This topic has arisen several times recently whilst i have just been chatting to folk in general.
As the events team are always looking for new stuff to do and new places to visit, wondered how many folk this actually affected, so that events can be adapted if necessary.
So ..................
Does the price of fuel affect your decision on whether you go on a ride out???
Is there a average round the trip mileage that you would prefer to stick to for costs sake??
Would shorter more local runs be useful, more as a get together than a major ride out??
For us, when planning events, as we have 2 bikes in the house it can be expensive to do a big long ride, so we try to keep it to a max of 2 tank full of fuel each
This gives us a round trip allowance of about 300 miles .
The whole reason for the Brest Way Round run for Macmillan being cancelled was that we worked it out & over the weekend it would have been about £80 per rider in fuel which was silly.
I think fuel prices must be something we all think about when looking at a ride out. But to me time is also a major factor!
I need to be able to ensure I can get back to the lads for the evening if necessary or arrange someone to mind them for me!
I am currently lucky enough that I can afford to fill the bike up as needed and she is quite economical!!
Obviously depending on money situations that can change and effects us all differently.
I would love some more localish rides out at weekends but then as I say my weekends are goverened by 'family' duties!
Interesting topic jackie,,,,and yes,,,it does......
but after saying that I think people should just plan events as normal and not worry about milage etc as I think peeps may pick certain events they want to do rather than loads of events ???,,,the old saying i'm afraid,,if its not broken dont fix it,,,,,just may be a few less turning up as often..I still do rides across the country,,,but this year it will be less so ive picked ones that i defo want to do,,,ie RTTW,,,End of Year,,,and hopefully a few more,,,but less Rallies due to cost !!!
At least the cost of ice cream seems to be staying the same
Fuel is a factor for me, but moreso like Rob says above, is the time factor. I'd love to meet up with folk more often but it would have to be local for me because of the kids both because of time away and economy. Meets at cafes or similar I think work better too rather than nights out for bands etc. because you don't get chance to chat to people as well.
As much as it's nice going for a ride, I'd rather do that in smaller groups anyway as it can be frustrating with a large group. I joined to make more friends on here and I think local meets as well as a few more national "holiday" weeks/weekends (Cornwall/Barmouth/Squires) works best for me.
Every event I attend involves a long costly journey from Cumbria and it's definitely had an affect on my movements.
So when I see an event I jump up in excitement and yell "I wanna come!", but combined with other economic stuff eg losing my job, getting another but on lot less pay and less hols....the equation just doesn't balance....e.g. can't go to Cornwall
distance is definately a issue, as money is so tight, plus going away for a week isnt a option for me as i have responsibilities with the kids etc, but i am hoping the new bike is alot better on fuel making it easier to attend meets ride outs etc
Roachy and I have decided not to do as much this year as in previous years specifically because of this issue. We've worked out that with two bikes, even a mid range run (say about 150 miles) is liable to cost us best part of £50 in fuel alone. Then when you throw the cost of food etc in as well, we're looking at £100 for a day out on the bikes. Which is a lot.
As such we've decided to aim for quality rather than quantity this year. So more weekends away and fewer days out. And as with yesterday, we may even do more rides two up.
The sad truth of course is that fuel has to over time get even more expensive! We are after all talking about a fossil fuel that is already beginning to dry out.
Let's hope the eggheads develop an artificial petrol replacement or a viable replacement for the internal combustion engine before we all end up with bikes we can do nothing but look at because we have no fuel!
you say fuel is running out geoff,they are finding more and more and more reserves with vast oil fields,theres more oil around than people let on mate.and the technolagy is getting better,being able to drill deeper etc,were just gettin ripped rite off mate.im actually thinkin ov jackin bikes in ,wot with the horrid weather,speed cameras,conjestion on roadsits no fun anymore really.the bike scene is dying off.
With fuel costs rising wk after wk,it is a big factor as for ride outs.Most events are mid south area,so cost is high.My buissiness gone down the plug hole,so have to pick a ride out/camp that i can do yearly.Smaller local runs/meet ups are easyer.
Don't get me started on this one!
Cost is a HUGE factor for me, and yes, where's it gonna end? Car / lorries / motorcycles = travelling wallets as far as the government is concerned. Tax will always rise on it, instead of 2p on a gallon every budget it's 2p on a litre. Yes, i know that riding a bike's not a necessity but a pleasure, but it's the only pleasure i have in life, my house is bare bones basic and needs loads doing to say the least, and i live like a student, simply so i can afford to do the thing i love! Spend the winter catching up on the cost of summer biking.
I'd love to be able to go out every weekend not having to worry about the cost, would happily do the brum events, but at roughly 20 quid to get there, then a ride around, then back?
Really want to do the 5 counties run with daft'un on monday, but got cornwall the week after, so it's looking like i might have to kaffle on that one, bugger
Cost of fuel is a major factor for most people, for a weekend down to squires example i am 4 tanks off fuel to get there run about and home and that with out the added extra of food and of course most improtantly beer :) ...
I am doing a fair number of rallies this year rather than the one day long runs that I normally do, as i would rather do 300 miles over the weekend which means I get to catch up with peeps and have a good weekend, than go out on an all out blast and be in the house at night ...
gawd does any of that make sense
As Geoff has said, it's a major factor now for us. In our first full year together on the bikes we spent an incredible amount of money.
We were doing about 500 miles nearly every weekend plus commuting - EACH. I did 15k miles in a little over 6 months and Geoff did over 25k that year. It's not just the cost of fuel either, it's the cost of servicing and consumables. Geoff went through 2 or 3 sets of tyres and serviced his bike 3 times and mine twice. I was lucky to only need 1 set of tyres.
Last year I only did 5k with Geoff doing about 15k and we still felt the dent in our finances over the summer. Dread to think what it could cost this year.
Edited to say...I know this has asked about BM events which we haven't done but I think it's still relevant.
Can't say it has caused me to reduce my millage and around here judging by the traffic, it's not put many car drivers off having days out either. The only problem is the more I spend on fuel the less gets spent when I get places.
Yes that's one of the reasons why I did't go to Barmouth,or the other meet in Wales, going later on in the year so only going the once, trying to plan my year so.I only do the same run once.Think you could look at not having the biger events to close to each other. I was a bit suprised at the Scotland trip being proposed so close to my Cornwall trip,it ment the two were competing against each other which was a shame, I like Scotland and would have gone if it had been later in the year,they should also not clash with the big rallys,think we should also try and avoid haveing events in the same area within 3 or 4 weeks of each other. It all sounds so easey if you say it quick but I know its a nightmer trying to get it rightn best of luck Jackie
That's a valid point Gloom. The mileage quoted in our first year just wasn't sustainable but last years was sensible. However to do the same this year we'd definately be looking at spending less on food out.
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