why do you mock the pyramid that gets the competitors for the UCI event?

I still haven't been to one circa 30yrs after starting to ride a bike.

many events are not there for just the racing, it's more than that…..

we could probably "chug" more money by doing sponsored rides etc but raisng money is only part of the reason for putting on our events. I imagine the same could be said about a lot of other events who push the cash to charity.

Charity is a noble venture. Doesn't mean I'm a bad person if I have no interest active or otherwise.

Just to let you all know that the Black Mountains 3 Day challenge is getting a complete overhaul in terms of price/options. Following comments on ST and BM we have taken note of what everybody thinks of our 'product' and will be making the necessary changes – so if you are interested in doing the event but had any concerns (cost/3 days etc) please keep your eye on our site/blog/twitter (blackmountains3day.co.uk / blog.beardedman.co.uk / beardedmannews) for the changes. Or email us and we will hopefully get you on board.

Just got back from Mayhem and don't want to total up what it's cost me, from van rental through to the brownie points I now owe the g/f for manning the pits for 24 hours !!!! Only do a few events each year – the CRC Enduros are good VFM – £30 for weekend camping, Sunday ride, a meal and a t-shirt. Add a few 6, 12 and one 24 in and that's me done event wise. The rest of the time I'll spend my money and time riding in the hills. That said I'll probably move into some of the multi day events soon.

I think the comments that the market place maybe reaching saturation point are probably right on the mark.

When the Black mountain 3 Day was devised it was done so to fill a gap in the market, we simply dont have alot of multi day events here in the UK but we do have alot of single day marathons and challenges.. so when you have completed a few single day events where do you derive your challenge from next??

Cost/timing etc aside the concept which should be the same for anyone looking to organise an event is to offer the riders something different.

This is a great thread, here we have a good collection of both riders and organisers so i'm interested to see where this goes.