isuee94 said: Noontidal – I assume from your response that you don’t ride RAGBRAI, correct?  Clearly you wouldn’t want anything to do with a ride so outlandishly priced, run by crooks and and defended by ‘apologists’.

The ‘simple solution’ you’re looking for is: Don’t Ride!

Ehh, you guys do realize that the only reason to ride a ride such as Ragbrai is the other people.  You clearly have no idea how easy it is to actually ride across a state on your own, try it sometime and correct your ignorance. 

…and yes, the ‘reasons’ are pure pandering trollish BS.  I understand they make a pretty good profit, and on some level I am cool with that; but on quite another level I and others are entitled to call things for what they are.

The ride was fun, but that fun was made by most of the 10-20k participating, not the wizards behind the curtain.

Noontidal said:  I understand they make a pretty good profit, and on some level I am cool with that; but on quite another level I and others are entitled to call things for what they are.

The ride was fun, but that fun was made by most of the 10-20k participating, not the wizards behind the curtain.

I’m quite sure that neither you nor I have any clue what the real costs and profits are.  We’re all entitled to our opinions, but all of our opinions are worth squat on this issue.  The real value of something is in its worth to the purchaser and has nothing to do with the amount of profit the seller makes.  I don’t give a d@mn how much or little the Register makes on the ride.  I just know that it’s worth the price for what I get out of it.

Noontidal said:  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   That’s what I thought….nothing. 

It’s hardly a mystery what things cost.  I think this subject makes the apologists uneasy due perhaps to this idea that money is largely a private matter, or that things are what they are – as in the price tag represents a fixed value (we no longer negotiate).  Years in the military made me not care nearly so much what people know, when you see me and my uniform you know roughly what I make. 

Also, no more silly references to theatres or other services, since Rag is nothing like any of those, if anything – Ragbrai is a buddy inviting 50 folks over to somebody else’s house, providing enough food and drink for 10, expecting the other 40 to bring their own, and charging as if he/she had brought the full 50 servings of food and drink.  Whoopee if another 15 tag along, bringing their own food and drink.  Why care except to haze?… wait, that’s it, you guys never quite made it out of that highschool/gradeschool mindset!

I think you have no clue what you’re talking about, and labeling people isn’t going to change the fact that the ride exists because of lots of hard work by people behind the scenes.  If in your distorted view of things, you think that this is just a money grab, and that’s it, then so be it.  You’re just wrong.

CR and Noon-er.  I can vouch for your take on this CR, having been in on three different RAGBRAI overnight town committees over the years here in Fort Dodge…as Fort Dodge’s Ride Right coordinator.  Noon-er, the ride could not exist as it is if it were not for the DMR’s RAGBRAI coordinator and staff, the DM Register itself and for the countless volunteer hours of the overnight town committees and for the assistance of the Iowa Highway Patrol and the medical emergency teams plus many other groups of people who are behind the scenes of such a large undertaking.  From my post-meetings with the Register’s RAG staff  I know that the excess funds from our many thousands of dollars in registration fees is given back to the overnight towns and to various charity organizations in the state of Iowa.  I believe that any other dollars are earned by the DM Register in sales of their newspaper coverage of RAGBRAI are probably used by the Register for their own purpose…and that is as it should be for all of their involvement in this fine event.  Cheers.

RAGBRAI is fun!!!   This forum should be fun and informative!  Why can’t we all just get along?

It’s not unusual to have to pay $20 to take part in a one-day 60-mile ride with two sag stops with water and bananas, so the $145 for seven days of Ragbrai is pretty much in line with other rides.
Look at GOBA and other multiday rides in other states. The fees are all about the same, and don’t include food or other services.
I guess if you want “something” for your money, such as meals, a place to sleep, sags, free mechanical help and so on, you should just book a one-week tour. There are plenty of them whose prices range from $1,200 into the thousands. They’re advertised online and in bike magazines.
As far as Ragbrai goes, they have a staff that plans and runs it and they must be paid.
the DMR isn’t losing money on this. If they were, it would end, but Ragbrai announces every year what charities it donates to and the amounts. I’m sure if a charity heard the DMR say it had given them money and they hadn’t, we’d hear plenty of screaming.
Why am I even responding, though, to people griping about the fees for the ride? The world is full of cheap-a$$es who like to complain and gripe about everything, so let them complain. Why should I care in the slightest if you don’t like something I do?

indianafrank said: It’s not unusual to have to pay $20 to take part in a one-day 60-mile ride with two sag stops with water and bananas, so the $145 for seven days of Ragbrai is pretty much in line with other rides.Look at GOBA and other multiday rides in other states. The fees are all about the same, and don’t include food or other services.I guess if you want “something” for your money, such as meals, a place to sleep, sags, free mechanical help and so on, you should just book a one-week tour. There are plenty of them whose prices range from $1,200 into the thousands. They’re advertised online and in bike magazines.As far as Ragbrai goes, they have a staff that plans and runs it and they must be paid. the DMR isn’t losing money on this. If they were, it would end, but Ragbrai announces every year what charities it donates to and the amounts. I’m sure if a charity heard the DMR say it had given them money and they hadn’t, we’d hear plenty of screaming.Why am I even responding, though, to people griping about the fees for the ride? The world is full of cheap-a$$es who like to complain and gripe about everything, so let them complain. Why should I care in the slightest if you don’t like something I do?

Amen to that, IF!!!

The test I threw at my friends was this: Would you be a registered participant if there was no cost?  They all said yes.  So the answer to that is they see some sort of value in the registration.  It then becomes a price issue.  Is $150 too much?  I always shop for deals on credentials near the last minute…

I didn’t use the RAGBRAI campgrounds or baggage truck or SAG service (though I was close a couple days) or any other overtly tangible service.  But I obtained credentials AND paid our group for fuel and driver – which was about the same money as the event credentials.  As others have said, if you want to play, be prepared to pay.

From my perspective, this whole debate is absurd.  I’ve had a great time on 6 RAGBRAI’s now, and I’m gonna keep coming back as long as I am able.  I pay my fees, sign my waivers, and train well so I can enjoy the week.  It is good for my body, and mind.  I have made some really great friends, and to me it is an extraordinary bargain of a vacation.  And I love the fact that the communities that host this ride benefit like they do.  I can have a great breakfast at the fire station and they will be able to purchase some new equipment as a result.  It really couldn’t be better.

RaleighRider said: From my perspective, this whole debate is absurd.

I agree, but it seems that somehow justifications continue to need be made year after year.  This year I kept someone from losing $150 on a credentials package.  Win-win for the two of us.  Wish the rest of my team (2 of 5) understood the importance of proper credentials…

I just would not ride without a wristband.  If I got hurt, or needed help, I would feel like such a dead-beat low life.  $150?, I’ve seen my wife bring home dry cleaning that cost more than that …..

noontidal- Feel free to do BRAG next year instead.  It’s only $275 if you register by the end of the year and they give you fully stocked rest stops so you can eat bananas and PBJ’s until they shoot out your nose and you won’t have to complain about those theives trying to charge you $1 for a bottle of water.