Hello Members,
For those of you who were at the meeting Monday, you heard about the
financials of Cruisin. For those of you who were not there, let me explain.
Cruisin took a bit of a loss this year. That said, we made most of our
charitable financial obligations with nothing to spare.
Why has Cruisin taken a turn when it looked so successful?
Ridership is down with every club we have had conversations with over the
last few years. Even the Solvang Prelude was cancelled due to not making
financial goals. In addition, there are now hundreds of rides to choose from
and everyone has a budget. I literally get at least 1-2 announcements a day
for a new ride on the CVC email.
The other factor is the bureaucracy involved. With Cruisin, we do everything
by the book and we do it right. We get the permits required. These are
costly! We're required to have a permit from each municipality we are riding
through. This would mean Westlake, Moorpark, Simi, Agoura, etc. Not all
rides go through this many municipalities. We are also required to have
CalTrans permits. We could not receive one of those permits last year
without supplying CHP in different locations. The CHP costs thousands of
dollars that we were not budgeted for.
Also, we have taken Cruisin to a very high standard. The riders who come out
have nothing but praise about our ride.
We have covered tents on asphalt over our lunch and beer garden areas- a
touch that you do not find at even the most well-known rides around. But
these touches are very expensive. And the problem is that when you have
delivered this level of an experience, it is almost impossible to go back
without suffering. We also have one of the most well marked routes anywhere,
where many others are no longer doing this. This too costs money and
hundreds of driving miles and hours in the weeks prior to Cruisin.
We have to have something unique and special since we are not a
"destination" ride, (i.e. Big Bear, Sea Otter, Amtrak, or even a flatter
coast ride.)
We are so thankful for the donations for the silent auction and raffles
which have really stepped up and helped us to make our donations. But that
said, the tables, the tents, the table cloths, all cost money.
Our club members make Cruisin look great; from jerseys, to smiling faces, to
helpful rest stops, to accurate turn by turn AND labeled routes, to the SAG
drivers, to the entire club and all you do!
Now, in addition to the financial situation, most of the work that is done
in the preparation of Cruisin, (prior to the day), has fallen on the hands
of few. And those few hands have had to take off work, have dozens and
dozens of meetings, and deal with time and stress issues. Cruisin doesn't
happen on the day of Cruisin, it happens months and months beforehand. The
organization and preparation takes hundreds of hours.
So we are at that point of asking;
. Do we risk all this time on the steady documented decline of riders
and increasing expenses?
. Are you willing to donate your time and effort to the leadership
team?
. Do we risk any more Cruisin reserves on the hopes that we will
attract more riders given the history of the steady decline over the last
few years?
. Do we have a strategy to make more money? (We have tried many
alternate ways )
. Do we have a strategy to bring in more riders to make it work
financially? (will take at least 100-200 more to show.)
I want all of you to think about how we should move forward with this and
ask yourself some questions:
. Why are we doing this?
. Is it worth it?
. Are there other ways to either make charitable contributions?
. Are there other ways to build club camaraderie?
. What ideas do you have to share?
It takes strong leadership and a very strong team to successfully promote
and execute Cruisin the Conejo.
Yes, we can come up with ways to cut expenses, but will they make a big
enough difference? Will these cuts affect the integrity and reputation of
our ride?
. Or, are there other things we could do that would not require the
expenditure of so much time and the risk of so much money that has to be
spent in advance?
. Can we make a new and different Cruisin?
. Are there ways to give opportunity for more club members to get
involved without donating so much time?
In my own experience as a teacher, I've personally witnessed a complete
change in our fundraising at my school. Of course I was very opposed to it
thinking it would never work. Plus, it was not the way we "always did it."
The event turned out to be the most successful fundraiser that the school
ever had!!
CHANGE MAY BE NECESSARY.
I am proposing a brainstorming session where you can share your thoughts and
suggestions with other interested CVC Club Members. I want you to add your 2
cents! Plans and strategies need to be built.
I have some ideas that I would like to share, that I think may be helpful.
Even if it is small, it is big. even if it is one building block on
someone's start, we need ideas! Come build upon others.
Please realize that the funds we raise help build our community and they
allow us to enjoy the social gatherings, and the other benefits of the club.
Share your voice in the future direction of your amazing cycling club and of
Cruisin the Conejo by attending and bringing your ideas.
Please come Monday, August 15th to the Westlake City Library meeting Room at
7:00 to help out and share your ideas!
31220 Oak Crest Dr, Westlake Village, CA 91361
7:00, August 15th!
Sincerely,
Sheri Leiken
CVC President
