Velofest- rip off

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les186
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Joined: 3 Nov 2010, 10:43pm

Velofest- rip off

Post by les186 »

Why are CTC, a supposed charity in partnership with Velofest, ripping people off supplying accommodation for the TdF in Yorkshire? £150 for camping over 3 days + £90 for an electric hookup!
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gaz
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Re: Velofest- rip off

Post by gaz »

The Velofest website says £150 for a camping pitch, £95 for electric hook up. Cycleclips say CTC have negotiated a 10% discount on those prices.

Having a read around the Velofest website the cost allows up to four adults to share a tent (+ additional u12s), includes access to "the show", large TV screen coverage of the tour, and secure cycle parking. The TdF apparently comes past the campsite entrance.

I'm sure that won't suit everyone, particularly solo campers. I'd expect prices for accomodation of all types to be inflated for the TdF weekend. Whether camping at Velofest is value for money is for to you to decide but I can't see how CTC negotiating a 10% discount makes it a rip off.
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les186
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Re: Velofest- rip off

Post by les186 »

My point is that CTC are in partnership with the company running Velofest. Does this mean they are sharing in the profits derived from inflated prices? CTC perhaps should be supplying fair priced accommodation for the TdF in Yorkshire.
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Graham
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Re: Velofest- rip off

Post by Graham »

Alas, I fear the days of "roughing-it-with-CTC" are long over.

Partially, this is because these days any organisation is tied up in constraints that were previously dealt with by common-sense and individuals taking personal responsibility - other aspects even overlooked or disregarded.

Now everything has to be carefully organised to comply with insurance requirements, Elfin Safety, Risk Assessments, negligence avoidance, SECURITY, CRB checking . . . etc ad nauseum . . .

Anything that involves paying people for doing stuff is expensive. In the old days a lot of events were run by volunteers.

TdF is probably best watched on TV anyway - at least if you want to know what is going on as it happens.
thirdcrank
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Re: Velofest- rip off

Post by thirdcrank »

I'll leave others to decide what they think is value for money, but if anybody is looking for somewhere in The Yorkshire Dales to get holed up in a tent or campervan for three days, this could be it. I would say, from a bike racing POV, the road passing the site is flat.

From looking at the www, this appears to be on the site used for the annual Kilnsey Show, which recently featured on the Ade Edmondson programme about the Dales, IIRC.

http://www.kilnseyshow.co.uk/

I say holed up, because I fancy that anybody who turns up in the Dales National Park by car - possibly even by bike - on the day and expecting to breeze into a parking and spectating spot is facing disappointment.

I think gaz's point about prices is well made. The money shelled out to bring the TdeF to Yorkshire has been widely justified locally as being well-spent because of the £zillions it will bring to the area. That won't be sprayed out from the publicity caravan: it will be the dosh paid by people keen to get in on the action. No doubt there will be plenty of other camp sites on offer, but I do wonder if some of the planning is on schedule. (See the link to the local rag in this post.) As this site is already in regular use for other purposes, the mains services should be there, for anybody who prefers to have them.

viewtopic.php?p=745694#p745694

(No connection with any of this,other than as a relatively local cyclist.)
julianm
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Re: Velofest- rip off

Post by julianm »

Have a look at http://www.festivalofcycling.org/ which is at Harewood & as far as I can make out Fri-Sun for 2 camping is £205. There are a lot of sideshows to entertain though & some appearances.
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horizon
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Re: Velofest- rip off

Post by horizon »

My impression of these events is that, far from raking in the profits, they are always on the verge of massive losses. The Solstice in Cornwall was a sad trail of cancelled and unprofitable events and a few days of heavy rain could perhaps kill this one off too. And, as suggested above, the sheer cost of security and licensing of various sorts is dizzying.

My point though is that the CTC doesn't really have to get involved: this isn't touring or general cycling. It's a competitive racing sports event - of huge interest to cyclists including many on here but not really CTC territory. And it has, as the OP has shown, already put its name to the idea that you have to have an "event" before you can get out on a bike. But I accept that that is part of a wider discussion.
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thirdcrank
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Re: Velofest- rip off

Post by thirdcrank »

Whenever there's cycling on the tele my wife shouts me, or more accurately, she shouts "Cycling!"

The other evening it was the regional magazine programme Inside Out looking at the forthcoming TdeF.

The first item was about preparations in Addingham on the A 65 twixt Ilkley and Skipton. Actually it's no longer on the A65 since they built the bypass which makes it a more desirable place to have a des. res. Addingham is visited twice by the TdeF, once during each of the first two stages. Varying reactions from the locals, who will face strict traffic control for several days. It's hard to know when something like this was filmed but some people filmed seem to have the impression that the arrangements were up for negotiation. At thelocal, the landlady's view seemed to be that it wasn't worth her trouble to try to sell more cakes and ale.

The next item seemed bizarre, although my attention may have been straying. I think this was meant to be about the longer term cycling legacy. This bit starred a young woman whose main sporting interest was said to be soccer (as a player, that is.) She was fixed up with a made-to-measure posh road bike, given some advice on bike riding but then sent to train on Manchester Velodrome riding a track bike. With this preparation under her belt she was filmed to see how fast she could climb The Buttertubs (one of the hills on the route of the first Yorkshire stage.) Nice footage of the crossing from Wensleydale into Swaledale.
CFA
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Re: Velofest- rip off

Post by CFA »

thirdcrank wrote:
The first item was about preparations in Addingham on the A 65 twixt Ilkley and Skipton. Actually it's no longer on the A65 since they built the bypass which makes it a more desirable place to have a des. res. Addingham is visited twice by the TdeF, once during each of the first two stages. Varying reactions from the locals, who will face strict traffic control for several days. It's hard to know when something like this was filmed but some people filmed seem to have the impression that the arrangements were up for negotiation. At thelocal, the landlady's view seemed to be that it wasn't worth her trouble to try to sell more cakes and ale.
.

I live in Addingham and most people in the village we're not happy about the roads being shut for 2 days and many went away for the weekend. The preparation that went into the village was over the top for 20 minutes of cycling.
There was a lot of disappointed businesses in Addingham as the TV coverage was minimal.
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