2011 OWMTBC

Ok, let's offer a bit more information for those who didn't get the e-mail.

Jon has it pretty much nailed above - the cost of flying to the west coast of America has soared in the past couple of months which put attendance from Europe as a very expensive proposition, putting extra pressure on us as organisers to make a really special experience. And we were adamant that we wanted to continue to reflect the number of nationalities that took part in 2009 and 2010 and without attendance from Europe based riders that wasn't really going to happen.

Obviously the success of OWMTBC so far was down to those who had made the leap of faith so we contacted them first. In these times of increasing austerity it was unfortunate but understandable that it was a struggle to commit and we didn't want to go ahead with an event that we feared might not be the equal of Holland in 2009 and North Wales in 2010. We therefore took the decision to cancel with a heavy heart.

Last year we had the chance to move to a bigger event with 200+ involved. We thought long and hard about it and ultimately decided that we didn't necessarily want that as the strength of the first year was the intimacy of a relatively small number, real opportunity to get to know everyone there and establish lasting friendships. This endured in year two with plenty of old faces but also new participants really adding to the mix.

For those late to the party or not understanding what it was about, there's more here
2009 http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewto ... ght=owmtbc
2010 http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewto ... ght=owmtbc
A write up of 2010 from those guys at Orange http://www.orangebikes.co.uk/news/view/OWMTBC/
Oh yeah, and a 10 page spread in the current Privateer http://www.rouleur.cc/privateer-2


And to address a couple of specific points

ameybrook":2b206v20 said:

I believe had the organizers actively reached out to US-based riders, you'd have a bigger number of planned attendees. I for sure would have been one of them.

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Our approach was to go first with the guys (and girls) who had supported us to date. The second phase would have been to contact the US based guys who had been in touch to express interest, and you were obviously one of those guys Mike (actually one of two). Sadly we weren't able to get to the point of moving it forward.

ameybrook":2b206v20 said:

I bet this was a major undertaking. Too bad it couldn't happen.

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Yes, it was a major undertaking and I certainly won't claim that putting something back wasn't costly in terms of time and personal expense. But we were and are totally committed to it and boy, was it rewarding! Did we ever falter? Certainly the XC track being on fire and closed two days before Holland 2009 put a slight kink in our stride but nothing that enthusiasm from the attendees couldn't overcome and we were out riding hard in the sun bang on schedule (we'll overlook having to get up at 5 a.m. to make sure the track was ok!).

rumpfy":2b206v20 said:

I would have signed up to race for sure.

Limited to no info available about the event though, makes it hard to hype the event or plan around it.

I'm sure long distance planning is more than a little difficult.

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Long distance planning has it's issues but we'd managed before and could have done so again. As above, we never intended to hype the event and to be honest when we'd mentioned the concept on US based boards in the past the silence was palpable. That said, great to hear that you're interested now, shame we only knew after we'd had to pull the event but look forward to your interest and involvement in OWMTBC events in the coming years. Oh, and it isn't and never was a race as the links above and www.owmtbc.org show.


So, where do we go from here? When we made the decision to cancel Dorian Ruddock said that it felt as if we'd killed a puppy. I'm happy to announce that the puppy is alive and well, growing ever more robust and longing to have it's tummy tickled. Many, many thanks to all those who have supported us so far, without getting too soppy it really wouldn't have been the same without you. We're still maintaining our e-mail address (owmtbc@googlemail.com) so don't hesitate to drop us a line. OWMTBC will move onward, upward (but preferably not downhill), so look out for more events coming your way in the not too distant.

Still California Dreamin'

Ed, on behalf of OWMTBC

You said it all bro....

Dorian

ededwards":29ghnbf7 said:

Long distance planning has it's issues but we'd managed before and could have done so again. As above, we never intended to hype the event and to be honest when we'd mentioned the concept on US based boards in the past the silence was palpable. That said, great to hear that you're interested now, shame we only knew after we'd had to pull the event but look forward to your interest and involvement in OWMTBC events in the coming years. Oh, and it isn't and never was a race as the links above and www.owmtbc.org show.

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I just did a search on the evil VRC forum and didn't see any 2011 OWMTBC thread.

I did see the 2010 thread where Mr. K briefly said it would be in Fairfax. Hey, I replied! Beyond that, nothing.

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t ... ght=owmtbc


As for the owmtbc website...its out dated with zero 2011 info. No intention to hype it? I don't understand that approach to event promotion either.

