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How much does a road bike event actually cost me? How much do I have to spend per day on the road bike at which event? That was the question that interested me.
The idea
The idea to take a closer look at the costs had its origin in the substantial price increase and the more difficult booking conditions for road bike tours at Quäldich. In addition, my last two trips were not really good them: At one the support was close to zero, on another one the group was crap.
Organized bike tours are more expensive than self-organized tours. Of course. It is also clear that an event depends on travelling costs. It is obvious that the distance to the event shows in the cost. An event close to home like RTF in Kurort Hartha or the Stoneman Miriquidi Road comes along with only little or no travel cost. But how big are actually the differences? And how much is to be paid for a cycling day related to the different kind of events?
The concept
I put together the costs that sum up for the different kind of events. In general, there are always the costs for the event itself, i.e. a registration fee or an event price. There are also costs for the journey to the event or the return journey for the bikepacking tour to the Baltic Sea. In addition, there are almost always accommodation costs, unless they are included in the price of the event. For the sake of simplicity, I would have preferred not to include meals. However, as it is already included in cycle tours, some events or even RTFs, catering costs must be taken into account for all events.
In addition, I start from myself with respect to possible further cost that could incur in addition. In other words, I assume that I have my own car, always take my own bike with me and I already have a bike case.
The overview
I know best the events that I am attending or that I have done before, such as the Quäldich trips. That’s why I’m comparing the costs of the events I’ve booked for 2024 and the events I had shortlisted.
| description | duration | net bike days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mallorca Camp | organized camp | 10 days | 8 bike days |
| Spreewaldmarathon | RTF with car journey | 1 day | 1 bike days |
| Bikepacking Ostsee | self orginized tour | 9 days | 8 bike days |
| Erztaler Radmarathon | RTF withour journey | 1 day | 1 bike day |
| Rhön Radmarathon | RTF with accomodation | 2 days | 1 bike day |
| Stoneman Road Silber | permanent-RTF with accom. | 2 days | 2 bike days |
| Tour Transalp | organized race | 9 Tage | 7 bike days |
| Quäldich Sizilien | organized bike holidays | 9-10 days* | 7 bike days |
| Quäldich Berchtesgaden | organized short bike holidays | 4-5 days* | 3,5 bike days* |
Total cost
| Cost | event | accom. | arrival | food | Sum |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mallorca Camp | 1.019,00 | inkl. | 545,00 | inkl. | 1.564,00 |
| Spreewaldmarathon | 55,00 | – | 35,00 | inkl. | 90,00 |
| Bikepacking baltic sea | – | 630,00 | 120,00 | 280,00 | 1.030,00 |
| Erztaler Radmarathon | 30,00 | – | 8,00 | inkl. | 38,00 |
| Rhön Radmarathon | 65,00 | 70,00 | 120,00 | 30,00 | 285,00 |
| Stoneman Road Silber | 19,00 | 70,00 | 12,50 | 50,00 | 151,50 |
| Tour Transalp | 1.385,00 | 600,00 | 235,00 | 100,00 | 2.320,00 |
| Quäldich Sizilien | 1.750,00* | inkl. | 400,00 | inkl. | 2.150,00 |
| Quäldich Berchtesgaden | 695,00* | inkl. | 205,00 | inkl. | 900,00 |
* The price refers to a half double room.
Cost of each bikeday
| total cost | cost per bikeday | |
|---|---|---|
| Mallorca Camp | 1.564,00 | 195,50 |
| Spreewaldmarathon | 90,00 | 90,00 |
| Bikepacking baltic sea | 1.030 | 128,75 |
| Erztaler Radmarathon | 38,00 | 38,00 |
| Rhön Radmarathon | 285,00 | 285,00 |
| Stoneman Road Silber | 151,50 | 75,75 |
| Tour Transalp | 2.320,00 | 331,43 |
| Quäldich Sizilien | 2.150,00 | 307,14 |
| Quäldich Berchtesgaden | 900,00 | 257,14 |
The result
As expected, the leaders in terms of cost per cycling day are the organized major events: the week-long Quäldich road bike tour and the Tour Transalp. Rather unexpectedly, the Rhön Cycle Marathon results in almost the same cost. Reason is that costs of travel and accommodation cover a high percentage.
The self-organized bikepacking tour is quite economical compared to the organized bike tours. This form of bike tour also has a high potential for adventure. That’s why it’s currently my clear number one.
By own experience, it is also not surprising that Mallorca has perhaps the best price-performance ratio. The camp is more or less the same as a cycling tour that starts from the same location. However, the camp in Mallorca offers in addition remarkably catering. And at a price that is more than a third cheaper than the price of a cycling tour.
It is also not surprising that the RTFs on the doorstep are the cheapest. The point here was only to show the magnitude of the costs. However, these can also differ significantly when traveling by car and depending on the entry fee, as it can be seen comparing the costs for the RTFs ERZtaler Radmarathon and Spreewaldmarathon.
