I was browsing the forum of the Palomar Chapter of the Southern Cruisers Riding Club, and the 2nd Officer there mentioned the turn-out at today's Downed Officer's Poker Run being a lot smaller than in previous years.

He blamed the expensive entrance fee. The price was $35.00 per person, or $45.00 per couple.

Even at $35.00 per person, that's still high. I can remember just a couple years ago seeing fees at other poker runs at $10.00 per person.

I don't want to "poo-poo" these high fees because it all goes to good causes. But it seems to me that fees have gotten high enough to a point that it may be hurting efforts to help charities.

Also today, was the CHOC Poker Run, to benefit the Children's Hospital of Orange County. I had thought about attending it, but the price kept me away. It was $40.00 per person, or $65.00 per couple.

Another guy in my club mentioned the high price of another upcoming poker run, "Ride for Greater Hope", costing $25.00 per rider, $40.00 per couple.

And it's not just poker runs, but other biker events too. The Love Ride, for example, costs $70.00 per rider, $140.00 per couple. And that's just for ONE day of riding and festivities. Compare that to Las Vegas Bikefest, which costs only $25.00 per person, and is good for FOUR days.

What I would like to see are biker events that are more vendor oriented. If you can attract a large attendance, then you can raise money by charging vendor fees. You can still charge fees to the riders, but keep it small, like $10.00.

Honestly, the poker routes themselves are nothing spectacular, because I've ridden all the good roads in Southern California. Furthermore, nobody I know goes to poker runs just to win the prizes. What brings us out to a poker run is to hang out with the other people, visit the vendors, hear some live music, check out the bikes, etc. If you make the cost too prohibitive, you're just driving people away.

Labels: Poker Runs