- PRICING AND WEBSITE

Greetings Breck Epic'ers. Just a quick update - we know that many of you have been eagerly awaiting the finalization of the pricing structure and the launch of the website. As coincidence would have it, our SanDiego-based webhost took about 1000 of their servers offline today, so if you're trying to access the site and notice that it's not working, don't get too upset - we'll be back online later today. That also means that the BreckEpic.com email addy that many of you have for me won't work either. If you absolutely need to get a message through please send it to: mikemac01@gmail.com. My gut says that we'll launch the new site this week and that the online voting for blogger's grants will go live within a few days after that. Voting will last for as month or so - I'll fill in the blanks once the site goes live.

We're finally zeroing in on pricing - we've got a few pieces left to nail down, but I'm comfortable throwing some numbers out there that are going to be pretty close to final. I'll send out the usual annoying mass email once they're written in stone, but here's what you should expect to see:

• The RACE: just under $1000/person. This actually includes quite a bit - swag, on-course support, bike storage, banquet tickie and on-course food...the usual suspects.
• Camping: around $200 for solos (2-person tent plus one pad) and $250 for teams (4-person tent and 2 pads). Only our tents will be allowed for camping. Absolutely no exceptions. We'll work out a different rate for RV's, but we're not likely to have hook-ups or power available for the jet-set camping crew. That's not to suggest that you can't bring them - you can. We'll have great spots for you, but it's also not a KOA campground. Camping fees include parking for your car, garbage and recycling service and a handful of other goodies.
• Meal Plan: just over $300. If you haven't seen the menu you should absolutely check it out (there's a link to the right where you can access it.) The food is over the top.
• Additional banquet tickets: @ $4o

Do you get a number plate? YES! That is included. Professional timing and scoring? Again, yes. I don't think that we need to beat that stuff to death. Within a few days I'll publish a full list of what each line item includes and send it out to everyone. For now, you guys have a pretty accurate idea of what the event is going to cost. For the record, we're a bit less than The Tran-Rockies and substantially less than the BC Bike Race. I thought that we'd fall somewhere in-between, so I'm happy that we're the least expensive out of those options. I also think that for a lot of folks we're just plain easier to get to (which translates into less expense), but I guess that really depends upon where you're coming from.

We WILL finalize pricing on Monday. See ya -

MM

- FROM THE LAND OF CHEESE AND BEER

'Cuz it ain't exactly the land of milk and honey. As many of you know, I've been in Wisconsin over the past week making a long-overdue pilgrimage to see 'my people'. Honestly, 15 degrees here feels like -15 in Breckenridge. Also, when you say "thank-you" to the person who makes your coffee, instead of "you're welcome," they almost all say "yup" with a lifeless deadpan expression, like they've just punched another brick out of the factory or something, your expression of thanks an entitlement, their acknowledgement a supreme effort on their part. You can also only travel about 3.5 miles from the center of Madison before you're deep into some bizarre amalgamation of Mayberry, the boonies and Green Acres. I don't mean to be a snob - i really don't, but if you've witnessed the cultural and geographical naivete that I have this past week you'd be a little shell shocked too.

Anyway, a little more detail about why pricing is delayed; we've got a few significant line items in the budget, two of them being school rental (or an alternative) and food. The food plan is a reasonably fixed line item...if you know where you're serving the food. We have two options; a field outside of the Breck Rec Center, or the cafeteria of Upper Blue Elementary, which is one block north. The school folks lit out for the holidays and just as they were returning, I was headed out here, so the long-anticipated sit-down-and-hammer-it-out session with them is delayed. If we serve at the BRC we have one set of costs for the vittles, plus what we'll call "site fee A" and if we serve at the school we'll have a slightly different set of costs, plus "site fee B". Each site fee comes with a different prerequisite in terms of rental equipment like tables, tents, simmering potpourri centerpieces and all that happy horseshit. I'll be back in the saddle on Monday and it shouldn't bee too long after that before we have final pricing out to you guys.

If anyone needs anything from 'Sconnie, just drop me a line and I'll throw it in with the 17 bags of miscellaneous crap that seem to be standard traveling issue when you have 2 kids under the age of three. What's one more thing? Curds, anyone? Nueske sausage? Some Michael's Frozen Custard ('cuz regular ice cream doesn't have quite enough fat, thank you very much!)

Til next week,
MM

- MORE BLOGGER'S GRANT APPLICATIONS POSTED

...and some of them are fuggin funny. Cheggemout at the bottom of the page. The web-sitey-site was supposed to have gone live on Saturday. The holidays and all are wreaking havoc on our 3rd world internet sweatshop (bah humbug!) so you're not going to get to see the site in all of its exploitative glory until later in the week...which means voting for blogger's applicants also won't start until then. Sorry about that. To make matters worse, I'll be in Wisconsin all week visiting my parents and trying to get a sit-down with Coach Bielema. Since I'll have minion #1 and minion #2 while my snoop-wifey-wife jets off to NYC on some fancy-pants press junket I don't anticipate being very productive...or in a good mood. At all. So hang in there, BreckEpic-o-philes. Stuff's coming together, I promise. Look for a fully self-serving newsletter update with lots of new news within a week.

Now go read those blogs and gird your voting loins!
MM