Originally Posted by
prj71
In my area road racing is dying off. Gravel and Mountain bike racing seem to be the dominate bike racing sports in my area.
I will agree that the cost of entry to race has gone insane. So much so that I don't participate in as many races as I used to. My self imposed limit for entry fee is $50 these days. Anything over that and I'm not participating. One of my local races is $150. No thanks.
I don't remember paying entry fees for road races in the '70s. That doesn't mean it didn't happen. Come to think of it, entering the Vuelta de Bisbee maybe did cost $15-20, and maybe I paid $5 at signup routinely and just don't remember it. They were not burdensome. Now, I can imagine $150 fees putting off adults, let alone kids.
"Hey kid, wanna race?"
"Sure!"
"Got a hundred and fifty dollars?"
"Umm.."