OK - I guess I'm getting cranky as I age, but what the heck, I'll speak my mind...
As I understand it - Veloswap is a profit making venture for Inside Communications. The outside folks who run the event are wonderfully nice - and I've developed a great relationship with them. But that doesn't change the fact that the whole deal is about MAKING MONEY for INSIDE COMMUNICATIONS!
Now if Inside Communications has a cool bike show, and it is a bonus that helps draw more visitors - then it helps the PROFITS of INSIDE COMMUNICATIONS. They get vintage bike owners to cover the cost of the bike display and maybe even the bike charities get some extra dollars too - but it comes off the backs of vintage bike owners. And in the end, it is Inside Communications that benefits.
I've always had a bit of a hard time with Veloswap because so many folks think it is one huge show intended to help bicycle advocacy groups. That is not the primary aim of the event (at least that is what past organizers of the event have told me).
Now I'm not saying all this is bad, but to hit a bike collector $30 to bring 3 bikes to display at a for-profit show just rubs me the wrong way. But then again, I think prize money is frankly disgusting too. I can say with some degree of authority that all bike show judging I've been part of or have seen has generally stunk and certainly should in no way be the basis for cash awards.
Now if folks want to donate some $'s - perhaps a recomended donation for folks attending or displaying to go to bike advocacy and charities, that is great. But the way this thing is laid out runs counter to everything I've tried to accomplish in my own activities.
Now perhaps nobody complained in the past - many people unlike myself are quiet and diplomatic and don't want to make waves. That doesn't make it OK. Lots of stuff happens in this world that nobody complains about. Those that are annoyed simply stay home.
Mike Kone in Boulder CO
> I replied to Mike Kone off-list, but thought I'd post an excerpt for the benefit
\r?\n> of CR listmembers:
\r?\n>
\r?\n> Almost all concorsos, Concours, or whatever you want to call them charge an
\r?\n> entry fee. You can think of it as a 'raffle' of sorts. You pay to enter a bike,
\r?\n> and if your bike is deemed the coolest, you win 25% of the entry fee total. Like
\r?\n> most things in life, it's a gamble. But there is a possibility that you could
\r?\n> walk away with some free money.
\r?\n>
\r?\n> Also, I have been assured by Inside Communications that after they cover the
\r?\n> cost of the PVC pipe-and-drape for the Concorso area, and the prize money, all
\r?\n> proceeds will be donated to a San Francisco advocacy group (like San Francisco
\r?\n> Bicycle Coalition, for example).
\r?\n>
\r?\n> Inside Communications does not, I repeat, DOES NOT stand to make any profit off
\r?\n> of the Vintage Bicycle concorso. They just want to cover the cost of setting up
\r?\n> the area for the bicycles. I think that is totally reasonable.
\r?\n>
\r?\n> I organized the Concorso in 2004 and in my opinion, it was a fun event. To my
\r?\n> knowledge, no one complained about the $10.00 entry fee back then. People were
\r?\n> just excited to be able to show off their classic bikes to the thousands of
\r?\n> people in attendance.
\r?\n>
\r?\n> Jan Johnson
\r?\n> Portola Valley, California