How your community can host NWTR...
NWTR Planning ~ Local Organizing Committee (LOC) ~ RFP
Dave & Kellie Van Horn holding the trophy
awarded to NWTR at the Fourth of July parade
preceding the 2014 Pendleton Rally.
Northwest Tandem Rally (NWTR) is a registered non-profit corporation in the state of Oregon. Our mission is to ensure the permanency of an annual locally-produced family-oriented Tandem Rally in the Northwest. Our core organizational focus is on future site selection including vetting the future local organizing committees, providing event guidance and mentoring, offering technical and communications support, as well as obtaining and maintaining key sponsorship relationships and documenting best practices and expectations.
NWTR is continually looking for host cities willing to stage an NWTR event either on Memorial Day weekend or over the 4th of July. Information regarding past events can be found in our archives. The goal of NWTR is to promote Tandem Cycling participation in conjunction with Regional Tourism.
The selection process begins with the identification of possible hosting organizations and their respective cities at least two years prior to the event date. These locations can be in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, or British Columbia. Our objective is to maintain geographic diversity such that we move between these states and regions of those states.
The host can be a local bicycle club or a sub group of its members. Local chambers of commerce or service organizations without cycling/tandem experience, or a professional event organizer with or without cycling/tandem experience are also welcome to host provided they are partnered with a bicycle club or sub-group of a bicycle club.
It is very important to note that NWTR functions as a support organization for the local organizing committee. We are not staffed to operationalize a Rally but instead we act as a resource for the event. Our advisory board members are all former NWTR local organizers who have access to a significant amount of support documentation which will be shared with the hosting LOC.
A NWTR event is normally held over a three day holiday weekend (typically Fourth of July or Memorial Day) and consists of at least one day of unsupported ride options and two days of supported rides. Some host cities have extended the event to cover 4 or even 5 days depending on location and local resources.
Multiple ride lengths and/or difficulties should be offered on each supported ride day. Short ride offering should be approximately 25-35 miles. Medium length rides should be between 45-60 miles. Long rides should be 65-100 miles.
Rest stops on supported rides should be spaced approximately 12-15 miles apart. Support at these stops can range from basic water/hydration with or without food to a full service lunch. Lunch should be provided either on a rest stop or at the end of the supported ride. Slower riders may require an on-route lunch stop, while an end-of-route lunch stop held at the same time can support most riders.
A BBQ or other post ride food option should be made available on at least one ride day. An event Banquet is also expected on an alternate day.
The LOC should consider that many riders are vegetarian and provide alternatives to meat dishes. Some riders are vegan and gluten-free, and effort should be made to provide some of those alternates as well.
Hotel rooms, dorm rooms (if available), tent camping and RV accommodations are to be offered in advance at pre-negotiated block rates. All accommodations should be within reasonable walking distance of the ride start/finish line(s). Tent and RV sites should have access to bathrooms, showers, and bike parking with security.
A central venue is a must for registration, the start/finish line, the banquet, the NWTR annual board meeting and sponsor vendor fair.
Ridership participation historically has ranged from 175 – 350 teams. In 2005 Bend hosted an astounding 490 teams. The tandem-riding demographic includes a high percentage of retirees (age 50+) who have a larger likelihood of more discretionary spending. Families (adults age 30-50 with children of all ages), younger and older couples make up the rest of the Tandem riders we expect to see. They all are athletic, outdoors enthusiasts who will be attracted by scenery, good roads and a bicycle-friendly community.
The LOC will appoint a ride director and have not less than 5 additional key committee members.
The LOC will use the NWTR.org web-site and NWTR social media sites. A hosting fee is required and mandatory. The LOC will not be permitted to use a stand-alone .com for dissemination of Rally information.
The LOC director will be expected to serve on the NWTR Board from the time of their city’s selection until the rally of the year following theirs.
A pre-event start-up loan is available from NWTR and must be paid back according to the terms of a promissory note.
The LOC agrees to pay NWTR a negotiated fee (TBD) from the event proceeds to help facilitate future rallies. This fee maybe created via an add-on charge to the registration and/or a sharing of event proceeds. NWTR is not intended to be a for-profit enterprise. However, to date, no host community or club has lost money. In fact, in the past few years the residual proceeds have been in the range of $10,000 net of expenses.
Entry fees should be reasonable (affordable) and consistent with the fees charged at prior NWTR events.
We are prepared to offer event support including “Best practices” guidelines including timelines and organizational check points during the planning period covering 2 years prior to the rally.
We provide access to the NWTR master data base with proprietary mailing list including an annual mailing (Email) and pre-event email reminders.
We will also provide, upon request, for a fee (TBD)
- Offer access to event insurance
- Dan Henry route marking templates
- Banners and signs
- A Master NWTR Website and support the annual inclusion of the LOC’s sub-site
- Pre-event partial funding with a promissory note with clear repayment expectations
- Rally clothing support and vendor information with predefined dates and costs (Jerseys, Socks, T-shirts, Pins)
- Graphic design support if needed for apparel and swag
- Budget and financial templates
- Access/contact information for event photographer(s)
Other items:
Jerseys, T-shirts, Socks, commemorative pins, and rider ID/License plates should be made available to the event participants at reasonable cost.
What happens to the money made on an event? Is this a fundraiser for our club? Could we lose money?
NWTR is not intended as a fundraiser. Prices are set to make it affordable for families and to “break-even”. But in order to be sure you don’t lose money, most groups do end up with anywhere from $4-10,000 when it’s done. None have ever lost money. Any proceeds are shared with the local groups involved and a portion goes back to NWTR to support the continuation of the event.
If you still have questions and/or you’d like to apply to host NWTR in your community please contact us.
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