Wayne & MJ - Like everyone else, I've been awed with the thoroughness and professionalism with which you've done Cirque the past three years, building on Dale's foundation. We can only thank you, again, and wish you every success with MPI and Velo-Classique.
Beloved Spouse and I were heavily involved in producing two Eastern Tandem Rallies ('80 and '87), comparable in size to Cirque, and have a pretty good idea of how much work it is, even when we had five couples. I hope that those of us who live in the area will be able to provide deeper support "next time," so you two don't have to carry so much of the burden yourselves. Harvey Sachs mcLean va
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Dear friends and enthusiasts - After 3 years of organizing the Cirque du Cyclisme here in Leesburg, MJ and I have decided that we need to take a break for 2011. As many of you know, last year's Cirque was quite challenging for us, both organizationally and financially. Costs increased while resources declined. The tough economy probably also contributed to people not making the commitment to participate until the very last minute, or not being able to attend at all. All of this added to the difficulty of organizing and financing the event.
In addition, my acquisition and re-establishment of Mel Pinto Imports and creation of my retail shop Velo Classique has been extremely time consuming this past year, and it doesn't look like there will be much relief this Spring.
However, we are not ready to "throw in the towel" just yet. We have some new ideas, but believe that more strategic planning is needed and there has not been the time available to do that. It was a difficult decision, but we feel that taking a sabbatical this year will give us a chance to regroup and work on a better Cirque for 2012.
We want to sincerely thank all attendees, volunteers and supporters from the past and look forward to adopting new and different ideas in the future. As always, we appreciate your comments, suggestions and ideas, and look forward to considering a wide range of options for the future.
So, while we plan for 2012, Dale Brown has decided to organize a similar but different event for our same enthusiast base, but in Greensboro, North Carolina, on May 20-22, 2011. Info for that event can be accessed here (with more to come!):
http://www.classicrendezvous.com/
Thanks!
Wayne & MJ
-- Wayne Bingham - MJ Weier Velo Classique PO Box 2069 Purcellville, VA
20134 USA 540-338-8376