Posts
6
Joined
5/14/2019
Location
Ojai, CA, USA
Got this email from Castillo Ranch over the weekend. What are your thoughts, ideas, to help it keep going?
We are dropping you this email to discuss the future of our Castillo Ranch MX track being available to you. Attendance started out strong, and through your donations, we were able to cover the costs of the insurance premium, tractor fuel and maintenance, water system and well maintenance, and help with track prep... over the last couple of months, attendance has fallen off to the point where it's just no longer doable. We spend a ton of time out there prepping and repairing things. We are spending a fair amount of money to keep it going and not able to recoup those expenses with the current attendance donations.
We will not be running the track this weekend, as we are all away and there is nobody to do it. We plan to run it next Wednesday and that following Saturday, most likely for the last time under this format.
What we wanted to ask is, we have talked about making the track into a Moto club. Something along the lines of a monthly fee and the track would be open and prepped two or three days a week. Members would have a pass and could come any day it was open... We are open to suggestions. We know its great for everyone up in our area to have a track to ride. So maybe we can come up with a solution, if enough people wanted to do something like that.
Feel free to respond in any way and we will see where it goes from here. In any case, we have enjoyed hosting you all and meeting so many new people. Moto peeps are the best peeps.
We are dropping you this email to discuss the future of our Castillo Ranch MX track being available to you. Attendance started out strong, and through your donations, we were able to cover the costs of the insurance premium, tractor fuel and maintenance, water system and well maintenance, and help with track prep... over the last couple of months, attendance has fallen off to the point where it's just no longer doable. We spend a ton of time out there prepping and repairing things. We are spending a fair amount of money to keep it going and not able to recoup those expenses with the current attendance donations.
We will not be running the track this weekend, as we are all away and there is nobody to do it. We plan to run it next Wednesday and that following Saturday, most likely for the last time under this format.
What we wanted to ask is, we have talked about making the track into a Moto club. Something along the lines of a monthly fee and the track would be open and prepped two or three days a week. Members would have a pass and could come any day it was open... We are open to suggestions. We know its great for everyone up in our area to have a track to ride. So maybe we can come up with a solution, if enough people wanted to do something like that.
Feel free to respond in any way and we will see where it goes from here. In any case, we have enjoyed hosting you all and meeting so many new people. Moto peeps are the best peeps.
But a place open all the time is a good idea. Not everyone can make it on the days a track is open.
Something needs to decrease the risk of track owners spending whatever it costs to prep a track and having no one show up. Some type of up-front payment system alleviates this. One way is to have people pay in advance, and they only open if enough people pay for that day. Or maybe they just water, but not rip / disc, if a small number of people are coming to ride. I assume water is not cheap in Central California, though.
I think one downfall is how far away from everything the place is, I bet with normal traffic it's hard to get out there to ride.
Bring Ed back...
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Need to loop in more of the people who went to Zaca regularly. For example - all of NorCal. May Bay Area folks frequently went down to Zaca for a day of moto and a day of dunes, or even two days of moto.
I'd be going down if I had access.
Maybe if it was a more of a special event type day like some other private tracks, make every other Saturday during the winter and Limit it during the summer when it’s harder to maintain prep.
Wednesday’s won’t get many people with its location. You’ll get the locals. Just Not sure how many locals are up there that can ride twice a week.
This could be a viable way to determine long-term potential for the Castillo family.
As far as payments go, they would need to require prepay (to avoid people bailing out at the last minute), but also a way to refund everyone's money should not enough riders sign up.
Hope it works out and they can figure out a way to keep the ranch open to riders as it's such a fantastic location for a track.
The Zaca way (send text, get on list) seemed to work pretty darn well and didn't require building website and giving money away to payment processors.
I'll never be able to make it on a weekday with work and all.
Sign up, pay and bring your signed form at the entrance. Cakewalk.
Side bonus... Nice people, everywhere. I spoke with Jim Castillo a couple weeks ago and had just as much fun talking to him about the Great Western race days than riding. Very friendly and down to earth.
Its not busy but lots of fun. Jumps are cool, track is groomed and watered perfectly.
Im sure it will not stay around if head count stays low. Then, everyone will complain there's no Mid-state tracks. Just like Piru when guys pissed and moaned about an increase, now its gone. Participate or lose it.
Seems like two ride days a month in the proper seasons or invite only days sporadically, ala Chaney (RIP for them? It's been far too long since I've heard of a Chaney day...) would be better suited for a locale like Castillo.
Pit Row
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