Re:Pre-entries

[rides2far@juno.com (Angela C. McGhee)]

O.K. Here's my pet peeve.  I dislike pre-entries...speaking as management
 or as a rider.  

O.K. It's nice to have the paperwork set up....but as far as judging how
many riders are going to BE at the ride, I think it's worse than useless,
it's totally misleading.

A couple of years back everyone decided that they wanted to know how many
riders were going to be at their ride.  I know of a couple of rides that
usually had 100 riders, who suddenly went into shell-shock when they
found out that 135 riders were planning on coming.  Well, guess what, the
usual 100 showed up and management was stuck with lots of extra meals and
completion awards.  Not only did it cost them money, they seemed
resentful towards those who didn't show. 

 Now, for our ride, I always just took last years numbers and added a
dozen shirts to be safe.  We always had within 10 riders of what we'd had
the year before.  This year, we did not ask for pre-entries, but the
riders had become accustomed to it, so LOTS called or sent in
entries...our manager panicked and bought several dozen extra shirts; we
made people limit corral size...and...well you guessed it...we lost a
little money, but we've got a few dozen shirts that explain why.

I believe that for every 10 riders who PLAN to come, only about 6 or 7
get to come.  If management wanted to keep up with these numbers for a
few years, they might come up with a formula to allow them to plan, but
if they are going to prepare for the exact number that calls, they're
just asking for trouble.  

Angie McGhee

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