AMERICAN TRIP 2008 - posted 19 July 2008
The trip to Edenton, North Carolina in October is starting to take shape with 15 riders and officials already declaring an interest in making the journey. The trip is planned to leave from Gatwick on Monday the 20 October with an overnight return flight on Sunday 26 October which lands first thing on Monday.
Plans for this trip were started in the Spring. However the delay in announcing details has been the souring cost of flights. Previous trips have seen flights being obtained for as little as £350 but this year has seen very few offers with the cheapest flights at £560. At the beginning of June one airline released some seats at £464 only to withdraw them very quickly and although Worldspan travel are still working on the fare it is not expected to come down any further.
A number of rooms at the Hampton Inn have been reserved and they are on offer at 90 dollars (£45) per room per night including breakfast. The accommodation is required for six nights so the total cost is $540 dollars or £270 per room. Each room will have two double beds and can sleep four people but on two sharing the cost will be no more than £135 each.
Brian White has confirmed he will provide free transport with only the fuel to be paid for which in the USA is still very cheap. Brian is currently working on the itinerary but it is expected that track competition will be on the Friday and Saturday evening with demonstration matches earlier in the week on grass or baseball circuits. Other promotional events are also planned including the local schools. We hope to be able to release further information in August as plans become clearer.
In summary
Flight cost - £560 per person
Hotel accommodation - £135 per person based on two sharing
Total cost of trip - £695 per person
Additional costs will include a contribution towards the fuel of about £10 to £20 each and of course money for food and shopping.
Can everybody who wants to go please contact Pete Barnes on 01202 245087 and he will explain what to do next and where to pay. Please note only the flights need to be paid for up front as the accommodation can be paid for on arrival.
