-putting" about them this year is that most of their entry fees have risen.

Don't get me wrong....I don't penny pinch (seriously), but spending $30+ for a run of the mill ride on roads in this area for something that doesn't even have a century option....will most likely get a big thumbs down from me this year.

I'll just stick close to home and ride my own century.

All this being said I do have to say I have slowed drastically in buying gear. Not as much a money thing as there really isn't anything out there short of spending $2k-$3k that I could use/want.

I have to be pretty budget minded so I limit myself to just a handful of events with entry fees per season and the rest are free club or solo rides. As far as gas prices go: I've definitely been driving to fewer club rides that start out of town. It doesn't make sense to me to burn a quarter tank of gas to go ride my bike every weekend when there are such great routes within riding distance of home. Maybe if I lived in Chicagoland I would be forced to drive out more, but I don't, so I'm not!

Here's a great charity ride that pays for itself:

(Warning - shameless plug, yet on-topic since we're discussing cost/benefit of organized rides)

The Trek-sponsored Bike for Boys & Girls Club (http://www.bike4bgc.com/) ride, Saturday July 19 in Madison, Wisconsin.

If you join my team ($50 entry fee) and raise another $200 in pledges, you get a $50 store credit at the Trek Stores in Madison. If you raise more pledges, you get more store credit.

Team riders also get an event jersey (a Trek-made cycling jersey worth $70 or more retail). Plus a gift bag with a Trek water bottle, tee shirt, and a bunch of gift certificates for local stores and restaurants.

Of course, it's all about helping kids, not free stuff. Read about (http://www.bike4bgc.com/about/) the important work that the event supports.

The ride has 10, 30, and 50 mile options on beautiful hilly Wisconsin farm roads. Fully supported.

Ends with a big lunch party with free food and beer. :beer:

Any joiners? PM me …