Without prejudice.
What I have in mind is food and a roof, even basic food and a basic roof are plenty. The need becomes greater as the ride grows longer. I am happy to do an x-rated 300, but as the night draws in, it's nice to know there is something to wait at the next control.
OK. That's a start. Initially, you might have to build-up to a 300 by Firstly running a 100k, then a 200k. But you will learn lots on the way, believe me - I've been trying to organise for a while, and still getting the hang of it., there's always something new. When I publish my memoirs it will make some smile. My legal team of two vet everything just to protect the guilty.
But for arguments sake, let's just say you're going to organise a 300, everything in the background has been done in terms of route planned.
Basic village halls can vary in cost, basic food is quite subjective. even on 600, riders tend not to want too much. They will have "carb-loaded" the night before. And their focus will be on what's up the road.
You will probably find that (say) toasted teacakes or hotcross buns&marmalade or toast&marmalade and tea/coffee/squash will be enough. What you don't use at the start will be awaiting cyclists at the end. You might also offer something simple like beans on toast, soup, fruit cocktail, rice pudding. Just be aware, the more you put on, the more will be eaten.
So your costs might go as follows. Village hall (usually hourly rate), but you might well be in uncharted territory for them when you tell them you want it from (say) 05.00-07.00 and 18.00-02.00. But I've not had problems. Say village hall hire is £12.50/hr, that'll be £125. The food will be maybe £50. So then you've got your basic fixed costs sorted. Err on caution call it £190. Variable costs (work on every rider finishing), that'll be 55p per rider. Aim to get (say) 50 riders. Pitch entry at £7.00, (£8.50 for paypal entry). 98% enter online. Remember, the paypal you will be picking-up extra expenses that postal entries will be covering themselves. And as such, the price differential IS NOT AN ILLEGAL SURCHARGE. You will find that most will enter online. Once paypal have taken their cut (fixed and variable cost) and AUK have taken their 4% cut for online non-members, you are effectively being an agent for AUK so in collecting the £2.00 temp membership, you are being charged £2.08.
So your net income from 50 riders, 10% non-members, 1 AUK postal entry, will be (44 X £8.01)+((5 X £9.94)-(5 X 2.00))+(1 X £7.00) = £352.44 + £49.70 - £10 + £7.00 = £399.14p
You then have more out goings, return envelopes, label printing, postage stamps. This could equate to 68p per online entry, 49 X £0.68 = £33.32
Some form of stamp or stickers per control, say you have 4 on road controls, that would be about £15 for 4 simple self-inking stamps. If you want bespoke you're looking at about £20 each (yeah, we'll stick with simple one's for now). And throw in £10 for pens that work.
Let's assume you have an old mobile 'phone that works, use this as an "event 'phone" - only switched on during events. Loaded SIM for that £15.00, youre likely to be asked for the use of a 'phone (stragedy most cyclists' mobiles don't work at the end of an event). This then keeps your private mobile just that - private.
There's event registration = £7.00 (includes 20 brevet cards), 30 extra brevet cards (30 X 35p) £10.50, then the validation fee = 50 X £0.20 = £10.00
And you'll have to return brevet cards to our validation team, could cost about = £3.50p
So to all intents (for now) that's that, and it's "Time to do the math".
Your income £399.14p
Your outgoing = Hall&Food&drink + Registration fee + brevet card cost + validation fee + validation return postage cost + return brevet card postage costs + basic hardware costs + Comms cost = £190.00 + £7 + £10.50 + £10 + £3.50 + £33.32 + £15.00 + £15.00
Outgoings = £284.32
So provisionl resultant net return is (£399.14 - £284.32) = £114.82 Give yourself a pat on the back, you've just laboured away on the day for effectively £4.78/hour. And that's before you've covered any helpers costs. But hey - it's not all bad.
I've been told that you get into all the other bits that never get added, such as hours cross checking entries received against entries recorded. A day or two out route checking. Many hours answering e-mails to questions you've already answered. A few hours distributing ride details. A few more hours creating a route sheet, time spent online generating a GPS file, then even more time online because some techies don't like the format you've distributed the GPS file. An evening preparing brevet cards, Taking last minute 'phone call queries, taking last minute DNS emails. Printing-off start list. A few months before you should really be establishing a good working relationship with your controls - they're taking an unknown financial risk on your aspirations. Ultimately this might need you to underwrite an extra staff member for an hour or so at each control - the proprietor then sees your commited. Finding an independant route checker. Running a lost property repatriation service, suffer the consequences of receiving incorrect information, the actions of third parties, verbal abuse, hostile behaviour, having to deal with emergency services, every so often having to tell a next of kin not to worry, however their nearest and dearest is in hospital. There will be times when the next of kin arrive at the arrivée, having been told by the rider that they will be finishing in about an hour - the trouble is, the next of kin is getting a bit anxious three or four hours after the rider's eta and there's no answer on the mobile. At the same time, listening to and engaging with riders that have finished. No doubt there will be riders wanting to eat and drink the food you you've yet to prepare as you've been doing one of the many other tasks. But stay focused - and keep a sense of humour and calm. There will be enough going on to keep you smiling. There will be riders coming-in bright as buttons, their will be riders coming-in questioning your parentage, their will be riders coming-in totally exhausted, there will be riders not knowing what they want - but they want it now. There will be cyclists complaining that the custard isn't very sweet, you have to tactfully tell them it's rice pudding. There will be cyclists that insist on putting the salt rather than the sugar into their drink. Believe me, there is always something new. You might be told by a cyclist that many km of the route was wrong, not that they missed a turn or a line on the route sheet. And that opens-up a whole new thread. You will be personally responsible for everything outside your control, such as weather, the fact that you will have held a pre-ride briefing, but you omitted some vital information, the fact that the complainee was either talking to someone else or otherwise engaged in their own world is neither here or there. You will also be responsible for them not reading any supplementary comms you've sent out to everyone. You're more than likely going to be responsible for any edits to route sheets or GPS files that someone else supplied. Then there's the prospect of living on hotcross buns and marmalade for a week or so after the event. You will be responsible for getting the ride info to the riders declared contact address - despite it not being the one they want.
Other than that, yeah - it's a piece of pie, or is that a slice of cake. I really can't remember. And there are plenty of good times to look back on.
Go for it - organising - you know it makes sense. You will feel a sense of achievement. Tell you what, why not mosey along to Llandrindod early June. Come and join a group of guys and girls that will have willingly put-in litterally thousands of hours, so a few hundred can have a week end riding around, and enjoy themselves afterwards with a social. You'll love it. And best of all - the weather's garenteed.
E&OE