Can't say I'm surprised at failure here.

rumpfy":3t5sktmp said:

ededwards":3t5sktmp said:

Long distance planning has it's issues but we'd managed before and could have done so again. As above, we never intended to hype the event and to be honest when we'd mentioned the concept on US based boards in the past the silence was palpable. That said, great to hear that you're interested now, shame we only knew after we'd had to pull the event but look forward to your interest and involvement in OWMTBC events in the coming years. Oh, and it isn't and never was a race as the links above and www.owmtbc.org show.

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I just did a search on the evil VRC forum and didn't see any 2011 OWMTBC thread.

I did see the 2010 thread where Mr. K briefly said it would be in Fairfax. Hey, I replied! Beyond that, nothing.

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t ... ght=owmtbc


As for the owmtbc website...its out dated with zero 2011 info. No intention to hype it? I don't understand that approach to event promotion either.

Can't say I'm surprised at failure here.

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I have to say that In their defence the organisers have never looked to promote OWMTBC as anything other than a festival of like minded retro bikers coming together having fun and riding together ,you only have to look at the "selection" of champion to see that, and as such to "promote it to external sources would take away from that ideal.
I think that to have OWMTBC with only one or two of the founding participants would be a shame as myself included have been onboard from the start and to promote it as an America event which is what it would have ended up as in that case was not their intention.
It is a shame that the plug has been pulled for 2011 however it is to their credit that the organisers still want to maintain an International feel to the event instead of running it as a national event and I think to say that it was doomed to failure is a bit harsh. the comments expressed here are purely my own and in no way reflect those of the organisers (I think)

rumpfy":25346xej said:

Can't say I'm surprised at failure here.

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:roll:

A classic Eric opening gambit - the teasing seesaw 'is he/isn't he having a dig' - just enough space to innocently reverse should things get sticky, yet enough spice to alert any sleeping sycophantic 'chopbusters'! Oooh... it's enough to bring memories flooding back of the halcyon days when Eric presided over the sad MTBR VRC implosion, along with its seemingly tactical use of Retrobike bating - look, sh*tty bikes with american bling over there, over there... ;-) Failure is often an outcome we cannot fully control yet, like an ugly scar from a clumsy fall, we have to accept it in perpetuity - so let's quietly pick our own scabs for once!

There was no doubt in my mind in 2007 when I visited Fairfax that I expected MTBR VRC and friends resulting to be an active part of the OW idea by the time it got around to 2011. The sad part is that MTBR VRC could not/did not materialise as a collective or kindred spirit - there was to be no basis for collaboration, especially as the 'tolerant' folk were then being castigated as 'ignorant and careless' in their standards! Try doing business with a country in the midst of civil war! Most Retrobike forum users gave it a wide berth - it just wasn't worth the hassle.

I remember posting news of the first event on VRC, but by the second I knew that times had changed and it was to be of little interest at best or liable to start a troll-fest at worst - hence 2010 was merely a link to a web review. 2011 was never to be directly or openly marketed, partly because we had reservations about any continued VRC legacy/hostility, but mostly until we had a sufficient number of european-based riders able to commit - this we did not achieve. We are not event organisers wanting to make money - and we weren't motivated or obliged to organise an event several thousand miles away for a bunch of people we didn't know (either digitally or personally). We had direct enquiries from Mike and Geoff in the USA, but were obviously unable to develop that interest at the time. All things being equal, I'd planned that we would have made the event known to the Keyesville people and CK and Fairfax Pat, kind supporters of OW from year one, would have spread the word come the time to ensure we had a good mix of enthusiasts around the campfire.

We've tried to make a big idea and dream come to life not just for us but for others to share - beginning in 2009 in Holland, we didn't quite build enough european momentum in the first two years to carry over and through the costs and logistics of getting to Fairfax for a week. But hey, no residents of the Americas made it to the european events, so maybe that should have told us something about the size of the ask.

OW - it's so not over...!

Neil

I guess you're off the hook then.

What about us Americans here on this board? I would have liked to have maybe gone. Why expect VRC people to go when you didn't rally us?!

I'm there! Can't wait for another chance in the US!

Or...maybe it was hyped and I missed it? There's so many threads and forums, it's hard to keep up here.

Hi Guys

When Neil and Ed gave me exact date of event I checked prices of plane tickets, renting a car in US etc.... Well, I knew then, I will not be in US

But I realy wish to see Your photos from this event, read Your memories - be someone like virtual guest of this event...

Now I see, that even this will be impossible... It's really sad, that OWMTBC '11 is cancelled.....

Marcin