SoCalCycling.com

[scottie]

why is the san luis rey rr 35bucks(only 42 mls) for master and the devils punch bowl is 23 bucks(48mls) and the prize money is the same for both (useless) ?????

Another rip off, another day training.

Am i the only one who is angry about these entry fee differences? and the value we get for our money (prizes and miles to race)

[bmbcyclist]

Probably has to do with cost to put on race. permits etc. Devil's is in the middle of nowhere really, where san luis rey is through a town etc.

I think you should put on a race where the entry fees are 10 bucks and the prize list is 2500.00 for the masters! hehe

And again, the prize list really shouldn't matter, you aren't making a living off of masters racing, Be happy they were able to get the permits for the Road Races.

It is really hard to get permits, as a matter a fact, it is due to permits the Omnium RR course has to change!

[trwilkerson]

my opinion is you can't rate a race by the number of miles it is vs. the cost.
Perfect example the RR at Conquer the Canyons was short by a cat.3 standard (48 miles) and the race was over $100 for registration. But there were only 11 guys to contest the sprint. Just because the race is shorter in distance doesn't make it any better or worse. You have to take into account the terrain.

Also the permits for Punchbowl are nothing compared to racing through a city.

Is the race promoter charging a little too much? Maybe. But if you can't handle the extra $12 don't do the race. I keep hearing people complain about the price of this race and that race. No one is forcing anyone to race. If you think it is too much, go do another race that's cheaper.

[jh]

I had posted a comment about San Luis Rey having the worst cash prize/suffering ratio...

Trust me 4 laps around that course will break your soul.....depending on what time you go off you will have a scorching sun and very humid conditions....

Enter the race and we can talk that Monday.....



JH

[TheSpartan]

I admit, I'm guilty of complaining about entry fee costs. Trying not to anymore tho. San Luis Rey is a bit more but I'd agree its using busier roads and a school to park in. Distances, try the IV's for CTC but the other post was right, we had broken in 3 laps, a 4th would have made it better but there was definetly a split. I'll pay for that kind of course rather than a warehouse crit.

[tommynelson]

People think that race promotors are trying to get rich off of race entry fees...they are, unfortunately, sadly mistaken. Even the guys uting on races in the middle of nowhere in airports where the permitting process is a cinch are still covering their costs, plus a little take home. You have to keep in mind, as others have said, that San Diego is a nightmare to get a permit in. People don't want a bike race in their communities! And can we blame them? We close their roads, f up traffic, complain and hastle CHP, and then finish it all off with empty GU packets and water bottles littered around the area.

Devil's Punchbowl (in Juniper Hills) is not an easy ride to a permit. The civic assc. wants the racers to respect their area, not park in the middle of the road, not litter, and be nice, and we can't even do that! SD is exponentially harder. DP may have a race no, and may be in the middle of nowhere, but just like everywhere else in socal, there is exponential growth there, and the race won't be around forever if we as racers continue to disrespect the towns wishes.

A guy today just chucked his empty bottle in the field not 2 miles from the s/f area. At least if he had thrown it there people could have known where it was to clean up. That extra 40 grams isn't going to keep you from winning the race. This ain't the tour...clean up after yourself. Driving around after a race and picking up trash isn't the responsibility of the race help...but they do it to make sure you have places to race. DP will suffer the same fate as SLR and San Dimas if we can't be a little more adult and clean up after ourselves, make nice with the town, etc. In general, by just acting like we are guests and not entitled to use the roads.

Some promotors are better than others, but they all have pretty much the same goal, growing the sport. There are intrinsic costs associated with putting on a race that very by location, and this has to be met by the entry fees. Support the racing, pay your 30 bucks or whatever, and please pick up after yourself before all of our races are either at some airport or industrial park. Just be nice.

[VNCRacing]

At any given time, I wear three hats...the racer (a-hole), the promoter (good guy), the CBR dude (a-hole or good guy, depends on who you ask).
This post is wearing the promoter hat. A race need three things before the race flyer goes out the door...money (sponsors and racer entry fees), support (volunteers), and permits (governments for the streets and land owners for the private property). If any part of this delicate balance is disturbed, it f**ks it for the next race.
For example, we got hosed on the LACCC (no matter what the reason). This killed it for the race that we had planned for the Sand Dunes to Sierras SR. Financially, we cannot have two back-to-back money losers; that would kill it for the rest of the season, which means eliminating the July race and the State Champ crit in August.

We got jammed with the Camp Pendleton RR because the decision maker there said no way. We're keeping the race date and switching the course from pendleton to Costa Mesa...a course that has taken months in the making to become a reality.

Personally, I don't need the money, so there's no internal/financial mandate to promote races. I have a full-time job that gives me retirement, medical, dental, vision, and vacation. I like the sport and some racers actually appreciate what we're trying to do (to grow the sport). Think about this: if VNC Racing falls off a cliff, are the racers in Southern California better or worse off?

If the permit fails, there no race, if the racers don't show up, there's no future race. If the racers truly hate racing a certain event, then all they need to do is not show up, but if they only hate a little, then they can show up and litter the area and upset the locals.

I like promoting races, playing cool music, and shooting the bull with the racers. Our race calendar expands when supported and contracts when not supported; it's a fairly simple concept....if you have any complaints, criticisms, or comments then contact me directly at the phone number (714-356-1214) or through email (VNCRacing@hotmail.com), Christopher Lotts.

[nickhead]

Yo Chris! Where can I find the updated points for the Bar series? That's all I have to say right now.