--- In gobagroup@yahoogroups.com, "Matt Mills" <ironangle01@...> wrote:
> I am in the mist of trying to plan on going on the
> GOBA 20th ride with my two kids. Can anyone give an idea
> on how much was spent on last years trip, besides the
> entry fee.

No meals are included on GOBA - so your only required cost item is
your meals.

Breakfasts via vendors at GOBA-ville each morning are less than $5 per
person (though doing the flying pancake breakfast one morning is a
must for all first timers and that will be $5 more)

Ride food stops (AM snack, lunch, PM snack) are typically all run by
local volunteer groups (a school group, scout troop, community center,
etc. as fund raisers and are usually very reasonably priced with items
(fruit, drinks, sandwiches, usually priced from 0.50 to $3 so you can
put a lunch together for around $4-6 and will probably spend another
$5 across the two snack stops. (Though occasionally you hit a stop
with comparatively 'high' prices... ;-) $1 for an apple instead of
50 cents!)

I haven't ridden with small kids so I was typically ending the daily
ride by (very) early afternoon... which means I spent less across the
food stops cause I went through all three of them within a 3 hr time
frame. Though I aways wanted to buy something.... both to keep my
energy level up but also to help out the volunteer groups that run the
food stops and help make GOBA happen. Allow a few more dollars if
your family will be spreading the ride out over the whole day meaning
you'll be hungrier at each stop.

Dinner costs are more variable. If you eat 'on-site' at the GOBA
arranged camping site there will often be another local volunteer
group (one or more) offering BBQ chicken, spagetti, or similar
dinners. These are usually less than $10 per person. Watch for
hand-lettered signs as you ride into town and check the daily news at
the GOBA info tent for info on other low-cost dinner options
frequently offered in the activity rooms of by local churches (you can
walk or ride to these).

So if you watch your pennies you can probably get by just fine by
allocating $25-30 per day in food costs.

For more money (and atmosphere) you're free to 'splurge' and head out
to the normal local restaurants. Normal restaurant prices apply. Any
local Bob Even's usually offer great all-you-can eat specials for GOBA
riders. Add another $10-20 per day per person for nights you want to
eat 'fancy'. (That's when I pull out a credit-card.)

The other things that try to empty your wallet are:

- the bike, clothing, massage, and food vendors that follow
GOBA-ville from stop to stop. The massages are reasonably priced as
massages go... but can still jack up your costs quickly. You're
costs goes WAY up if you can't resist the urge to buy that new
feather-weight bike (or wheel-set) you fall in love with.

- Many local museums and sightseeing stops are free through
occasionally you encounter one with a small entry fee.

- afternoon/evening entertainment options in some cities... (movies,
go-karts, putt-putt, etc.)

-Pat M
GOBA 2004, 2005, 2006, and hopefully 2008